Healthy and Filling, Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls are super easy to make, using fresh and wholesome ingredients. In under 30 minutes, make them for lunch today.
Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
Do you have a big pot of my Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Beans? Oh, you do, good!!!!
I love, love, love Cuban Food. I grew up with it, how could I not?
Quinoa is something I have struggled to enjoy. So, I set out to create recipes using Quinoa, that are fabulous.
My Instant Pot Chicken Fried Quinoa “Rice”is another delicious Quinoa recipe. 🙂 If you like Quinoa, you will enjoy the recipe.
That being said, Chicken is not my favorite protein and using BBQ Pork for the Fried Quinoa recipe, is a whole other ball of wax….for me! OMG, major yum.
If you are on the fence with Quinoa, I will tell you that my Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls will make you a Quinoa lover.
I don’t even miss the rice and now crave Quinoa Bowls.
Grab your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker and let’s get cooking. A delicious and healthy meal, on your table, in under 30 minutes!
Cast of Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
Cuban Black Beans are my thing and if you have not tried my recipe, you are missing out.
Sure, you can use a couple of cans of Black Beans, if you like but you will probably need to adjust the liquid and then the recipe won’t be CUBAN Black Beans.
If you prefer to use a can of Diced Tomatoes, it is not a problem.
In fact, you can even use a bit tub of Salsa and totally eliminate chopping any vegetables. Just dump it all in to the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
I’d love it however, if you would check out my Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Beans recipe, as it is fantastic and super easy to make.
This recipe is mostly a dump and push recipe.
This recipe and other Cuban favorites can be found in my brand new This Old Gal Pressure Cooker Cookbook!
Scrub the Quinoa to Remove Saponin
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Why do I need to wash Quinoa?
- Quinoa has a natural coating called Saponin.
- If not rinsed, the Quinoa may taste soapy or bitter.
- Packaged Quinoa may be already pre-washed, but it is still a good idea to give it a good scrubbing.
I usually put the Quinoa into a Medium Mixing Bowl with water and rub the grains between my fingers.
Then pour it through a Fine stainless steel mesh strainer and rinse it off once again.
Prep and Chop up all Vegetables
The first thing to do is to dice up all of the vegetables.
If using Canned Diced Tomatoes, rather than fresh, don’t drain them. Fresh Tomatoes release a ton of liquid and the reason that additional liquid is not added to this recipes.
Don’t be afraid to use Canned Diced Tomatoes instead, as during certain times of the year, Canned Diced Tomatoes are a better option.
If you love “Bowl” type meals, you will enjoy my Pressure Cooker Chicken Taco Bowls and for an easy and delicious sandwich, try my Pressure Cooker Sloppy Joes.
Heat up Pressure Cooker, then add Oil
Whenever you are planning on Browning, Searing or Sautéing using Stainless Steel or Cast Iron, it is essential to first, make sure to completely heat up the pot before adding the Oil to your Cast Iron Skillet, Stainless Steel Cookware or Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
Remember Cold Oil, Hot Pot.
This will turn your Stainless Steel Cooking Pot to non-stick.
For this recipe, I am using a very good, Extra Virgin Oil Oil, which I keep in my cute Red Oil Dispenser.
Why did I bring up Cast Iron? Well, if you are fond of Latin food, you have got to try my Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas {Crispy Mexican Pulled Pork} recipe. It is the best you will find.
Add the Ingredients get added into Pressure Cooker
So, if you are going the Fresh Homemade route, after Sautéing your Aromatics, add in the Seasonings.
What Seasonings are in Black Bean Quinoa Bowls!
- Fresh Garlic
- Ground Cumin
- Sea Salt
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Fresh Cilantro Leaves
- Bay Leaves
Mix in the liquids and the mix in the Pressure Cooker Cuban Black beans.
Sprinkle the Washed Quinoa over the top.
Quinoa cooks super fast, so it stays on the top, while the Peppers and Onions continue to cook.
