Quinoa is a gluten-free grain that can be eaten in many different ways. This nutrient-dense superfood is rich in minerals, vitamins, and proteins and is beneficial for weight loss as well. In this review, we were looking for the tastiest and best quinoa brand available in the markets today.
We bought and cooked with 10 popular brands of quinoa over 2 days in our test kitchen, and based on parameters such as flavor, smell, freshness, and aftertaste, we found the quinoa by both Organic India and Raw Essentials to be best on all features.
Earlier, Raw Essentials was our Gourmet Pick (due to higher pricing), but with a price change, we feel it is good for consumption regularly, and that its price should no longer be a barrier for those who enjoy quinoa regularly already.
Both brands, Organic India and Raw Essentials, came out tops in our review.
Table of Contents
Best Quinoa Brand To Buy: Organic India
Organic India is our Top Pick Quinoa brand because of its sweet taste, soft and firm texture, and perfect cooking instructions that would help anyone prepare perfectly cooked quinoa. This is the best quinoa to eat for everyday consumption.
Size: 500 grams, Price: Rs. 295*
*At the time of review
Why is Organic India our Top Pick:
Organic India’s quinoa is not only certified Organic, but it was also the tastiest amongst all the ten brands cooked. Quinoa should have a firm bite to it after it has been prepared in an adequate amount of water and left to sit for 8-10 minutes. Uncooked quinoa by Organic India was quite clean, and it took us only a couple of washes to get a clear rinse.
You can tell that the quinoa is cooked when the seeds turn translucent and the white germ is clearly visible around the seed. Organic India’s quinoa seeds cooked well per instructions, the grains did not stick to each other and were fluffy. It is available at the same price as other non-organic quinoa, and this makes it an even better choice.
Best Quinoa Brand Top Pick: Raw Essentials
Raw Essentials Gluten Free Authentic White Quinoa, 1kg
Raw Essentials is our Top Pick because it cooked very well, was sweet to taste, with fluffy, separate grains. The grains have a soft and firm texture, with no bitter aftertaste. The packet provides perfect cooking instructions that would assist anyone wanting to make perfectly cooked quinoa.
Size: 1 Kg, Price: Rs. 499*
*At the time of review
Raw Essentials Quinoa brand is a premium quality quinoa that earlier came at a higher cost. Now, with a competitive price, it can be enjoyed by a wider audience. From being our Gourmet Pick earlier, we have now upgraded it to our Top Pick (joint winner with Organic India). The packaging looks artisanal and would be liked by those who have a more discerning palate.
Raw Essentials is as tasty as Organic India, and now even cheaper. Hence, we would recommend this for everyday use, or even for those who are just beginning to try out quinoa.
Our Review Process
How We Picked Our Brands:
Keeping in mind that quinoa has for most years been an imported product, hence its high-price, we decided to pick some domestic brands that have, in recent years, seen a rise in demand. These brands have a nation-wide availability, and since quinoa has now become a more domestic and easily available health food, knowing which one you should pick is more vital than ever.
All the brands we picked were easily available at several locations across Delhi-NCR. These are also easily available for audiences outside the national capital region through major online portals as well.
Team Mishry
The Brands We Picked
Nourish You (Buy On Amazon)
India Gate
Pure And Sure (Buy On Amazon)
Organic Tattva (Buy On Amazon)
Bagrry’s (Buy On Amazon)
Jewel Farmer Quinoa (Buy On Amazon)
True Elements (Buy On Amazon)
Raw Essentials (Buy On Amazon)
Organic India (Buy On Amazon)
Urban Platter (Buy On Amazon)
Who This Is For?
The gluten-free nature of quinoa makes it a great alternative for people who are suffering from a gluten allergy or celiac disease. So it is safe to say that our Best Quinoa Brand Review serves people who are medically required to steer clear of wheat and for them, quinoa becomes a part of their regular diet.
Moreover, quinoa also comes in handy if you are looking to lower your daily carb/gluten intake, not for reasons related to allergies, but more to do with keeping fit and reducing weight. Quinoa is known for its high-fiber content and is enough to prevent one from overeating, easily satisfying the appetite.
Quick Recipes with Quinoa: Add these tiny nutritious bombs.
How We Tested:
The testing to find out the best quinoa brand from the list was done in two parts. The first part was to judge the raw quinoa seeds based on aroma, ease of cleaning, and appearance after being thoroughly washed. The washing instructions were given at the back of each package, for example, the Organic India pack advised to wash the quinoa three times at least, though, to its credit, it required just one thorough wash.
