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–+ servings
Fluffy cooked quinoa in a bowl.
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4.82 from 11 votes

Instant Pot Quinoa

Learn how to make easy Instant Pot quinoa. You will love this nearly hands-off method of cooking quinoa if you're a pressure cooker user. Try it today! 
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 minute
Additional Time16 minutes
Total Time22 minutes
Course: Sides & Vegetables
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Rachel Gurk

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa (white, red, or mixture)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (reduce if using broth)
  • 1 ¼ cups water or broth

Instructions

  • In a fine mesh strainer, rinse quinoa with cold water until water runs clear; drain well.
    1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • If desired, spray the inside of the Instant Pot lightly with nonstick spray. Add quinoa, salt and water to the pot; combine.
    ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 ¼ cups water or broth
  • Secure Instant Pot lid and turn valve to seal. Set pressure cooker to manual (High) or to Pressure Cook, depending on your model, for 1 minute. It will take about 6 minutes to come to pressure. When it has finished cooking, let the pressure release naturally (in other words, leave it alone) for 10 minutes.
  • Remove lid, fluff quinoa, and serve.

Video

Notes

  • Yield: 1 cup dry quinoa makes 3 cups cooked. If you want extra quinoa to freeze, make a double batch by doubling all the ingredients. Cook as directed. It will take longer for the Instant Pot to reach full pressure.
  • Cilantro lime quinoa: After cooking quinoa, stir in 1 teaspoon lime zest, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, and ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro. Add salt to taste.
  • Storage/Freezing: Cool cooked quinoa completely. Refrigerate for up to 1 week. To freeze, use a measuring cup to scoop 1 or 2 cup portions into freezer bags and label with measurement. Flatten and freeze for up to 10 months.
  • Thawing instructions: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, on the counter for a couple of hours, or in the microwave 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Recipe updated 5/18/2022. 

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 2g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

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