Can you cook quinoa in a rice cooker?

TL;DR: Yes — rinse quinoa thoroughly, use roughly 1 cup quinoa to 1.5 cups water in SpeediChef, select Multi-grain (or White Rice), and fluff after a 5-minute rest. For rice–quinoa blends, use Multi-grain at 1:1.3 total grain:water.

By SpeediChef Kitchen Lab · Reviewed by SpeediChef Product Review · Updated 2026-07-17

Beginner · 6 min read

Step-by-step quinoa in SpeediChef

Rinse 1 cup quinoa in a fine mesh strainer until water runs clearer (removes saponin bitterness). Add to the SpeediChef inner pot with 1.5 cups cold water and a pinch of salt. Select Multi-grain or White Rice and start. When the cycle ends, rest 5 minutes, then fluff. Yield is about 3 cups cooked quinoa.

• Toast rinsed quinoa in a dry pan 2 minutes for a nuttier flavor before adding water.
• For pilaf, sauté aromatics in a separate pan — the SpeediChef inner pot is not a stovetop sauté pan.

Rice and quinoa blends

Mix 2 cups white rice with 1 cup quinoa. Rinse the rice; rinse the quinoa separately. Combine in the pot with water at 1:1.3 for the total grain volume and use Multi-grain mode. This is the same blend approach SpeediChef Kitchen Lab uses when documenting multi-grain batches.

When Instant Pot pressure quinoa is different

Pressure-cooked quinoa is faster but can run wetter. SpeediChef’s open steam cycle with Multi-grain gives a drier, fluffier grain that holds up in meal-prep bowls. If you already own SpeediChef for rice, you do not need a second appliance for weeknight quinoa.

Sources

• SpeediChef Multi-grain function — product specs
• Kitchen Lab water ratio chart

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