Quinoa

Why quinoa is rated low

Quinoa is low at any typical portion, and no FODMAP group reaches a meaningful level, which makes it one of the more relaxing bases to build a meal on. Ordinary helpings, even a full plate's worth of cooked grain, sit comfortably. In practice the thing that decides how a quinoa dish sits is almost never the quinoa. It is the stock it was simmered in and everything stirred through it afterwards.

What changes your risk

• What you cook it in Quinoa absorbs its cooking liquid, so a stock cube, a bouillon powder or a broth built on onion and garlic goes straight into the grain and stays there. Water, a plain broth you have read the label on, or water finished with garlic-infused oil keeps the base low.
• Everything stirred through it Quinoa is a carrier, and quinoa salads are where the trouble usually arrives: chickpeas and lentils folded in, chopped onion, a garlic heavy dressing. The grain holds its rating; the salad it becomes is judged on the whole bowl.
• Flavoured pouches and seasoning blends Microwave quinoa pouches, pilaf mixes and grain blends commonly carry onion powder, garlic powder or a dried vegetable mix, and grain blends often fold in lentils or other pulses. Plain dried quinoa is a simpler product than the ready seasoned version.
• Rinsing is about bitterness, not FODMAPs Rinsing quinoa before cooking washes off the natural bitter coating and is worth doing for taste, but it does not change where the grain sits on this list.
• Serving size and the rest of the meal Quinoa is low at any typical portion. Since no FODMAP group reaches a meaningful level, the stacking question is about the total FODMAP load of the whole meal, and a low base gives you room to spend elsewhere on the plate.

What else works

If you want variety in the same role, rice, polenta, buckwheat, oats and potato all do the same job under a stir fry, a curry or a salad at their own serves, and gluten free pasta covers the noodle side of things. The lookalikes worth separating are the ones that sit in the same aisle and the same bowl: couscous is wheat, and so are bulgur and most tabbouleh, while pearl barley brings its own problem. Prepared quinoa and lentil blends, quinoa and chickpea salads and quinoa tabbouleh built on a garlic dressing are all judged by their other ingredients rather than by the quinoa on the label.

How to keep it low

Rinse the dry grain in a fine sieve until the water runs clear, since the coating is genuinely bitter and a quick splash does not remove it. Cook it in water rather than stock unless you have read the stock's ingredient list, then build the flavour back with garlic-infused oil, the green tops of spring onions, chives, lemon, herbs and a pinch of asafoetida. Cooked quinoa keeps for several days in the fridge and reheats well, so a batch on Sunday turns into lunch bowls that you control completely. When you are ordering out, a quinoa salad from a counter is usually dressed and mixed before you see it, so ask what is in the dressing and whether the bowl has pulses folded through.

Common questions

is quinoa low fodmap

Yes. Quinoa is low at any typical portion, and no FODMAP group reaches a meaningful level.

how much quinoa can i eat

Any typical portion is low, including a generous helping. What goes into the dish with it matters far more than the grain itself.

can i eat quinoa on the elimination phase

Yes. Quinoa is commonly used as a staple base during the strict phase. Keep the stock, the dressing and the mix ins in mind, since those are where onion and garlic usually enter.

is couscous the same as quinoa

No. Couscous is made from wheat, which is not a low FODMAP grain at ordinary servings, while quinoa is a seed that is low at any typical portion. They look similar in a bowl and behave very differently, so quinoa, rice or polenta are the swaps when a recipe calls for couscous.