Vegetable Quinoa Pulao – Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker & Stovetop Recipe

Vegetable Quinoa Pulao – Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker & Stovetop Recipe using quinoa, vegetables (frozen/fresh), and Indian spices. Perfect for weeknight dinner or brunch. This recipe is vegan, glutenfree and low carb

This Vegetable Quinoa Pulao has been on the menu twice last week and it’s one of my most requested weeknight dinner meal or lazy brunch.

It’s healthy, super easy and the best part, it can be cooked in any of the three: Pressure Cooker, Instant Pot or Stovetop.

It’s perfect for days when you are craving comfort food but yet want something nutritious and quick. Also known as Quinoa Vegetable Rice / Pilaf.

So What is Vegetable Quinoa Pulao?

Vegetable Pulao is nothing but a sauteed mix of rice/quinoa or similar grains along with a choice of vegetables and Indian spices. Then the mixture is cooked for a few minutes till the grains cook and fluff up. 

You need the following Ingredients:

• Quinoa
• Mixed Vegetables
• Indian Spices: turmeric, garam masala, cumin seeds, red chili powder, and salt
• Oil: I prefer using light olive oil but any kind of oil/ghee/coconut oil works
• Water: to cook the pulao
• Garnish: you can use mint or cilantro or simply skip this.

For this version, I’m using mixed colorful quinoa (white, red and black), however any kind of quinoa will do for this recipe.

How to Make Vegetable Quinoa Pulao

To make the quinoa pulao, I’m using 3 different methods:

Instant-Pot Vegetable Quinoa Pulao:

Super easy and ready in 5 minutes. (check notes below)

Stovetop Vegetable Quinoa Pulao (cooked in a pan/wok):

This recipe can be made using any of the methods and especially this one when you donot have an electric pressure cooker or instant pot.

Pressure Cooker Vegetable Quinoa Pulao:

This is my goto recipe on a busy weeknight and can be adjusted to make for one.

Extra Notes for Best Results:

Frozen Vegetables:

I prefer frozen vegetables to fresh (when I’m in a hurry yet want something wholesome) as the cooking time gets reduced to half as most frozen veggies are almost cooked. 

Quinoa:

I’m using quinoa as it’s even more nutritious and the BEST PART – It COOKS QUICKER in Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot !!

You can definitely use brown rice or any kind of rice or other grains as a replacement (just keep the cooking time/temperature in mind for them). 

Spices:

Spices is the heart and soul of this dish. Trust me, you can add whatever veggies/stock or any protein as per choice, but unless you add those aromatic-flavorful spices, you’re not going to get the same FINGERLICKING Effect!

I’m using a mix of whole spices (used at the beginning for sauteing) and powdered spices towards the middle of the cooking (ALL the SPICES are very GENERIC). 

Broth or Water:

I usually cook pilafs/pulao in regular water (all that sauteeing+spices already adds so much flavor n nutrients).

Unless I’m feeling extra fancy and healthy, then I add whatever broth I have in hand (usually low sodium veggie or chicken ones).

Vegetable Quinoa Pulao Serving Suggestion:

Okay, my absolute MUST with any Pulao dish is a nice Yogurt Dip called Raita in India. It can be made using cucumber, onion, or fresh mint.

Just add some yogurt dip (raita), pickle and pappadams and you have yourself a full-blown meal.

You can also serve it with Indian Cilantro Potato (spicy-tangy potatoes goes best here) or with a simple Avocado Cucumber Salad.

 

 

So here we are with our easy-peasy Vegetable Quinoa Pilaf Pulao and hope you try this recipe for your weeknight dinner or brunch menu.

 

Tried Our Recipe – AWESOME!!!

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