Nutrition for Quinoa (cooked)

Calories, Protein, Vitamins and More


image of quinoa source

Quinoa Nutrition Summary

One cup of cooked quinoa (185 grams or 0.4 lb) contains 222 calories and 8.1 grams of protein. Quinoa consist of 72% water, 21% carbohydrates, 4% protein, and 2% fat.

Quinoa is an excellent source of many nutrients, including carbohydrates, dietary fiber, protein, iron and potassium. It also contains significant amounts of calcium, magnesium, Vitamin B6, copper, zinc, phosphorus, choline and manganese.

In one cup of cooked quinoa:

  • Calories: 222
  • Protein: 8.1 g
  • Sugar: 1.6 g
  • Dietary fiber: 5.2 g
  • Fat: 3.6 g, (Saturated: 0.4 g)
  • Sodium: 13 mg
There is no significant amounts of cholesterol in quinoa.

See the Quinoa Nutrition Chart for complete recommended daily values.
The specific nutritional values from USDA is for: Quinoa, cooked.

Calories in Quinoa

Quinoa has 222 calories per cup or 120 calories for every 100 grams. Most of its calories are from carbohydrates, protein and fat.

71% of calories in quinoa are from carbohydrates, 15% of calories are from protein and 15% of calories are from fat.

Calories from Carbs

The majority, or 71% of the calories in cooked quinoa are from carbohydrates. The carbs in quinoa are mostly in the form of dietary fiber, sugar and starch (13%, 4% and 83%). An excellent high-fiber food, a single cup of quinoa contains 21% of recommended daily values or 5.2 grams of dietary fiber.

  • Dietary fiber: 5.2 g
  • Sugar: 1.6 g
  • Starch: 32.6 g

Calories from Fat

About 15% the calories in cooked Quinoa are from fat. Quinoa has a moderate amount of total fat, with 3.6 grams or 6% of recommended daily values per cup. Most of the fat in quinoa are healthier unsaturated fats.

Quinoa is cholesterol free and trans-fat free.

  • Total fat: 3.6 g
  • Saturated fat: 0.4 g
  • Monounsaturated fat: 1 g
  • Polyunsaturated fat: 2 g
There is no significant amounts of cholesterol or trans fat in quinoa.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 in Quinoa

Quinoa is a source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, containing a total of 0.16 grams for every cup. It contains significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid. [2]

  • alpha linoleic acid: 0.16 g
Also a good source of omega-6 fatty acids, every cup of quinoa contains a total of 1.8 grams of omega-6. In addition, a large portion of the omega-6 in quinoa comes from linolenic acid - the only essential omega-6 fatty acid. [2]

  • linoleic acid: 1.8 g
The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in quinoa is 11.2: 1.

Calories Similar to Quinoa

Some other grains or pasta with similar calories to quinoa by weight:


Protein in Quinoa

An excellent source of protein, a single cup of Quinoa contains 16% of recommended daily values or 8.1 grams of protein. In addition, quinoa contains significant amounts of all 9 essential amino acids.

  • Protein: 8.14 g
  • Tryptophan: 0.1 g
  • Threonine: 0.24 g
  • Isoleucine: 0.29 g
  • Leucine: 0.48 g
  • Lysine: 0.44 g
  • Methionine: 0.18 g
  • Phenylalanine: 0.34 g
  • Valine: 0.34 g
  • Histidine: 0.23 g

Protein Similar to Quinoa

Some other grains or pasta with similar amounts of protein to quinoa by weight:

Vitamins and Minerals in Quinoa

An good source of nutrients, cooked quinoa contains abundant amounts of iron and potassium. In fact, a single cup of quinoa contains 15% of recommended daily values or 2.8 milligrams of iron.

Vitamins in quinoa (1 cup):
  • Vitamin a: 2.8 ug
  • Thiamin: 0.2 mg
  • Riboflavin: 0.2 mg
  • Niacin: 0.8 mg
  • Vitamin b6: 0.2 mg
  • Vitamin e: 1.2 mg
  • Folate: 77.7 ug
Minerals in quinoa (1 cup):
  • Calcium: 31.5 mg
  • Potassium: 318.2 mg
  • Iron: 2.8 mg
  • Magnesium: 118.4 mg
  • Zinc: 2 mg
  • Selenium: 5.2 ug
  • Phosphorus: 281.2 mg
  • Copper: 0.4 mg
  • Manganese: 1.2 mg
  • Choline: 42.6 mg
There is no significant amounts of pantothenic acid, vitamin c, vitamin b12 or vitamin k in quinoa.

Similar to Quinoa for Iron

Here are some other grains or pasta with similarly abundant amounts of iron to quinoa:

Flavonoids and Carotenoids in Quinoa [3]

Quinoa contains a couple of healthy phytonutrients and antioxidants, specifically carotenoid lutein + zeaxanthin. In one cup of quinoa:

  • lutein + zeaxanthin: 98 ug

Quinoa Nutrition Chart

Quinoa:

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histidine
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lysine
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threonine
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Nutrition calculations are from Harvard Medical's nutrient guidelines [1] and USDA's food central database (2019) [2].
We calculated values from 2000 kCal daily recommended diet.

Quinoa in Cooking

Quinoa is in the top 10% of most popular ingredients for recipes. Most recipes call for one or two cups of quinoa.

Friends and Relatives of Quinoa

Foods commonly cooked with quinoa: Other similar relatives:


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