I hate using the term “diet”, so let’s just say that ever since I got back from vacation I’ve been focusing on healthy lifestyle choices. I’m trying to focus (again) on increasing my vegetable intake and reducing my dependency on simple carbs. Judging by my Pinterest feed, it’s suddenly time for all-things-fall, so I thought a nice basic vegetable soup was in order. I wanted something classic and simple, like the kind you get out of a can, but homemade. Since I’ve also been hitting it hard at the gym lately, I knew I was going to need a little extra protein in the soup, and that’s how this became a Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup.
What is Quinoa?
Quinoa is technically a seed, but it cooks up a lot like a grain, which makes it very versatile. It’s higher in fiber and protein than rice, which makes it a great alternative if you’re trying to swap out those simple carbs. Quinoa can be pricey, so I like to use it in recipes like this soup where it’s balanced with lesser expensive ingredients, like the carrots, celery, spinach, and tomatoes in this soup.
Substitutions for Quinoa
If you’re not into quinoa, you can try another grain like pearled barley, or even pasta (orzo or couscous), or rice. Just be aware that the cooking time for other grains, pasta, and rice will not be the same as the quinoa.
How to Store Your Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup
This Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup will freeze great, so don’t be frightened by the 10 cup yield! That just makes it great for your weekly meal prep. Make a huge batch, stash 4-5 portions in the fridge for the week ahead and then freeze the remaining portions for the future when you’re running low on funds or time to cook.
P.S. Serve this soup with a couple slices of garlic bread, which you can also keep in the freezer, and you’ll be in fall soup heaven!
Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup
Servings 8 (1.25 cup each)Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.11)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.25)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 3 carrots ($0.32)
- 3 ribs celery ($0.44)
- 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($0.69)
- 1 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes ($1.35)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked ($1.97)
- 4 cups vegetable broth* ($0.54)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 1/4 lb. frozen spinach ($0.40)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Add the olive oil, garlic, and onion to a large pot and sauté over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
- While the garlic and onion are cooking, wash and peel the carrots, then slice into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Wash the celery and slice into 1/4-inch pieces. Add the carrots and celery to the pot and continue to sauté until they just begin to soften (about 5 minutes).
- While the carrots and celery are cooking, rinse the quinoa well with cool running water in a wire mesh sieve. Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Add the quinoa, kidney beans, diced tomatoes (with juices), basil, oregano, smoked paprika, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 20 cranks of a pepper mill) to the pot.
- Add the vegetable broth and water to the pot, place a lid on top, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the pot to come to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 25 minutes (make sure it’s simmering the entire time, turning the heat up just slightly if it stops).
- After simmering for 25 minutes the quinoa should be slightly translucent and tender. If not, let simmer a few minutes longer. Stir in 1/4 lb. of frozen spinach until heated through. Taste the soup and add salt or adjust the seasonings if necessary. Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down to see the step by step photos!
How to Make Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup – Step by Step Photos
Begin by mincing four cloves of garlic and dicing one yellow onion. Add both to a large pot along with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic over medium-low heat until the onions are transparent.
While the onion and garlic are cooking, wash and peel three carrots. Slice the carrots into 1/4-inch rounds. Wash three ribs of celery and slice into 1/4-inch pieces. Add the carrot and celery to the pot and continue to sauté until just slightly tender (about 5 minutes).
While the carrots and celery are cooking, rinse 1 cup quinoa really well with cool water. This step is very important because quinoa has a natural substance on the surface that tastes kind of bitter. Since the quinoa are very small, you’ll want to do this in a fine wire mesh sieve.
Add the rinsed quinoa, a 15oz. can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed as well), 15oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (WITH juices), 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, and some freshly cracked pepper (maybe 20 cranks of a pepper mill).
Finally, add four cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water. Stir to combine. I use Better Than Bouillon base to make my broth, which usually has enough salt to season my entire soup. If using a low sodium or less flavorful broth, you may want a pinch of salt at the end of the soup. Adding salt at the end of a dish often gives a bigger flavor punch with less salt than salting earlier at the beginning.
Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let the pot come up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 25 minutes. Make sure it’s simmering the whole time. After 25 minutes, the quinoa should be tender and slightly translucent.
Now pour in about 1/4 lb. of frozen spinach and stir until the spinach has melted. The residual heat from the soup should be plenty to thaw the spinach. I like to add the spinach at the very end like this so that it doesn’t over cook and the color stays vibrant and green (instead of an icky dark olive color).
And that’s it! Easy vegetable filled goodness right there. As always, you should taste the finished product and adjust the salt or other seasonings to your liking (everyone’s taste buds are different!). As for me, I liked it just the way it was.