Related Reading:
12 Spectacular Reasons To Eat Quinoa Instead Of Rice
Our Parameters For The Test
Setting up parameters is one of the most important parts of our review. These parameters are responsible for creating the ground rules upon which each and every brand is judged, for how else would we be able to compare and find the best one out? Here are the parameters upon which we based our review:
- Aroma: The smell is the very first thing that you notice about your meal. It is important for quinoa to have a sweet and a little grassy smell, as it contributes to the overall taste of the meal.
- Texture: The hardness and softness of the quinoa seeds contribute heavily to the overall eating experience; thus texture plays a vital role in our review.
- Taste: A perfectly cooked a bowl of quinoa is mildly sweet, with a soft bite. It’s not supposed to be mushy or soggy in texture and must not taste bitter.
The above-mentioned parameters are the three key elements that were essential for our review.
| Brands | Aroma (Pre-cooked quinoa) | Clarity of Instructions | Texture (Cooked Quinoa) | Flavor (Cooked Quinoa) |
| Jewel Farmer | Sweet and grassy smell | Clear instructions | Well cooked, fluffy grains | Almost no aftertaste |
| Organic Tattva | Grassy smell | No clear Instructions | Hard, undercooked | Mildly bitter |
| True Elements | Sweet and strong grassy smell | No clear instructions | Burnt, not fluffy | Burnt bitter, soggy |
| Raw Essentials | Sweet and grassy | Clear Instructions | Big sized kernels, soft | Soft firm bite, sweet flavor |
| India Gate | Grassy smell | Clear instructions | Hard, small kernels | Bland flavor |
| NourishYou | Neutral | Clear instructions | Hard | Mild aftertaste, not bitter |
| Urban Platter | Neutral | No clear instructions | Undercooked | Mildly bitter aftertaste |
| Bagrry’s | Neutral | Clear instructions | Bit undercooked, hard | Bland flavor |
| Pure & Sure | Raw dry spice like smell | Clear instructions | Hard | Undercooked |
| Organic India | Sweet and grassy smell | Clear instructions | Fluffy and soft | Firm and fluffy grains, Sweet flavor, tasty |
*Cooking method as per brand packaging
Mishry Secret Sauce
Compared to the other health foods, quinoa is relatively new in the market, so it is evident that most people aren’t aware of the best possible way of cooking it.
So, what can one do in order to get it right except rely on the instructions given at the back of the pack? That is exactly what we did for our Mishry Secret Sauce Review.
While some packs were printed with the perfect instructions regarding the cooking of quinoa, others resulted in the quinoa being undercooked or overcooked. In one particular case, it was even burned. For some the instructions were missing, so for them, we cooked up quinoa using a 1:2 ratio, which meant two cups of water for one cup of quinoa.
Final Result Of The Mishry Secret Sauce
Organic India and Raw Essentials both turned out to be our favorite and best Quinoa brand in the Mishry secret sauce test.
Organic India: The seeds cooked up to be big in size, they were soft and firm, and the taste was mildly sweet. Moreover, the instructions given at the back of the packaging were perfect and its sweet smell was retained, even after cooking.
Organic India is our Top Pick because of its sweet taste, soft and firm texture, and perfect cooking instructions that would help anyone prepare perfectly cooked quinoa. This is the best quinoa to eat for everyday consumption.
Size: 500 grams, Price: Rs. 295*
*At the time of review
Raw Essentials is a premium quality quinoa that earlier came at a higher cost. Now, with a competitive price, it can be enjoyed by a wider audience. From being our Gourmet Pick earlier, we have now upgraded it to our Top Pick (joint winner with Organic India).
Raw Essentials Gluten-Free Authentic White Quinoa, 1kg
Raw Essentials is our Top Pick because it cooked very well, was sweet to taste, with fluffy, separate grains. The grains have a soft and firm texture, with no bitter aftertaste. The packet provides perfect cooking instructions that would assist anyone wanting to make perfectly cooked quinoa.
Size: 1 Kg, Price: Rs. 499*
*At the time of review
* If you do agree with our review, please give it a thumbs up! And, tell us which one is your favorite from this list. If you don’t, please tell us why!
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* No part of this review is sponsored by any brand. All expenses were borne by us.