Instant pot curried quinoa spinach sweet potato under 20 minutes makes a quick and healthy meal option for weeknight. This nutritious fare is vegan and gluten free. I can’t stop eating this warm and comforting bowl filled with good for you stuff. The best part of this quinoa bowl is you can eat it warm or cold . I love this instant pot salad recipe.
Before I get into the recipe details I would like to Thank you for all your lovely emails and messages filled with good wishes.
If you are following me , you already know that I was expecting my second baby. I have delivered a beautiful baby boy last month and since then been all the more fun and busy.
I love simple hassle free cooking , especially when it comes to putting up dinner. My life is becoming more and more hectic with the newborn in the house. So I am leaning towards one pot meals that are healthy and satisfying. Instant Pot is a life saver as usual. I can whip up delicious meal from scratch without compromising on nutrition. Plus I love the fact that I don’t have to baby sit anything and have less pots to clean.
Quinoa is one Super Grain that I am cooking a lot now a days. It’s high in fiber , high in protein and light on the tummy.
If you are looking for interesting easy recipes using Quinoa , stay tuned I promise many more are coming soon!!
This time I have used sprouted Quinoa . This recipe has clean flavors too.
I am obsessed with greens. Especially spinach. I just keep adding it to all my recipes. Adding sweet potatoes and Spinach means more nutrition too.
Add it or leave it , choice is yours.
You may even add other greens like Kale , Swiss chard to it. And even substitute sweet potato with butternut squash or pumpkin.
Either way it tastes divine! A perfect comfort food anytime of the day.
This quinoa recipe makes great lunch box for you and your kids.
How can I get perfect not mushy but fluffy quinoa every time?
Always remember it’s 1:1.5 ratio in the pressure cooker. 1 part quinoa to 1.5 parts water/ stock and you will never go wrong when it comes to doubling or increasing the batch .
If you are cooking in a pot on the stove top start with this ratio and add more if needed . Generally I have had success with 1:2 ratio.
Can I freeze quinoa made with this recipe?
Yes you can freeze it . Upto 3 months in one time use portions. Simply thaw in the fridge overnight or over the counter .
Does quinoa taste bitter?
I use organic pre rinsed Quinoa . I like it’s earthy taste . Once seasoned well Quinoa can be wonderful. Choose a recipe with lot of flavor.
If you are concerned with Quinoa tasting bitter, simple wash it few times with water as you do it for beans or lentils. Sometimes the outer covering may taste bitter.
Given below is the recipe for easy Instant pot curried quinoa spinach sweet potato under 20 minutes –
Curried Quinoa Sweet Potato Spinach
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Avocado oil/ cooking oil
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped or 1 teaspoon paste
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 /2 teaspoon cayenne pepper / paprika
- 1 big sweet potato peeled and cubed
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 11/2 cups vegetable broth / water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Generous squeeze of fresh lemon
- 2 cups chopped Spinach
Instructions
- Switch on Instant Pot on sautee mode.
- Add in oil.
- Once warm add in the onions and sautee for 2 minutes until translucent.
- Add in the ginger garlic , Quinoa and spices . Toast it for 3-4 minutes. This brings out the nutty flavor.
- Throw in the Sweet potatoes, Spinach , veg stock/water.
- Stir once.
- Press cancel on the IP.
- Put on the lid with valve turned to sealing position.
- Press Manual High 2 minutes.
- Natural pressure release (NPR)
- Taste test and adjust spices to your taste if needed.
- Add lemon juice.
- Serve warm or cold.
Notes
Nutrition
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You might like this salad recipe with Quinoa-
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Hi there! I used the site tool to double the recipe. It doubled all ingredients except the water/broth. Instead of 3 cups, it said 11! And I didn’t look closely at the original amounts, so I added the 11 cups – kids loved the stew!. Looking forward to trying this with the right amount of water. 🙂
Oh no!! I am so sorry about that. I will look into this! And I am glad that your kids loved it as a stew!
Should I use fresh or frozen spinach? …I bought frozen spinach to make this recipe, but now I am uncertain. Thank you!
Hello Ann you can use frozen spinach in this recipe. Use 2-3 oz of frozen Spinach for 2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves. You can add more spinach if you like it that way.
Can I add frozen chicken to get some more protein in? If so, how would you do that?
Hello Ashley, I have no clue because I do not consume chicken.
My favorite Instant Pot meal to date Thank you!
Can you make this recipe without the quinoa in the Instant Pot? I already have some quinoa cooked that I want to use up.
Hello, Kelly quinoa will be mush and overcooked. I suggest cooking the sweet potato with spices in a pan on a stovetop and then add quinoa.
One of my go-to recipes now!! Simply having the quinoa with sweet potatoes makes a wonderful dish that also tastes great as cold lunch leftovers
Sounds great Steph. Glad you liked it.
i just got my Instant Pot Untra in the mail today and am using it for the first time to make this right now but there isn’t a “Manual High” setting. Would that be the Pressure Cooker Setting?? Thanks!
