I've been making this Quinoa Granola for years, but was ecstatic when I realized it would be even easier to make in the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper!
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Don't worry if you don't have the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper though, you can still make this delicious quinoa granola by using the stove and oven or your instant pot and oven or, of course, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp!
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Not only is quinoa granola the BEST yogurt topping, it also makes a really great cereal. You can also modify the recipe some and make granola bars. I plan on working on a recipe for this soon!
If you haven't made your own yogurt yet, do it! It is so easy in the Ninja Foodi and most Instant Pots and the flavor is so much better than store-bought. I make a batch a week without any sweeteners and strain it for a thick Greek yogurt.
Here is my recipe for Yogurt in the Ninja Foodi if don't have a yogurt function, but have the dehydration function.
I used a plain quinoa granola and strawberry jam for the topping in this picture. YUM!
Homemade Yogurt in the Ninja Foodi
Frequently Asked Questions
If you make sure that your mixture is completely dried, meaning is not sticky and doesn't have any moisture left, you can store it in a jar at room temperature for about a week. After that, I find that it starts to lose its crunch and gets a bit stale.
You can also refrigerate or freeze it for longer storage.
If you want to make it start to finish in the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper, I don't recommend doubling or tripling the recipe because it will be harder to get it evenly dried at the end.
You can pressure cook a double or triple batch of the quinoa and then spread it out on sheet pans to bake in the oven.
You can use any color quinoa you want. I use the multi-colored one that is made up of white, red, and black because I like the way it looks. The color of the quinoa does not change the recipe, so use what you have or can find easily.
What Variations of Quinoa Granola can I Make?
The sky is the limit here. I make mine with almonds and dried cranberries, but you could use any type of nuts or dried fruit you like.
You can skip the nuts and use all dried fruit or vice versa. There are so many possibilities, but here are some that sound delicious to me.
Almond Joy Quinoa Granola: Follow the same recipe, but add in shredded coconut & almonds. Once you have air crisped or baked the mixture, add in some chocolate chips.
Blueberry Lemon Quinoa Granola: Follow the same recipe, but use dried blueberries instead of the dried cranberries and some lemon zest. You could even add some pecans to this one.
Maple Pecan Quinoa Granola: Follow the same recipe, but instead of the honey, use maple syrup. Use pecans instead of almonds and skip the dried fruit.
Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Granola: This would work best with dried apples, so I would either use the dried apples or make a cinnamon quinoa granola and dice fresh apples when serving. You would still follow the same recipe, but add in about ¼-½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon before you PC the quinoa. Less is more with cinnamon, if you add too much it can be overpowering.
There are tons of other types of quinoa granola you can make, so get creative, have fun and make it delicious! Please let me know what flavors you come up with!
How do I Make this without the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot Duo Crisp?
It's easy and like I said, I've been making it for years. Simple cook the quinoa on the stove or even in your instant pot until it has just sprouted.
For the Instant Pot, I would use the same timing as I do in the recipe.
On the stove, it will vary. You definitely need more liquid when cooking it on the stove, so my suggestion is to follow the package instructions and reduce the time by a few minutes. You only want to cook the quinoa until it just starts to sprout.
Once the quinoa is done, mix in the other ingredients and spread it out on a parchment lined pan. Pop it in the oven and bake at about 300℉/150℃ for 15-20 minutes. If it seems like it is burning, lower the heat. The quinoa granola is done when it is no longer tacky to touch. As it cools, it will harden up and become crunchy.
You can also adjust the texture by cooking less for a softer granola.
Allow to cool completely and break it up if needed. I love the clusters, so I leave those alone!
How to Make Quinoa Granola in the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot Duo Crisp
This is a super quick and easy recipe using the pressure cooker and the air crisper/fryer.
The first thing is to pressure cook the quinoa. The idea is to PC it just enough that it sprouts, but not so much that it's super soft. I have tested this recipe multiple times and the way it works the best for me is to use ½ cup of quinoa to ½ cup PLUS 2 Tablespoons of water.
If you have the 5qt Ninja Foodi, decrease that to ½ cup quinoa to ½ cup PLUS 1 Tablespoon of water.
If you have the 8qt Ninja Foodi, increase that to ½ cup quinoa to ½ cup PLUS 3 Tablespoons of water.
