Learn how to make popped amaranth! The gluten-free high-protein seed can be popped like popcorn. It takes only 10 minutes to make one cup.
It’s hard to keep up with the long list of “superfoods” out there but this one should definitely make your list. Amaranth is very similar to quinoa. Both seeds are naturally gluten-free and very high in protein.
In case you’ve never heard about Amaranth before, let’s get to the basics:
What is Amaranth?
It’s often called a “pseudograin” because it’s not technically a grain but rather a seed. Exactly like quinoa. Amaranth was a staple food for the Aztecs and has been cultivated for thousands of years.
Today, most Mexicans consume it in a candy bar called “alegría”, which translated means joy. It is basically popped amaranth mixed with piloncillo (raw cane sugar).
The seeds are even smaller than quinoa seeds. And as opposed to quinoa it doesn’t fluff when cooked in water but rather becomes a sticky mush like oats in porridge.
In small amounts, it is an excellent thickener for soups, sauces, and jams.
Is amaranth gluten-free?
YES! Amaranth is naturally gluten-free because it isn’t a grain. If you are gluten intolerant, even more reason to incorporate amaranth into your diet. Together with quinoa, it’s the best substitute for any grain.
Amaranth is also lower in carbohydrates than for example rice or pasta. So if you are following a low-carb diet this is an amazing side dish for you.
Can amaranth be eaten raw?
Well, it “can”, but there is no point. We can’t digest raw amaranth. It’s like eating raw rice or raw beans. It’ll pass right through our digestive tract without change.
It’s necessary to either cook it or puff it so we can digest it and enjoy the benefits of this amazing superfood. To cook it, you basically cook it just like quinoa or grains. Put Amaranth and water in a saucepan in a 1-2 ratio, bring to the boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15-ish minutes or until all water is absorbed.
It becomes all gelatinous and mushy so eat it right away either as porridge with nuts and fruit or with some salt as a side dish.
I’m not a big fan of cooked amaranth which is why I always puff it. The nutty taste of the seed is enhanced and it tastes divine mixed into all kinds of dishes.
How to puff amaranth
It’s easier to make popped amaranth than popcorn. With popcorn, it’s kind of a faith thing. You place the kernels in the pot then you close the lid and pray. You can’t really see what’s happening in the pot. Haha.
With Amaranth it’s different. You do not add a lid. You want to prevent steam building up in the dry pot so no lid! The bad thing about this is, some seeds jump right out of the pot. The good thing, you keep an eye on your seeds and get them to pop beautifully.
Now there are a couple of nitty gritty details to ensure success. And here goes a big shout out to my amazing Mexican husband who did all the testing for me. It was his idea to post this blog post and the tips and tricks are all thanks to his research and testing :)
- use a high pot to avoid too many popped amaranth seeds shooting all over the place.
- the temperature has to be “PERFECT” so all the seeds immediately puff but none burn. You might have to toss the first two batches you try puffing until you find the perfect temperature of your stovetop. Too hot and they all pop but also all burn ahead of time. Not hot enough and they don’t pop but just burn. On my induction stovetop that goes from 1-9 and with cast iron pot I need to preheat my pot for about 5 minutes on 7 and then the amaranth pops perfectly.
- shake the pot often to get all seeds moving to the hot spots of the pot bottom and pop evenly without the popped ones burning.
What to make with popped Amaranth
You can eat popped amaranth just like that. My kids love a mix of just popped amaranth a few maple flakes to sweeten and they spoon it all out of a bowl. It’s a little dry for me like that.
I love adding it to granolas or salads. I also love making Tuna Patties with it and this Midnight Snack that is TO DIE FOR.\
Popped Amaranth
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup amaranth seeds
Instructions
- Preheat a high pot over medium-high heat.
- Spread about 1 Tablespoon at the time as evenly as possible on the bottom of the hot pot.
- Wait for the seeds to pop. This should be quite immediate. If they don't pop right away, the pot wasn't hot enough and the seeds won't pop and just burn. Discard that batch and start over.
