This post is sponsored by Whole Foods Market 365, however all opinions, ideas, recipes and enthusiasm remain my own!
September is Better Breakfast Month, and I’m all about “making my day” with a healthy, balanced breakfast brimming with good things like whole grains, fruits, and protein. My Chai Pear Quinoa-Oat Breakfast Bake with Vanilla Ricotta Cream offers all this wholesome goodness and more (did I mention caffeine?), plus the big casserole is perfect for portioning into single serves for freezer meal prep. 
Another thing that “makes my day” is shopping at Whole Foods Market 365 (Cedar Park). It’s where I picked up all the fresh, organic ingredients for this make-ahead breakfast recipe. And, it’s also my go-to store to grab ingredients and prepped foods to fuel my active lifestyle filled with running, obstacle course racing, weight lifting, yoga, paddle boarding, being a mom to three boys and more.
Before I jump into the details about my meal-prep friendly Chai Pear Quinoa-Oat Breakfast Bake, I have to keep on with my whoohoo, yee-haw, high-five feels for Whole Foods Market 365 in Cedar Park. Yes, they are sponsoring this post, but I would (and do) shop their anyway. I’m their number one fan and think that they should crown me Ms. Whole Foods 365 Cedar Park. Just sayin’.
Seriously though, Whole Foods Market 365 is amazing. It’s like a regular Whole Foods Market, but NOT exactly. They make it simple to shop for groceries by streamlining the inventory and process yet offering loads of prepped, semi-prepped, grab-and-go and ready-to-eat options. The primary (but not only) brand featured is the 365 Everyday Value label and I feel super empowered knowing I’m saving my family money on everyday staples to specialty products. 
Check out all the 365 Everyday Value brand ingredients I bought for my Chai Pear Quinoa-Oat Breakfast Bake. All the wholesome, good things RIGHT THERE!
In addition all the great fresh, packaged and prepared food options, Whole Foods Market 365 has “Friends” venues inside each store – the Whole Foods Market 365 Cedar Park location has a Juiceland (smoothies and juices) and Easy Tiger (baked goods, beer garden fare, and coffee shop specialties). Here’s my Instagram pic of Easy Tiger’s Frozen Chai I treated myself to while shopping. 
So, let’s get down to making a better breakfast that can be meal prepped to fuel you (and a friend) through most of the week). My Chai Pear Quinoa-Oat Breakfast Bake makes 12 hearty, healthy servings that can be portioned and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for 3 months. This, my friends, is WINNING breakfast. 
Plus, it’s a HOT breakfast with fall-inspired flavors that gets me totally excited for the upcoming change in season. The foundation is a pair up of my favorite healthy whole grains – quinoa and steel cut oats. I love to combine these two powerhouses, not only for the sustained energy they offer for all my endurance sports, but also because they conveniently have the same cook time – meaning they can co-mingle and be cooked in the same pot. 
No table sugar in this breakfast recipe, only a virtually no-carb stevia blend and the natural sugars found in the yummy Asian pears I found on special at Whole Foods Market 365 (Cedar Park). 
My sneaky surprise ingredients are brewed Chai tea with additional cinnamon and vanilla, to add that deliciously aromatic warm, spicy vibe. Plus, I see nothing wrong with eating AND drinking caffeine in the morning!
What better way to take a warm, gooey, almost snack cake-like breakfast and take over the top (in a good way) than by topping with a ricotta “cream” flavored with vanilla, cinnamon and a bit more stevia. It’s heaven! And, for a fancy presentation you can bake in individual ramekins (reduce baking time 15 minutes).
A heaping helping of this comfort food breakfast casserole, even with the ricotta cream, has surprisingly awesome macros. Each serving of Chai Pear Quinoa-Oat Breakfast Bake with Vanilla Ricotta Cream has just 224 calories with 12g protein, 8g fat, 34g carbohydrate (with 7g being dietary fiber). When I want to add even more protein to my breakfast (which is usually), I’ll add additional nuts on top or pair with a half-serving of Greek yogurt.
This isn’t my first rodeo making a Quinoa Oat Bake for breakfast, you’ll love these recipes too:
Start the day with this hearty, healthy breakfast that offers whole grains, fruit, and a decent amount of protein. It's a great make-ahead breakfast cassarole that can be cut into single portions and frozen for hassle-free morning meals.
