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One of our favorite convenience foods is the Seeds of Change quinoa and brown rice with garlic. As with all prepackaged foods, it has a decent amount of sodium in it. Once I realized how easy it is to make this copycat recipe at home, I had to share it with you all.
This Brown Rice and Quinoa recipe is a homemade version of the popular side dish that you can find at Costco. I love making this in large batches and keep in the freezer, and is so much cheaper than the store bought version. Along with this recipe, my Instant Pot Coconut Rice, easy Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes, and these Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes are delicious side dishes for any meal.
Ingredients in Brown Rice & Quinoa Blend
- dry brown rice (short grain)
- dry red quinoa (other colors work too, but the original product uses red)
- fresh garlic, minced
- salt (optional)
- olive oil
- water or vegetable broth
How to make this Copycat Quinoa and Brown Rice in any electric pressure cooker
This recipe takes about 40 minutes from start to finish.
- Rinse your quinoa and brown rice. Spray inside of pot with olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Add rice, quinoa, garlic, 2 cups of water, olive oil, and (optional) salt to the pot. Add your lid and close it, then set your Sealing Valve from the Vent to the Seal position.
- Pressure cook for 18 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cooking time is finished, turn the pot off and allow the pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the steam. Quick release is when you move the Sealing valve back to the Vent position quickly by hand.
Stovetop Instructions
- Bring your broth or water to a boil, then add quinoa and brown rice, and the garlic and olive oil.
- Simmer on low for 20-25 minutes, keeping an eye for the liquid to absorb into the rice and quinoa. If you want to cover and cook this, be very careful that it doesn’t boil over–it makes a mess that’s tough to clean off the stove.
- Test the rice and quinoa to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly. If so, remove from heat and serve as a side dish.
Recipe Tips
- It’s easy to spice this dish up a bit! Add red pepper flakes, roasted garlic, or lemon juice or lemon zest to give this side dish a fun flavor twist.
- Cooking quinoa in the Instant Pot is easy because you don’t have to worry about it boiling over as it often does on the stove. It’s easy to cook on the stove too.
- I love cooking quinoa and brown rice recipes in my pressure cooker–even more than in my rice cooker! I make Instant Pot Brown Rice weekly and freeze it for meal prep, and I love making extra of this recipe too.
Both quinoa and brown rice are gluten free, but make sure that the product ensures that it was grown in a field that had not previously grown products with gluten in them.
It is. Like I mentioned above, the Seeds of Change brand (and the new Costco brand recently seen on shelves) is pretty healthy for a prepackaged product. But it’s also expensive and simply because it’s store bought, it contains added sodium and preservatives.
Nutrition comparison for sodium and calories: Per 1/2 cup serving, this recipe has 104 calories (120 calories for Seeds of Change product), and 5 mg sodium (200 mg sodium in Seeds of Change).
One batch (ten 1/2 cup servings) of this recipe costs about $2.10. One bag (four 1/2 cup servings) of the store bought blend costs $2.79.
Healthy Eating Plans
21 Day Fix: 1/2 cup of this quinoa and brown rice counts as 1 yellow container.
Weight Watchers: 1/2 cup of this dish is 4 2025 Plan Points | 4 Blue Plan Points | 4 Green Plan Points | 0 Purple Plan Points | 4 2023 Plan Points
Looking for other Brown Rice and Quinoa Instant Pot Recipes?
- How to Cook Quinoa
- Quinoa Tacos
- Brown Rice Risotto in the Instant Pot
- Healthy Brown Rice Pudding
- Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice
Brown Rice and Quinoa Recipe
Equipment
- Ninja Foodi
- Strainer
- Sealing Rings
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa dry
- 1 cup brown rice dry, I used short grain
- 3 tbsp garlic minced
- 1.5 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups water
Optional: salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse your quinoa and brown rice. Spray inside of pot with olive oil to prevent sticking. 1 cup dry quinoa, 1 cup brown rice
- Add rice, quinoa, garlic, water, olive oil, and (optional) salt to the pot. 3 tbsp garlic, 1.5 tsp olive oil, 2 cups water
- Set the pressure cooker for 18 minutes on high pressure.
- Allow dish to naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the steam.
