Easy Garlic Chipotle Quinoa - Instapot Recipe

This flavor-infused garlic chipotle quinoa is the perfect addition to salads, tacos, and grain bowls. This recipe dresses up plain-ol-quinoa (nothing against you plain quinoa… but you can be a little boring at times) with fresh garlic and canned chipotle peppers in adobe sauce which creates a slightly spicy, garlicy, smoky quinoa.

two soft shell tacos filled with black beans, quinoa, with chopped lettuce, tomato, and lime slices on the side. Served in white bowl. Serving platter of quinoa in the background.

This quinoa recipe is a dish you likely didn’t even know you needed until now. The good news continues…. in that you only need a handful of ingredients to make it happen.

Four of the ingredients needed for this recipe on a marble background: Bowl of dry quinoa in a white bowl, head of garlic, chipotle peppers in a white bowl, and better than bouillon jar.

Things you will need for this recipe:

Instapot
Measuring cups and spoons
The ingredients: Quinoa, a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, fresh garlic, better than bouillon vegetable base and water + an optional cooking spray.

Overhead view of cooked garlic chipotle quinoa inside of the inner pot of the Instapot.

This garlic chipotle quinoa is great leftover and thus great for meal prepping. This recipe can be doubled if you are cooking for a larger family and want leftovers for the week. This delicious quinoa makes a great side dish to many meals!

Quinoa is a high-fiber, high protein pseudo-cereal. Technically a seed, quinoa is prepared and eaten similarly to a grain and counts as a whole-grain food. Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete protein food which is a great option for plant-based eaters. One cup of quinoa provides ~8 grams of protein and ~5 grams of fiber.

Garlic chipotle quinoa served in a white dish on a marble background

It is important to rinse your quinoa well prior to cooking. Doing so removes a natural coating, called saponin, which can cause cooked quinoa to taste bitter. Some packaged quinoas come pre-rinsed but you can still give them a quick rinse.

A tip to keep your quinoa from sticking is to spray the inner pot of the Instapot with cooking spray or spray oil. This step is not necessary but a nice touch.

A large white serving platter filled with garlic chipotle quinoa with a wooden serving spoon, a smaller white bowl filled with the quinoa.

Easy Instapot Garlic Chipotle Quinoa Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup dry quinoa
1.25 cups water
3 garlic cloves, minced
(can add more if you love garlic)
2 chipotle peppers, diced + 1 tsp chipotle sauce from the can
1 tsp better than bouillon – vegetable
Cooking spray (Optional)

Directions

Rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer
Spray the inside of the inner pot with cooking spray and add the rinsed quinoa, water, garlic, chipotle peppers + sauce, and Better than bouillon base to Instapot.
Seal lid and cook on HIGH pressure for 1 minute.
Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
Fluff quinoa with a fork and serve.