Brown Rice and Quinoa {Instant Pot}

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

• Quinoa Fried Rice
• Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili
• Instant Pot Quinoa Soup with Corn and Potatoes

Brown Rice and Quinoa {Instant Pot}

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• Author: Jenny Meier | Kitchen Skip blog
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 22
• Total Time: 27 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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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

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

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...

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Instructions

1. Rinse the brown rice and quinoa. I use a mesh strainer for this.
2. Heat the oil in the Instant Pot, using the Saute function.
3. Add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds.
4. Add the water, brown rice, quinoa, and salt.
5. If making burritos, also add garlic powder, cumin and chili powder.
6. 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
7. Release the pressure any time after the cooking time is done. The longer you leave the lid on, the softer the rice will become.
8. 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 in half the time, or less, than brown rice. In this recipe, quinoa is just along for the ride. 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)

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!

• Category: Vegetarian
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: brown rice and quinoa, instant pot brown rice, instant pot quinoa,

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