Instant Pot Quinoa

Cook some healthy quinoa easier than ever, with your Instant Pot!

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa isn’t actually a grain. It’s actually a member of the spinach and beet family and is a seed from a flowering plant. The Whole Grain Council calls quinoa a pseudo-cereal because it’s cooked like a cereal grain and has a similar nutrient profile.

The thing that fascinates me the most about quinoa is that it’s very easy to grow. The yield from quinoa plants is immense and they are drought resistant. The United Nations has deemed quinoa a “super crop” because of its potential to feed the hungry around the world.

Is Quinoa Healthy?

Quinoa is one of the only plant foods that has all nine essential amino acids to be considered a complete protein. It’s also high in fiber and potassium.

For these reasons, it tends to keep you feeling full longer. It has many other health benefits on top of that.

Quinoa is quite high in fiber though so eating too much of it can be an issue if you’re not drinking enough water, or for other reasons. And, it has more calories than brown rice so do watch the portion sizes.

Why Cook Quinoa In The Instant Pot?

As easy as it is to cook quinoa on the stove, I prefer to cook it in the Instant Pot (this is the model that I have). Why?

Because it takes way less time! Also, if I have something on the stove, I tend to stay nearby to make sure no disasters happen (like a boiling over pot). With the Instant Pot, I can set it and then walk away.

Having said that, if you want to make it on the stove, I have done some thorough tests and I can tell you that the best way to cook quinoa on the stove is over here.

How To Cook Quinoa In The Instant Pot

Spray the inner pot of the Instant Pot with cooking spray or rub it lightly with cooking oil to prevent the quinoa from sticking if it dries a bit at the end of cooking.

Into the inner pot of the Instant Pot measure 2 cups of (rinsed, see below) quinoa and 3 cups of water. I add 1 teaspoon of salt here. Stir.

Turn the Keep Warm setting off.

Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 1 minute, then do a natural release for 8 minutes. Next, turn the valve to release and let the rest of the pressure escape before opening the Instant Pot and fluffing the quinoa with a fork.

Between the 1 minute at high pressure, the 8 minutes natural release, and the time it takes the Instant Pot to come up to pressure, the quinoa ends up perfectly cooked. It’ll be light and fluffy!

Should You Rinse Quinoa Before Cooking?

Some people say that quinoa nowadays is “pre-rinsed” so you don’t have to rinse it off. However, when I don’t rinse it, I taste a bitter flavor. That’s called saponin and it’s like a fine dust on the quinoa grains.

Because I really dislike that bitter flavor, I don’t risk it and I rinse my quinoa before cooking it every single time. And actually, above where I told you that I did some tests for cooking quinoa, part of that testing was about rinsing the quinoa. I taste-tested cooked quinoa that had not been rinsed, compared to quinoa that had been rinsed for 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 5 minutes. The 5 minute rinse was actually less bitter than the others. So I rinse it really really well now, and I actually even rub it a bit while rinsing to really get that saponin off. It makes a difference to the flavor.

How To Rinse Quinoa Correctly

Measure the amount of quinoa you need into a fine mesh sieve like this.

Run tap water all over the quinoa in the sieve, letting the water drain away down the sink. Shake the quinoa around a bit so that all of it gets hit by water.

I find that turning my tap to a spray rather than a thick stream penetrates down into the quinoa better.

Then just give the sieve a shake a few times to drain away as much water as you can, and proceed with cooking according to the instructions here or whatever recipe you’re following.

What To Make With Quinoa

You can use quinoa as the protein for fajitas, like this. I also love this warm quinoa side dish with parsley and feta cheese. And then, my newest favorite weeknight dinner is this Quinoa Salad Bowl with Lemon-Hummus Dressing, but my kids’ favorite is this cheesy this cheese Italian Cauliflower and Quinoa Bake. Whatever you make with your quinoa, I hope it’s delicious and I also hope that you have a wonderful day! -Christine xo

Enjoy!

Christine

Instant Pot Quinoa Recipe

• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 2 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 22 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: American

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Cook some healthy quinoa easier than ever, with your Instant Pot!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups quinoa
• 3 cups unsalted stock (or water)
• 1 tsp. salt

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Spray the inner pot of the Instant Pot with cooking spray (or rub lightly with some cooking oil).
2. Measure quinoa into a fine mesh sieve and rinse under cool tap water for 5 minutes, rubbing it a bit as you rinse, to really remove the dusty, bitter-flavored saponin from the seeds.
3. Shake sieve to help purge excess water. Transfer quinoa to greased instant pot.
4. Add the stock (or water) and the salt. Stir.
5. Put valve to sealing position and close lid. Set Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 1 minute.
6. Once Instant Pot has reached pressure and cooked for the 1 minute, leave it alone to naturally release pressure for 8 minutes.
7. Turn valve to Venting and allow remaining pressure to release until pressure button drops.
8. Once the pressure button has dropped, remove lid and fluff quinoa gently with a fork.