Have you ever thought you knew things about a type of food that turned out to be completely wrong?
For me, it’s the Amaranth grain.
I always thought this grain came from India, but I was completely floored when I started researching it.
Amaranth is part of the ancient grains and has been harvested for over 8000 years. For Vegans, it’s one of the best sources of protein.
I stumbled upon the truth about amaranth while researching ancient grains. It completely floored me, and I felt the need to go down the amaranth rabbit hole.
The first thing that threw me off was the name. The first part of the name, “Amar,” translates to “immortal” in Hindi. Hence why I associate it with Indian cuisine.
Amaranth has found its way into Indian cooking and is more commonly known as “Ramdana ” which translates to “God’s Grain”.
But, here is the real skinny on Amaranth…
Amaranth is the group name of some 60 different amaranthus plants – Source: Whole Grain Council . Of all 60 different types of amaranth plants, 3 are commonly grown for food consumption. Amaranthus cruentus is the flowering plant that produces Amaranth grain. Amaranthus hypochondriacus – believed to be the ancestor of Amaranthus cruentus. Amaranthus caudatus (AKA Love Lies Bleeding!) is a hybrid Amaranth plant.It was originally grown and harvested by the Aztecs. How cool is that! I am delighted to know that I am consuming the same grains that were an Aztec staple! Source: AncientGrains.com . This grain has been harvested for over 8000 years
The Aztecs didn’t just use it for food. They used it in their rituals and also for medicinal purposes. This grain has so much nutrition that, understandably, they thought amaranth had healing powers. When the Spanish Conquistadors took over, they burned most of the plants. They considered the plants to be “evil”. Anyone caught with it was punished heavily. Can you imagine living in a world where owning a grain could cause you to lose your life? The grain almost went into extinction, but you just can’t keep a good grain down! It did find its way into Mexico and Central America, where it has flourished to this day. 🥣 Cereal or “Pseudo-Grain”?: Amaranth is considered to be a “pseudo-grain” and not a true cereal grain. True cereals grow from the Poaceae family of plants. Pseudo-grains grow from other plants.
The grain, if the store carries it, will be in the flour section or the “lentil” section. Admittedly, I have found it hard to find this grain in my local grocery store.
– I think there are very few Publix stores that carry it. The good news is that you can always ask the store manager to stock the shelves with it.
– Walmart has it in only some of its stores. They will happily carry it in their stores if you ask them.
Lucky for us, this ancient grain is so easy to find in your local grocery stores and online
– Whole Foods occasionally carries them in its grains aisle
– I haven’t seen it in any Target stores, but I did ask the manager if they would be kind enough to carry it in their stores. They said they would try their best to carry it, so you might get lucky and see it in your local Target soon.
If all else fails, there is always the Cyber Aisle!
😋 How does it taste? Amaranth has an earthy and a little nutty flavor. Honey is the best way to flavor it.
I feel fortunate to be in the cyber age, where I can order almost any ingredient online. This 8000-year-old grain is so easy to order online!
(Affiliate Link) From Amazon Walmart – You can order it online and have it shipped to your local Walmart. This way, you don’t have to pay for shipping. Of all the ways to order it online, I found Walmart to be the cheapestGoogle Express – I believe that Whole Foods sells Amaranth via Google ExpressVitacost – Vitacost is my go-to place to buy any hard-to-find vegan or vegetarian items. They also have a huge collection of Amaranth for you to choose from. This link is from search results for all their Amaranth products.Directly from Bob’s Red Mill – I haven’t purchased anything directly from Bob’s Red Mill, so I can’t vouch for their ordering process. They do carry Amaranth and other grains in their online stores for easy purchase.Remove the Amaranth from its packaging and transfer to a glass bottle. Keep it tightly sealed Store in a cool, dry place. I keep it in the back shelves of my pantry. You can also store it in the refrigerator. Cooked amaranth is a very hearty and delicious side dish
Amaranth is “immortal” and can last for a long time. My personal preference is to use them within 6 months of opening the packet.
Amaranth doesn’t go bad, but I live in Florida, where flour bugs (AKA weevils) are prevalent. So, I like to use all my grains and flours as quickly as possible.
Amaranth is good in so many recipes; therefore, a one-pound bag can be consumed in under a month.
Amaranth is known as a superfood for good reason, as just one cup of cooked amaranth contains helpful nutrients.
Just one cup of Amaranth has:
– 9g of Protein (18% RDA)
– 5g of Dietary Fiber (20%)
– 11% Calcium
– 28% Iron
– 40% Magnesium
– 15% Vitamin B6
As a vegan/vegetarian, those numbers make me do cartwheels!
