Easy Instant Pot brown rice and quinoa, fluffy and perfectly cooked. Add black beans, shredded cabbage and cheese for healthy burrito bowls.
This healthy blend of brown rice and quinoa is so easy to make in your Instant Pot. Light and fluffy with a pinch of salt and a hint of garlic, it's a versatile side dish or a base for grain bowls, salads and burritos.
Brown Rice and Quinoa Burritos
To make burritos, cook this brown rice and quinoa blend then add beans, cheese, crunchy cabbage and all the other good fixings, like sour cream, avocado, salsa, and green onions. You'll find full instructions in the recipe card below.
Instant Pot Quinoa
Quinoa cooks quickly in a pressure cooker. If you'd like to only cook Instant Pot quinoa, try this recipe for Instant Pot quinoa, with helpful cooking tips.
In this recipe, the quinoa cooks for a longer amount of time than it usually would because it's cooked in the same pot as brown rice. The quinoa is soft and tender, magically blending into the brown rice.
More Quinoa Recipes
Brown Rice and Quinoa {Instant Pot}
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Easy Instant Pot brown rice and white quinoa, fluffy and perfectly cooked. Add black beans, shredded cabbage and cheese for healthy burrito bowls.
*This recipe was updated on 3/24/21 to decrease the amount of water from 2 cups to 1 ¾ cups. Adding less water make the rice and quinoa fluffier.
Total Instant Pot Cooking Time: 10 minutes to reach pressure + 22 minutes cooking time + Quick or natural release
Ingredients
Basic Brown Rice and Quinoa {Instant Pot}
- 1 tablespoon oil (I use avocado oil or olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 cup brown rice (long or short grain)
- ½ cup white quinoa
- ½ teaspoon salt
Brown Rice and Quinoa Burrito
Use all the ingredients above for Basic Brown Rice and Quinoa and also add...
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
After the Brown Rice & Quinoa Have Cooked, Then Add:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 to 2 cups shredded cabbage (green or purple)
1 to 2 cups grated cheese
Plus, salsa, avocado, green onion, etc...
Instructions
- Rinse the brown rice and quinoa. I use a mesh strainer for this.
- Heat the oil in the Instant Pot, using the Saute function.
- Add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds.
- Add the water, brown rice, quinoa, and salt.
- If making burritos, also add garlic powder, cumin and chili powder.
- Press the Manual button and program the Instant Pot to cook for 22 minutes on high pressure. Make sure the lid is locked in place and the steam valve is in the sealed position. *See note below about cooking times for brown rice
- Release the pressure any time after the cooking time is done. The longer you leave the lid on, the softer the rice will become.
- To make the burrito filling, stir in the black beans, shredded cabbage and grated cheese.
Notes
Brown Rice Cooking Time: The cooking time for brown rice in the Instant Pot ranges from 20 to 25 minutes. I find that 22 minutes is just right, but if you like your brown rice a little more firm, then you might want to cook this recipe for 20 minutes.
Quinoa Cooking Time: Quinoa cooks very quickly in a pressure cooker. The cooking time of 20 to 22 minutes is to make sure the brown rice is fully cooked. When quinoa is cooked for this long, it gets very soft and blends right in to the brown rice. My kids, who aren't huge quinoa fans, like it this way, and I like sneaking protein-rich quinoa into the rice! If you'd like to cook only quinoa, try my recipe for Easy Instant Pot Quinoa.
Do I have to rinse the brown rice and quinoa? I always do. Brown rice, just to remove any odd bits, and quinoa because it has a natural outer coating called saponin that can make the cooked grains taste bitter. Rinsing the quinoa removes this coating. A lot of quinoa is already pre-washed, but I rinse it anyway.
Can I Use Red Quinoa for this recipe? I haven't tested red or tri-color quinoa with this recipe yet. If you do, let me know how it turns out!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 22
- Category: Vegetarian
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: brown rice and quinoa, instant pot brown rice, instant pot quinoa,
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Adriane
Last time I made this it was a little soggy. Do you know how to fix this? I used short grain brown rice and cooked it for the 22 minutes and let it naturally release for about 3 minutes and then released the pressure.
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Jenny
Hi Adriane, sorry to hear it turned out soggy. If this happens again, you can absorb some of the moisture by draping a cloth dish towel over the Instant Pot (turn it off first) then set the lid over the towel. Let the pot sit for 10 minutes, then stir with a fork to fluff. I do this with both rice and grains to absorb moisture and make it fluffier. Also, I re-tested this recipe using only 1 1/2 cups water and it still worked without sticking to the bottom of the pot. So you can try less water in the future. Using less water makes the brown rice a little bit chewier, if you're okay with that.
Gayle
I used my instant pot preset for rice, and it was perfect. 12 minutes and slow release. I can't imagine how overcooked it would be a 22 minutes and don't plan to find out.
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Jenny
I'm glad it turned out for you. I'm curious if you were cooking white or brown rice when using the Instant Pot preset for rice?
Rachel
I didn't know you could cook the two grains together in an instant pot! Such a time saver!
★★★★★
Angela
Thanks for the info. What a great way to cook rice and quinoa! I love to have both on hand for easy meal prep.
★★★★★
Wanda
We eat brown rice and quinoa all the time but never tried it in the IP! Can't wait to make this recipe!
★★★★★
Beth
Such an easy, healthy meal. We love our IP and I'll definitely be making this soon! Thanks.
★★★★★
Teri Spoor
I did use the tricolored quinoa with the brown rice and it turned out good!
★★★★★
Jenny
Great, thanks for letting me know!