Instant pot quinoa pilaf with vegetables

Are you looking for protein-rich dinner ideas? Then make this quinoa pilaf and enjoy it guilt-free. This quinoa with vegetables will taste good even if it is cold, and you can pack this for lunch.

Who doesn't love one-pot dishes? I am not an exception. I usually make one-pot dishes for weekday dinners. You can prepare a fresh dinner in no time.

This quinoa pilaf recipe is very adaptable, and you can use any veggies according to season and availability. This dish is naturally vegan, gluten-free, and high in protein.

Ingredients

Quinoa: Quinoa is a seed of the Chenopodium quinoa plant. These are often referred to as superfoods and pseudo-grains ( as we eat them as grains).

Veggies: I have used carrots, beans to make this pilaf. But you could use any veggies of your choice. Some of the veggies that go well with this pilaf are red bell peppers, yellow bell pepper, sweet potatoes, potatoes, green peas, tomato, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, collard greens. Mushroom and corn will also go very well with quinoa.

Spices: I used bay leaf, dried oregano, and ginger to flavor the quinoa. Do check the variations section to see all the different flavors you can give to this quinoa pilaf.

Instructions

• Chop the veggies and keep them aside. You can use frozen veggies also to make this pilau.

• Wash the quinoa at least 2 to 3 times, drain the water completely, and keep it aside. Quinoa has a bitter saponin coating, and we need to rinse them properly to avoid bitter-tasting quinoa. A fine mesh strainer will make rinsing easy.
• Start the Instant pot in sauté mode.
• Once it is hot, add oil, bay leaf, and chopped ginger.

• Now add onions and let them fry for a minute. 

• To these onions, now add the chopped veggies of your choice. I used carrots and green beans.

• Fry the veggies for a couple of minutes and add washed quinoa.

• Mix it once, add ground black pepper, dried oregano, and fry it for a couple of minutes.

• Switch off the Instant pot and add water to the inner pot. You can check the salt at this stage and adjust it if needed.

• Close the instant pot with its lid and cook it on manual or pressure cooker mode for 2 minutes on high pressure.

• Once the Instant pot beeps, switch it off and wait for the pressure to release naturally.

•  Open the lid now and fluff it up. And easy Instant pot quinoa pilaf is ready to serve!

Recipe Notes

• As we add salt and spice to quinoa, we must cook for 2 minutes on high pressure and let the pressure release naturally.
• I used dried oregano, but you can use fresh herbs as well.
• Instead of water, you can use vegetable broth, chicken broth, or coconut milk for cooking the quinoa.
• To make it spicier, you could add red chili flakes or paprika powder to this pilaf.
• I usually use coconut oil for cooking. You could use olive oil, vegetable oil, or even butter to make this recipe.
• Just before serving the pilaf, adding freshly squeezed lemon juice will make it tasty. 
• You can garnish the pilaf with chopped fresh cilantro leaves. Toasted almonds, pine nuts, or any nuts and seeds will add a crunch to the pilaf.

Variations

Some people find quinoa bland (count me in!), and seasoning quinoa will make it tasty. So I try to season quinoa in different ways to please everyone at home.

Quinoa salad

If you have some leftover pilaf, make a quick salad with it. Add chopped cucumber, tomatoes, salad greens to the pilaf. Adjust salt and pepper powder, and the delicious quinoa pilaf salad is ready. Though we do not need any salad dressing, topping it with tahini or cashew cream will make it more delicious.

Indian style quinoa pulao

To make Indian-style quinoa pulao, skip pepper powder, oregano in this recipe. Instead, use ½ teaspoon red chili powder, ½ teaspoon grama masala powder, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, and ¼ teaspoon ground cumin. Adding a handful of mint leaves and cilantro leaves to pilaf will make it more flavorful.

Curried Quinoa

We can make curried quinoa like how we do curried rice. Skip oregano in this recipe and use 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon paprika to flavor the curry. You can use mild or hot curry powder according to your taste.

Thai style quinoa

Skip the oregano and add a tablespoon of Thai curry paste of your choice while sauteeing the onions in this recipe to make Thai-flavored quinoa. Cooking the pilaf using coconut milk makes it tastier.

Pilaf with leftover quinoa

This recipe uses raw quinoa, but we can make the pilaf with leftover cooked quinoa as well. We don't need to pressure cook the quinoa in this case. Instead, saute the onions, veggies of your choice and let them cook well. Then add cooked quinoa and stir fry it for 3 to 4 minutes to combine flavors. Refrigerated or frozen quinoa works well for this.

Serving suggestions

As this quinoa pilaf is a complete meal in itself, you can serve the dish for lunch or dinner as it is.
This pilaf will taste delicious even if it is cold and hence can be a good lunch box item for kids and adults. Serve it along with some veggie salad and yogurt.

Storage

You can keep this pilaf for two days in the refrigerator. If you want to store it for more time, freezing is the option. As we can make this pilaf in no time, I usually make it fresh and finish the leftovers in a day or two.

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Recipe