How to Cook LOTUS SEEDS (Stove top or Instant Pot)

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How to Cook Lotus Seeds (Stove top or Instant Pot) shares the easiest and best ways to cook lotus seeds. Cooking lotus seeds is best accomplished with, first, an easy overnight soaking, and then the stove top cooking. But cooking in the Instant Pot is faster and slightly more effective — plus, no overnight soaking is needed.

Both methods are great, depending on what tools you have! 🙂

Let’s dig into the details, and learn more about lotus seeds, too!

What are lotus seeds

Lotus seeds are indeed a seed! And this makes them a Paleo or grain free food that’s similar to a bean or legume, but not.

More importantly, lotus seeds are super low in copper — whereas most seeds and nuts are pretty high in copper. And, copper is a heavy metal (that causes a myriad of symptoms, including estrogenic symptoms and EMF sensitivity).

So lotus seeds are a great way to get more nutrients with less of the bad stuff that sometimes creeps in — especially for those of us who love to snack on nuts or seeds, or use them in our baking and cooking.

Nutrition in lotus seeds

I’m no longer much of a believer in super foods. I think we should eat gentle healthy foods in a balanced way and not over-do foods that seem to be super high in nutrients that only modern doctors tell us are healthy.

Similarly, I don’t think we all need to start loading up on lotus seeds.

Rather, I think it’s noteworthy that lotus seeds are a really gentle and nutritious seed. They are a new food for many of us to include in our diets — because they are indeed:

• healthier than other seeds
• a great source of fiber
• a rich source of potassium and B vitamins, especially Vitamin B1 (43% of daily value!)
• very low in vitamin A (which can become toxic quickly with the modern Western diet)
• a source of zero copper, a heavy metal common in most diets, (unlike most seeds and nuts)

Lotus seeds in Asian cuisine

Most people know about lotus seeds because of the role they play in a famous Chinese dessert, moon cakes.

Now that I’ve soaked, cooked and eaten lotus seeds in a variety of ways, I can see how they were first conceived of for a traditional dessert recipe; when partially cooked, they have a subtle perfume essence.

When cooked fully, they taste more like a bean or potato.

Lotus seeds can also be eaten raw. I personally have not tried them raw.

Of course, lotus seeds are often used to make soup! Try this Chinese Lotus Seed Soup recipe.

Lotus seeds, additionally, may be added to congee and are used to make tea. And because they’re like little flavorful beans or tiny potatoes, they are great for adding to salads.

What to remove when cooking lotus seeds

One unique aspect of preparing lotus seeds is they have a bitter green sprout in the middle that needs to be removed.

While most cooks (including me) try to buy lotus seeds with the sprout (or germ) already removed, in the ones I buy, I still find about 10 seeds per 1 cup that have the sprout remaining.

I like to quickly remove the sprout after an overnight soaking, or after cooking. Both times work fine.

But don’t eat the bitter shoot. It’s very bitter, and not healthy.

Ingredients to make Stove top or Instant Pot Lotus Seeds

We use just 2 ingredients to cook lotus seeds, in addition to water:

• dried lotus seeds
• sea salt

Which lotus seeds to buy

I haven’t found a good source for organic lotus seeds.

One thing to avoid is fully white lotus seeds, as it’s likely they were bleached by the manufacturer.

I buy this brand, that claims to be “all natural”, and certainly they have the lovely light green or creamy white-beige color that tells us they were fresh when dried and not bleached.

How to Cook Lotus Seeds (Stove top or Instant Pot)

If you do have an Instant Pot (find the one I have here), I will say that lotus seeds cook more evenly (and quickly) when pressure cooked. However, the stove top is fine, if you don’t have an IP.

The key to stove top cooking, so you get all the seeds fully cooked is: After simmering, allow seeds to remain in covered pot for 30 to 60 minutes, which completes a gentle cooking, without over-cooking, which will make them mushy and falling apart.

Cooking instructions

For those using the Stove Top method: First, soak seeds overnight in a bowl of water. In the morning, pour through a colander, and rinse briefly.

1. Fill pot (with lid) or Instant Pot with 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon sea salt.
2. Add 1 to 2 cups lotus seeds, depending on how much you want to make (they double in volume when cooked; so 1 cup dried seeds will yield 2 cups cooked).
3. Stove top: Bring water to a simmer, reduce heat so steady simmer is maintained when pot is covered. Cook 35 minutes. Allow seeds to remain in covered pot for 30 to 60 minutes, which completes a gentle cooking, without over-cooking.
4. Instant Pot: Press Manual button, and adjust time to 8 minutes. When timer goes off, allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes, then do a QPR.
5. Pour seeds into colander to strain. Use as needed in recipes.

Strained seeds can be stored, covered, in the fridge, for up to 4 days.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

How to Cook Lotus Seeds (Stove Top or Instant Pot)

How to Cook Lotus Seeds (Stove top or Instant Pot) shares the easiest and best ways to cook lotus seeds. Cooking lotus seeds is best accomplished with, first, an easy overnight soaking, and then the stove top cooking. But cooking in the Instant Pot is faster and slightly more effective -- plus, no overnight soaking is needed.

Both methods are great, depending on what tools you have!

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: dessert ingredient, seed, soup ingredient, tea ingredient

Cuisine: American, Asian, Chinese

Keyword: how to cook, instant pot, lotus seed, lotus seeds, stove top

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 27kcal

Author: Megan

Cost: $8

Equipment

• large saucepan with lid OR Instant Pot
• colander , optional but helpful

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup lotus seeds (or up to 2 cups if you want to make extra; they do freeze well if you like to meal prep)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

For those using the Stove Top method: First, soak seeds overnight in a bowl of water. In the morning, pour through a colander, and rinse briefly.

• To cook: Fill pot (with lid) or Instant Pot with 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon sea salt.
• Add 1 to 2 cups lotus seeds, depending on how much you want to make (they double in volume when cooked; so 1 cup dried seeds will yield 2 cups cooked).
• Stove top: Bring water to a simmer, reduce heat so steady simmer is maintained when pot is covered. Cook 35 minutes. Remove pot from heat source. Allow seeds to remain in covered pot for 30 to 60 minutes, which completes a gentle cooking, without over-cooking.
• Instant Pot: Press Manual button, and adjust time to 8 minutes. When timer goes off, allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes, then do a QPR.
  
• Pour seeds into colander to strain. Use as needed in recipes.
  
• Strained seeds can be stored, covered, in the fridge, for up to 4 days.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 27kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 2g | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.3mg

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