How to cook quinoa in a rice cooker for a wholesome meal

Have you ever wondered how to cook quinoa in a rice cooker? This method is a quick and reliable way to prepare fluffy quinoa with minimal effort. It's perfect for busy weeknights when you need a nutritious base for salads or bowls.

I often season the quinoa; check my seasoned quinoa recipe for inspiration on how to flavor your quinoa. In my kitchen, quinoa pairs beautifully with roasted vegetables or a light mixed vegetable curry.

Why you should cook quinoa in a rice cooker

Rice is not the only thing to cook in the rice cooker. I do cook quinoa, millet, lentil pilaf in my rice cooker. I like to cook quinoa in a rice cooker as it has the following benefits.

• Hands-free cooking method. We need not boil water and keep an eye on quinoa while it is getting cooked. Once you set it, you can forget about it.
• It yields perfectly fluffy quinoa every time. So if you measure quinoa and water correctly, we get fluffy quinoa every time.
• We can cook quinoa in large quantities and use it later. I mostly cook quinoa freshly every time as it is so easy. But sometimes, If I want to meal prep for a busy week, making quinoa in the rice cooker is very helpful.

Ingredients:

• Quinoa: Quinoa is a highly nutritious pseudo-grain with all nine essential amino acids(1) and makes a complete plant-based protein.
• Water: I usually use water, but you can use vegetable broth or chicken broth for cooking the quinoa. The broth will flavor the quinoa and makes it tasty. But use it only if you intend to use the quinoa for savory dishes.
• Salt: A pinch of salt while cooking quinoa will make it taste better. I do add salt even if I intend to use quinoa for breakfast porridge. But it is optional, and you can safely leave it out.
• Oil: Spraying the oil will prevent the cooked quinoa from sticking to the bottom of the pan. I will add a teaspoon of coconut oil and wipe it using a paper towel to spread evenly. You can use an oil spray also. Adding oil will make the quinoa fluffy.

Instructions:

• Wash the quinoa couple of times by rubbing it with your hands to remove the outer coat of quinoa call saponins. I usually wash at least three times. Else quinoa might taste bitter for my liking.

• Drain entire water from quinoa and keep it aside. Using a fine-mesh strainer will make the process easy.

• Coat the rice cooker inner pot with a teaspoon of oil.

• Add drained quinoa to the rice cooker inner bowl.

• Now add water and salt.

• Cover it with its lid and turn on the rice cooker. If the rice cooker has settings, select the "White rice" option. Otherwise, start the cook mode.

• Once it is done, wait for few minutes and fluff it up with a fork, and the quinoa is ready to use.

Recipe Notes and variations:

• I highly recommend spraying oil as it will make quinoa fluffy. It also will prevent the quinoa from sticking to the pot.
• Do not remove the lid while quinoa is cooking, and wait for at least 10 minutes after it is cooked completely. Then fluff it up with a fork.

Storage and meal prep:

• You can store cooked quinoa in the refrigerator for two days. And you can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Always store the cooked quinoa in portion sizes so that you can take out the required quantity and reheat it. 
• Do not refrigerate the reheated quinoa. Use it immediately.
• Discard the quinoa if it tastes bitter or becomes sticky. It will become yellow and sticky if it is spoiled.

Seasoning quinoa in a rice cooker:

• If you plan to use cooked quinoa for a salad or other savory recipes, use vegetable broth or chicken broth instead of water.
• I also add one of these spice powders to season the quinoa while cooking it in the rice cooker - turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder. Use ¼ teaspoon of spice powder for 1 cup of dry quinoa.
• If you intend to use quinoa for breakfast porridge, cook it with coconut milk. I sometimes add whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, saffron as well.
• I have a very detailed post on how to season the quinoa so that it will taste delicious. Check it out.

Common FAQ's

Do you want to learn how to cook basic staples? Check out these recipes.

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Instant pot soaked kidney beans

Instant pot soaked black eyed peas

Instant pot soaked chickpeas

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