Make crispy quinoa for topping your favorite salads, yogurt, and more. Gluten-free, vegan, and high in protein, this crunchy topping is super simple to make and stays good all week.
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Crispy quinoa has always been a favorite of mine, but I usually make it in casserole form with lots of cheese. For the new year, I thought you all might appreciate a way to enjoy the crunch of quinoa in other forms as well!
This simple recipe gives you a few cups of super crunchy quinoa that you can use to upgrade your salads, soups, or roasted vegetables.
What is crispy quinoa?
Crispy quinoa is cooked quinoa that has been cooled, tossed with olive oil and salt, and baked until golden and crunchy. It holds its shape well and has a light, crispy texture.
Ingredients
- Cooked quinoa
- Olive oil
- Coarse kosher salt
- Additional seasonings (optional)
How to make crispy quinoa in the oven
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- In a bowl, combine quinoa, olive oil, salt, and any other seasonings you're using.
- Spread the quinoa out on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure it's in an even layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden, stirring every 10 minutes.
Top tips
Allow the quinoa to cool
It's important to let your cooked quinoa cool before tossing it with the oil and baking it. This will allow it to crisp instead of steam.
That makes this recipe great for using leftover quinoa that has already been sitting in the fridge for a day. If you forget to cool your quinoa, don't worry, it will still work but will probably take longer in the oven.
Don't crowd the baking sheet
You want your quinoa in an even layer on the baking sheet to give it room to crisp. I like to line my baking sheet with parchment paper, but if you don't have any its ok to just cook it right on the baking sheet.
Stir while cooking
The quinoa on the edges of the pan will crisp faster than the ones in the middle, so make sure you stir your quinoa a few times while it's baking in the oven.
Ways to use crispy quinoa
- Mix into my crispy quinoa bake, Italian quinoa casserole, or butternut squash quinoa casserole to give it even more crunch
- Use as a topping for avocado toast
- Add as a garnish to soups such as my red wine tomato soup or vegan carrot ginger soup
- Use in place of croutons in salads such as my high protein vegan salad, salad bar salad, pizza salad, or winter salad with butternut squash
- Sprinkle on stuffed sweet potatoes or simple roasted veggies such as roasted broccoli, air fryer asparagus, or garlic ginger snow peas
- Use as a topping for baked pasta dishes such as my Mediterranean mac and cheese
- Add to simple chocolate bark for a high protein crunch
- Enjoy as a snack!
How to store crispy quinoa
Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Quinoa will stay the most crisp at room temperature, but if you need to re-crisp just bake it in the oven for a few minutes.
Tips for customizing crispy quinoa
- Flavor your quinoa with your favorite spices such as garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, or nutritional yeast
- Flavor with cinnamon or pumpkin spice and a little honey for adding to yogurt bowls
- Season with store bought or homemade taco seasoning for adding to vegetarian burrito bowls or making simple tacos
- Use a flavored olive oil (I love Ceremony Goods flavored olive oils)
FAQ
Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh strainer, then toast it in a little olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 ¾ cups water or stock per 1 cup of dry quinoa, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and cook until it has absorbed all the liquid (12-15 minutes).
Remove from the heat and allow it to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. For more information, including all my best tips and ideas for how to use it, check out my post on how to cook quinoa.
Yes! You can use any color of quinoa for this recipe.
Yes! To make crispy quinoa on the stovetop, prepare it the same way, but cook it in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Work in batches as necessary to keep from overcrowding your pan, which will make it take longer to crisp up.
More quinoa recipes
- Instant Pot Quinoa
- Quinoa Taco Salad
- How to Cook Quinoa
- Crispy Quinoa Bake
- Rainbow Quinoa Salad
- Italian Quinoa Casserole
- Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
- Peaches and Cream Breakfast Quinoa
- Warm Kale and Quinoa Salad
- Slow Cooker Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
- Vegan Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Tofu
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Crispy Quinoa
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked quinoa, cooled (from 1 cup dry quinoa)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- Additional seasonings, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- In a bowl, combine quinoa, olive oil, salt, and any other seasonings you're using.
- Spread the quinoa out on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure it's in an even layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden, stirring every 10 minutes.
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