This Vegan Mexican Quinoa Bowl can be made in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop. It's an easy vegan dinner that uses whole food ingredients and is ready in about 30 minutes.
Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa Bowl is a quick and easy vegan meal when you're short on time.
It's made with simple ingredients such as quinoa, black beans, onion, sweet corn, fresh garlic, and canned fire-roasted tomatoes. Toss all the ingredients into one pot for an easy weeknight dinner.
For more Instant Pot recipes try my vegan mac and cheese, Spanish rice, or jackfruit tamales. They're always a hit with the family.
How To Make Vegan Quinoa Bowl
This recipe can be made in the Instant Pot or the stovetop and easily comes together in a few simple steps.
In The Instant Pot
Start by chopping the onion and mincing the garlic. Add them to the Instant Pot and sauté until softened.
Mix in the remaining ingredients adding the canned tomatoes last.
Seal the lid and set the Instant Pot to cook for 8 minutes on high pressure. Allow the pressure to naturally release before opening the lid. Give the quinoa a final mix before serving.
On The Stovetop
Start by chopping the onion and mincing the garlic. Add them to a large pot and sauté until they begin to soften.
Stir in the remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the quinoa is fully cooked.
Give the quinoa a final stir before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Top this vegan Mexican quinoa bowl with:
- fresh cilantro
- diced avocado
- freshly squeezed lime juice
- fresh salsa
or any other Mexican-style toppings you like!
Tips For Success
- Perfectly cooked quinoa in the Instant Pot: Keep the lid on and sealed for at least 15 minutes after the cooking time has finished (even if the pressure has naturally released). This will help the quinoa fully cook.
- Tomatoes: Add the tomatoes to the Instant Pot last and don't mix them in. This will help the quinoa to cook evenly.
We'd love to hear from you!
If you enjoyed this vegan recipe, please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card and share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Recipe
Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
Quinoa Bowl
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup sweet corn, frozen, fresh, or canned
- 1 ⅓ cups vegetable broth, I use low-sodium
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon chipotle powder, optional for mild heat
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Optional Toppings
- Diced avocado
- Fresh cilantro
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Press the sauté feature on your IP. Sauté the onion and garlic in 1 Tablespoon oil for 5 minutes or until the onions begin to soften. For an oil-free version, sauté in veggie broth.
- Stir in the seasonings and quinoa. Sauté for another 3 minutes then, press the cancel button on the IP.
- Mix in the veggie broth, corn, and black beans. Then add the fire-roasted tomatoes and gently spread them on top. (See the video above)
- Press the manual button and set the time for 8 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cooking time is up, allow the IP to naturally release pressure, then carefully remove the lid.
- Give the quinoa a final mix before serving.
Serve topped with diced avocado, fresh cilantro leaves, and freshly squeezed lime juice.
One-Pot Stovetop Instructions
- In a large pot sauté the onion and garlic until they begin to soften.
- Stir in the seasonings and quinoa and sauté for a few more minutes.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the quinoa is fully cooked.
- Give the quinoa a final mix.
Serve topped with diced avocado, fresh cilantro leaves, and freshly squeezed lime juice.
Nutrition
**Nutritional info is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients I used and for convenience and as a courtesy only.**
Easy Vegan Dinners
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Patricia
I like the taste of this recipe but I have so much trouble getting it to cook properly. Either my Instant Pot doesn’t seal, because it keeps expelling steam but without enough pressure to seal the valve; or it does seal because I poke and jiggle the valve to try to get it to seal, but the quinoa doesn’t cook correctly. Some of the quinoa is fine, but some of it is still undercooked and crunchy despite my having stirred it well. Is this something that can be fixed by adding more liquid? (Slightly more liquid doesn’t help—tried that already.) I do lay the tomatoes on top and follow the other directions. Why do I seem to be the only person having this problem? How can I fix it? I’d like to make this more frequently but instead am about to take it out of rotation because of the frustration. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Marlena Luna
It sounds like there isn't enough liquid to satisfy the IP and cook the quinoa. When all of the ingredients are in the Instant Pot is the quinoa fully submerged in liquid? It should be fully submerged but still visible. If not, you can try adding a total of 1 and 2/3 cups of broth, or enough to cover the quinoa. Also, you can leave the beans out and then add them to the pot after cooking in case they are absorbing some of the liquid. I hope this helps!
Patricia
Thanks for your reply, Marlena! I tried adding more liquid and that worked fine in terms of proper sealing and cooking, but it made the dish a bit mushy. I think leaving the beans out might help. Will try that next. Thank you very much for the idea!
Marlena Luna
I hope it works!
Kat
Can I use water if I am out of vegetable broth?
Marlena Luna
Yes, but you may want to increase the seasonings to make up for the loss of flavor.
Terri Carter
Can this be frozen?
Marlena Luna
I haven’t tried freezing it yet, but I’m sure it will be just fine. Enjoy, Terri! :)
Sarah
Just made this in preparation for to-go meals for the week. SO DELICIOUS! Thank you!
Marlena Luna
Awesome to hear, Sarah!
Chris
Made this tonight; very good. It’s a keeper.
Marlena Luna
Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe, Chris!
Megan
Anybody tried this with dry beans? How did you tweak the recipe?
Marlena Luna
This recipe does not work well with dried beans. The beans need to cook much longer than the quinoa causing the quinoa to overcook.
Kimberly
I love this recipe. Have made it several times. Do you know the nutritional breakdown?
Marlena Luna
Hi Kimberly! I just updated the recipe card to show the nutritional info. However, it is only an estimate from Nutritionix based on the ingredients I used. :)
Violet
Flavors were great, but this turned to mush. I followed instructions but released pressure manually after only 7 minutes. Maybe it was the quinoa brand? I used Trader Joe's.
Marlena Luna
I’m sorry to hear that Violet. It sounds like there was too much liquid. Perhaps the canned tomatoes had more liquid than usual. I’d suggest only adding 1 and 1/4 cups of vegetable broth next time.
kim
Tried the Mexican quinoa bowl and really enjoyed it! Quick recipe to put togather
Marlena Luna
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it Kim!
Ellie
I know this is a vegan recipe.. but if I wanted to add ground turkey to this, would I double the liquid?
Marlena Luna
Hi Ellie, I'm not sure but I don't think there would be any need to double the liquid.
Karen
i want to make a double batch... would I double to cooking time in the instapot?
Where you get your protein!
Hi Karen! No need to double the cooking time, it should be fine. Let me know how it comes out! Enjoy! :)
Janice
How can you make this if you do not have an Instant Pot?
Marlena Luna
Hi Janice! There are stove top directions included at the bottom of the recipe. Enjoy! :)
Heather
Yum! I've been eating a lot of quinoa lately. I'll have to give this a try, it looks delicious!
Marlena Luna
Thank you Heather! Enjoy! :)