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Here’s how to cook perfect Instant Pot quinoa! Cooking quinoa in a pressure cooker works every time, and it’s a convenient hands off method.
Alex and I have been creating recipes with our pressure cooker for years. We’ve learned that while the Instant Pot is not magic, it can be a great quick and hands off way to make basic staples.
That’s the case with this recipe: this Instant Pot quinoa cooks in just over 16 minutes! It’s almost totally hands off, so you don’t have to baby sit it while you’re cooking the rest of a meal. Here’s how to cook quinoa in an Instant Pot!
How to make Instant Pot quinoa
This Instant Pot quinoa recipe took Alex and me a long time to master! Every time we thought we had it perfect, something else would be not quite right. Online sources use all sorts of different methods that may or may not work. So, here we’re sharing the Instant Pot quinoa recipe that finally worked for us.
Note that there is some variation in quinoa brands and pressure cookers, so you may have to customize it to your equipment and quinoa brand. We use Instant Pot brand (here’s the Instant Pot we have). Here’s how we make Instant Pot quinoa:
- Place 1 ½ cups quinoa in the pressure cooker with 1 ¾ cups vegetable broth or water and ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
- Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes.
- Natural release for 8 minutes.
Storing leftovers
Instant Pot quinoa stores well; you can refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it, so you can make a big batch of it and save for later! To freeze quinoa, do the following:
- Let the quinoa cool to room temperature.
- Transfer it to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.
- When you’re ready to eat the frozen quinoa, place it in the fridge or on your counter to thaw and then reheat in a skillet with a little water.
Dietary notes
This Instant Pot quinoa recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, naturally sweet, and refined sugar-free.
Instant Pot Quinoa (Pressure Cooker)
Here’s how to cook perfect Instant Pot quinoa! Cooking quinoa in a pressure cooker works every time, and it’s a convenient hands off method.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 16 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Instructions
- Use a strainer to rinse the quinoa under cold water, then shake off as much water as possible.
- Add the quinoa, vegetable broth, and salt to the Instant Pot. Lock the lid of the Instant Pot. Place the pressure release handle (vent) in the “Sealing” position.
- Cook on high pressure 3 minutes: Press the Pressure Cook button, making sure the “High Pressure” setting is selected, and set the time. Note that it takes about 5 minutes for the pot to “preheat” and come up to pressure before it starts cooking. (During cooking, avoid touching the metal part of the lid.)
- Natural release for 8 minutes: After the Instant Pot beeps, set a timer and wait for 8 minutes to let the Instant Pot naturally release pressure. Then vent any remaining steam by moving the vent to “Venting”, covering your hand with a towel or hot pad. Never put your hands or face near the vent when releasing steam. (The pressure indicator in the lid may drop on its own during this time, meaning that there is no remaining steam in the pot.)
- Open the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
More Instant Pot recipes
When Alex and I first learned about the Instant Pot, we thought it all about cooking meat. But since then, we’ve amassed a big collection of Instant Pot recipes. You can make so many basics in your pressure cooker: rice, dried beans, dried chickpeas, mashed potatoes, and even soups. Here are some of our favorite pressure cooker recipes:
- Try basics like Instant Pot sweet potatoes, Instant Pot refried beans, Instant Pot lentils, Instant Pot chickpeas or Instant Pot hard boiled eggs.
- Make Instant Pot spaghetti or Instant Pot pasta.
- Try Instant Pot wild rice soup.
- Mix up Instant Pot apple crisp or Instant Pot stuffed squash.
- Try all our vegetarian Instant Pot recipes.
“Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes” then you say set pressure to high and timer to 3 minutes. Do you cook at high pressure for 3 minutes or 4 minutes? THANKS!
It should be 3 minutes. We’ve fixed the recipe. Thank you!!
Nailed it!