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1 cup white quinoa
- 4.5 cups water
- 4 chai tea bags
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs whisked
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup stevia baking blend cup-for-cup equivalent
- 1 tablespoon Korintje cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups chopped pears skin on
- 4 ounces sliced almonds
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Rinse uncooked steel cut oats and quinoa in fine-gage mesh strainer. Add rinsed grains to 4 to 5-quart pot along with 5 cups of water. Bring to rolling boil over high heat, and then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer, with lid on, for 15 to 20 minutes or until water absorbed and grains tender. Remove from heat.
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Meanwhile, while oats cooking, add 1 ¼ cup water to glass mixing cup and bring to boil in microwave. Add 4 chai teabags and let seep which waiting for oats to finish cooking. Remove and discard tea bags and stir liquid into grain mixture (will be about 1 cup)
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Once quinoa-oat mixture has cooled down a bit to warm, stir ricotta cheese, whisked eggs, and vanilla into grain mixture until thoroughly combined. (Do not do this while grains are HOT as the egg will cook).
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Stir in stevia blend sweetener, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined. Finally, mix in chopped pears.
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Spray 9”x13” baking dish with cooking spray and add mixture, spreading with spatula to make even thickness.
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Sprinkle sliced almonds on top, lightly patting down.
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Bake at 350 F degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until set and almonds lightly browning on top. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing into 12 squares.
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To make Ricotta Cream, add 1 cup ricotta, vanilla and cinnamon to blender and blend for about 1 minute, or until smooth and creamy.
I am really wanting a big bowl of that Ricotta cream! What a great breakfast
I won’t lie, I threw a few mini chocolate chips and raspberries into the leftover ricotta cream and ate it for dessert 🙂
Wow! What a delicious breakfast bake. I love the addition of Asian Pears!
Thanks Sandra, I have been slightly obsessed with it!
Oh my GAWD this looks GOOD!
Thank you Annmarie! I have been enjoying it so much reheated out of the freezer every day these past few days!
This looks like a healthy dessert for breakfast. I’ll bet my kids would even love this. It screams fall and I can’t wait to try it!
Ha, you so get me. I love to think I’m eating dessert for breakfast! Breakfast “cookies,” breakfast “cobbler,” breakfast “cake” haha
That ricotta cream is something else!! I love the creamy textures mixed in with grains, SO yum!
Yes, the ricotta was definitely a good decision, I almost didn’t do it!
This is so perfect. I love breakfast bakes, especially seasonal ones like this. Asian pears are a favorite this time of the year and so special with that vanilla ricotta cream too!
Aren’t breakfast bakes THE BEST! Everything slices up so nice and can be frozen to eat later (because my hubby doesn’t love oats as much as me, so I get to eat it all haha)
These are incredible! Love the chai flavor, it’s so comforting yet sophisticated.
Thanks Joni! Yes the chai is so comforting to me because it reminds me of slooooowly waking up on a weekend with a nice cozy drink.
What a beautiful breakfast! And I adore ricotta on everything!
thank you Linda! Yes, ricotta is delicious, isn’t it!
Such a warm yummy breakfast!! I love this seasonal celebration, ya know, the pears?! So much fun this time of year. And that ricotta topping!!
I made that ricotta cream as an after thought . . . . and will definitely will be doing it every time from here on out!
What a flavorful breakfast! I love the Whole Foods 365 line. I can only imagine how fun it is to shop in a 365 store!
It don’t know if this is true or not, but I swear the 365 line is even a little less expensive in the 365 stores.
Wow, this looks amazing! Saving this one for a weekend brunch with my family. I think they’ll love it!
Thank you so much, it makes 12 servings, so perfect for a crowd!
Super fun! One of my girls is obsessed with anything chai, so I will definitely try this for her!
Yes, FEED her Chai obsession!
This is a great breakfast and I LOVE anything that is make ahead for the week. Also, I will say, I think pears are super underrated, I love that you are making good use of them in this recipe.
make-ahead food is the only way I can survive my 4:45 wake up, my brain can not deal with doing anything other than reheating . . and pushing k-cup button, lol
I love all the flavors in this recipe and it’s so fall perfect. yum !
Wow this is so pretty and perfect for entertaining too! I also love that it packs a good punch of protein!
Great flavours and textures!! So AUTUMN!! Love this recipe. Will pin and get those ingredients together to try this one soon!
Let the fall flavors begin! Such a yummy season
Such an indulgent recipe! it’s creamy and super comforting especially now that it’s freezing where I live haha the perfect weekend breakfast!