How to cook millet & best millet recipes

Learn how to cook millet using this easy and fail-proof recipe in under 30 minutes. You will also find different millet recipes and ideas to incorporate into your meal plan and make millet part of your diet.

This is naturally a vegan and gluten-free recipe. With just two ingredients - millet grain and water, you can cook the perfect fluffy millet every single time. And use this cooked millet to make your breakfast, lunch, and dinner healthy and wholesome.

What is millet?

Millet is a round-shaped cereal grain that belongs to the grass family Poaceae (1). This ancient grain is gluten-free and rich in protein, fiber, and antioxidants (2).

Unlike wheat, these are gluten-free and can grow efficiently with less water, even in hot temperatures. And hence these are grown extensively in Asian and African countries. 

There are many varieties of millet. Some of them are Sorghum, Finger millet, and Pearl millet. The most common variety is a small round-shaped cereal that almost looks like quinoa but is smaller than quinoa.

Should millet be soaked before cooking?

Soaking is optional, but I prefer soaking the millet. Soaking millet before cooking has so many benefits. Some of them are

• Soaking makes it easier to digest, and all nutrients will become bioavailable.
• Soaking gives the millet porridge that creamy texture. Millet will have a hard outer cover, and you can feel that in the cooked millet texture. So soaking will yield creamy porridge.
• Soaking will yield fluffy millet. A fluffy texture would be good if you want to use cooked millet for a salad or pilaf.

How to cook millet

Here I am showing you three easy cooking methods of millet using a stovetop pan, stovetop pressure cooker, and Instant pot. All of these methods cook perfect millet in under 30 minutes.

Prep millet

• Usually, millet from the supermarkets will be clean. If it's not, clean the millet and remove any dirt or debris from it.
• Now wash the millet a couple of times with clean water. If you are not soaking it, you may need to rub it with your hands to remove the dirt altogether.
• Finally, drain the water entirely from the millet and keep it aside.

Soak millet

Soaking millet is optional, but I usually soak the millet for 4 to 8 hours. If you are soaking for more time, do it in the refrigerator as millets start fermenting.

After soaking, rinse the soaked millet 2 to 3 times and completely drain the water from them. Using a colander makes the job easy as millet grain is tiny and difficult to handle with bare hands.

Stovetop instructions

• Heat a thick-bottomed cooking pot or pan. Add the drained millet and water to the cooking pot, and close it partially with the lid. 
• For soaked millet, use 1.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of millet. For unsoaked millet, the millet to water ratio is 1:2 (For every 1 cup of millet, use 2 cups of water).
• Increase the heat to high and let the water come to boiling. It will take around 5 minutes.
• Now reduce the flame to low and close the lid completely.
• Let the millet cook until all the water is absorbed. It will take around 6 to 8 minutes for pre-soaked millet and 10-13 minutes for unsoaked millet.
• Millet will be cooked by the time all water is soaked up. Now switch off the flame and let it sit for ten more minutes.
• After 10 minutes, fluff it up with a fork, and the cooked millet is ready to use.

Instant pot instructions

• Add drained millet, water, and a teaspoon of oil to the inner pot. Check the millet water ratio section for the amount of water.
• Close the lid properly, and move the steam releasing valve to the sealing position.
• Select manual or pressure cook mode and cook it on high pressure for 4 minutes if using pre-soaked millet. Cook it for 8 minutes if using unsoaked millet.
• Switch it off once done, wait for 10 minutes and do a normal pressure release.
• Fluff it up with a fork, and the millet is ready to use.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker instructions

• Add millet, water, and teaspoon of oil to the pressure cooker.
• Close the lid and let it cook for 1 to 2 whistles on medium-high flame for pre-soaked millet. It will take around 5 minutes. For unsoaked millet, cook it for 2-3 whistles, about 7 to 8 minutes.
• Once done, take it out of the heat and let the pressure release naturally.
• Once the pressure is released completely, remove the lid and fluff it up with a fork.

Rice cooker instructions

• Add drained millet, water, and teaspoon of oil to the rice cooker's inner pot.
• If you are using soaked millet, use 1.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of millet. For unsoaked millet, for every 1 cup of millet, use 2 cups of water.
• Close the rice cooker with its lid and use a white rice setting if your rice cooker has options to select. Else select the cook button.
• Once the rice cooker finishes cooking, switch it off and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then fluff up the millet, and it is ready to use.

