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Chocolate Banana Quinoa Mug Cake {Gluten-Free, Dairy Free}

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A microwave mug cake made with chocolate, bananas, and quinoa, this delicious, gluten free and dairy free one-minute mug cake recipe will leave you feeling nourished and energized! An easy snack recipe that’s also great for breakfast, or dessert! Made with real food, real fast.

healthy chocolate banana and quinoa microwave mug cake on a dessert plate

You know you’re an old blogger when trendy blog recipes from 8 years ago make their way back. ACK! I’m old. I mean blog years old. But truth be told I’m so okay with the recipe trends thing because some of them are so simple and SO DELISH! For instance, the microwave mug cake.

Protein MUG CAKE. Oatmeal Mug cake. You get my point. Microwave mug cake is just amazing.

Back in the day, when the Kiwi and I were traveling for races and training camps, microwave mug cakes were my JAM!  I used make a ton of microwaveable protein muffins and even chia muffins! Yes, I knew about chia back then too. Haha, but I digress.

My point being, microwave mug cake recipes are making a comeback, but in an UPGRADED form. High fives ya’ll!

What do I mean by upgraded? I mean ingredient upgrade. Like …. you can cram a lot of nourishment in that mug. Coffee mug and mug (mouth)  —> Pun intended.

ingredients in small bowls to make a chocolate banana quinoa microwave mug cake

plastic container of BettyBody Foods organic quinoa

Let’s chat about these fantastic microwave mug cake ingredients and then I’ll show you how to make one! mmmm k?

 

healthy mug cake made with chocolate bananas and quinoa

One of the best things about this quinoa mug cake recipe is that it uses up all those odds and ends of leftover ingredients!

Resourceful, healthy, easy = PERFECTION. Okay I may be bias.

Ingredients in this microwave mug cake recipe

  • Tri Colored Quinoa Medley  – Ahh yes, the plant based “pseudo grain.” Quinoa is a gluten free false grain because it has a different botanical origins than cereal grains. It’s also one of the only vegetarian foods that contains a complete protein (all the essential amino acids). This is why it has a good about of protein per serving. YEA!  I talk more about pseudo grains in this pasta post (warning ->  OLD picture alert, yikes! .
  • Chia – Cha Cha Cha Chia! We all the that it’s amazing. They provide a significant amounts of protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Banana – Potassium booster and a decent amount of vitamin B6.
  • Cocoa Powder – naturally unsweetened and rich in antioxidants. Plus cocoa powder can help create healthy gut microbes . Really, which why I used it in my Reese bites!  Bite of good Gut health. Right?
  • Egg – Protein, Healthy fats, Choline –> which is so important for liver function, brain health, energy, and more!
  • Protein Powder or Superfood Supplement   – I actually used Better Body Foods  Liv Fit Superfood! It’s pack with fruits, vegetables, vegan protein, digestive enzymes, and more.

See, I wasn’t kidding about the upgrade! SUPER POWERED MUG CAKE. I should have just titled it that.

 

How to make a microwave mug cake

So that’s how we’ve been enjoying our microwave mug cakes lately. The chocolate sauce is optional but I am for certain that the act of drizzling it on top (of the quinoa mug cake) is therapeutic. Which calms us and therefore makes us more healthy. That’s my justification and I’m sticking to it.

Ready .. set… mix, press start (on the microwave), flip, drizzle, and dig in!

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Chocolate Banana Quinoa Microwave Mug Cake

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 1 min
  • Total Time: 6 minutes
  • Yield: 1 1x
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Description

Chocolate Banana Quinoa Microwave Mug Cake

Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp cooked quinoa
  • 1 tbsp chia seed
  • 30 grams protein powder or cocoa powder ( or half of both to equals 30 grams)
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 egg
  • Optional vanilla (1/4 tsp)
  • Optional honey to make it sweeter (1 tbsp)
  • Drizzle with dark chocolate sauce
  • cocoa powder (unsweetened) to sprinkle on top

Instructions

  1. Mash your banana. Then add all ingredients to a large microwave safe mug. Mix thoroughly until batter is formed
  2. Microwave for 30 seconds. Wait 10 seconds, then microwave again for 15 seconds. wait one more time and then microwave for an addition 10-15 seconds or until cake starts to expand past mug.
  3. Remove from oven and gently flip mug over onto a plate. Cake will have form. Drizzle will any additional chocolate sauce, honey, cocoa, etc. of your choice! Enjoy!

Notes

Serving size: 1 cake Calories: 215 Fat: 8.5 Saturated fat: 2 Carbohydrates: 27 Sugar: 8 Sodium: 76 Fiber: 7.8 Protein: 11

fork cutting into a one-minute mug cake

Okay so the inside of the microwave mug cake might not be as pretty as the outside, but it’s delish and we so loved that the nutty texture.

inside of a gluten-free microwave mug cake

Those of you who have made a microwave mug cake before, what do you put in it? Have you ever tried making a mug cake with chia or quinoa? Time to experiment. Haha, have fun!

