Vegan Quinoa Recipes (with Cooking Tips!)

Vegan Quinoa Recipes – not sure what to do with that bag of quinoa in your pantry? Cook it for breakfast, use it in salad for lunch, make burgers for dinner, or stuff some peppers with it! I've got all of your quinoa needs covered with these healthy vegan quinoa recipes – the best from my blog – that will cover all of your daily meals. They're all easy to make, and all of them have gluten-free options.

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is an ancient grain from South America. Well, strictly speaking, it's not really a grain. It's actually seed that we prepare and eat like a grain, so it's technically a pseudo-cereal.

It's gluten-free, and it can be used in pretty much any recipe that calls for grains. I sometimes use it instead of rice, and I've been known to cook it for breakfast instead of oatmeal. It's terrific in Buddha bowls, and it makes a great filling for stuffed vegetables.

Quinoa was an important crop for the Inca Empire, who referred to it as the "mother of all grains" and believed it to be sacred.

There are three main types of quinoa: red, white, and black. Unlike with rice, the different types of colored quinoa don't have different nutritional profiles. You can often find all three together in a mix.

When I was taking pictures for a recipe using quinoa a few months ago, we were having our house worked on. Aldo, the construction foreman was excited to see me cooking quinoa. He said he’s from Peru and quinoa is a staple food there. He told me that his grandmother was a widowed teacher with 5 children, and she didn’t have much money, so she worried about feeding her children. She would feed her quinoa to her chickens, and she noticed that it helped them to grow large pretty quickly. So she started feeding it to her kids, thinking it would help them grow, too – and it did!. Aldo is very tall, and he said he owes his height to all of the quinoa he ate growing up.

Health Benefits of Quinoa

Quinoa has the highest nutritional profile of all grains, making it extremely nutritious!

It contains all nine essential amino acids, making it complete protein.
B vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, calcium, and vitamin E are plentiful in quinoa.
The plant compounds quercetin and kaempferol, which are know to reduce inflammation, are also plentiful in quinoa.
It has a higher fiber content than any other grain.
The glycemic index of quinoa is low, so it's good for blood sugar control.
Quinoa is gluten-free.
It is an extremely high-energy grain, and it's an ideal food for endurance.

How to Cook Quinoa

Quinoa has a naturally occurring bitter outer coating called saponin. You should rinse your quinoa before cooking it to remove the saponin. I do this in a fine mesh strainer. You can also do it by placing quinoa in a pot and filling it with water and then placing the lid loosely on the pot and draining the water out over your sink.

Quinoa uses a 1:2 ratio with water, and one cup of dry will produce about 2 cups of cooked. So, if you need 2 cups of cooked quinoa, you’ll need 1 cup of dry quinoa and 2 cups of water.

Combine quinoa and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Then, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes or until all water has been absorbed.
Nex remove it from the heat and let it stand for about 5 minutes.
Fluff it with a fork, and you’re ready to go!

Whenever I cook grains like quinoa or brown rice, I like to make extra and freeze it, so it’s ready when I am. I almost always have a cooked bowl of quinoa on hand in the fridge or freezer.