Healthy Quinoa Vegetable Soup

This healthy quinoa vegetable soup is a great one-pot, plant-based meal that will warm you up and fill you up on a cold day!

Made all in one pot you won’t believe how simple this soup is to make and that it’s packed with protein and fiber! A couple time a week I like to eat meatless, and when it’s negative freezing degrees in the winter like it is here in Chicago, there’s nothing I crave more than a hearty and warming bowl of this soup!

It’s week over on Instagram it’s “soup week” which means I shared a different soup recipe each day of the week to inspire others to add more soup to their life!

I think it’s really cool how every culture has there own type of soup that’s special to their cuisine. Last year in Thailand I got my fill of traditional Thai curry soups. My favorite greek soup is a lemon rice soup called avgolemono, and in my Polish culture beet soup is a staple (although not my favorite!).

This soup is vegan, meaning it contains no dairy or egg products, and is great if you follow a plant-based or flexitarian diet or just want to eat more vegetables!

Ingredients for Quinoa Vegetable Soup

• sprouted quinoa – I like using sprouted quinoa because the sprouting process helps you to absorb more of the nutrients from the quinoa. If regular is all you have, that’s fine too.
• low-sodium vegetable broth
• sweet potato – you can definitely use butternut squash if you don’t have sweet potatoes on hand
• carrots
• chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
• lacinato kale – I prefer the texture of this type of kale in soup versus curly kale, but if curly is all you have that will work
• olive oil
• garlic
• onion
• bay leaves
• fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

Health Benefits of Quinoa Vegetable Soup

As a dietitian I do believe it’s good to incorporate some plant based meals or plant heavy meals into your diet on a weekly basis.

Not only is it good for the environment, but it’s also good for your health. Eating a plant based diet has shown to reduce your risk of heart disease, certain cancers, obesity, diabetes and cognitive decline.

In this soup recipe quinoa, and the chickpeas are the main source of protein, but you’re also getting a little protein from the veggies — kale has about 3 grams of protein per cup.

According to a review published in November 2019 in Advances in Nutrition, consuming legumes (aka chickpeas, lentils, peas, beans & peanuts) reduces the risk of all forms of cardiovascular disease and lowers blood pressure.

Not eating enough veggies?! I hear you. Even as an RD there are days and weeks when I definitely don’t eat enough veggies! Making a big batch of this soup helps to make eating vegetables easier, especially since this soup freezes well.

It can be made ahead, frozen and there for you as a nutritious meal when you’re busy but want to prioritize getting a nutritious meal!

Healthy Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Maggie Michalczyk, RDN

This quinoa soup is easy to make, is packed with nutrition and delicious. You can make it ahead and freeze it too!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 4 -5 servings

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 1 carrots chopped
• 2 celery stalks thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 cups chopped lacinato kale ribs and stems removed
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
• Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, sweet potato, and bay leaves. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Stir in the quinoa and season with fresh thyme. Cook for 15 minutes or until quinoa is soft. You may need to add up to 1 cup of extra broth as the quinoa will absorb a lot of it while cooking.
• Stir in the kale and cook for an additional 5 minutes, until it’s slightly wilted.
• Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

This soup freezes well. To freeze, cool completely and pour into a freezer container. When ready to eat, defrost and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

More Dietitian Approved Soup Recipes

• Pumpkin Ginger Bisque
• Nourshing Chicken Zoodle Soup
• Pumpkin Quinoa Soup
• Fall Avgolemono Soup
• Pressure Cooker Pho Bowl
• Creamy Mushroom, Kale & Wild Rice Soup
• Turmeric, Ginger & Roasted Carrot Soup
• Vegan Tortilla Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Soup (salsa verde)
• Easy Tomato Soup with Fennel
• Low FODMAP Chunky Tomato Feta Soup
• Curried Pumpkin Soup
• One Pot Vegetarian Lasagna Soup
• One Pot Curried Lentil Soup
• Leftover Chicken Bone Broth Soup
• Spiced Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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