A quick and easy meal – Quinoa & Vegetable Pilaf made in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. You can also call this Quinoa Pulao or Quinoa Upma. Quinoa has become a popular choice due to its high protein content. This is a vegan and gluten-free pilaf.
It is very easy to cook quinoa. It is cooked very similarly to rice, just with less water. I like to have variations of rice pilaf, so I make Dalia (or bulgur) Pilaf, Couscous Pilaf, and this Quinoa Pilaf to get some variation in taste and nutrients.
Even though the preparation for all the rice, bulgur, and quinoa is very similar, they have their distinctive taste. You can also vary by changing the veggies you add to the recipe. This is a complete meal in itself made in an instant pot, so you don’t need to add more accompaniments to this dish. The only thing I enjoy having with pilaf is raita or yogurt.
Quinoa Nutrition
Quinoa is interestingly not a grain but is grown as a grain crop for its edible seeds. It is a rich source of protein, dietary fiber, and several B vitamins and minerals. Quinoa is gluten-free and easy to digest. Because of its nutritional value, quinoa has gained popularity recently, which has led to its price being doubled and tripled.
We love quinoa and use it in many recipes, such as Quinoa Vegetable Chili, Quinoa Dosa, and Quinoa Khichdi.
How to make Quinoa and Vegetable Pilaf in Instant Pot?
When preparing quinoa in the instant pot or pressure cooker, you need to add 1 cup of quinoa with 1.25 cups of water. In this recipe, we are adding a variety of veggies along with the quinoa. That said, the water ratio remains the same. Cooking the quinoa along with the veggies in this single pot recipe, helps to infuse the flavor of veggies into the quinoa.
Enjoy this quick and flavorful quinoa pulao. Serve it with yogurt or raita. Make the yogurt in the instant pot. Check out the recipe here.
Check out other one-pot pilaf recipes made in the instant pot:
Quinoa & Vegetable Pilaf – Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Onion, small, diced
- 1/2 tablespoon Garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon Ginger, minced
- 2 cups Mixed vegetables, (green peas, carrots, green beans) I used frozen
- 1.25 cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- Cilantro, to garnish
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, mild, or use paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Start the pressure cooker in Saute mode and let it heat. Once it is hot, add oil and cumin seeds.
- After they start to splutter, add onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the spices and mixed vegetables. Stir and let them cook for a minute.
- Add quinoa, water and mix well. Close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Change instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 2 minutes. After the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally.
- After you open the instant pot, mix the juice of one lemon and garnish with cilantro.
- Serve hot with yogurt or raita.
Video
Notes
- You can use any veggies you have at home for this recipe, such as corn, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, green peas, asparagus and more…
- I used frozen veggies for this recipes, however you can use fresh veggies cut into small pieces and they will cook well in this suggested cooking time.
- This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Pressure Cooker.
Wow! I was searching for a Quinoa pulao (Pilaf) recipe and found this recipe. It came out excellent. I also made Chick Peas Coconut curry with it. It is a mouth-watering, delicious combination. My eating choices are changing as in my golden years. With all the health challenges and restrictions, I am going to enjoy your recipes.
Hi Umesh – So good to hear that. Thank you for sharing it back 🙂
Could you do cauliflower + broccoli as well for this recipe?
Hi Katherine – It would work to add broccoli or cauliflower. They both cook quickly so add larger pieces and just place on top after adding all the other ingredients. If you have a low pressure option on your instant pot, you can also try using that. Hope you enjoy the pilaf!
Tried this recipe today . Cam out really good .!!
Are the vegetables frozen or cooked already before adding them?
Hi Rika – I used frozen veggies when making this recipe. However even if you use fresh veggies cut into small pieces, they will get cooked well in the suggested 2 minutes of pressure cooking time.
please post the lauki chana dal recipe. it is not coming up under may 14th post for instant pot recipes.
thank you
Hi Amar – Here is the recipe link – https://pipingpotcurry.com/lauki-chana-dal-pressure-cooker/. You can also google to find any of my recipes “pipingpotcurry recipe-name” 🙂 Would love to hear if you try it!