Quinoa Qrispy Treats with Sesame Seeds and Flax
My family’s been obsessed with rice krispie treats as of late. I’ve been making a vegan brown rice version using 365 (Whole Foods brand) Brown Rice Crisps and Sweet and Sara’s amazing vegan marshmallows. We’ve been devouring them by the panful! For a fun way to dress up your ordinary treats, check out my post for turning them into chocolate-dipped pops here.
But today I decided to mix it up a little. I found toasted quinoa in the bulk foods aisle of Whole Foods and thought they’d be the perfect thing to change it up a little. And since quinoa is so good for you, why not throw a little flaxseed meal and sesame seeds into the mix and reap the additional nutritional benefits of omega-3s, fiber, protein, calcium, folic and oleic acid? You can’t even taste the flaxseed and the sesame seeds give the Qrispies a deep, complex, nutty flavor. Yum! This is a relatively guilt-free way to do dessert.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 4 tbsp Earth Balance buttery stick
- 6 oz. Sweet and Sara vanilla vegan marshmallows, at room temp (These are hands-down the best vegan marshmallows you can buy. If you attempt this recipe with another vegan version, I cannot promise success in the end! But these will do the job blissfully. Find them in some WF stores or buy them online as I do.)
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 6 cups toasted quinoa
- 2 tbsp finely ground flaxseed meal
- 1 tbsp raw, white sesame seeds
Pour the quinoa into a large bowl. Add the flaxseed and sesame seeds and mix together evenly. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat the Earth Balance over medium heat until fully melted. Be careful to not let it burn or begin to brown. Add in the marshmallows and stir constantly until they melt into an ooey, gooey blob. When they look something like the picture below, add in the maple syrup and continue to stir until well combined.
Give the quinoa mixture another quick toss to make sure the sesame seeds and flax don’t sit concentrated at the bottom of the bowl. Then pour the marshmallow mixture on top and working quickly, use a large spoon or spatula to coat the quinoa mixture evenly with the marshmallow. This takes a bit of work. Be sure to continue scooping underneath to capture any of the quinoa still sitting at the bottom. Just keep working it until it’s all mixed nicely… you will be rewarded for your efforts!
Next, pour the combined mixture into a 9 x 13 (ungreased) pan and using vegan wax paper, press it into the pan in an even layer.
Set the pan aside to cool. Once it’s completely cooled, cut into squares and serve.
I made my own quinoa using this method: http://www.livestrong.com/article/432717-how-do-i-make-puffed-quinoa/
Love it! Thanks for the link. I’m sure many readers will want to give this a try!
Hi Lauren,
Found this recipe via Pinterest and was wondering if we could talk via email about me linking back to it! Working on a post about quinoa for kids.
Absolutely! I’m honored! Feel free to link right to me and I’ll approve the ping back. : )
Thanks! I just finished my first attempt at the recipe you shared. I couldn’t find toasted quinoa in my speciality grocery store so I tried toasting it myself. I think I burned my first batch!! But I don’t give up easily.
Oh wow, I am impressed! If you end up toasting it successfully, please let me know. I’d love to try it myself!
Do you cook the quinoa?
Hi Doris, I used toasted quinoa found in the bulk foods aisle. It was like rice krispies, only with quinoa. I’m not exactly sure how you’d toast your own quinoa but let me know if you find an answer!
Can you make this with regular quinoa?
Hi Chelsea, I used toasted quinoa found in the bulk aisle of Whole Foods. So it was just like rice krispies, only quinoa. Hope this helps!
These look wonderful and are much healthier than the traditional rice krispies treats!
Thanks so much! Gotta love (semi)healthy desserts!
Those sound amazing Kellie! Wish I could get my hands on them too! yum!
These look delicious! I have a source of handmade, small-batch vegan marshmallows that will be perfect. She does vanilla ones as well as flavours like pistachio, rose petal, all kinds of cool ones. Perfect treat, with a little bit of goodness too! Can’t say that for the bought RK ones…