I've found it a little chewy (like brown rice), but never crunchy.

I only eat it as a breakfast cereal- cold, with a little cinnamon and all spice on top.

I love quinoa! A friend from Ecuador introduced me to quinoa back in the 80's with her quinoa salad recipe and it's still my favorite way to prepare quinoa. And to whoever asked: no, quinoa should not be crunchy.

Quinoa salad
Ingredients

2 cups quinoa
1 cup carrot - diced
3-4 green onions
3/4 cup diced red onion (more or less to taste)
juice of 1-2 limes
1 Tbsp olive oil
.5 cup chopped cilantro
salt to taste
1 cup grated low-fat cheddar (optional - calories listed have cheese included)

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa, lower heat, cover and cook until done (around 12-15 minutes). Remove from pot and place in large bowl - let cool.
Add remaining ingredients to cooled quinoa and mix well. Makes about 12 large servings. Good as a vegetarian main dish too.

To make quinoa burgers, add 2 eggs and a little whole wheat flour. Shape into patties and brown in olive oil. Great on a whole wheat roll with mustard and Tabasco! yum!

Number of Servings: 12 large

Nutritional Info
Fat: 5.2g
Carbohydrates: 37.2g
Calories:226.9
Protein: 8.3g

quinoa is the only grain that is a complete protein by itself, I believe. This salad recipe is FILLING and sticks to my ribs...keeps me full for quite a while.
YUMMY STUFF.

I think I definitely made it wrong. I will have to give it another try - perhaps with one of these yummy looking recipes. Thanks!