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  6. Quinoa vs. Couscous

Quinoa vs. Couscous — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

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What are the main differences between quinoa and couscous?

  • Quinoa is richer in manganese, phosphorus, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, folate, vitamin B2, and fiber, while couscous is higher in selenium.
  • Couscous's daily need coverage for selenium is 45% higher.
  • Couscous has 8 times less magnesium than quinoa. Quinoa has 64mg of magnesium, while couscous has 8mg.
  • Couscous has a higher glycemic index (65) than quinoa (53).

We used Quinoa, cooked and Couscous, cooked types in this comparison.

Infographic

Quinoa vs Couscous infographic
Infographic link

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.
Quinoa
Quinoa
8
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 46% 5.1% 15% 56% 64% 30% 65% 0.91% 82% 15%
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 5.7% 2.4% 5.1% 14% 14% 7.1% 9.4% 0.65% 11% 150%
Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium +700%
Contains more CalciumCalcium +112.5%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium +196.6%
Contains more IronIron +292.1%
Contains more CopperCopper +368.3%
Contains more ZincZinc +319.2%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus +590.9%
Contains more ManganeseManganese +651.2%
Contains less SodiumSodium -28.6%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium +882.1%

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.
Quinoa
Quinoa
5
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate 0% 0% 13% 0% 27% 25% 7.7% 0% 28% 0% 0% 32%
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate 0% 0% 2.6% 0% 16% 6.2% 18% 22% 12% 0% 0.25% 11%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E +384.6%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1 +69.8%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2 +307.4%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6 +141.2%
Contains more FolateFolate +180%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3 +138.6%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K +∞%
~equal in Vitamin C ~0mg
~equal in Vitamin A ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient Quinoa Couscous DV% diff.
Selenium 2.8µg 27.5µg 45%
Manganese 0.631mg 0.084mg 24%
Phosphorus 152mg 22mg 19%
Copper 0.192mg 0.041mg 17%
Iron 1.49mg 0.38mg 14%
Magnesium 64mg 8mg 13%
Zinc 1.09mg 0.26mg 8%
Starch 17.63g 7%
Vitamin B5 0.371mg 7%
Folate 42µg 15µg 7%
Polyunsaturated fat 1.078g 0.064g 7%
Fiber 2.8g 1.4g 6%
Vitamin B2 0.11mg 0.027mg 6%
Vitamin B6 0.123mg 0.051mg 6%
Vitamin B1 0.107mg 0.063mg 4%
Vitamin B3 0.412mg 0.983mg 4%
Choline 23mg 3.3mg 4%
Fats 1.92g 0.16g 3%
Potassium 172mg 58mg 3%
Vitamin E 0.63mg 0.13mg 3%
Protein 4.4g 3.79g 1%
Carbs 21.3g 23.22g 1%
Calcium 17mg 8mg 1%
Saturated fat 0.231g 0.029g 1%
Monounsaturated fat 0.528g 0.022g 1%
Calories 120kcal 112kcal 0%
Net carbs 18.5g 21.82g N/A
Sugar 0.87g 0.1g N/A
Sodium 7mg 5mg 0%
Vitamin K 0µg 0.1µg 0%
Tryptophan 0.052mg 0.049mg 0%
Threonine 0.131mg 0.1mg 0%
Isoleucine 0.157mg 0.147mg 0%
Leucine 0.261mg 0.259mg 0%
Lysine 0.239mg 0.073mg 0%
Methionine 0.096mg 0.059mg 0%
Phenylalanine 0.185mg 0.184mg 0%
Valine 0.185mg 0.162mg 0%
Histidine 0.127mg 0.077mg 0%
Omega-3 - DHA 0.015g 0g N/A

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison
Quinoa
Quinoa
3
4% 2% 21% 72%
Protein: 4.4 g
Fats: 1.92 g
Carbs: 21.3 g
Water: 71.61 g
Other: 0.77 g
4% 23% 73%
Protein: 3.79 g
Fats: 0.16 g
Carbs: 23.22 g
Water: 72.57 g
Other: 0.26 g
Contains more ProteinProtein +16.1%
Contains more FatsFats +1100%
Contains more OtherOther +196.2%
~equal in Carbs ~23.22g
~equal in Water ~72.57g

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison
Quinoa
Quinoa
2
13% 29% 59%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.231 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.528 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 1.078 g
25% 19% 56%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.029 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.022 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.064 g
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated fat +2300%
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat +1584.4%
Contains less Sat. FatSaturated fat -87.4%

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References

All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.

  1. Quinoa - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168917/nutrients
  2. Couscous - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169700/nutrients

All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.

Data provided by FoodStruct.com should be considered and used as information only. Please consult your physician before beginning any diet.