Looking for a protein-packed weekday breakfast option? This Quinoa Breakfast Bowl is topped with black beans, avocado, caramelized onions and a nice jammy egg!
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Breakfast has always been one of my favorite meals of the day. I love eggs, in just about any form, and experimenting to create unique combinations is really fun! For a long time, I had always thought of quinoa as either a side dish or part of a salad, then one winter day when I still lived in Chicago, I was grabbing a breakfast sandwich from Hannah's Bretzel and noticed they had a quinoa breakfast bowl on their menu. In my mind, I started creating all kinds of variations on this - veggies, eggs, nuts. I went home that evening and started developing and testing this recipe!
Making Jammy Eggs in the Instant Pot
Jammy eggs are basically a soft boiled egg so you get the convenience of a hard-boiled egg mixed with the somewhat runny yolk of a poached egg. I love adding them to bowls, including ramen and also to avocado toast! Cooking them in the Instant Pot is super easy too.
All you do is add a cup of water and your eggs to the Instant Pot, set it to manual high pressure for two to three minutes (I'd recommend three the first time so you can see how the eggs cook). Quick release the pressure when done. Then it's into a quick water bath, peel, slice and serve!
I originally tested this recipe with poached eggs (see the photo below), but decided that using the Instant Pot to make jammy eggs made more sense for a weekday breakfast. If you don't have an Instant Pot or prefer to make poached eggs, this video from Baker Bettie shows you how to make perfectly poached eggs with no fancy pans, gadgets or crazy techniques.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To make this an easy weekday breakfast option, I recommend making the black beans, caramelized onions and quinoa ahead of time so all you have to do in the morning is cook the eggs and assemble the bowl.
- Make the quinoa: Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.
- Prep the ice bath: Add some ice to a bowl large enough to fit the eggs. Add enough cold water so the eggs will be submerged.
- Cook the eggs: Add the eggs to the instant pot, select pressure cook and set the time for 3 minutes. Once the timer goes off, manually release the pressure.
- Put the eggs in the ice bath. Use a large slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the Instant Pot and carefully submerge them in the ice bath. Let them sit for a few minutes to cool then peel them.
- Assemble the bowls: Add some quinoa to a salad bowl and top with some of the black beans and caramelized onions. Throw in a bit of slightly sweet diced red pepper and some creamy avocado. Then you'll top it off with a lovely jammy egg, which provides an almost sauce-like topping for the quinoa. YUM!
I personally prefer savory breakfasts over sweet things. Savory keeps me full longer, and is just my preference at breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I love a good french toast or pastry, but try to reserve that indulgence for special occasions.
For other great savory breakfast ideas check out this Toasted Pesto Egg Sandwich or Ricotta Avocado Toast.
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Quinoa Breakfast Bowl with Jammy Eggs
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup black beans, drained, rinsed and warmed
- ½ cup caramelized onions
- ¼ cup diced red pepper
- 1 ripe Haas avocado, thinly sliced
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the quinoa. Add quinoa and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 12 minutes or until water is evaporated. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Prep the ice bath. Prepare a small bowl of cold water and some ice cubes.
- Cook the eggs. While the quinoa is cooking place the metal trivet or egg ring in your Instant Pot. Add 1 cup of water. Add the eggs. Close the Instant Pot lid and make sure it's set to sealing. Set to cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. When the time is up quick release the pressure. Remove the eggs and carefully place them in the ice bath for 5 minutes. Once they are cool, peel the eggs.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide the quinoa between two bowls. Top with black beans, caramelized onions, red pepper and avocado.
- Add the eggs. Carefully slice the eggs in half with a sharp knife. Place two egg halves on top of each bowl.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Notes
- If you are making the caramelized onions just for this recipe add about 40 minutes to the cooking time.
- If you prefer to poach the eggs fill a medium saucepan half full with water and bring to a simmer. Crack one egg into a small bowl and carefully slide into the water; repeat with the second egg. Cook for 3-4 minutes until eggs are set.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in May 2016. It was updated in November 2025 with some new information and photos. No changes were made to the original recipe.
Meg
This looks fantastic! I'm envisioning making a batch of quinoa at the start of the week and then having breakfast for days!
michele
Ive been a recent convert to Quinoa! This sounds delicious! Its a nice change up from oatmeal. Thanks~
Ilona @ Ilona's Passion
How lovely. I like that you incorporated quinoa into breakfast. Yum!
Sarah and Laura
Oh yeah! Avocado and egg is such a delicious combo. I've made quinoa for lunch and dinner but not for breakfast yet. It's on the to do list!
FoodieGirlChicago
Quinoa is quickly becoming one of my "go to" options for breakfast!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
This is a great idea for breakfast tomorrow!! Thanks for sharing
Marsha @ Marsha's Baking Addiction
I absolutely LOVE eggs! This breakfast bowl looks so good, I need to try soon!
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom
I am loving this breakfast option--quinoa is so versatile and a great option for breakfast.