Learn how to cook perfect quinoa every time with my tried & true method. Then, use it in bowls, salads, or one of my 17 favorite quinoa recipes below!
For a lot of you, back-to-school season is meal prep season. As you get into a new routine at work, at home, or at school, having meals ready to grab & go in the fridge can be a lifesaver. One of my go-to meal prep tips is having a cooked grain on hand to bulk up salads or add to bowls. Quinoa is one of my all-time favorites: it’s SUPER healthy, it pairs well with a wide range of flavors, and it cooks in under 30 minutes!
Everyone has their own method for how to cook quinoa, but I’ve been using this one for years, and it always comes out perfect. The grains are light, fluffy, and soft, but not mushy. If you want to get a head start on the coming week, cook up a big batch and store it in the fridge for easy lunches and dinners! You’ll thank yourself later.
What is quinoa?
While I often use quinoa interchangeably with millet, farro, rice, and other grains, it is not actually a grain, but a grain-like seed hailing from South America! Not only does it have a delicious nutty flavor, but it’s healthy, too. 1 cup quinoa contains over 8 grams of protein, as opposed to 5 grams in brown rice. Plus, it’s a good source of nutrients like manganese, magnesium, and copper. You can read more about the health benefits of quinoa here, but the bottom line is that adding even a small amount of it to your diet can be good for you.
You can find it in a variety of colors, like black, red, white, or a mix of all three, but each variety cooks in the same way. Lighter varieties have the mildest flavor, so if you’re trying it for the first time, I recommend starting with white before venturing on to red or black.
And one final note before you cook: This grain is coated in naturally occurring insecticides called saponins. They can give it a bitter taste and make it difficult to digest, so make sure to rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer before putting it on the stove. Once you’ve rinsed it, you’re ready to cook!
How to Cook Quinoa
When I cook rice, I add oil and salt to the pot, but cooking quinoa is even simpler. All you need is quinoa and water! If you look at different methods for how to cook quinoa, you’ll find a range of water ratios. Some recipes call for as high as a 2:1 water to grain ratio, while others go as low as 1 1/2:1. In my experience, the sweet spot for light, fluffy quinoa is right in the middle. I use 1 3/4 cups water for every cup of quinoa. Any more water, and the grains get mushy. Any less, and they’re too dry.Â
Once you’ve measured both, follow these easy steps:
- Combine the quinoa and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes more.
- Then, remove the lid and fluff with a fork!
Now, your quinoa is cooked to fluffy perfection, but it’s plain on its own. If you’re serving it as a simple side dish, season it first. At the very least, toss it with salt, pepper, lemon or lime juice, and a drizzle of olive oil. To kick it up another notch, stir in chopped fresh herbs, minced garlic, toasted nuts, or crumbled feta cheese, or use it in one of the quinoa recipes below!
How to Cook Quinoa in a Rice Cooker
If you’re in a pinch or don’t want to use the stove, you can actually make quinoa in a rice cooker.
I recommend using one of the popular models from Zojirushi, which has a quinoa setting, making it a one-step process. It also has automatic settings for keep warm, extended keep warm, and reheating. You can get it at Amazon for around $200.
17 Favorite Quinoa Recipes
Once you’ve made a batch of quinoa, you have endless options for using it.
Make it the base of your next grain bowl, toss it into a salad, or stuff it into squash or sweet potatoes. It’s also at home in soups & wraps, and it pairs nicely with sweet flavors as well as savory. Try topping it with cinnamon and fresh fruit in the morning, or mix it into a batch of breakfast cookies! Here are a few of my favorite quinoa recipes to get you started:
- Cinnamon Spiced Breakfast Bowl
- Carrot Breakfast Cookies
- Quinoa Salad
- Vegan Seven Layer Dip
- Kale QuesadillasÂ
- Tomato & Kale Salad Wrap
- Best Black Bean Burger
- Big Green Kale Salad
- Kale Pesto Mushroom Bowl
- Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl
- Simple Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl
- Taco Bowl with Jalapeño Ranch
- Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Butternut Squash & Kale Stew
- White Bean Risotto with Roasted Vegetables
- Spinach Salad Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Avocado Black Bean Stuffed Acorn Squash
More Whole Grains to Try
If you love this recipe, try cooking one of these whole grains next:
How to Cook Quinoa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1¾ cups water
Instructions
- Combine the quinoa and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let it sit, covered for 10 more minutes.
