Quinoa Vegetable Soup with Kale
This healthy homemade vegetable soup recipe is full of veggies, kale and quinoa. It's easy to make and good for you, too! Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2024
We’ve been living in a winter wonderland lately. We’ve gotten so much snow that my dog, Cookie, can barely keep her head above it when we go outside (she’s smaller than you think). I’m thankful to have electricity and gearing up for more winter weather this weekend.
This hearty soup is exactly what I need. It’s brimming with fresh veggies and warms me right up. Soup to the rescue!
This homemade vegetable soup with quinoa is light but filling and packs great for lunch. Like most soups, it tastes even better the next day. Bonus? It freezes well, too. I love keeping my freezer stocked with hearty soups and defrosting one whenever I need a quick but nutritious meal.
This soup is vegan unless you want to top it with Parmesan cheese, which isn’t a bad idea if you ask me. The ingredients list, while a little on the long side, includes mostly pantry items. Every single one of them is nutritious!
Quinoa Vegetable Soup Recipe Development
Confession: the idea for this soup recipe came from Trader Joe’s. (You know what they say about grocery shopping while hungry.) A few years ago, their “vegetable soup with quinoa and kale” caught my eye in the refrigerated section right as my stomach grumbled.
I was initially skeptical about quinoa in soup (will it get mushy? does the flavor play nicely with the other ingredients?), but now I’m only wondering what took me so long to try it.
Quinoa was meant for soup. It lends some extra protein and hearty texture. Unlike most other vegetable soups, which are too light to count as a full meal, this is a true meal-in-a-bowl if you eat enough of it.
I adapted this recipe from my lentil soup, which has gotten quite a few raving reviews. I hope you enjoy this one just as much.
Recipe Notes & Tips
I wrote the recipe so it’s easily adapted to seasons. Winter squash would be lovely in place of the zucchini that I used.
This soup straddles the line between soup and stew, but whatever you call it, it’s delicious.
If you want more of a soup, use 3/4 cup quinoa and 1 cup seasonal veggies. If you want more of a stew, use a full cup of quinoa, two cups of seasonal vegetables and throw in some extra greens.
Watch How to Make Quinoa Soup
Please let me know how you like this soup in the comments! I love hearing from you.
If you enjoy this soup, be sure to check out my minestrone, lentil soup, Megan’s quinoa stew, and the hearty soup recipes in my cookbook.
Quinoa Vegetable Soup
This healthy homemade vegetable soup recipe is full of veggies, kale and quinoa. It’s easy to make and good for you, too! This soup makes great leftovers. It’s gluten free and vegan, as long as you don’t top it with optional Parmesan cheese. Recipe yields 4 to 6 servings of soup.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 to 2 cups chopped seasonal vegetables, like zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, sweet potatoes or butternut squash
- 6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- Scant 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well in a fine mesh colander (use less for a lighter, more broth-y soup)
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can (15 ounces) great northern beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup or more chopped fresh kale or collard greens, tough ribs removed
- 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
- Optional garnish: freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, seasonal vegetables and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 1 minute. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often.
- Pour in the quinoa, broth and the water. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 2 bay leaves and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Raise heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pot and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Cook for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and add the beans and the chopped greens. Continue simmering for 5 minutes or more, until the greens have softened to your liking.
- Remove the pot from heat, then remove the bay leaves. Stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice until the flavors really sing. (You might need up to ½ teaspoon more salt, depending on your vegetable broth and your personal preferences.) Divide into bowls and top with grated Parmesan if you’d like.
Notes
Recipe inspired by Trader Joe’s organic vegetable soup with quinoa and kale. Recipe adapted from my lentil soup recipe.
Seasonal vegetable preparation tips: If you’re using dense vegetables like butternut or sweet potato for your seasonal vegetables, be sure to chop them as small as you’re chopping your carrots so they cook in the same amount of time.
Slow cooker option: I haven’t tried, but Sarah reports that her soup turned out well after 8 hours on low heat.
Storage suggestions: This soup keeps well in the refrigerator for about 4 days. It freezes and defrosts well if you want to freeze extra portions for later!
Make it dairy free/vegan: Don’t garnish with Parmesan.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I loved this meal – made it exactly as per the instructions, adding my favorite hot sauce as the only topping. Easy, nutritious and filling, with leftovers for lunch :)
I had spinach on hand so subbed the kale and it turned out yummy. Thank you for this easy, healthy soup recipe. I’ll be making this again for my family.
Thank you for sharing, Missy!
So SO Good! Very flavorful! I didn’t even add much salt and used no salt diced tomatoes, low sodium broth! My husband and I just finished having it for dinner and we are so full and satisfied! We can’t wait to have the leftovers! We both agreed we could eat it every week! Super easy too! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Great to hear, Margaret! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! Another great recipe . Thanks Kate. I’m so thankful to have found your site.
I’m happy you came across my blog! Thank you for your review, Jane.
I can’t believe I hadn’t made this one before tonight! Your lentil, minestrone, pasta e fagioli, broccoli cheese, and roasted red pepper tomato soups are all frequently in rotation and now I have another to add in.
For “seasonal” veggies I chose zucchini, squash, red bell pepper, cauliflower. I HIGHLY recommend cauliflower here and wish I had opted for more! It soaks up the flavor of the broth so nicely. Note as mentioned in the recipe make sure to cut it super tiny – it was divine.
I may test out cooking the quinoa separately next time – sometimes it’s nice to pour a soup over a grain (and for freezing purposes but it definitely wasn’t soggy by any means).
We go skiing most weekends in the winter and this will be a perfect post-ski lunch. Great recipe as always!
