Ever wonder how to cook perfectly fluffy quinoa?  Look no further, we are here to help! No more soggy or mushy quinoa.  This recipe provides instructions on how to cook the most light, fluffy, perfectly tender and chewy quinoa that will transform your quinoa to a whole new level of deliciousness.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, gluten free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi! Ameera here!

I love love love quinoa!  But I absolutely hate soggy, mushy, soupy quinoa. I’ve had my share in the past and it’s not pleasant.  Perfectly fluffy quinoa is a thing of beauty. Learn how to transform quinoa into a delectable dish for your dinner table.

Rinse Thoroughly

It is extremely important to thoroughly rinse quinoa. It has a bitter outter coating that if not washed off, it can turn your dish bitter, and no one wants that, right? So, taking a few extra moments to really rinse your quinoa will ensure that there is no bitter after-taste.

Dry Sautéing

Once you have thoroughly rinsed the quinoa, shake off any excess water, then place it into a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. This will help dry the quinoa out and will very lightly toast the quinoa so it can become light and fluffy.

This takes a few extra minutes, but it is oh-so-worth-it. You will be able to tell when the moisture is gone as the quinoa will start to look dry and it will start to sound like dry quinoa being pushed around the skillet.  You want to remove as much moisture as you can, but it’s perfectly fine if some moisture is left.

(Moroccan Soy Curl Stew)

1:1 Ratio

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about cooking quinoa is most people use a 1:2 ratio.  One cup quinoa to two cups liquid.  It really should be a 1:1 ratio. One cup dry quinoa (before rinsing and sautéing) to 1 cup liquid (water or broth).

Heat

The key is to place the quinoa into any already warm liquid that you have been warming on the stove, then ramp up the heat to a rolling boil, boil for a full 30 seconds, then lower the heat to a very low boil (simmer) and simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check the liquid level by pushing the quinoa to the side of the pot to see if any liquid remains.  If none remains, simply fluff the quinoa, remove from the heat, put the lid back on and allow to cool undisturbed for another 15 minutes.  After the 2^nd 15 minutes has expired, you should have perfectly fluffy and beautiful quinoa.

Hi, Robin here! 

Guilty!!!  My quinoa was always soggy and I never really enjoyed it all that much until Monkey showed me how good it can be by making it fluffy!  Now I am a total quinoa convert.  I love quinoa!

Make perfectly fluffy quinoa!  We would love to know how yours turns out.  Leave us a review!!

Also, check us out on Facebook and Instagram!

Products Used:

• Large nonstick skillet
• Medium stock pot with a lid

How to Cook Perfectly Fluffy Quinoa

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 6 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 21 Minutes + 15 Minutes Resting
• Yield: 4-5 Servings 1x
• Category: Sides

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Ever wonder how to cook perfectly fluffy quinoa?  Look no further, we are here to help! No more soggy or mushy quinoa.  This recipe provides instructions on how to cook the most light, fluffy, perfectly tender and chewy quinoa that will transform your quinoa to a whole new level of deliciousness.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, gluten free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa*
• 1 cup water (or broth)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt*

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Fill a small to medium-sized pot on the stove with 1 cup water or broth to warm up the liquid. Do not boil or simmer the liquid just yet. Keep it warm as you do not want any liquid to evaporate.
2. Place one cup of quinoa into a very fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly under a continuous stream of running cold water. Use a slotted spoon to flip the quinoa around and ensure that the quinoa is thorough rinsed. Do this for several minutes.  It is very important to thoroughly rinse quinoa as the outer coating of quinoa is bitter.  Turn off the water, then gently shake off any excess water.  Use the slotted spoon to move the quinoa around in the strainer to release any trapped water.
3. Place the rinsed and drained quinoa into a non-stick skillet and dry sauté it over medium to medium-high heat to dry it out. This will take about 4 to 6 minutes.  You want to continuously move the quinoa around in the skillet to dry out the quinoa and slightly toast it.  You will know when most of the water has been removed as it will look and sound dry as it moves around the skillet.  Try to get is as dry as you can. All of the quinoa does not need to be completely dry, but it definitely should look drier.
4. Add the “dry sautéed” quinoa to the pot with the warmed liquid, add the sea salt, stir well, then increase the heat to bring to a rolling boil. Allow to cook at a rolling bowl for a full 30 seconds, then lower to a very low boil (simmer), and place a lid on the pot and simmer for 15 minutes on the stove.
5. After 15 minutes, check to see if all the liquid has evaporated by moving the quinoa to the side of the pot, if there is no liquid left, fluff the quinoa, remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool undisturbed for another 15 minutes with the lid on, then after 15 minutes, remove the lid and fluff the quinoa, serve immediately. (Note: If all the liquid has not evaporated, continue simmering on the stove with a lid on for a few more minutes. Once all the liquid has evaporated, remove the pot from the heat, fluff and allow to cool undisturbed for 15 minutes with the lid on.)
6. Fluff and serve.

---

Notes

*Quinoa:  You can use any variety of quinoa:  white, red, black, tri-colored, etc.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Makes:  About 4 – 5 servings

*Storage:  Refrigerate, use within 7 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.