If you don’t mind a crunchier Onion or Green Pepper, skip all the Sautéing and just add all the ingredients at once.
The Excess Liquid will be Absorbed Quickly
As you stir and fluff up the Quinoa, it will finish absorbing the liquid.
Instant Pot Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls are perfect for scooping up with Tortilla Chips.
I like to add Avocado Slices and eat them in a big bowl! I cannot wait for you to try this recipe and I hope you will let me know how you enjoyed your meal!
There are many more Cuban recipes to try. How about my Pressure Cooker Cuban Yuca con Mojo or Pasta de Bocaditos? My Air Fryer Cuban Sweet Plantains delicious and much less fat calories than pan frying.
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
- J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- di Oro Living Silicone Spatulals Set
- Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
- 6 oz Porcelain Ramekins
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
- 3.5 Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
- Fine stainless steel mesh strainer
- Quinoa
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 large Yellow/Brown Onion diced
- 1 large Green Pepper diced
- 1 Jalapeño Pepper seeds removed, diced
- 3 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
- 1 pound Fresh or Canned Roma Tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 ounce Fresh Cilantro Leaves chopped
- 1 Bay Leaves
- 1 Lime juiced
- 1 pound Cuban Black Beans prepared
- 8 ounces Quinoa washed
Garnish
- 2 Avocados sliced
- 1 Lime cut into wedged
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Instructions
- Select Sauté or Browning on pressure cooker and allow to fully heat.
- Add oil to cooking pot and swirl to coat bottom of pot.
- Add Onions, Green Peppers, Jalapeño and Sauté for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Mix in cumin, salt, pepper, lime juice, cilantro and Bay Leaf. Then add Black Beans and quinoa on top. Do not stir.
- Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook at High Pressure for 1 minute. Wait 10 minutes and then release all pressure.
- Remove Lid and Bay Leaf. Fluff with a fork. Serve with lime wedges and avocado slices.
Notes
PIN this Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls!
Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
I’m in the process of making this. It says to add the garlic but the amount is not listed in the ingredients unless I’m blind. Just Curious but I’ll just throw some in because I like [email protected]!
Sounds delicious. If you use canned
black beans, do you drain/rinse them first?
I just tried the bowl recipe after making the Cuban Black Beans yesterday. There still seems like a LOT of liquid with the quinoa. Was I supposed to drain most of the liquid off the beans after I made them? Or is the quinoa bowl still fairly soupy?
I don’t know how much liquid you had in your black beans, but it should not be very liquidy. Jill
Very good made the beans first then the bowl. Yum
Wow, wonderful to hear!!!! Jill
Cuban black beans, out of this world!
Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi,
Does this recipe not need any water/chicken stock in it for the quinoa to cook? i’m wondering how will the quinoa turn out without any liquid. Thanks!
I was really worried about this too, but there was totally enough liquid to cook the quinoa (I had lots of problems with the burn message though and it never came to pressure) and it cooked even though it never came to pressure. I used the Cuban bean recipe to make the beans and fresh tomatoes.
Where would I add chicken breasts/thighs in the in-pot ingredient hierarchy? How would the addition of chicken {thawed/boneless/skinless} affect the cooking time?
Hi, Jill,
Followed your Pressure Cooker Cuban Black Bean Quinoa Bowls exactly, using canned diced tomatoes and black beans. However, the quinoa did not cook in the recommended time and remained crunchy. Did I miss something? According to the directions on the quinoa package, there needs to be 2 cups of liquid/cup of quinoa. Did I need to add water or broth? After adding water and microwaving a lot, it was tasty, but time consuming. Suggestions?
Mary
I made the eye of round roast beef recipe from your ite. It turned out wonderfully! I am pretty ew to pressure cooking, but am gaining courage with each success. Trying to eat more healthfully and clean without spending a lot of money. Thanks so much for the tips and recipes you share. Going to try the Black Bean Quinoa bowls next?
Hi Nancy. Great news. Let me know how you like these Bowls. Jill