Try this easy 30-minute Instant Pot recipe for a hearty and delicious Mexican Quinoa Bowl. This vegan, gluten-free dish is packed with flavor and loaded with quinoa, beans, corn, and peppers.
Pico de Gallo, sour cream, chopped avocado, onions or cheese.
Instructions
Finely Chop onions and peppers. Rinse quinoa for 10–15 seconds under running water, drain well and keep aside.
Saute Onions, garlic, chopped jalapeno and chopped peppers for 1 minute. Add spices including salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika and cayenne, and saute for another 30 seconds. This brings out the flavors of the spices.
Add drained quinoa, rinsed and drained black beans, frozen (or fresh) corn and salsa to the pot.
Add a cup of water and stir well. Close the lid, and set the vent to ‘sealing’ position. Pressure cook at high pressure for 2 mins. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, after which release remaining pressure manually (QR)
After the pin drops, open the lid and fluff the quinoa using a fork. Squeeze in fresh lime juice and cilantro and serve warm with your favorite toppings.
Video
Notes
I use canned black beans in this recipe. These can be substituted with pinto, kidney, or white beans as well.
If using dry beans for this recipe, cook them separately. You would need about ¾ cup dried beans for this recipe.
To substitute taco seasoning in this recipe, replace all the spices with 2 tbsps of your favorite taco seasoning brand. You may need to adjust the salt based on your seasoning contents.
For best results, I recommend adding salsa to this recipe. But if you're adding crushed tomatoes, add an additional 1-2 teaspoons of chili powder (or taco seasoning) to enhance the flavor.
This recipe works great for school lunches, potlucks, and picnics. For potlucks, I keep the toppings in separate containers, to be added to individual bowls just before serving.
This recipe can be made a day or two in advance and stays good in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Note: The nutrition facts below are my estimates and do not include any toppings. If you are following any diet plan, I recommend cross-checking with your preferred nutrition calculator.