Easy & Fluffy Quinoa {Made in Rice Cooker}
A rice cooker is the easiest way to make fluffy and flavorful quinoa. You do not have to wait at the stove or worry about burning the quinoa. I like to elevate my quinoa with a little seasoning and veggie broth. The quinoa comes out fluffy and delicious every time. You can enjoy it on its own or use it in other recipes.
Quinoa is so versatile and delicious! It is perfect for meal prepping ahead of time in order to bypass the worry of making sides the day of for your meals.
When you have a batch of cooked quinoa in hand, you can easily add it to a salad, whip up a fried rice quinoa, make broccoli quinoa cups, and so much more!
If you love quinoa like I do, you will need to try this rice cooker method. You won’t be able to do it any other way once you’ve seen how simple and easy it is.
You do not have a wait at the stovetop to make sure the water is not over boiling or to to turn off the heat just in time to make sure the bottom of a pot isn’t burnt.
Cooking quinoa in a rice cooker ensures the cooking process gets turned off when the liquid is cooked off, which means you get a fluffy and beautifully cooked quinoa every time.
Ingredients for Simple & Fluffy Quinoa
Quinoa: There are so many different types of quinoa you could experiment with in this recipe. There is black quinoa, red quinoa or the traditional white quinoa you see in most recipes online.
Garlic Powder: Lending yummy flavor and just an overall amazing spice to have on hand. I love using garlic powder in my recipes, it always seems to add the perfect balance of savoriness.
Broth: You can use chicken or vegetable broth in this recipe depending on what you have on hand or whether you are adhering to a vegan lifestyle or not. You can also do low sodium if you are trying to limit your salt intake.
Equipment you need: Rice cooker, this can be any brand you either find in your budget or have already.
Effortless Way to Cook Quinoa
Once the rice cooker stops cooking, fluff up the quinoa and close the lid again to let it sit for another 5 minutes before enjoying it.
Ways To Enjoy Your Rice Cooker Quinoa
Quinoa is like many other grains that can be served as a side or be the star in recipes. I love using quinoa as a base in my salads, as a side for my proteins for as a bed for freshly sautéed vegetables. Check out below some of my most favorite ways to cook up quinoa and use it in fun and new recipes!
1. Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Cups
2. Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash
Other Ways to Spice it up
Quinoa is truly a blank canvas, you can add your favorite herbs, spices, olive oil, chili oil, just about anything that will make your taste bud dance the way you want it to.
You can either flavor the cooking liquid, add ingredients to the pot to cook along with the quinoa, or use additional cooking method to dress up the quinoa after they are cooked.
Cilantro lime quinoa – Squeeze fresh lime juice into cooked quinoa and mix with chopped cilantro.
Asian fusion – Quinoa stir fry with eggs, carrots and peas.
Spanish twist: Saute some saffron threads in olive oil then add quinoa to the warm oil.
Tex-Mex: Replace the rice with cooked quinoa for your next burrito bowl.
There are so many ways that you can enjoy quinoa. Let me know what has been your favorite so far?
Get the recipe:Easy & Fluffy Quinoa {Made in Rice Cooker}
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 cup broth
- 1 tsp galic salt, or garlic powder and salt 1:1
Equipment
Instructions
- Wash and rinse the quinoa, drain well.
- Add all the ingredients in a rice cooker.
- Turn it on. If your rice cooker has multiple functions, use "white rice" setting.
- Once it stops cooking automatically, use a rice spatula to loosen up the quinoa and fluff it up. Close the lid and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.
The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.