I find that it also gives me plenty of energy, and I don’t feel sluggish after eating an amaranth salad . I also find that it helps my digestive process.
Ancient grains are grains that have not changed in thousands of years. They existed in the early days of man (or possibly before that) and continue to thrive in our century.
Some of these ancient grains are processed and have gone through selective breeding in their long history. But they remain part of the ancient grain collective.
They are also referred to as heritage grains.
Source: The Ancient Grain Council
Everyone will love the recipes that are made with this ancient grain
1. Amaranth
2. Buckwheat
3. Chia – Having chia seeds on this list makes me really happy. Try my tomato salad or my Greek yogurt bowl . I put chia seeds in them, and they made the recipe taste incredible!
4. Millet
5. Quinoa – I have so many delicious recipes that use Quinoa. My favorites are Quinoa Fajitas and Quinoa Salad Wraps
6. Sorghum
7. Farro – I discovered farro about 6 years ago at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Queens. I have to say that I loved how delicious it tasted and try to eat it often. Try this super simple Farro salad .
8. Teff – Teff is not easy to find in stores, but it’s on (affiliate link) Amazon .
Source: The Chopra Center
There are more ancient grains like rice, spelt, millet, and others. The Ancient Grain council has the complete list of grains it considers ancient.
Both grains look so much alike, and they are easy to confuse. They have the same color, shape, and texture!
The main visual difference, however, is that quinoa is slightly larger and a little lighter in color. Even with a clear visual difference, it is easy to mix those two up.
The difference between Amaranth and Quinoa is subtle but easy to spot.
The solution?
I label them with the brand and type of grain. I am sure I could have put fancy labels or even printables with the name of grains written in calligraphy.
But, where is the fun in that, right?
Storing these grains is as easy as putting them in glass jars with a tight lid
The nutritional difference between these two grains is much more significant.
Quinoa has slightly less protein Quinoa has 8g of protein, and amaranth has 9g. I will take that extra gram of protein any day.
Amaranth has slightly more calories Amaranth has 251cal, and quinoa has 222cal. That’s not a huge difference, unless you are counting calories.
Amaranth has more carbs Quinoa wins this round because it has only 40g of carbs where as the other grain has 46g.
Source: LiveStrong.com
The biggest difference is when you cook them. At that point, there is no confusion as to which one is quinoa and which one is amaranth.
When cooked, it’s easy to tell quinoa apart from amaranth
Amaranth can be used in making desserts, too.
1) Add 3 cups of water to a strong-bottom pot. Optional: I have added salt occasionally to flavor it while it’s cooking.
2) Bring it to a boil
3) Add 1 cup of dry amaranth seeds
4) Give it a quick stir
5) Close the lid and let it cook on low heat
6) Simmer until the liquid has been absorbed (about 20 minutes)
Remove from heat and use in recipe. It’s normal for the cooked amaranth to be sticky and clumpy. You can crumble it in the recipe where it’s an ingredient.
👩🍳 Cooking tip : Soaking amaranth is not required because it cooks very fast.
Don’t be shy, chime in below in the comments. Please share your thoughts on this amaranth recipe. If you enjoyed this, please give it 5 stars and share it on Facebook , Pinterest , X, Instagram, and YouTube .
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Rini
It only takes 2 ingredients to cook amaranth
Prep Time 1 minute min
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 21 minutes mins
Course Ingredient
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 1 person
Calories 716 kcal
3 cup water 1 cup Amaranth Get Recipe Ingredients
Add 3 cups of water to a strong bottom pan
Bring it to a boil
Add 1 cup of dry amaranth seeds
Give it a quick stir
Close the lid and let it cook on low heat
Simmer until the water has been absorbed (about 20 minutes)
Remove from heat and use in recipe Its normal for the cooked amaranth to be sticky and slightly clumpy. You can crumble it in the recipe you put it into.
Calories: 716 kcal Carbohydrates: 125 g Protein: 26 g Fat: 13 g Saturated Fat: 2 g Sodium: 45 mg Potassium: 980 mg Fiber: 12 g Sugar: 3 g Vitamin C: 8.1 mg Calcium: 329 mg Iron: 14.7 mg
Keyword How to cook amaranth, what is amaranth
Version 1
From time to time, I go through old recipes to update the content. Sometimes, I update just the images, and sometimes, I give the recipe a complete makeover.
This post didn’t need many updates. However, I just wanted to correct the grammatical errors and make the sentences easier to understand.
Here is the original version where you can see the grammar errors, lol!