- Once the popping starts, shake the pot to ensure all seeds pop and the popped seeds don't burn.
- Once the puffing ceases remove the popped amaranth and put into a sieve to shake out the unpuffed seeds.
- Then add the popped amaranth to a bowl and repeat the same process until all amaranth is popped.
- For every Tablespoon of raw amaranth you'll get about 2 Tablespoons popped amaranth.
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Moyra says
It’s also worth pointing out that amaranth is high in the amino acid, lycine which is helpful for people with a tendency to cold sores (herpes simplex) Lots of other good grains are high in argenine, which can be unhelpful or even cause an outbreak.
Lorena says
WOW!! I had no idea! This info will be so helpful to others. Thank you for sharing.
Glenys Everest says
I have a small Ironstone pot that I put in the microwave with corn in it, and after a minute in the microwave the ironstone gets so hot, it pops the corn with no burned ones. I’m thinking this may be a good way to try with the Amaranth?
Lorena says
Oh wow!! Never heard of that technique before. Please come back and let me know if it worked. I don’t have a microwave, I can’t test that for myself.
Wally says
Rather than throw away 1 gallon of amaranth seeds I’ve decided to see if some of them might germinate. I did find a website that explains how:
https://www.seedsnow.com/pages/organic-amaranth-grow-guide
There may be others, but with available time that’s a start. If anyone has information on doing this, please respond, possibly with a better “how to” grow amaranth. The climate here appears to favor this plant if it is planted correctly. Nothing could be fresher, if it works.
Wally says
Hi Lorena,
Thanks so much for the reply. I did watch your video and gleaned from it some of my mistakes.
It does seem that the seeds need to be thrown away and replaced with fresh ones. The good thing is that the glass gallon jar labeled “Amaranth” the seeds came in are a bit difficult to find. I’ll be a bit conservative at first on how much to buy to see how much we actually use. It appears that the seeds don’t really pop to become much larger than un-popped, which differs from popped corn. This is relevant to make sure that the popped seeds don’t remain too long in the pan waiting for them to become much larger when popped.
I did notice that Amazon sells these seeds, so that is one source. We no longer have as many health food stores here, although there is a large Hispanic presence, particularly those from Mexico, so Amaranto should be available locally in Hispanic markets. My wife, by the way, is from South America, but knew nothing about Amaranto, so we’re both on a learning curve.
Wally says
We received a gallon glass jar of Amaranth seeds from an acquaintance. I had no idea what value they had so I looked online to learn more.
What I discovered is that these seeds can be popped. So I read your “how to” article (among others) on how to do it. At this point it seems all the splendid photos of popped amaranth are beyond my ability to replicate, although I followed the advice given by keeping the pot at a temperature where the seeds would not burn. IMPOSSIBLE.
On the 3rd try the results were a LITTLE better, but nothing like the photos of a pot full of popped amaranth.
I attempted to separate the charred amaranth from the popped, but the sieve was not course enough. Some charred remains went through and the rest stuck to the sieve clogging it.
What am I doing wrong? Or should I have my wife put the seeds in soup instead and forget about trying to pop it? Maybe we were given this because the person we received it from also was not successful in using these seeds. Maybe they were a bit old, which tends to be a problem with popcorn.
I really will appreciate an answer, because my alternative at this point may be to only save about half the seeds for my wife to make soups, etc., and throw the other half away.
Lorena says
Hi Wally, it could be that the seeds are too old to pop, absolutely. I have the exact same experience with popcorn. I have always been able to make popcorn at home without a problem at all ever until I got this one batch that just wouldn’t pop and always burn. I tossed it and bought a new batch and everything went back to normal with my technique. Did you watch the video? In the video, I’m the most thorough in my explanation and you can “see” all the steps to achieve the popped amaranth shown in the photos. I highly encourage you to go get a fresh batch of amaranth as it’s absolutely delicious popped. I’m sorry you weren’t successful :( If they don’t pop, I don’t recommend adding them to anything else. They will make any food taste rancid. Just toss them, they’re not good anymore.
