How to Cook the Perfect Instant Pot Quinoa! Cooking quinoa in a pressure cooker always works and is a convenient method.
This is another pressure cooker recipe! This time it’s Instant Pot Quinoa. Well: Alex and I were initially quite suspicious of the Instant Pot. Can he really be as great as everyone says he is? Well, we’ve learned that while the Instant Pot isn’t magic, it can be a fantastic way to get things done by hand so you can focus on other things in the kitchen. That’s the case with this recipe! This Instant Pot Quinoa cooks in just over 16 minutes and is almost entirely self-contained, so you don’t have to leave it on while you’re preparing the rest of a meal. Read on to find out how to cook quinoa in an Instant Pot!
What is a Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot?
An Instant Pot is a programmable electric pressure cooker. It’s a lot safer than the pressure cookers of the 1970’s! The pressure cooker Alex and I use is Instant Pot (Here’s the Instant Pot we have), but there are many other great brands. The concept is to cook food under high pressure, which can greatly reduce cooking time. It’s not magic, but it saves time in the kitchen. Even better, we love that it keeps things off the stove where we usually cook other components of our meals.
How to make Instant Pot Quinoa
Confession: This Instant Pot Quinoa recipe cost Alex and me one long It’s time to master! Every time we thought everything was perfect, something else wasn’t. Online sources use all sorts of methods that may or may not work. So here we are sharing the Instant Pot Quinoa recipe that finally worked for us. Note that there are some variations in quinoa brands and pressure cookers, so you may need to adjust this to suit your equipment and quinoa brand.
Here’s how we make our Instant Pot Quinoa! This yielded a fluffy quinoa that was perfect every time (or go to the full recipe):
- Add 1 ½ cups of quinoa to the pressure cooker with 1 ¾ cups of vegetable stock.
- Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes.
- Natural release for 8 minutes.
Can you freeze quinoa?
Yes, Instant Pot Quinoa is incredibly easy to freeze, so make a large batch and save for later! To freeze quinoa, follow these steps:
- Let the quinoa cool to room temperature.
- Transfer to a freezer bag or freezer safe container.
- When you’re ready to eat the frozen quinoa, place it in the refrigerator or on your counter to thaw, then heat in a pan with some water.
What Are the Other Vegan Instant Pot Recipes?
When Alex and I first discovered the Instant Pot, we thought of cooking meat. But since then we’ve put together a great collection of vegan instant pot recipes. You can cook so many staple foods in your pressure cooker: rice, dried beans, dried chickpeas, mashed potatoes, and even soups. Here are some of our favorite pressure cooker recipes:
This recipe for Instant Pot Quinoa is…
Vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant based, dairy free, naturally sweetened and refined sugar free.
The description
How to Cook the Perfect Instant Pot Quinoa! Cooking quinoa in a pressure cooker always works and is a convenient method.
- Rinse the quinoa with a strainer under cold running water, then shake out as much water as possible.
- Add the quinoa, vegetable broth, and salt to the Instant Pot. Lock the Instant Pot lid. Place the pressure relief (vent) handle in the “seal” position.
- Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes: Press the pressure cook button, make sure the ‘high pressure’ setting is selected and set the time. Note that it takes about 5 minutes for the pan to “preheat” and build pressure before you start cooking. (Avoid touching the metal part of the lid during cooking.)
- Natural release for 8 minutes: After the Instant Pot beeps, set a timer and wait 8 minutes for the Instant Pot to naturally depressurize. Then release the remaining steam by setting the vent to “ventilation” and covering your hand with a towel or heating pad. Never put your hands or face near the opening when dispensing steam. (The pressure indicator in the lid may drop by itself during this time, which means that there is no longer any steam in the pan.)
- Open the lid and fluff up the quinoa with a fork. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 3-4 days.
- Category: garnish
- Method: pressure cooker
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: Quinoa, Instant Pot Quinoa, Quinoa Pressure Cooker, Instant Pot Quinoa, How To Cook Quinoa In An Instant Pot, Vegan Instant Pot Recipes, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Healthy
Looking for quinoa recipes?
There are so many quinoa recipes that you can use this pressure cooker quinoa in! Here are some quinoa recipes we love:
Last updated: December 2019
