This Instant Pot Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa is absolutely delicious. It is also super easy to make and it has just 2 ingredients! Customize it with your favourite toppings and fillings for a healthy and indulgent breakfast.
This post contains amazon affiliate links which means if you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I will receive a small commission.
I remember the first time I tried Quinoa. I bought a big bag at Costco a few years ago, spent hours trying to figure out how to actually cook it (that was before the quinoa craze hit the Internet). In the end I wanted it simple, so I combined some quinoa, water, and a spoonful of Better Than Bouillon stock concentrate and cooked the whole thing on the stove.
It was delicious! Except I didn’t mix it enough and most of the spoon of my favourite Better Than Bouillon mixture ended up in my husband’s plate. It was extremely salty and inedible. It was my mistake but since then he claims that he does not like quinoa.
I, on the other hand, fell in love with quinoa and couldn’t get enough of it back when I discovered this wonderful ancient grain. I even tried making breakfast quinoa porridge. It did not work. I haven’t attempted it for almost a decade until now.
This time I decided to try making breakfast quinoa in my Instant Pot and after many different trials I finally figured out the perfect formula. I also decided to up my game and make Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa instead of regular breakfast quinoa porridge.
This Instant Pot Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa is absolutely delicious. It is also super easy to make and it has just 2 ingredients! Customize it with your favourite toppings and fillings for a healthy and indulgent breakfast. It is also absolutely perfect for meal prepping as the texture doesn’t change after it cools, just heat it up in a microwave or on a stove.
Ingredients to make Instant Pot Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa
Well, this recipe has only 2 ingredients. Yes, you read it right, just 2!
- Quinoa
- Chocolate Milk
Yes, I understand that chocolate milk has sugar and some other filler ingredients but you would need to add some kind of sweetener anyway to your breakfast bowl separately. The amount of sugar and cocoa powder and all other ingredients in chocolate milk is negligible and I feel that the convenience of not needing to measure out any cocoa powder or maple syrup is definitely worth it.
How to make Chocolate Breakfast Quinos in Instant Pot
There are different methods of cooking Quinoa in Instant Pot. Many recipes cook right in the inner pot but you would need to cook a much bigger portion to make it work. I use a Pot in Pot method because i am making only 2 small servings at a time.
It is super easy to make:
- Combine quinoa and chocolate milk in an oven-safe dish that fits in your Instant Pot
- Add a cup of water to your Instant Pot, place the bowl with the quinoa on a trivet in Instant Pot
- Cover the bowl with foil
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes
- Let the pressure release naturally (it’ll take about 15 minutes, so if the pressure isn’t fully released after that time just do a quick release)
- Fluff with a fork and add your favourite toppings
What can you use for cooking inside Instant Pot
Here are the various dishes that I used in my Instant Pot with no issues over the past many months:
- Corningware casserole
- Anchor glass bowl
- Pyrex bowls
- Lock & Lock Food storage containers (this is the one I used in this particular recipe as it’s smaller)
There are many different opinions on whether you can actually use glass or ceramic bowls inside Instant Pot. Many people strongly say no, so please use at your own discretion.
Also, note that if you use different material for your pot in pot cooking (such as metal or silicone), then the cooking time might change as every material conducts heat differently. I find that using silicone for pot in pot cooking usually takes longer than using glass.
How to flavour your Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa
This Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa isn’t too sweet but it has a subtle chocolate sweetness and flavour. In a hurry you can eat it as it is but it’s just much better with some fun, delicious, and healthy toppings.
- Banana and peanut butter (my favourite)
- Sliced strawberries and toasted coconut
- Cherries and sliced almonds
- Frozen berries and a drizzle of honey
- Stewed dried fruit (with some rum on a weekend)
- Cinnamon
- Any fresh fruit or berry or nuts
What is your favourite topping?
Can you meal prep Instant Pot Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa?
You sure can! When cooked, quinoa doesn’t create a creamy starchy coating like rice or millet or some other grains do. That means that quinoa can be cooled and then reheated easily without changing texture. It makes it ideal for meal prepping and having it over a few days for breakfast.
Unfortunately I do not have timing for making a double portion of this recipe. Most likely I would do 15 minutes at high pressure and then natural pressure release. If you do decide to double the recipe, please let me know what timing worked for you.
More Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes:
- Creamy Instant Pot Millet Porridge
- Instant Pot Fruity Egg Bites (gluten-free)
- Fail-proof Instant Pot Poached Eggs
Instant Pot Chocolate Breakfast Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 3/4 cup chocolate milk
- various fruit toppings to taste
Instructions
- Add 1 cup of cold water to your Instant Pot and place a trivet inside.
- Add quinoa and chocolate milk to a glass dish that fits into your Instant Pot, cover with foil and place on the trivet inside Instant Pot.
- Close the lid of your Instant Pot and turn the valve to Sealing.
- Press Manual or Pressure Cooker button (depending on your model) and use the arrows to select 10 minutes. It will take about 5-6 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once the Instant Pot beeps that the 10 minutes of cooking are done, do natural pressure release. It should take about 15-16 minutes for the pressure to fully release. If the pressure is not fully released after that time then do a manual quick release.
- Very carefully, as it'll be really hot, remove the bowl with Chocolate Quinoa from Instant Pot.
- Open the foil and fluff up with a fork. Most of the milk should be absorbed.
- Transfer the cooked Chocolate Quinoa into individual serving bowls and serve with your favourite toppings. Enjoy hot!
Video
Nutrition
Mention or tag @Imagelicious
Ciprian says
Really tasty. I have tried it with almond milk, cacao and honey. Tripled the recipe. The top 2/3 were fluffy, the bottom one not quite done.
I have used the she amount of time. Milk was all absorbed.
I also have a 8 l instant pot. Ant archive please?
Ciprian says
Oh, fat fingers…. Same amount of water…. Any advice please?
Julia says
Hello Ciprian – Most likely you are right and you need more liquid. I noticed that different Instant Pots cook food differently using Pot in Pot method. I have two different models and one works great whereas another takes 2-3 times longer to cook anything if I use pot in pot method