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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.
Why I Love This Copycat Seeds of Change Recipe
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.
Enjoy!
– Becca
Ingredients in Brown Rice & Quinoa Blend
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Brown rice: I use short grain brown rice in this recipe.
- Quinoa: Quinoa is packed with nutrients like protein, zinc, fiber, folate, and antioxidants.
How to make this Copycat Quinoa and Brown Rice
This recipe takes about 40 minutes from start to finish.
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Step 1: Start by gathering your ingredients.
Rinse your quinoa and brown rice, and then spray the inside of your pot with olive oil to prevent sticking.
Step 2: Add the rice, quinoa, garlic, 2 cups of water, olive oil, and (optional) salt to the pot.
Close and lock the lid to your Instant Pot and turn the valve to sealing.
Pressure cook for 18 minutes on high pressure.
Step 3: When the cook time is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes. After the natural release, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
Serve warm or let cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Recipe Tips
- It’s easy to spice this dish up a bit! We’ll sometimes add red pepper flakes, roasted garlic, or lemon juice or lemon zest to give this side dish a fun flavor twist.
- I have had rice and quinoa boil over too many times, so the Instant Pot is my preferred cooking method. Even more than a rice cooker!
Quinoa and Brown Rice FAQs
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.
Quinoa is both a protein and a carb, and is unique in that is is a complete protein, meaning it provides all nine essential amino acids. It does contain more carbs than protein by weight, as carbs are its primary macronutrient.
Healthy Eating Plans
21 Day Fix Containers
1/2 cup of this quinoa and brown rice counts as 1 yellow container.
Weight Watchers Points
1/2 cup of this dish is 4 2025 Plan Points
If you tried this Brown Rice and Quinoa Recipe or any other recipe on my site please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
Brown Rice and Quinoa Recipe
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Equipment
- instant pot
- 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
Instructions
Instant Pot 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
Nutrition
Make This Recipe?
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I love this recipe, I’ve used it several times and I also like to add wild rice to this with some diced onions. Delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us.
I took a stab and made this recipe with a pre-mixed brown rice, quinoa and flax package. cut it in half in case it didn’t work, but it did! My rice is just a little chewy but not enough to cook it more–water could have been about a 1/4 cup more and and another 5 minutes cooking I think. Still good1 Thanks for posting this–I use Seeds of Change rice all the time but had this mixture on hand and found it cleaning out my pantry. It was my first time cooking any rice. I don’t use white rice, only the mixed grains.
I figured I could make this and found your recipe, so thank you! I actually used 3 1/3 cups of low sodium chicken broth, 16 cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt. I simmered it for 35 minutes per my brown rice instructions, and it came out perfect! The quinoa was not mushy, and this was very delicious.
It’s perfect! Wow, what a money saver. Have you figured out the recipes for the other Seeds of Change pouches? How about Tasty Bites Thai Ginger Curry?
You are awesome!!
What would the cook time be for a pressure cooker if the recipe is doubled? I can’t wait to try this out!
The cook time would be the same :)
Made this last night and it was a huge hit!! Thank you!
Yay!! I’m so glad you liked it!
brown rice does not cook in 25 minutes. By the time that the rice was done, the quinoa was mush. Also very, very bland recipe with no flavor.
Im sorry you didn’t care for this–we make this at least once a month and it cooks perfectly, and tastes like the Seeds of Change orange packet at the grocery store.
I tried it in a rice cooker, and it came out fine. Allow a little more time, though, to let all the water get absorbed.
My husband and I recently became mostly vegetarian with some pescatarian thrown in. I found this and it’s now my go-to recipe! We use this in many ways, including mixing it with sautéed veggies and veggie ground meat for a full meal. It’s an outstanding recipe and so easy! It’s great alone or with add-ones! Make it- you’ll love it!!
Yay! I’m so glad you like it!
Can I make this in a regular rice cooker?
Hi there,
We haven’t made this recipe in a rice cooker so can’t say how it’d turn out. There are directions for stove top if you don’t have a pressure cooker :)