What’s the Difference Between Red and White Quinoa?

I cook quinoa pretty frequently, using it in grain bowls or in salads. I’ve been increasingly enamored of red quinoa, which looks really gorgeous in salads, and which seems to hold its shape just a little bit better than the more commonly-found white quinoa. I became curious: was there any real difference between these two colors, or their third exotic sibling, black quinoa? I decided to ask a couple experts.

I asked the good folks at Bob’s Red Mill (

see our tour of the Mill here

Basically, they’re the same, and they can be cooked in the same way, which bears out my own experience.

But I did feel that there were some nuanced differences between the two, from the cook’s perspective, so I turned to another whole grains expert — Maria Speck, the author of

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals

While these different types of quinoa are indeed very much the same, Maria says there are slight differences in the optimal cooking times. She says, “Quinoa comes in many different colors, with white, red, and black being the most commonly cultivated. There are slight differences in cooking times and chewiness; white quinoa, which you will most often find in stores, is the mildest and least crunchy, and cooks up the fastest, in 10 to 15 minutes. Black is on the other end of the spectrum—it might need 5 minutes or so longer and is the crunchiest of the three with red somewhere in the middle.”

“But, as with all grains, there can also be variations depending on how old your quinoa is; then the white one might also take longer to cook and be more crunchy.”

Maria, like Bob, chooses the right quinoa for a recipe largely by color. “I choose quinoa the way I choose dried beans: I buy what is available and if all three types are, I buy the one whose color I find most appealing for my recipe. Just imagine how stunning black quinoa looks when combined with bright green vegetables and topped with green pistachios and red pomegranate seeds, or picture it next to a piece of cooked salmon with its coral hue. This is when I go for black, even if it takes a few minutes longer to cook!”

If you’re cooking quinoa — any color! — start with our basic tutorial, which can be found here:

And then adjust cooking time with Maria’s advice. She says, “Check the water and the texture of the grain a few minutes before the end of the suggested cooking time. If the quinoa is done to your liking, drain it. If not, cook it a bit longer, adding a drizzle more water or broth as needed. And if you have a few extra minutes, allow it to steam off the heat with the lid on— this plumps up the kernels nicely.”

Thanks Bob and Maria!

• Bob’s Red Mill online: Visit their website and follow them on Twitter.
• Maria Speck online: Visit her website, follow her on Twitter, and find Ancient Grains for Modern Meals on Amazon

Now I’m curious; what do you use more frequently? Golden quinoa? Red? Have you ventured into the black?

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