Stovetop Instructions
- Bring your broth or water to a boil, then add quinoa and brown rice, and the garlic and olive oil. 1 cup dry quinoa, 1 cup brown rice, 3 tbsp garlic, 1.5 tsp olive oil
- Simmer on low for 20-25 minutes, keeping an eye for the liquid to absorb into the rice and quinoa.
- Test the rice and quinoa to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly. If so, remove from heat and serve as a side dish.
Notes
Recipe Tips:
- It’s easy to spice this dish up a bit! Add red pepper flakes, roasted garlic, or lemon juice or lemon zest to give this side dish a fun flavor twist.
- Cooking quinoa in the Instant Pot is easy because you don’t have to worry about it boiling over as it often does on the stove. It’s easy to cook on the stove too.
- I love cooking quinoa and brown rice recipes in my pressure cooker–even more than in my rice cooker! I make Instant Pot Brown Rice weekly and freeze it for meal prep, and I love making extra of this recipe too.
Nutrition
Make This Recipe?
Make sure to follow on Pinterest @bludlum and on Instagram @beccaludlum
So flavorful and delicious!!! Made in the Instant Pot
This is exactly what I was looking for. I love the Seeds of Change, but knew it could be made cheaper. I was actually going to make the rice and the quinoa separately, then I stumbled on your version. I used long grain brown rice because that’s what I had on hand. Ended up going 16 minutes in my pc and it came out great. Now to portion and vacuum seal for future easy meals. Thanks!!
Thank you for this recipe. I also added 1 Tablespoon of Harvest Blend Seasoning with the minced garlic. No oil, I don’t use oil at all.
This will be on my rotation of batch cooking.
You need to double the amount of water.
Yes, I’ve gotten a burn warning multiple times using the Instant Pot instructions.
That’s strange, I do not get a burn warning with this recipe. Are you changing any ingredients, and what size is your pot?
Love, love this! I am such a gooberhead. I actually used my strainer without a cloth barrier. Like forever. And thus hated quinoa because of the cleaning process. Duh, duh, duh. Yup. Me, the gooberhead. SO. My first batch is done. I added a little vegetable Better Than Bullion (low sodium), will not have to continue purchasing Seeds of Change. Thank you and bless your sweet heart for sharing this simple recipe which I pinned to my Back to Basics board. YOU, my dear, are a rockstar.
Yay! I’m so glad you like it :)
Hey there, thought I’d add that I did eat it crunchy first round, but then I realized I had way less water than I needed and basically just put it back on the boil. Here in NoNV, I needed 4.5-5 cups of water to my two cups of rice and seed. Which is how many of my rices boil up. Thought I’d share in case anyone else found their dish to be crunchier than they expected. Thanks again!
Thanks for your info! I’m not sure where NoNV is but if it’s a higher elevation, this could be the issue!
I love this recipe, it has always turned out perfectly for me! It is my go-to rice recipe.
Question!! If I double or 1.5 the recipe, do I still do the same with the liquid? I’ve never cooked it for a bigger crowd until now. But I know sometimes some of the liquid is due to pot pressure. Cooking in 36 hours! Thank you!
Hey Christine!
You’ll want to have one cup of liquid for each cup of quinoa/brown rice, so if you double the rice, double the liquid :)
I just tried this brown rice and quinoa blend recipe and it turned out wonderfully! It’s such a healthy and flavorful alternative to plain rice. I appreciate the simplicity and the option to cook it in an electric pressure cooker, which made preparation a breeze. The addition of garlic and olive oil really elevates the dish. I’m definitely adding this to my meal prep rotation. Thanks for sharing such a cost-effective and delicious recipe!
Followed the recipe useing an instapot. The rice is very undercooked and pretty blank honestly. I did use bouillon and still not much flavor. Not sure if the issue is the difference in pressure cookers. I also used long grain rice so that could be it since the grain is longer and maybe harder to soften? Idk. Not a fan
Hi Charlotte, I’m sorry you didn’t love this as much as we do. Long grain rice actually takes less time to cook than short grain -sometimes the age of your rice can cause it to not cook quickly. This recipe should have a strong garlic taste – did you use minced garlic?