Instant Pot Quinoa Bowls 6 Ways

Happy Wednesday, friends!

I've been making these tasty quinoa bowls the last couple of weeks and shared some on instagram (@lesleyzellers) and recieved several requests to share the recipes, so here goes.

First off, I make quinoa in my Instant Pot. Most of you know my love for my IP but for those new to this blog, an Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker.

What does that mean? I'm not sure but for me it's like a speedy crock pot or sorts. It can cook just about anything, oatmeal, meat, pasta meals and the easiest peeling hard boiled eggs ever - but fast. I use it weekly, if not daily.

So when I found this recipe for "1 minute quinoa" in the Instant Pot I had to try it. I will never make quinoa any other way. I like Trader Joe's Organic Tricolor Quinoa. Granted, the "1-minute quinoa"  takes more like 12-15 from start to finish because you let it depressurize for 10 minutes but it only cooks for 1 minute it's SO easy and the quinoa comes out perfect every time.

I use bone broth to make my quinoa - yet another thing I make in the Instant Pot ;) Seriously, as I type this, I have a batch of bone broth cooking away. I also like to add fresh herbs from the garden to pack in a few more nutrients and flavor. The recipe I use calls for 2 cups of quinoa, but after making it once and having 8 cups of quinoa to eat for a week, I now half the recipe.

So what do you do with 8 cups of cooked quinoa? Make all the quinoa bowls you can think of before it goes bad. These are quick bowls I made with ingredients I had in the fridge.

Now the recipes, which aren't really recipes, just the quinoa topped with different meats, veggies and cheeses. I found by making little changes meals because totally different and I was able to prep several for quick lunches for the week. Just assemble, put in microwave safe containers and microwave when ready to eat.  

First is a breakfast quinoa bowl but also works great for lunch.

BREAKFAST AND VEGGIE QUINOA BOWL

1/2 Cup cooked quinoa

1/2 Cup sauteed broccoli and spinach

2 Tbls reduced fat feta

fried egg over easy

salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for a kick

 CARNITAS AND ZUCCHINI QUINOA BOWL

1/2 Cup cooked quinoa

1/2 Cup sauteed zucchini, onion and spinach

2 Tbls reduced fat feta

1/4 cup shredded carnitas

salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for a kick

CARNITAS AND ZUCCHINI QUINOA BOWL

1/2 Cup cooked quinoa

1/2 Cup sauteed spinach

1/2 chopped avocado

1/4 cup shredded carnitas

2 Tbls homemade queso

salt, pepper and fresh salsa

CARNITAS AND BEETS QUINOA BOWL

1/2 Cup cooked quinoa

1/2 Cup sauteed spinach

1/2 Cup roasted beet slices

1/4 cup shredded carnitas

2 Tbls reduced fat feta

salt and pepper to taste

GREEK GYRO QUINOA BOWL

1/2 Cup cooked quinoa

1/2 Cup sauteed spinach

1/4 Cup chopped tomatoes

sliced globe onion

2 Tbls tzaziki sauce (I used Trader Joe's prepared sauce)

2 slices cooked gyro meat (again, Trader Joe's to the rescue)

salt and pepper to taste

BUFFALO CHICKEN QUINOA BOWL

1/2 Cup cooked quinoa

1/2 sliced avocado

sliced green onion, white and green parts

1/2 cup buffalo chicken (I pan simmered cooked chicken in Frank's Red Hot Sauce for about 5 minutes)

2 Tbls "dump ranch" (recipe here)

salt and pepper to taste

There are SO many more ways to change up the quinoa and I'd love to hear from you on what your favorites are. Or even your favorite ways to eat quinoa? For more instant post inspiration check out my pinterest board: Instant Pot Recipes.