Cooking quinoa in the Instant Pot is so easy! It means no more babysitting the pot, no more sticking to the bottom, and perfect fluffy quinoa every single time!

Whilst I always thought that cooking quinoa is quite easy, after I tried the Instant Pot I will never go back to the stovetop method.

Cooking in the Instant Pot is just so easy, convenient, and saves me so much time as it means that I can do other things around the house as my quinoa is being cooked. You can serve it with Lemon Garlic Chicken, Lentil Dahl, Grilled Chicken Kabobs or Mushroom Stew, just to mention a few.

Table of Contents

Benefits of quinoa

Packed with plant protein.
Very rich in fiber.
Contains iron.
Aids with weight loss.
Naturally gluten-free.
Helps prevent cancer.

Instant Pot Quinoa ingredients

To make quinoa in the Instant Pot, you only need 3 ingredients:

Quinoa – white or red
Salt
Water

How to cook quinoa in the Instant Pot?

Here are my top tips for cooking quinoa in the Instant Pot

Always rinse your quinoa before cooking and this rule applies to all methods of cooking quinoa. Otherwise, you might end up with a slightly bitter taste that isn’t great!
To avoid the BURN message from appearing, spray the bottom of the pot with oil (do the same if you are cooking rice).
You can mix white with red quinoa if you like.
Season it with salt before cooking, but make sure not to use too much.
You won’t need as much water as if you were cooking this over the stovetop. The ratio of quinoa to water is 1:1.

A close up shot of fluffy quinoa in a ceramic bowl

To cook the quinoa:

Start by rinsing the quinoa in a colander under running water.
Spray the bottom of the stainless steel pot with oil, and add the quinoa along with the water and salt.
Cover with the lid, and seal the valve/vent.
Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK on high (this depends on the model of the Instant Pot that you’re using) and choose 1 minute.
Allow the pressure to build, and the Instant Pot to cook for 1 minute.
Once the 1 minute is over, allow the steam to naturally release for 10 minutes. This means that the quinoa will “steam”. Then quickly release the rest of the steam and open the lid.
Fluff with a fork and serve.

A bowl of cooked quinoa and the instant pot

How to store leftover quinoa?

Make sure that the quinoa has completely cooled down before storing it in the fridge. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze in portions for up to 3 months.

For more delicious and nourishing recipe ideas, click here. Also, make sure to check out my other Instant Pot recipes.

If you try this recipe, please don’t forget to rate it and share a picture on social media, tagging #NourishPlate in your posts. I would really love to see your creations. Bon appetit!

Recipe

Recipe

5 from 10 votes

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Instant Pot Quinoa

Prep Time 4

Cook Time 1

Total Time 15

Cooking quinoa in the Instant Pot is so easy! It means no more babysitting the pot, no more sticking to the bottom, and perfect fluffy quinoa every single time!

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup quinoa
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ 1 cup water

Instructions

Start by rinsing the quinoa in a colander under running water.
Spray the bottom of the stainless steel pot with oil, and add the quinoa along with the water and salt.
Cover with the lid, and seal the valve/vent. Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK on high (this depends on the model of the Instant Pot that you’re using) and choose 1 minute.
Allow the pressure to build, and the Instant Pot to cook for 1 minute.
Once the 1 minute is over, allow the steam to naturally release for 10 minutes. This means that the quinoa will “steam”. Then quickly release the rest of the steam and open the lid.
Fluff with a fork and serve.

Notes

Always rinse your quinoa before cooking and this rule applies to all methods of cooking quinoa. Otherwise, you might end up with a slightly bitter taste that isn’t great!
To avoid the BURN message from appearing, spray the bottom of the pot with oil (do the same if you are cooking rice).
You can mix white with red quinoa if you like. Season it with salt before cooking, but make sure not to use too much.
You won’t need as much water as if you were cooking this over the stovetop. The ratio of quinoa to water is 1:1.
You can double or triple the recipe, but keep the cooking time the same.

Nutrition

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

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