How to make puffed quinoa in minutes in a hot dry pan using 1 ingredient. This high-protein alternative to puffed rice is also called popped quinoa, and the crunchy treat can be sprinkled on salads, yogurt, ice cream and used in no bake snacks and granola.
Put a dry sauté pan on the stove and turn on the heat to medium high. Do not oil the pan.
Toss in a few kernels of dry quinoa and if the pan is hot enough, the kernels will begin snapping and popping almost immediately. Add the rest of the dry quinoa to the pan and shake it around so it is only 1 kernel of quinoa deep.
1 cup quinoa
Keep shaking the pan as it pops, and after just under a minute the popping will slow and the smell will be nutty.* It's time to stop.
Remove the pan from the stove, and allow the quinoa to cool enough to be able to be transferred to a storage container.
Storage
Store puffed quinoa in a sealed container for a week or longer. It can be frozen but might need to be re-sautéed to return the crunchy texture.
Video
Notes
*Puffed quinoa explodes in a smaller way than does rice or popcorn. Do not rinse the quinoa. Do not coat the pan in oil.