- Fluff with a fork.
Awesome recipes thank you so much
This recipe is the best I have found. It’s not bitter, mushy, or too dry. So tasty and versatile.
I’m so glad you quinoa was perfect!
I made perfect quinoa using your instructions! Thank you, thank you!! Your page has been bookmarked for future reference.
I’m so glad it was perfect!
Thank you!!
The proportion of water to quinoa was perfect!
Ik made an eggplant lasagna (tomatoes, bell peppers, courgette, onions) and served it with this quinoa recipe on the side :).
Delicious!!!
Hi,
Thank you for sharing your recipe and your insight. I have never bought quinoa and I don’t know which one to buy. For example., there different types of rice and some come parboiled and others appear precooked and sold in boxes with seasoning. What type or brand did you use for your recipe?
Hi Angie, the only varieties of quinoa I’ve seen are different colors (regular, red, and black). Any will work in this recipe. At the store, the bagged quinoa should just say “quinoa” or you can find it in the bulk bins at some stores.
If one doesn’t have a small mesh screen or cheesecloth, try using a coffee filter. Easey peasy! Very little loss.
What do you hold the quinoa in to rinse? Even my mesh stainer let’s them slip through.
I rinse mine in a regular fine mesh strainer with no problem, maybe your strainer has bigger holes?
I had to use cheesecloth to add a barrier since my stainer’s holes were too big as well.
I use quinoa instead of bulgar for tabuleh and instead of rice for fried rice. It’s my favorite grain.
How do i make the quinoa not taste dirty?
rinse it well before cooking it and then season it with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper or another dressing from our list of recipes.
Rinse very well and add salt when cooking.
Perfect! I made this with homemade vegetable broth and added a diced onion, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper! Super flavorful and tasty! The proportion of water to quinoa was perfect!
I just made it, added some herbs and simmered for 15 minutes then took off the heat to sit for 10 minutes. It was perfect!
Are the measurements the same if you want to double (2 cups quinoa to 3.5 cups water)?
I used this method with homemade chicken broth and the quinoa turned out perfectly! Thank you for this. Finally, fluffy quinoa!!
I’m so glad it was perfect!
Best outcome for all the quinoa I have tried to cook!
Thank you
Please forward these wonderful recipes to me – I am excited to try them.
Great quinoa recipe. That’s how I cook my white rice. I mixed cooked diced onions AND one boullion cube DELICIOUS THANKS FOR YOUR INFO (glad to know to rinse before I will ✔ my box because I saw a lump of film that I removed) I mean I had to google to pronounce it correctly
came out perfectly; thank you very much!
What to do if you cook quinoa too long or had too much water? It is just too soft! How can I use it?
Try using it as a filler in making meatloaf Salmon patties or what ever you would bread crumbs in.
Thanks. I will.
So if it has to much water you are going to fry it in grapeseed oil or Avacado oil till it dries and fry a little.
My first time cooking quinoa and it did turn out perfectly! I used chicken broth instead of water for added flavor. My family loved it!
yay! I’m so glad it was perfect!
I also added chicken broth instead of water. For vegetarians, you could use vegetable broth.
Have you tried quinoa with coconut and raspberries? Gorgeous and so simple.
Thank you for your expertise on cooking quinoa. I had previously settled on using 1-â…ž cup water, but 1-¾ makes good sense to me. I’ll try that next time I cook quinoa. By the way, the stuff I buy (from Costco) is pre-rinsed.
I have cooked quinoa many times, this was the most successful, perfectly cooked quinoa, thanks!
Thank u! That is very valuable knowledge- I managed to lose half the quinoa while trying to rinse it.
great quinoa resource, thank you!