Wally says
Just to let you know, my wife has a “green thumb” so I suggested we take some of the gallon of seeds to see if we could grow them. Walala! They are growing like gang busters. We’ll have to wait a bit to see what’s involved in harvesting the seeds from the plants. I did read that even the flowers of this plant are editable. For sure we will have fresh seeds and learn if they will pop any better.
Lorena says
Wow!!! That’s brilliant! Never thought of it. Such a great idea :D Let me know how this evolves please!
Wally says
I’m not sure I can do this here, but would take a photo of the results later when the amaranth plants are more mature and post the results.
I’m having a little problem growing more putting the seeds in a large planter pot. It seems I’m still learning. My last revision to the process was to cover the pot with a piece of polyethylene to keep the moisture in because the sun dried the surface. That may have stopped the seed growth because there was too much moisture. So I threw in some more seeds and covered them lightly with a planter mix. Actually it’s recommended to use manure as well but I didn’t have it on hand. It’s wait and see now.
Lorena says
Great Wally :) I’m happy you are enjoying the process of planting the Amaranth. Unfortunately, photos can’t be posted in the comments. It would slow down my site way too much :(
Madhuri says
Amaranth leaves are extremely nutritious and used in Indian cooking. We cook them with lentils. Hope you were able to harvest your amaranth…
AJ says
Is it necessary to wash the amaranth seeds first? The instructions on the pack says to wash them, but then I would need to dry them again before popping?
Lorena says
Hi AJ, I never wash any of my seeds or grains. If you don’t feel comfortable using unwashed seeds you would have to dry them after washing, yes.
Karyn Thompson says
I burnt less using a teaspoon at a time, which may be due to the age of my seeds. I did use a glass lid to keep heat high. Worked! Now to make something with the puffed amaranth.
Lorena says
I’m happy you could make it work Karyn!!! Now enjoy :)
Fanny says
Thanks for the tutorial! I just bought some amaranth seeds at épicerie Loco in Villeray and was wondering what to do with it!
Cheryl says
The amount of calories and the amount of protein per serving is listed. However I don’t see the amount that equals one serving. Could you please tell me what that is?
Lorena says
Hi Cheryl, 1/2 cup raw amaranth makes 1 cup popped amaranth and that’s what I chose to show nutritional values for. At the top of the recipe you can see: Servings 1 cup :)
Geert Verduyckt says
Could I buy the popped amaranth somewhere ?
Lorena says
In Mexico yes, everywhere. Here in Canada I haven’t seen it anywhere which is why I wrote this post.
Nicole Germain says
I tried it tonight and it was delicious! My 3 year old loved it. I cooked in a stock pot on #6 heat with a oil screen over the top to prevent it from escaping.
Lorena says
I’m so happy you and your 3-year old loved it and the oil screen is a brilliant idea!!!
Jen says
Can you pop amaranth in an air popcorn maker?
Lorena says
Hm, I’m not sure. Since you basically have to pot it a tablespoon at a time and shake. I’ve tried adding 1/4 cup to the pot and it didn’t work. Too many didn’t pop and too many burnt. I guess you could try with a tablespoon first. Definitely let me know if you try and how it went please.
Jessica says
I’ve never heard or made amaranth! Thanks for the info, I can’t wait to try!
Lorena says
I’m so glad I introduced you to it then :D
Liz says
Did you cover the pot when popped the amaranth?
Lorena says
No I didn’t. You can cover it to avoid the seeds from jumping out but I prefer to deal with the mess later because steam can build up in the pot which isn’t ideal + you can’t see if the popped amaranth is burning and when exactly to remove them from the pot.
Christine says
This is so cool – I had no idea you could pop amaranth! Now I definitely want to give this a try!
Lorena says
Thank you Christine :) I had no idea either, hahaha. All the credit goes to my man.