Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli, and Quinoa with Cheese
This Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli, and Quinoa has cheddar cheese melted into every bite. It's gluten-free, family-friendly comfort food made with whole grains, lean chicken breast meat, and packed with good-for-you broccoli.
Turn your pressure cooker to the "sauté" function. Melt the butter (1 tablespoon) and sauté the onions, celery, and carrots for 3 minutes, or until beginning to soften.
Add the rinsed quinoa (1 cup), stir to coat.
Pour in the chicken broth (1.5 cups) and add the chicken pieces and stir to mix together well. Turn the "sauté" function off. Cover the instant pot and set manual pressure to "high" for 5 minutes.
Quick release the pressure and wait for the float valve to depress.
Stir in the broccoli and cheese. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes, or until broccoli is crisp-tender and cheese has completely melted.
Serve.
Notes
Stovetop Directions: To make this on your stovetop, sauté the onions, celery, and carrots in butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet for three minutes. Add the chicken with salt and pepper; sauté for three minutes more. Add the quinoa and chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 20 minutes, or until quinoa is almost completely cooked. Stir in the broccoli and cheese, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes, until broccoli is tender. Serve.
Make it dairy free: omit the cheese and use olive oil instead of butter.
I made this recipe in my 6 qt. Instant pot. It should work the same in an 8 qt., but you may need to cut the ingredients in half for a 3 qt. mini.
The timing is for white quinoa, which cooks faster than tricolor, red, or black quinoa. If you use another kind, I recommend adding more time for it to cook. Keep in mind- adding more time may result in overcooked chicken.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.