Effortless and Healthy! Chocolate Banana Quinoa Mug Cake! @betterbodyfoods #glutenfree #dairyfree

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Want to see a picture of an OLD mug cake recipe? hehe –> Check out this chia cake recipe from 4 years ago. LOL!.

This tasty mug cake recipe creation is sponsored by my friends over at Better Body Foods! Thank you for allowing me to share their wonderful products and talk about this caring company. 

What recipe trend do you think is going to make a comeback next? Let’s keep the mug cakes around though, k?

Cheers!

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Super Simple Chocolate Banana Quinoa Microwave Mug Cake! A delicious gluten Free and dairy Free effortless One Minute Mug Cake that will leave you feeling nourished and energized! A great snack, breakfast, or dessert! Made with real food, real fast.

Related Posts

Photo of Lindsay Cotter of Cotter CrunchHi, I’m Lindsay!  Gluten Free Nutrition Specialist, food photographer and author of Nourishing Superfood Bowls, and meal plan guru! I’d love to know you more! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and drop a comment below.

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  2. Blair says

    March 2, 2016 at 5:56 AM

    You might be an old blogger, but not an old lady! I love mug cakes, and this version looks different from the norm — and delicious!

    Reply

  6. Jen says

    March 2, 2016 at 7:12 AM

    This looks like the heartiest mug cake I’ve ever seen, which means I need to make it ASAP. Loving all the ingredients here!

    Reply

  10. Susie @ SuzLyfe says

    March 2, 2016 at 8:42 AM

    Noms. Luckily, if enough recipes get trendy again, you won’t have to worry about “teaching an old dog new tricks”–just dig up the good old ones! I just am ready for smoothie bowls to leave. You can’t survive on liquids alone.

    Reply

  12. Sam @ PancakeWarriors says

    March 2, 2016 at 9:17 AM

    I wasn’t blogging back in the day but I had microwave protein cookie between teaching classes after my real job for about 2 years straight. I remember when I found out about chia seeds, I’m pretty sure I had to order them online because I couldn’t find them anywhere. I love when food fads repeat, I am taken back in time and think about how crazy life was then and it calms me a bit because we always only remember how crazy things are right now!

    Reply

  18. Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says

    March 2, 2016 at 11:15 AM

    I still do mug cakes all the time. They’re so quick and easy… and usually when I don’t have any groceries, I still have enough to make one. I’ve never used chia in one though – gotta try it out!

    And thank you for validating my cocoa powder habit. 😉

    Reply

  20. Sarah says

    March 2, 2016 at 12:31 PM

    Guess I will have to make quinoa soon so I have a little leftover to make this! Especially since A loved the mug cake we made earlier this week and now probably thinks it should be a thing. Monday Mug Cake, Taco Tuesday, Waffle Wednesday, Froyo Friday, Scone Sunday…

    Reply

  23. Marisa | Uproot Kitchen says

    March 2, 2016 at 2:03 PM

    Well I hope your chia mug cake from the older days gets a traffic boost from our new mug cake trend! 🙂 I’ve only made 2 mug cakes in my life… one brownie experiment and one funfetti cake from Arman that was delicious… but this flavor combination is calling my name. Love the addition of chewy quinoa as a creative use of leftovers!

    Reply

  24. dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says

    March 2, 2016 at 2:25 PM

    i have not been successful in making mug cakes…looking at this, i am going to have to give this a go again,.

    Reply

  28. Amanda @ .running with spoons. says

    March 2, 2016 at 3:07 PM

    YES! Let’s keep the mug cakes around. Definitely. I got hooked on them a few years back, and while I sometimes forget about them, they always manage to sneak back into my life and make me fall in love all over again. I’ve definitely never seen one made with quinoa before, though! You’re brilliant <3

    Reply

  30. Jen @ Chase the Red Grape says

    March 2, 2016 at 9:37 PM

    I always forget about mug cakes! Thanks for the reminder – also gives me an excuse to finally buy quinoa, haven’t had it in such a long time either!
    I feel so old at the moment when I go shopping – all I see is the exact same clothing that I wore in the 80’s and 90’s!! Eeek!

    Reply

  31. Katie says

    March 2, 2016 at 9:57 PM

    I was just thinking the other day about all the “new” trendy food blog things that I was blogging about back in grad school…..more than 5 years ago!! Chia for sure, but also matcha, maca, yacon syrup, spirulina, stevia, mug cakes, etc etc

    We’re so old.

    I mean, we’re so cool.

    Reply

  34. GiGi Eats says

    March 4, 2016 at 10:53 AM

    The microwave is a kitchen magician. By the time you say “abra-cadabra” your food has transformed into something totally different!! 😀 I just smiled at my microwave. LOL

    Reply

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