Spiced Quinoa (Instant Pot Version)
One of my favorite taco fillings is quinoa. As someone who hasn’t always been vegetarian, I find that this is one of the most “believable” replacements for traditional taco meat. I’ve chosen to write this recipe for use with an Instant Pot, as I find the final result to be superior to stove top quinoa - although you could easily use a traditional method by adding a cup of liquid and following the cooking instructions on the packaging.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 cup of quinoa
1 cup of water (or vegetable stock - recommended)
1 recipe of “My favorite taco seasoning”
Turn your Instant Pot to the “Saute” function, setting a timer for 10 minutes. Add the quinoa and the taco seasoning to the inner pot, stirring frequently to avoid burning. When you start to smell the nuttiness of the toasted quinoa coming through with the fragrance of spices, press “Cancel”. Add the water or vegetable stock, lock the lid into place with the pressure release valve set to “Sealing”. Use the “Manual” function to cook on high pressure for 1 minute.
Allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes. At this point, you can press “Cancel”, and carefully open the pressure release valve to “Venting”. DO NOT open the lid of your Instant Pot until the silver float has dropped.
Fluff the quinoa with a fork and serve as part of a taco bar.