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Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables

This Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables recipe is a great one-pot Instant Pot dinner. Make a complete dinner loaded with veggies without turning on the stove!

Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables

Here it is! My first Instant Pot recipe! I am beyond excited. I bought the 8 quart Instant Pot earlier this year with the goal of replacing my slow cooker AND my rice cooker, since the Instant Pot can do everything. And obviously, I was also excited about the idea of quicker dinners without having to stand over the stove.

Well, I still haven't brought myself to get rid of the slow cooker and the rice cooker - I keep telling myself "why get rid of them if I have the storage space?" I hope I don't turn into a hoarder later in my life.

But the slow cooker and rice cooker haven't been used since I got the Instant Pot. I love using it for quick dinners and side dishes! It lives in my countertop because I use it pretty much daily.

I've mostly been using the Instant Pot to steam cauliflower and potatoes to make mashed cauliflower and mashed potatoes. And to make huge amounts of rice in very little time. And to make amazing paella (this Shrimp Paella recipe from My Forking Life is SO GOOD!).

And now I finally felt comfortable enough to create my own recipe - this flavorful, colorful Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables.

Of course, I had some help from the internet and had to refer to other bloggers for instructions on how to cook basic quinoa.

This this 1-minute recipe is brilliant! Yes, 1 minute is all your need to cook quinoa. It's like freakin' magic! I have a Master's degree in Chemistry, and yea I remember PV=nRT from school, but I still do not understand how in the world this is possible. Magic, I tell ya.

Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables

Anyway, this Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables made in the Instant Pot is super easy and delicious! Aldo is usually not a fan of quinoa - he grew up on rice and thinks it's the best grain/side dish out there. But anytime there are crumbled bits of sausage involved, he is down for eating quinoa, and lots of it. And it doesn't hurt that there are a TON of vegetables in this recipe.

By the time I chopped all the vegetables and had a huge bowlful of them, I wasn't sure they were going to fit into the Instant Pot. They did (phew!). I am so glad I went for the 8-quart version of the Instant Pot so I can make enough food to have plenty of leftovers to pack for lunch.

There are a lot of vegetables packed into this dish - it is full of yumminess and nutrition, with minimal work involved.... Especially if you buy the vegetables pre-chopped and save yourself 15 minutes of prep time.

Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables : Babaganosh.org

Looking for a lighter quinoa main dish?  Try this Tuna Quinoa Salad!

What else will I need to make Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables?

Well, aside from the obvious, such as the Instant Pot and Quinoa, I have a few tricks that make this recipe extra tasty.

First, I always cook quinoa in chicken broth or veggie broth, depending on the recipe. This gives quinoa extra flavor as opposed to cooking it in plain water. Just substitute broth instead of water in the same ratio. In this case you only need 2 cups of chicken broth to cook 2 cups of quinoa because the Instant Pot is so efficient.  

For extra flavor and color, I also add a bit of paprika and ground turmeric. Both of these spices are very subtle but they add so much beautiful color to every dish and they are packed with antioxidants. They are the reason the quinoa in this recipe is a lovely golden color.

Sauté and pressure cooked quinoa dinner

One of the other things I love about the Instant Pot is its sauté function, which means you can brown meat in the Instant Pot and not need to get another pan dirty. So for this recipe I start with cooking the crumbled sausage with the chopped onions for a few minutes to brown the sausage and give it extra crispness and delicious flavor. 

Then I add the rest of the ingredients in, give it a stir, and set it to cook. That's it. Two easy steps for a delicious well balanced dinner.

Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables

This is my first time writing up a recipe for the Instant Pot, so I hope it is clear for everyone - Instant Pot newbies and pros - to follow. But if anything is not clear, please leave me a comment/question about which step needs to be re-written! I would greatly appreciate it.

Other Instant Pot recipes to try:

If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below, and don't forget to save it on Pinterest for later!