The reason for the difference due to size is because the bigger the size of the Ninja Foodi, the more steam that needs to be produced to go under pressure. The steam is produced by evaporating liquid, so when making recipes that use a very small amount of liquid and the food being cooked absorbs the water, you need to make slight adjustments for the best outcome.
My ratios in the recipe are slightly different from the video demo on YouTube because I've made it several times since filming that video and on a few occasions, the quinoa was slightly undercooked. Not enough that I would remake the video, but enough that I altered the recipe a bit.
Add the quinoa and water to the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi and stir so the quinoa is mostly covered with the water. Because of the convex shape of the bottom of the inner pot, I push the quinoa to the outer part of the pot so it doesn't burn and has water covering it.
Put the pressure lid on and set high pressure for 1 minutes. When the time is up allow the pot to natural release for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the quinoa. It should have absorbed all of the water and just starting to sprout.
If it hasn't sprouted, add a few tablespoons of water and use sear/sauté to finish cooking it.
If there is water left, stir and put the lid on let it sit for a few more minutes.
Here is what it should look like when it's done.
Next add in the honey, chopped almonds, and craisins. Give a good stir and close the crisping lid.
Select the air crisp or air fry function, set the temperature to 400℉/200℃ and the time to 10 minutes. Stir every 3 minutes until it browns and dries. You can tell when you stir, if it still looks a little wet, keep going. Usually it takes between 8-10 minutes, but keep a close eye on it.
When the Quinoa Granola is done, spread it out onto a parchment lined tray and let it cool. It will crisp up as it cools.
Store it in sealed container. I like to use a mason jar, but any container will work. Just make sure it is completely cool before storing. I keep it on the counter, but you can also store it in the fridge, just make sure it is sealed well.
Top your yogurt with this delicious quinoa granola, eat it as a snack, or add some milk and have a bowl of cereal. Enjoy!
Quinoa Granola
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa dry
- 10 Tablespoons water ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup chopped almonds
- 2 tablespoon dried cranberries
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Instructions
- combine the quinoa and the water in the inner pot and stir well. Move the quinoa to the edges so it is covered with liquid. Put the pressure lid on and turn the valve to seal. Set the pressure to high for 1 minute. When the time is up allow the pot to natural release for 5 minutes then manually release the remaining pressure.
- Mix in the honey, chopped almonds, and dried cranberries. Stir to coat the quinoa with the honey and air crisp on 400℉/200℃ for 8-10 minutes. Make sure to stir every couple minutes for even crisping.
- When the mixture is completely dry, pour out onto a parchment lined tray and let it cool completely. Once cooled, you can store it in a mason jar or another airtight container.
- Serve & Enjoy!
Nutrition
About the Recipe Author, Louise Long
Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.
She published her first cookbook in the Fall of 2018 and is very interested in writing several more.
Louise is also the creator of an online Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooking Course with over 100 instructional step-by-step videos. People absolutely rave about the course and all the value they have received from it.
Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and learning more about the appliances they love.
Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper 101
Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker
Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.
She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can. Get more Information about Louise & contact information
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Silvia
Can I use frozen cranberries, I have them all the time for my scones
Louise
They will release too much liquid, so it isn't a great idea to use them unless you dehydrate them first.
Silvia
Ok, thank you, I will get the dried once.
Kathryn
I made the pecan and maple syrup. I could just sit down and eat the entire sheet pan in one sitting! It is fabulous and will certainly make this with other variations every week. I am very new to the Ninja Foodi and bought the OL701. Love it, bought after watching your review. I do have a bit of trouble with the language you use as I couldn’t figure out if air crisp was the same as air fry, my problem not yours. So I went to google to find the answer because on the OL701 I have steam crisp so I got confused. Eventually I will learn all the jargon. Love your website and use it daily! Thank you so much!
Georgina Colman
Hi, I need to avoid calcium so can't have nuts - could I put something else in instead of almonds? Thanks
Louise
I would just omit them.
Cheryl Tiemens
I am a do it myself type person. Love to bake and cook really good food for my family. I am married, care for my elderly immobile mother, have 16yo grandson, cats, foster kittens, 15chickens, house renovations, work full time on the computer. My older sister got she and myself the Ninja Foodi for our Christmas. Trying greek yogurt tonight and then when exploring saw the quinoa granola- seriously have never thought of that. Can't wait to try that also.
Louise
I hope you love it!