Quinoa Kheer | Quinoa Pudding

Simple kheer or payasam with quinoa! 

Replace rice or vermicelli with quinoa and make this delicious South Asian dessert – gluten-free quinoa kheer or pudding.

When we think about quinoa recipes, we always think salads, soups, stews. Being a South Indian, I make rasam rice and sambar rice with quinoa as well. Mostly we think only savory recipes. 

I know with quinoa flour, you can make baked goodies and sweets. I have quinoa flour puttu, quinoa flour cookies, and laddu as well. But I don’t have any sweet recipes with quinoa. 

Instead of a savory recipe with quinoa, I decided to share a sweet recipe, and it’s the simple pudding. It’s like any other Indian kheer recipe like rice kheer or tapioca pearl kheer or the vermicelli kheer. I used quinoa instead of rice/tapioca/vermicelli, that’s about it. 

The main ingredients required for this kheer are quinoa, milk, sugar, condensed milk, and flavoring agents. I used cardamom, cloves, and saffron. But you can use whatever you have in hand.

Reduced-Fat Milk or Whole Milk-

I used reduced-fat milk for this recipe and also cooked quinoa in water. But the sweetened condensed milk compensated and made the kheer rich and creamy. 

You can use whole milk or reduced-fat milk. Also, instead of cooking quinoa with water, you can cook with milk. The cooking time might vary, though.  

Vegan Version-

I haven’t tested the vegan version of this recipe. But I am sure you can prepare the pudding with coconut milk and sweeten it with coconut sugar or maple syrup. 

How to make quinoa kheer-

• Rinse the quinoa thoroughly and soak it one cup of water for 30 to 45 minutes. It speeds up the cooking process. 

• In a saucepan, add the drained quinoa and one more cup of water and cook until the quinoa turns soft and tender. We don’t want it to be mushy. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes, depending upon the quality and variety. You can also cook quinoa in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. If needed, add ½ more cup of water while cooking quinoa.
• When quinoa is soft, add the sugar and allow it to dissolve. When the sugar is all dissolved, add the milk and condensed milk. Ensure the condensed milk is blended nicely. 
• Let it cook over medium-low heat for 4 minutes.
• Now add all the flavoring ingredients – cardamom, cloves, edible camphor, and saffron strands. Crush the cardamom and cloves before adding.
• Now let this kheer simmer over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes and then turn off the heat. Serve warm. 

Recipe Notes-

• I did not include any nuts or dry fruits. You can roast 1 to 2 tbsps of cashews and raisins in 2 tsps of ghee and add it to the kheer. 
• You can add more sugar, skip condensed milk, add more condensed milk, and reduce the sugar. Adjust the sugar as per your preference.
• As the kheer cools, quinoa absorbs the milk and thickens slightly but not like the vermicelli kheer. 
• If you want a thick pudding, reduce the milk to 1.5 or 2 cups.
• Instead of reduced-fat milk, you can use whole milk and cook the quinoa with milk, as mentioned in the post. 
• If you are not a big fan of quinoa, you can also check out how to make paal payasam which is with rice or other kheer recipes on my blog.

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5 from 5 votes

Quinoa Kheer | Quinoa Pudding

Simple kheer or payasam with quinoa! Replace rice or vermicelli with quinoa and make this delicious South Asian dessert – gluten-free quinoa kheer or pudding.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Soaking Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 6

Calories: 234kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

• saucepan

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup quinoa
• ▢ 2 cups water divided, plus more if needed
• ▢ ¾ cup sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup condensed milk
• ▢ 2.5 cups milk I used 2% reduced-fat milk
• ▢ 2 green cardamom
• ▢ 4 cloves
• ▢ a small piece of edible camphor optional
• ▢ ½ tsp saffron

Instructions

• Rinse the quinoa thoroughly and soak it one cup of water for 30 to 45 minutes. It speeds up the cooking process.
• In a saucepan, add the drained quinoa and one more cup of water and cook until the quinoa turns soft and tender. We don’t want it to be mushy. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes, depending upon the quality and variety. You can also cook quinoa in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. If needed, add ½ more cup of water while cooking quinoa.
• When quinoa is soft, add the sugar and allow it to dissolve. When the sugar is all dissolved, add the milk and condensed milk. Ensure the condensed milk is blended nicely.
• Let it cook over medium-low heat for 4 minutes.
• Now add all the flavoring ingredients – cardamom, cloves, edible camphor, and saffron strands. Crush the cardamom and cloves before adding.
• Now let this kheer simmer over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes and then turn off the heat. Serve warm.

Notes

• I did not include any nuts or dry fruits. You can roast 1 to 2 tbsps of cashews and raisins in 2 tsps of ghee and add it to the kheer.
• You can add more sugar, skip condensed milk, add more condensed milk, and reduce the sugar. Adjust the sugar as per your preference.
• As the kheer cools, quinoa absorbs the milk and thickens slightly but not like the vermicelli kheer. If you want a thick pudding, reduce the milk to 1.5 or 2 cups.
• Instead of reduced-fat milk, you can use whole milk and cook the quinoa with milk, as mentioned in the post.

Nutrition

Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 171mg | Iron: 1mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

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