This popped quinoa is a crispy snack perfect for standalone use or a topping for yogurt, cereal, or salad. You can also toss it into your granola. It's a skinny alternative to regular popcorn.
Once popped, they are tiny and granular and are super crispy. To make popped quinoa, you only need a pan and quinoa. And nothing else. This sounds fantastic, right?
Why You'll Love This Popped Quinoa Recipe?
- Versatile to use.
- Easy to make and highly adaptable!
- With the satisfying crunch.
The Ingredient: Quinoa
Choose the quinoa with the package saying 'rinsed' or 'washed.'
Why? Quinoa naturally has a pest deterrent, which gives it a bitter taste. Rinsing removes this bitter taste. Good news! Nowadays, most packaged quinoa comes in a rinsed and prewashed form. So, watch your package, whether it is pre-rinsed or not for this popped quinoa recipe.
What if the package does not say 'rinsed' or 'washed'?
- If you don't mind a slightly bitter taste, skip rinsing and proceed to the 'popping process.'
- If not, rinse and dry it in the oven using the following instructions. For this,
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F.
- Rinse the quinoa 4-5 times.
- Drain and spread it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Place the baking sheet in the middle rack and let it dry.
- Stir occasionally, and this process will take 2-3 hours.
- Then proceed to the popping process.
How To Pop Quinoa?
Popping quinoa over the stovetop is simple and requires no kitchen skills. All you need is a thick-bottomed pan. The pot and the quinoa are the only two necessary ingredients for this dish.
- Use a heavy-bottom pan and place it over medium to low heat.
- When the pan is hot, add dried quinoa and spread it in a single layer.
- Wait until you see a couple of quinoa seeds popping.
- Then, lift the pan and gently shake back and forth to prevent the quinoa from fuming.
- Again, keep the pan over the heat and allow the rest of the quinoa to pop.
- If the seeds again start fuming, lift the pan and gently shake back and forth.
- Continue this process until all the quinoa grains popped completely.
The Leftover Ideas
- You can use the leftover popped quinoa in granola, trail mix, or salad topping.
- Let the quinoa pop completely, and transfer it to an airtight container.
- Store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight for about two weeks.
The Recipe Tips & Tricks
There are only seconds between perfectly popped quinoa and burnt pops, so provide all your attention while popping.
- Heavy-bottomed pan: A cast-iron pan or any other pan with a heavy bottom ensures even heat.
- Heat: Low to medium heat is the best.
- Shake when needed: To prevent the quinoa pops from burning.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a light, conscious snack made by heating the quinoa, just like popping popcorn.
Popping quinoa takes 3 to 5 minutes. Spices, nutrition, caramel, and more can be added to flavor the quinoa.
Though we can pop the quinoa in the microwave, I find the stovetop method more reliable and effective for achieving a soft, crunchy texture.
One of our readers updated us that the air popper is throwing the quinoa because of its lightweight. So, popping quinoa with this machine is not working at the moment.
📖 Recipe
Popped Quinoa
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa pre-rinsed and dried
Instructions
- In medium to slow flame, heat a heavy bottomed pot.
- Once it becomes hot, add quinoa.
- Wait until you start seeing quinoa pops.
- Then gently shake back and forth to avoid quinoa scorching to the pan.
- Continue to do so, until all the grains popped completely.
Ruxana says
Wow! I can keep munching on this.
Tamila says
Airpopper just launched the unpopped quinoa out with the force of the airflow.
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Thanks, Tamila for updating on this. I will add your note to the content of this post.
Jeannette says
WOW! I've never thought to do this with my quinoa, but it looks like an incredible idea! Love how you've added it to yoghurt. Yum!
Bry says
Game changer!! This was so yummy, and is a much healthier option to other salty snacks. I also like to sprinkle it over salads for a bit of extra crunch!
Jessi says
How do I dry them after rinsing so that they're not moist when popping?
Anonymous says
In the oven on a cookie sheet for 10 to 15mins set to 200 degrees on bake function
Spriced says
I made these today and ate them with yogurt. It’s a nice crunch. In a previous comment someone mentioned putting them in salads and I’m definitely going to try that.
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Hey, thank you for letting us know your feedback, and happy you liked it. And hope you like the salad version as well. 🙂
Ned says
Perfect on my yogurt this morning! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Beth says
My kids love this popped quinoa on their morning yogurt. Thanks for a fun recipe.
Nines says
Do you have the lid on at all times?
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Hey Nines, if you're using a deep pan for popping quinoa, a lid isn't necessary. For shallower pans, a lid helps prevent spills. Just let the lid open slightly to let steam escape, ensuring your quinoa stays crispy.
Pascale says
I did something wrong, I got roasted quinoa seeds and no pops ☹️☹️☹️
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Hi Pascale, Sorry to hear your quinoa didn't pop! Let's try again: make sure your pan is hot before you toss in the quinoa, and don't put too much in at once. Make sure the pan is evenly heated, and keep shaking the pan gently to give each little quinoa seed a chance to pop.