Delicious Quinoa Brownies – Gluten-Free Recipe

If there are two things I never thought I’d put together, they would be quinoa and chocolate.  The nutty flavor of quinoa in side dishes and salads never made me think “Brownies!”.  

But here I am.  Telling you to do just that.

One of my best friends has had to go gluten-free with her diet and although I am a die-hard gluten fan, I was intrigued by the idea of making some gluten-free brownies using quinoa.  Not only is quinoa a super-food with a ton of added benefits (such as high protein and low calories), but my family is trying to diversify our diet.  Using other grains in our baking besides wheat can give us a larger range of nutrients.  

That said, I’m not claiming that these are “healthy” brownies.  At all.  They are higher protein, gluten-free brownies that are still chock full of butter, sugar, and chocolate.  Just the way I like my brownies!  I was amazed when I first made them that you can’t taste the quinoa at all and many of my testers where shocked to find out that there wasn’t a speck of wheat flour in them.

Quinoa Brownies (makes 8″x8″ pan)

1 c. cooked quinoa

1/2 c. butter

8oz baking chocolate (make sure you use the chocolate bars – not cocoa powder!)

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

3 eggs

1 Tbs vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

-PREHEAT oven to 350˚.

-LIGHTLY grease an 8″x8″ baking dish.

-MELT the butter and chocolate squares in a small saucepan over low heat.  Be very careful not to scorch the chocolate!

-BLEND cooked quinoa, sugars, eggs and vanilla until smooth in a blender or food processor.

-ADD the butter and chocolate to the quinoa mixture in the blender.  Blend until incorporated.

-ADD the salt and baking soda to the blender.  Blend until incorporated.

-POUR into the prepared baking dish.

-BAKE for 35-40 minutes at 350˚.

-COOL completely before cutting and enjoying.

P.S.  Thank you, dear friends and family, who willingly tested the last five batches to get these brownies to perfection.  You know who you are and I appreciate your help and complete honesty. 😉