Instant Pot Mediterranean Quinoa

The most flavorful QUINOA recipe, this Instant Pot Mediterranean Quinoa is simple to make and full of fresh flavors. This recipe is perfect on its own, or add your favorite choice of protein, serve it cold as a salad or warm as a side, you cannot go wrong with this!

I’ll be honest, I tried jumping on the fast running quinoa train many times since its popularity increased, only to disappoint my foodie feelings. My first thought was that quinoa was rather bland and just didn’t do much for me. But does that mean that quinoa is out of the question? Hm… not exactly. You see, the reason why many of us give up on a particular food is because of taste. A lack of taste is just as bad as too much of it.

While I’ll probably never get too excited over a bowl of plain quinoa, I found that by adding flavor, texture and color to it, all of a sudden things changed dramatically. Yay!!

Yay because quinoa is actually very good for you and it’s a food we should all be eating more often.

health benefits of quinoa

Quinoa is one of the most protein rich foods we can eat, and it offers almost twice as much fiber as most grains. Quinoa also contains iron, lysine, magnesium and manganese and is naturally gluten-free, so you can eat quinoa safely if you have gluten intolerance or celiac disease.

about this recipe

This instant pot mediterranean quinoa recipe is packed with veggies such as tomatoes, carrots and onion, fresh spinach, black olives and hemp seeds. The quinoa is cooked in vegetable broth for 1 minute followed by 10 minutes of natural pressure release. This recipe is easy, super healthy, perfect to serve cold as a salad, warm topped with grilled chicken or shrimp, or in any way you want!

other ways to incorporate quinoa in your diet are

Replace some of your go-to rice recipes for quinoa. My family loves this Instant Pot Quinoa ‘Fried’ Rice which is a much healthier version of the traditional vegetable fried rice. As mentioned you can add to salads, this Black-Eyed Pea Quinoa & Kale Salad is definitely one to try! Or use as a healthier choice of ‘stuffing’ in sweet potatoes and squashes as you see in this recipe here.

how to make instant pot quinoa

Making quinoa in the instant pot is by far the easiest thing I’ve ever cooked. All it takes is one minute under high pressure and ten minutes of natural pressure release. But let me give you all the details;

1. Rinse and dry the quinoa thoroughly to remove its coating compound called saponins which gives the quinoa a bitter taste.
2. Add the quinoa and shiitake mushrooms to the instant pot and cook for 1 minute under high pressure and then 10 minutes of NPR (natural pressure release).
3. Open the instant pot and add in all the veggies. Stir to combine then cover the pot for 5 minutes to allow the veggies to wilt and soften.

If you make this instant pot mediterranean quinoa recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you and always do my best to respond to all your comments. Also, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram for a special shutout and/or a chance of being featured in my newsletter!