How to Cook Quinoa

Learn how to cook quinoa perfectly every time with these tips! It’s so easy, done in 15 minutes, and perfect for meal prep and recipes.

Prep time: PT5M

Cook time: PT15M

Total time: PT20M

Rating

5 stars (9 reviews)

Keywords

easy quinoa recipe, how to cook quinoa, quinoa recipe

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups broth (or water)
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons olive oil

Cuisine

American

Steps

Wash the quinoa in a mesh strainer rigorously with water for about 2 minutes. You will see a slightly milky-coloured water coming from the quinoa which is the saponin you are washing off. Shake the excess water out of the mesh.
In a pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. You're now going to dry the quinoa by adding it to the pan and letting it heat up for about 2 minutes. There should be a slightly sizzling while the water is drying off.
This toasting process adds a delicious slightly nutty flavour to the quinoa. Add the broth or water to the pan and the salt.
You can add in extra flavours if you want — garlic powder, onion powder, etc. Stir, and bring to a boil.
Lower to medium heat and cover, cooking for 15 minutes. Stir once every 5 minutes to ensure all the quinoa is being thoroughly cooked and so none of the quinoa stays on the bottom long enough to be burned.
You don't want to cook quinoa for any less time than this else you will get mushy quinoa, and don't stir it too often. Just allow it to cook.
When all of the water has been absorbed, the quinoa is finished cooking. Your quinoa should look fluffy and the seeds should be puffed up.
Remove the quinoa from the heat, and use your fork to fluff the quinoa a bit. This process helps to lighten the quinoa and releases some extra flavour. I like to leave the quinoa in the pot, off of the hot stove top, for about 5-10 minutes since the residual heat of the pot takes out any excess liquid and cools it down a bit.
Serve the quinoa and try some delicious quinoa recipes!

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 240 kcal
Carbohydrates: 38 g
Protein: 8 g
Fat: 6 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 1017 mg
Sugar: 1 g

Reviews

Judy on 2024-08-16 (5 stars):
Great recipe! This turned out absolutely delicious and I highly recommend to all to try it.
CJ on 2024-01-18 (5 stars):
First-rate recipe that produces divine nutty toasty quinoa, no sogginess, and I never knew you could use olive oil. The flavor enriched the quinoa and cooked it perfectly!!!! I use 1C quinoa to 1.75 C water or broth, and cook 15 mins, then let it sit for 15 mins, similar to what she's doing. YUM
Elliott on 2021-01-31 (5 stars):
Great! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, my wife and daughter both liked it, which made me happy. Thanks for your recipe!
Sonia on 2020-12-29 (5 stars):
Now it is holiday and I have a lot of time to make whatever I want and the quinoa recipes are always one of my favourite choice! Happy New Year!
Marina on 2020-12-03 (5 stars):
I want to diet but don't know how to start Your post inspired me to start with quinoa, thank you Jessica.
eric levine on 2020-11-20 (5 stars):
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.