Millet water ratio

Cooking method	Pre soaked millet	Unsoaked millet
Stovetop	1 cup millet: 1.5 cups of water	1 cup millet: 2 to 2.5 cups of water
Instant Pot	1 cup millet: 1.25 cups of water	1 cup millet: 1.75 cups of water
Stovetop Pressure Cooker	1 cup millet: 1.5 cups of water	1 cup millet: 2 cups of water
Rice Cooker	1 cup millet: 1.5 cups of water	1 cup millet: 2 cups of water

Recipe Notes

• Want to make flavorful millet? Instead of water, use vegetable broth for cooking the millet. 
• You can use spices like bay leaves, cardamom, and cinnamon to flavor the millet.
• To make the creamy millet, use coconut milk instead of water to cook the millet. 
• I used coconut oil to cook the millet. You can even use butter or olive oil.

Tips to get fluffy millet

• Soaking the millet will yield fluffy millet, so if you do not have time, soak it in hot water for at least an hour or so.
• Add a teaspoon of oil along with water while cooking the millet.
• It's tempting to stir it often, but avoid it as stirring will break the grains and make them lumpy.
• Once you switch off the flame, keep the millet aside for 10 minutes. That residual steam will cook the millet thoroughly.
• Fluff it up with a fork after 10 minutes of cooking and let it cool down before using it. Cooled millet will be more fluffy.

Serving suggestions

You can use plain millet to substitute rice or quinoa and enjoy it with dal or curry. Here are some vegetarian curry recipes that go very well with millet.

Kidney beans curry with seasonal veggies

Adzuki beans curry

How to make a millet grain bowl

To make millet grain bowls, add ½ cup cooked millet, half cup cooked beans, veggies of your choice, and some pesto sauce to a bowl. This millet bowl tastes good even if it is cold, so it makes an ideal lunch box.

You can use any leftover beans curry to make this bowl. Black-eyed peas, curried adzuki beans, and curried chickpeas will also taste good with millet and makes the millet grain bowl flavorful.

How to make millet porridge

To make the millet porridge, cook the millet using 3 cups of water for every 1 cup of millet. You can use any cooking method and cook the millet.

And when the millet is warm, add sweetener of your choice, fruits, and nuts to the porridge. Use any milk to adjust the consistency as per your liking. And you can even use coconut milk for cooking millet to make creamy millet porridge.

You can use leftover millet also to make millet breakfast porridge. To make the porridge from leftover millet, take cooked millet and milk into a cooking pot and cook it over medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add more milk to adjust the consistency as per your liking. Switch off the flame, add the sweetener of your choice and enjoy warm millet porridge with seasonal fruits and crunchy nuts.

Storage

• Cooked millet keeps well at room temperature for about 8 to 12 hours. 
• You can store the cooked millet in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 days.
• And you can store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Though freezing the millet will alter its texture, you can use it to make porridge or soup.
• Store the millet in portion-sized containers to take out the required quantity of millet and use it.
• Do not refrigerate the thawed millet again. 
• And do not use the millet if it smells or looks bad.

Recipes using millet

Once you have perfectly cooked millet, you can make these recipes with cooked millet.

Millet salad recipe with broccoli & corn

This millet salad is my favorite way to eat millet. So simple to make yet taste delicious. I generally use leftover cooked millet to make this recipe, but you can use freshly cooked millet also.

Millet stir fry with bok choy

Make this quick and simple Indian-style bok choy fried rice with millet or rice in just 10 minutes! Serve it with any dal or curry for your lunch or dinner.

Italian spiced bell pepper and millet stir fry

Millet and bell pepper stir fry is a simple millet breakfast recipe with Italian spices and colored bell peppers. Leftover millet works best for this recipe.

You can use millet to make any rice-based dishes.

Savory millet and lentil porridge

Millet Pongal is an authentic South Indian breakfast recipe but with millet grain instead of rice. Pongal is truly a comfort dish that is so easy to make yet healthy, and one can have for any meal of the day.

Millet yogurt rice

Millet yogurt rice is a healthy, probiotic-rich, and simple recipe with millet and yogurt. You can make this recipe in just 10 minutes if you have cooked millet ready and enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Savory Millet Khichdi

Millet khichdi (Kitchari with millet grain) is a simple and comforting meal that is healthy and delicious with the addition of various veggies. This is a one-pot dump-and-go style recipe that is suitable for any meal of the day.

I have shared many millet recipes that can be part of your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Do try them out.

Other whole grain recipes that you will like

Common faqs

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