Instant Pot One-minute Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables

Instant Pot One-minute Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables : Babaganosh.org
Print Recipe
4.70 from 23 votes

Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables

This Instant Pot Quinoa with Sausage and Vegetables recipe uses the 1-minute method for cooking quinoa, and is an amazing, quick one-pot dinner!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time6 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Author: Kate
Cost: $15

Ingredients

  • 1 lb sausage meat - , removed from casing
  • 1 onion - , diced
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 cups quinoa
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 bell peppers - (I used red and green), chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
  • 1 small head broccoli - , cut into florets
  • 1 (5oz) container baby bella mushrooms, halved or quartered if large

Instructions

  • Using the saute function on the Instant Pot, heat the vegetable oil. Cook the sausage meat and the diced onion until the sausage is browned and mostly cooked, and the onion has softened. Add the paprika and turmeric powder and stir. Turn off the saute function on the Instant Pot. The sausage will not be fully cooked at this point, this is fine.
  • Add the quinoa and chicken broth, and stir well. Add the rest of the ingredients (all the vegetables) and stir well. Cover the Instant Pot and set to cook on manual on high pressure for 1 minute with the vent set to "sealed." Once the 1 minute is over, turn off/unplug the Instant Pot and allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the rest of the pressure. Fluff with a fork and transfer the quinoa to a serving dish or immediately transfer to another container to cool down. 

Nutrition

Calories: 504kcal (25%) | Carbohydrates: 41g (14%) | Protein: 20g (40%) | Fat: 29g (45%) | Saturated Fat: 11g (55%) | Cholesterol: 54mg (18%) | Sodium: 773mg (32%) | Potassium: 687mg (20%) | Fiber: 5g (20%) | Sugar: 2g (2%) | Vitamin A: 1465IU (29%) | Vitamin C: 58mg (70%) | Calcium: 45mg (5%) | Iron: 3.9mg (22%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.

Comments or questions about the recipe?
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Lisa

Tuesday 21st of July 2020

Was about to make lunch when I realized I was out of rice. So googled sausage and quinoa, and found this gem! I replaced the peppers with a handful of black beans because I didn't have any. Also omitted the mushrooms. At the end I added a bit of frozen corn with diced jalapeno and put the lid back on for a minute. Next time I will add the broccoli then too as it came out mushy. Used smoked paprika with the turmeric. My daughter loved it the second the lid came off! Saved to favorites, thank you!

Kate

Wednesday 22nd of July 2020

Hi Lisa,

Thanks so much for stopping by! Glad you liked it! Smoked paprika is a great idea, I love using it myself.

Rebecca

Sunday 24th of November 2019

I tried this, and believed I followed it correctly, but the quinoa was not fully cooked. Did I miss something and supposed to do the quinoa separately from the sausage and veggies?

Kate

Wednesday 17th of June 2020

Hi Rebecca,

I did more recipe testing, and it looks like quite quinoa reliably cooks in my Instant Pot in 1 minute, but tri-color quinoa needs more time (I used 4 minutes with tri-color quinoa and that worked great). I'll add the details to the recipe.

Kate

Monday 25th of November 2019

Hi Rebecca.. oh no! I am so sorry to hear that it didn't work out. That SUCKS. I am not sure why it didn't work, I make this recipe all the time, either with sausage or diced chicken (but the cooking time is the same). What size Instant Pot do you have? I have the 8-quart one and I wonder if the size makes a difference to cooking time (though I don't think so because I follow lots of recipes from bloggers who have 6-quart Instant Pots and have never had an issue).

Have you ever cooked quinoa on its own using the 1-minute method in the Instant Pot? I'm just wondering if the 1-minute method on its own doesn't work for you for some reason, or whether all the extra sauteing in Step 1 affected the cooking for you. If I were you, I would try this first just to know what the problem is and to nail down how to cook quinoa in the Instant Pot (since it is SO convenient and fast!).

If you're willing to try this again, you can brown the sausage, onion, and spices in a skillet (all of step 1), and then add everything to the Instant Pot (which won't be heated up at this point). It will take a bit longer to come to pressure, but the quinoa will start cooking slowly as it's coming to pressure.

Obviously you don't have to answer all my question or try this recipe again, but I will try to nail down why this didn't work for you because I want this recipe to be fool-proof for everyone!

Little Cooking Tips

Thursday 24th of August 2017

Hi Kate! Hope you're well and everything is going great with Elliot! :) We recently saw lots of recipes for Instant Pot here and there, it seems to be the next big thing after crock pot? :) We don't have one ourselves but we CAN try this recipe without it as well:) We'll simply cook these in a regular pot:) Wonderful recipe, another great way to use quinoa! Lots of hugs! xoxo

Elena Weinstein

Tuesday 1st of August 2017

The Instant Pot idea sounds very appealing.

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