How to Perfectly Cook 1 Minute Instant Pot Quinoa
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How to cook perfect quinoa in the Instant Pot. It only takes 1 minute to pressure cook tender and fluffy quinoa!
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What I Love About a 1 Minute Quinoa
It’s Sunday meal prep at my house when the Instant Pot is cooking quinoa. This healthy grain is incredibly simple to make perfectly in the Instant Pot—fluffy, beautifully cooked quinoa with minimal effort.
While cooking quinoa on the stovetop is equally delicious, I’ve become extraordinarily fond of doing it this way—in one minute, no less.
However, if you’re familiar with Instant Pot cooking, you know to add minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. And often, minutes are added at the end of cooking if you allow a natural release.
Tips for Perfect Instant Pot Quinoa
1. Quinoa:
Be sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking. Quinoa has a coating called saponin, a naturally occurring plant glycoside found on many plants and seeds. It has a distinctive foaming characteristic and contributes to its bitter taste.
2. Reduce Cooking Water:
While most package instructions call for a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water, this Instant Pot recipe reduces that ratio. Instead, for every 1 cup of quinoa, 1-1/2 cups of water are used. The Instant Pot is tightly sealed while cooking which reduces the water evaporation one can expect from stovetop cooking.
3. Natural Release:
While it’s tempting to quickly release the Instant Pot pressure after cooking, allow the pot to naturally release its pressure for 10 minutes before quickly releasing any remaining pressure.
“Natural release” is one of the tips for making “perfect” quinoa in the Instant Pot. This recipe takes about 5 minutes to come to pressure, 1 minute to cook, and 10 minutes to naturally release, for a total cooking time of about 16 minutes, considerably less than traditional stovetop cooking.
Quick Instant Pot Quinoa Water Ratios
| Quinoa | Water |
| 1 cup | 1 1/2 cups |
| 2 cups | 3 cups |
| 2 1/2 cups | 3 3/4 cups |
| 3 cups | 4 1/2 cups |
Quinoa Recipe Ideas to Try with Meal Prepped Quinoa
- Healthy Breakfast Quinoa with Blueberries and Bananas
- Southwestern Chicken Quinoa Bake with Spinach
- Skillet Italian Chicken Quinoa Bake
- Quinoa Salad Recipe: Simple and Easy
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Easy Instant Pot Quinoa Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups water
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa in cold water until the water is clear.
- Add the quinoa, water, and pinch of salt into the bowl of the Instant Pot. Lock the lid and be sure the valve is set to “sealing”. Select the “manual” program and set the timer to 1 minute on high pressure. It will take around 5 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once the quinoa has cooked, release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes before turning the valve to instant release. Fluff with a fork and serve or refrigerate for later use.
Notes
- Storing: Quinoa keeps in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or can be frozen in freezer bags. I like to portion the quinoa into individual sized freezer bags for easy meal planning.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.