Today I’m sharing how to make perfectly cooked quinoa in the Instant Pot! Once you try this easy hands-off method you will be hooked! It produces light, fluffy quinoa every single time with no burnt spots, excess water or soggy quinoa.
A couple years ago I shared my fool-proof method for stove-top quinoa. It is mostly hands-off and pretty awesome. But I have always wanted to master making perfectly cooked quinoa in the Instant Pot since it is such a convenient and popular cooking appliance these days. After many attempts I have landed on a super easy, almost completely hands-off method that works every time. This easy method produces perfectly cooked quinoa that is fluffy and never soggy, burnt or watery. The entire process from start to finish takes about 30 minutes but your hands-on time is like 30 seconds. That makes this perfect for meal prep or really any busy night you need quinoa.
How to Make Perfectly Cooked Quinoa in the Instant Pot
All you will need is water and uncooked white quinoa. In this recipe I use a 1:1 ratio of quinoa to water:
2 cups of uncooked quinoa + 2 cups of filtered water = 6 cups of cooked quinoa
You can rinse the quinoa in advance if you like to remove any bitter taste. Then, place the water and quinoa in your Instant Pot and cook on manual high pressure for one minute. It will take a couple minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Once it is finished cooking you simply press the Off button right away and then let it naturally release. Once it does you can remove the lid and fluff with a fork. And that is it! Couldn’t be easier or produce better results.
All About Quinoa
Anyone who knows me or follows my blog knows that quinoa is one of my go-to foods when I’m meal prepping. It is light and absorbs flavor wonderfully. It adds great texture to salads and can even be hidden in baked goods. I love it as a side to almost any entree. It is so easy to prepare and offers such amazing health benefits. It is loaded with fiber (one serving has over five grams) and is considered a complete protein with all eight essential amino acids. This makes it a great source of plant-based protein for vegans. In fact, it has more protein than any other grain. Quinoa is a good source of folate, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and many phytochemicals. It also offers important minerals such as calcium, potassium, copper and zinc.
