Instant Pot Quinoa (Fool-Proof!)

Instant Pot Quinoa (Fool-Proof!)

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: instant pot quinoa

Prep Time: 2

Cook Time: 1

Pressurize Time:: 20

Total Time: 23

Servings: servings

Calories: 209kcal

Author: Megan Gilmore

Instant Pot Quinoa cooks in a 1-minute cooking cycle, with perfectly fluffy results every time! It's a delicious protein-packed side dish or salad topping.

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Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

1 cup dry quinoa
1 cup water

Instructions

Place the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse well under running water for 30 seconds. This quick step will remove any bitterness and help the quinoa cook more evenly.
Transfer the quinoa to the Instant Pot and cover with 1 cup of fresh water. Secure the lid and move the steam release valve to "Sealing." Use the Manual or Pressure Cook button on your machine to cook at high pressure for 1 minute. It will take roughly 5 to 8 minutes for the pot to pressurize, so the screen will read "ON" until then.
When the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes. This will allow the quinoa to finish absorbing the water, without burning to the bottom of the pot.
When the screen reads L0:15, move the steam release valve to Venting to make sure there is no more pressure left in the pot. You'll know it's safe to open the lid when the floating valve has dropped. (Usually this happens during the natural release with this recipe.) Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. It's ready to use right away.
Leftover quinoa can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

Video

Notes

Nutrition information is for roughly 1 cup of cooked quinoa. This information is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.

Need to make more quinoa? You can double or triple this recipe without changing the cooking time. The only thing that will change is that the pot will take longer to pressurize, so the overall time will be slightly longer because of that. When cooking grains, do not fill your pot more than half-way full, since they will expand as they cook.

Rice Setting Option: You can cook quinoa using the "rice" button on your Instant Pot, too. It cooks for 12 minutes at low pressure, so in that case, you won't need as long of a natural release. (Just 5 minutes should do.)

Nutrition