The Perfect Quinoa Instant Pot Recipe is a quick and foolproof way to cook quinoa in a pressure cooker. It yields light, fluffy quinoa every time with minimal effort.
Growing up, I had never heard of quinoa and never tried it. But after moving to the USA and learning about its health benefits, I started incorporating it into my meals.
Today, I’m sharing a simple and foolproof method to cook perfect quinoa in the Instant Pot! The cooked quinoa can be used in a number of dishes, like curd quinoa, lemon quinoa, and quinoa chickpea salad.
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What is Quinoa?
Quinoa, pronounced ‘keen-wa’ is a gluten-free, whole-grain carbohydrate, as well as a whole protein (meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids). There are two types of quinoa available: red and creamy white. They open up to release little white curls (like a tail) as they soften. Technically, the quinoa is actually a seed, not a whole grain.
How to Cook Perfect Quinoa in Instant Pot
Rinse 1 cup of quinoa to remove the natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter or soapy. Drain excess water.
In the Instant Pot, add 1 cup of rinsed quinoa, 1 ¼ water, and salt to taste.
Close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) for 1 minute. Once the pot beeps, let it release the pressure naturally (NPR) for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid away from you and fluff the quinoa with a fork or serving spoon.
Perfect pressure cooker quinoa is ready to serve immediately.
Dont Have an Instant Pot?
No worries, you can still cook quinoa in a stovetop pressure cooker or in a stovetop pan.
- In Traditional Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Pressure cook 1 cup of rinsed quinoa with 1.5 cups of water for 2 whistles on medium-low heat. Let the pressure release naturally.
- On Stovetop in a Vessel: Cook 1 cup of rinsed quinoa with 2 cups of water on medium-low heat until cooked, and let it cool a bit.
Tips for Perfect Instant Pot Quinoa
- Use an appropriate amount of water, or else quinoa will turn mushy.
- Rinse Quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve, if desired (most brands come pre-rinsed to remove bitter coating called saponin).
- Add a pinch of salt to flavor your quinoa right from the get-go. But it's optional.
- You can double the recipe to make more ~ 2 cups quinoa, 2.5 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook for the same amount of time.
- Leftover quinoa keeps well and can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. Make sure it has been cooled to room temperature before covering and chilling. You can also portion the quinoa into freezer bags and freeze the quinoa until you’re ready for it.
How to Freeze the Cooked Quinoa
This is a perfect recipe to make extra of and freeze for future use. I never do this myself since it is so simple to make in an Instant Pot in a few minutes.
- Prepare Quinoa as per recipe directions.
- Allow cooling completely.
- Freeze them in freezer-safe bags or containers
- Thaw them before using them in salads or a side dish.
Instant Pot Quinoa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa rinsed and drained
- 1 ¼ cups water (or vegetable broth)
- salt to taste, optional
Instructions
- Rinse the Quinoa to remove the natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter or soapy. Drain excess water.
- In the Instant Pot, add water, quinoa and salt.
- Close the lid on the pot and turn valve to SEALING position.
- Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) for 1 minute. Once the pot beeps, let it release the pressure naturally(NPR) for 10 minutes (Wait until silver button on lid drops).
- Remove lid away from you and fluff quinoa with a fork or serving spoon.
- Perfect Quinoa is ready to serve immediately or place into freezer bags for long-term freezer storage.
Notes
- 1. Rinse Quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve, if desired (most brands come pre-rinsed to remove bitter coating called saponin).
- Double the recipe to make more ~ 2 cup Quinoa, 2.5 cups Water and 1 teaspoon Salt and cook for the same amount of time.
- I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT
Nutrition
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Max
Thank you for sharing. I am eager to find ways to use quinoa.
Bhavana Patil
Hi Max, you are welcome..few indian quinoa recipes from my blog https://www.indianveggiedelight.com/healthy-quinoa-recipes/