I am sorry, just read your comment. Yes I guess so . If in presure cook setting you can increase or decrease time and set High or Low pressure then that would be the setting.
This was delicious! I have tried so many quinoa recipes that always ended up tasting bland, but this one has converted me into a quinoa lover. Thanks so much!
I am so happy Katie that this recipe worked well for you. Thank you for a lovely feedback!
I’m so happy to see the recipe
It turns out there was something burnt at the bottom. I tried every trick in the book. What I’ve since determined (based on this and other recipes) is it’s not a good idea to double a quinoa recipe. (It may be ok to double plain quinoa though.) The reason is that at the higher volume it takes longer to get up to pressure so it’s actually cooking a lot longer and hotter and the aromatics, spices, tomato products, and/or any other pieces of things in the mix are likely to burn, no matter how much liquid you put in, even if you make sure to deglaze. The sweet potatoes actually did cook at the low pressure setting because it took like 20 mins to get up to pressure then cooked for 12 mins. I believe you that it worked for many readers. Most likely they made it as described and did not double it. Or maybe this doesn’t happen in an 8 qt pot due to more surface area.
I finally made the double recipe…….and I got the burn message three times no matter what I did. There was actually nothing stuck to the bottom when I looked but adding more liquid and trying again didn’t work so right now I just put it on the “rice” setting to see if that would cook the sweet potatoes (the only thing that hadn’t cooked through yet). So I’d say as a double recipe it’s a bust or maybe you just can’t add the quinoa first and instead should layer it on top of the liquid or something. I can’t afford (time or money wise) to waste this food so we are eating it no matter what, but I’m disappointed. Oh well!
Aah Momofone .. I understand your frustration. Did you get burnt message for this recipe or any other too. Because I have heard that lot of Instant Pots are doing this despite of nothing getting burnt. Rice setting is very low pressure and sweet potatoes won’t cook . High pressure is ideal as mentioned in the recipe.I make this recipe on regular basis so do many of my readers without any problem . Does unplugging and plugging back Instant Pot work with burnt message?
When doubling does one double all the liquid? I’ve read online not to do that but I want to know what you think will work for this particular recipe.
Momofone.. In my experience for grains it’s a yes. Water or stock is always the ratio to how many cups grains, beans , lentils you are using. So double it. Hope it helps.
This was delicious! I have a Mini so didn’t have enough room for the spinach but added it at the end and it turned out fine. Also cut the cayenne in half to make it suitable for my 5-year-old’s palate. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Awesome IPnewbie.. glad you adjusted the spices according to your need!
I plan to try this recipe soon but in the pictures it appears that some of the spinach is not cooked or is that an herb you added later or more spinach you added later to the top? Thank you!
Ellen, that is just garnish for the photo .
love this, subbed kale for spinach and served an over easy egg with sour cream over top…..yummy!
If I doubled this would the timing need to change?
I don’t think so Carly . 2 minutes should be fine even if you double the quantity.
How much vegetable broth is in this?
What does 11/2 cups mean?
I saw comment by other lady and it’s obviously not 11.5 cups but I see that makes a nice soup.
Kate it is one and a half cup broth .
This is the kin of meal I could eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
We love it too!
Making this tonight! Do I need to cook the quinoa before I add it to the recipe (instapot)? Or will it cook in the IP?
Thanks!!
No pre cooking required Carmen, its a one pot meal. Everything goes in the pot one shot!
THIS IS SO GOOD! Yes, I’m shouting. That’s how much I like it! This is only the second time I’ve used my Instant Pot, and it came out perfectly. Thank you!
OH YES.. a shout from my side too Connie.. we love love this recipe . Glad you liked it . Happy instapotting!
In my haste reading this I somehow saw 11&1/2 cups broth. If anyone is curious this actually makes a good soup 😂
Are you serious Hilary…. awww … but happy the soup version turned out well.. 😉 phew!!! Thank you for writing!
This recipe was simple and amaZing. Just made it for my weekly meal prep and it tasted spot on!
Thank you for a lovely feedback Sab! Sounds great!
Hi!!! What other veggie combinations would go well with this? I and my family have never tried quinoa but want to like it.. this one looks so good with all the indian flavours!
Hello Sakshi you can use carrots, pumpkin, peas , potatoes, celery, zucchini, french beans, edamme, bottle gourd, bell peppers too . I stick to 2-3 veggies only for a recipe so that my family makes most of it.
Love it!! Very creative and nutritious..
Thank you Sona .. do try it!
This looks very fresh, healthy and appetizing di! Thanks for this wonderful share. 😋😋😋
Thank you Neha!
Yum.. looks great. Will try soon!
Sure Tia!
This is an amazing recipe. It’s a really great and healthy post. Thank you for shear an informative and healthy post.
Thank you Marie!
how to sprout quinoa?
Hey Upma, I have not sprouted it. I have used Store bought Sprouted Quinoa Trio.