Perfect Fluffy Quinoa
Quinoa! For those unfamiliar with this wonderful food, quinoa is an ancient food – cultivated by the Incas in the Andes for thousands of years. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah and not queen-o-a as I did for a long time…) is actually a seed but is used in cooking as you would a grain. Quinoa is a superfood as it is a complete protein food, rich in fiber, magnesium and iron.
Once only found in health food stores, now quinoa is available at almost every grocery store. Likely you have already tried it! Some love it and for those who aren’t fans of it, I’m sure it’s because it hasn’t been cooked properly when you had it!
Quinoa is a versatile food to have on hand – it can be served as a side dish alternate to rice, it can be incorporated into baking and smoothies. Put some in a salad for that extra delicious protein goodness! There are different types of quinoa – some plain beige, red, black, gold and some come mixed with various colour combinations. This recipe cooks all the colours the same way.
Cooking quinoa is not difficult. I have tried, rinsing it and then just straight up boiling it water, but through trial and error, I have found a couple of simple extra steps makes quinoa truly perfectly, fluffy and delicious! Rinsing at minimum is essential to remove the natural coating of ‘Saponin’ which makes unrinsed quinoa bitter and causes the ‘suds’ when you rinse.
As always, when you make this recipe, please post a photo of your quinoa goodness and tag my IG account or leave a comment with your thoughts!
Prep Time: 2 minutes (15 if you soak the quinoa) / Cook time: 20 minutes / Total: 22 minutes (~35 if you soak) / Makes: 2+ cups
Ingredients:
1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Water (for soaking)
1¾ Cup Bouillon or Water (for cooking)
1 tsp Olive Oil (alternate – Grape Seed or Avocado Oil)
¼ tsp Sea Salt - optional
How It’s Made
Start by soaking the 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes. If you don’t have time to let the quinoa soak, go to the next step of rinsing and rinse.
Next, rinse the quinoa by draining it into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it thoroughly under running water until there are no more ‘suds’ Drain well.
Next, you are going to toast the quinoa in the saucepan you will cook it in. This step is the game changer for me as, in my humble opinion, it adds more flavour to the cooked quinoa. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat until it’s hot. Carefully add the drained quinoa and sauté, stirring constantly, to let the water evaporate and toast the quinoa – 5 minutes. You will know it’s done when the quinoa grains start to lightly stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add the bouillon (or water*) and stir. Bring this mixture to a rapid boil. Add the salt if you are using it. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and allow it to simmer gently for 15 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to see if the water has absorbed. If not, let it simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes longer. It should be done now but check and if there is still liquid in the bottom of the pan, let it cook on low for another 2-3 minutes. Keep this up until there is no more liquid and the quinoa is soft when you try a bit on a clean spoon.
Turn off the heat and remove the pot to a cool element or to the counter with a heat-resistant trivet. Let the quinoa sit undisturbed, covered for 5 more minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove the lid. You’ll see the delicious cooked quinoa with their tiny curling spirals. Gently stir the quinoa with a fork to fluff it up and serve!
Enjoy!
Variations
*If you use water instead of a bouillon, season the quinoa with some seasonings of your choice when you start it cooking, as it can be quite plain otherwise. As a start, I would suggest ½ tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, Herbamare seasoned salt and a few grindings of pepper. Feel free to add other herbs and spices to your taste.
Keep any leftover quinoa in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can freeze quinoa for up to 2 months.
Double or triple the recipe to make extra to have it ready in your fridge to use cold or heat up to help with meal planning.