So many recipes! I love it, Lyndsay. Thank you for sharing.
I have made this soup multiple times. Always perfect. I’ve played around with spices and have added pasta instead of quinoa. Always fabulous.
my mom makes this recipe every season and it is a guilt-free, light AND hearty, delicious addition to the family menu! we just love it!!
I love to hear that, Kayte!
This was excellent and easy. I used Trader Joe’s mirepoix to save time and used green beans, butternut squash, and bell pepper for my veggies.
Excellent soup! I made it with 1 c quinoa so it was thick & it is delicious and filling! It’s also just a visually beautiful soup – it looks like an Instagram ad when you put it in a bowl!
I cut raw corn off of a cob and threw it in with the rest of the veggies, since thats what I had. I wasn’t sure how corn would do, but it actually worked well both texture & flavor-wise!
My boyfriend and I tried adding several different cheeses on top to see which we liked best. Roughly crumbled queso fresco was definitely the winner!
This recipe is amazing, I did alter it a bit only because I’m not a kale fan so I did substitute it with spinach. I am also not a fan of squash or sweet potato but I added all the other ingredients with red and green bell peppers. It is filling and very flavorful did not need to add the extra salt at the end. Definitely will make this again. Thank you so much
I made it for dinner yesterday! It was absolutely delicious. Looking forward to leftovers today! Amazing recipe. Will definitely make again and again!
That’s great to hear, Lisa!
I love this recipe! It’s delicious and we eat it got a couple of days! I sometimes have changed up the veggies or the greens swapped for bok choy when I have some leftover (green part separated from stalks and chopped adding chopped stalk with other veggies and the green when you normally add the kale) it’s just such a versatile dish! Thank you for sharing!! I’ve used several of your recipes! Always wonderful!
I forgot to leave your well deserved 5 stars!!! I would give you more if I could!!!
That’s great to hear, Laura! Thank you for your review.
I made mine in a Thermomix so converted the recipe and changed liquid quantities but it was super easy, hearty and very delicious soup.
Great recipe Kate, it has been a winter stable in our home. Question, what do you recommend substituting the cans of tomato with? I’m making a batch for a friend and she is allergic to tomatoes.
Hi Sue, you can omit and add some other vegetables if you prefer.
Can I use frozen kale?
You can try it!
Could I add chicken to this recipe?
So yummy! Another great recipe. Happy to add this to our rotation. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Courtney!
I made this and it was so easy.
I also added a handful of barley and a cup of lentils. Very tasty.
Great to hear, Gayle!
This recipe was delicious. I’m so glad I tried it. I used zucchini, bell pepper, and sweet potato. It was easy to make, and I will definitely be making it again.
Thank you for your review, Bethany!
I have made this soup over a dozen times! It’s so delicious and works with any veggies I have on hand. This time I used sweet potatoes, green beans, zucchini & 1 jalapeño. It’s the perfect one pot meal with the quinoa and super healthy!
My 14 year old son is not a fan of kale but he said “this is way better than I thought it would be!” and “you have to make this again!” And then he promptly ate 2 huge bowls. All of my children really liked this and it made a ton so now we have leftovers for the week. YUM!!!
Great to hear, Donna! I appreciate your review.
I added a chopped jalapeno and used zucchini and green peppers. I did a full cup of quinoa, but added 2 extra cups of vegetable broth (so a total of 6) and I used all juice from one lemon. It was so good and filling. I didn’t need to add the Parmesan cheese, but did, and it was yummy! Thanks for this simple recipe!
I made this soup. I loved it, and so did my granddaughters. This is the first time I’ve ever cooked with quinoa in an attempt to eat less rice. The only thing I would have done differently, would be to only use 1/2 cup of quinoa. Very tasty and very filling. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Peggy!
As others have said, a delicious and hearty soup. A gift for me aa I can eat neither gluten nor dairy.
I used chicken stock only because I had that at home. Very good indeed.
Great to hear, Shoba!
I loved this soup!
As written, this recipe is bland and would give it a 3 star rating. I made it in the instapot and cooked for 4 minutes. Left out the 2 cups of water and no salt used. I used cauliflower, carrots, onions, celery, butternut squash and kale as vegetables. After tasting I immediately added cumin, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Had leftover mushrooms and asparagus so I added those as well. Will use this recipe a base and add the needed spices and vary the vegetables to make it great.
I love this soup! It’s the perfect soup for a snowy wintry night! I cut the quinoa to 3/4 cup this time, and it was still very thick. Next time I may drop it to 1/2 cup, but it is still so delicious. I may just add a bit more vegetable broth when I reheat the leftovers. This recipe is in my winter rotation.
Delicious! The most gorgeous looking soup I ever made, too! I used sweet potatoes, peppers and string beans and great northern beans. The flavors are amazing! This was a great soup to make on a cold, snowy day such as today. A keeper, I will make it again!
This was so delicious, thank you! Made it for my friend who’s been feeling under the weather and needed an extra boost of healthy veggies! Subbed a power greens mix for the kale, and added some ginger root for that extra kick.
Thank you thank you!
I made this soup yesterday and it’s wonderful!
We love this nutritious soup recipe, Kate! Been making it for years. When I include chickpeas I call it Hippie Soup. When I add red beans, green peppers, okra, and hot sauce it’s Voodoo Soup. When I add black eyed peas and lots of greens it’s Swamp Soup. Im a long-time follower and appreciate your plant healthy recipes and lovely website.
Amazing flavor! I used broccoli slaw and green peppers as the addition to the carrots and celery.