It’s just screaming “GARLIC TOAST!” isn’t it? I don’t know how I forgot to pick up a baguette at the store. *sigh*
I still have some queso fresco left over in my fridge so I sprinkled a little of that on top of my Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup, but honestly it didn’t add much. The soup had enough flavor going on on its own! #win
oh, this was a wonderful recipe! Enjoyed the soup and leftovers all weekend. Thanks!
I made this last night for a “picky eater” friend, and we both really enjoyed it! I didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes on hand, so I substituted with regular canned tomatoes and a dash of liquid smoke (maybe half a teaspoon). I also added a few boiled potatoes I had in the fridge. This was definitely more like a stew-soup. I’m looking forward to leftovers.
Wow, Beth, this soup looks and sounds very tasty. I recently bought a bag of quinoa and have all the rest of the ingredients. I’ve been making lots of meatless soups lately. I’m attempting to switch to a more vegan/vegetarian diet for health reasons. Thanks for this recipe.
I love quinoa and your soup looks simply delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Have a nice fall!
Pinned
Have you tried doing this in your Instant Pot? Think I will try it tonight…
I haven’t. :) It’s so quick on the stove top, though, that I don’t think I’d use my IP.
Hi Beth! This looks tasty. I am wondering though, could I sub the quinoa for orzo or some other shape of small pasta? Would the simmering time differ? Thank you!!
Yes, absolutely! I would let it simmer for about 15 minutes without the pasta first, then add the pasta and continue to simmer until the pasta is tender.
I’d like to double the amount of beans to up the protein in this–would you increase the amount of liquid or keep in the same? (And just have a denser soup?) I also share the concern from the commenter above about the quinoa absorbing liquid over time, making it more sludge than soup. Have you tried to keep this in your fridge for the week yet? I’ll be interested to see what you experience. I think freezing immediately could prevent that somewhat though.
This looks amazing. I can’t wait to give it a try.
Looks like yet another winner recipe! I have company coming for the weekend and the weather is supposed to be cool and rainy, possibly snowy. Yuck! We’ll be stuck inside reading or watching a movie. They are quite elderly and love to just sit on the porch when it’s sunny here. At least we have a sweet Norwegian Jotul woodstove to keep us all cozy.
I like to make soups often and meatless ones, of course. I LOVE SOUP!
I just subscribed to your your YOU TUBE channel!
This looks good — how could it be adapted to a slow cooker?
Enjoying both the bolg and the cookbook, btw!
I’ve never actually cooked quinoa in my slow cooker, so I’m not sure.
I just tried making it in the slow cooker based on a different quinoa soup I know. Put all the ingredients in except the kale (which I use instead of spinach), turned it on low for eight hours, and added the kale at the last half hour. It turned out wonderfully! If you like your carrots a little crunchy, they do get pretty soft – but if you like crunchy, you probably wouldn’t be using a slow cooker anyway. ;)
I’ve had an issue with quinoa soups before where the quinoa ends up absorbing a lot of the liquid over time, so my leftover portions are not exactly soupy. Any advice?
Mine did that, too. I think that’s just the way it goes. It still tastes good, though! :)
Would bacon ruin this? I like that little hint of smokey meatiness that pairs so well with onion but I’m unsure how bacon and quinoa work together.
Also could I sub kale?
Bacon would be perfect! I make something similar to this. I start by sautéing 3 slices of thick cut bacon, removing the bacon and using the grease to Cook the onions/garlic. Kale is cheap and I like the extra texture it gives. I use Dino kale, separating the leaves from the stems. I chop the stems and add them with the carrots and put the leaves in for the last couple minutes. Top with the bacon, some Parmasagne/pecorino cheese and a drizzle of balsamic and it’s pure heaven! (Not exactly health food by rhis point, obviously, but we can pretend.) 😊
Lovely recipe Beth !
Yes, I bet bacon would be good (when is it not??). ;) Just brown it first to get that good smoky bacon grease in the pot and go from there. And yes, you can use kale in place of the spinach, but you’ll want to simmer it for a bit to make sure it’s softened a little.
How can you adapt this for pearled barley? :)
Check the cooking instructions on the package to see how long it needs to boil to soften, and then just make sure you simmer the soup that long. :) If it takes less than 25 minutes, let the soup simmer for a bit without the barley, then add it and simmer for the amount of time directed.
I just opened the website hoping to search for an old recipe that featured quinoa. This is even better! So excited to make this tonight.
I got a big ol’ 4.5 pound bag of quinoa at Costco for…I think $11? Looks good, will be making this soon!
Nice score!!
Actually, maybe it was more like $15 or $17…but WAY cheaper than a regular grocery store, anyway.