This Quinoa Soup is loaded with veggies, shredded chicken, tender quinoa, and warm spices. Make this hearty soup in an Instant Pot or Crock-pot.
author’s note
This Quinoa Soup Practically Cooks Itself!
I first made this soup on a busy weeknight when I wanted something hearty but still fresh. With leftover rotisserie chicken, a couple of carrots and celery sticks in the fridge, and a bag of quinoa that had been sitting in my pantry, it felt like the perfect way to use everything up.
Everything went straight into the slow cooker, and by the time dinner rolled around, the house smelled incredible. My family devoured it. This recipe is secretly simple but feels like you put in way more effort than you actually did. Now it’s a repeat request around here, and I love making it because everyone leaves the table happy and full.
Quick Tip
Try some of these other favorite soups with quinoa like this Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup, Crockpot Chicken Quinoa Soup, and Healthy Minestrone Soup.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Swap / Tip |
|---|---|
| Quinoa | Use white quinoa for a lighter texture, or tri-color for more bite. Rinse quinoa first. |
| Chicken | Use rotisserie chicken, turkey, or leave it out for a vegetarian version. |
| Veggies (carrot, celery, onion) | Add zucchini, bell peppers, or spinach for extra veggies. |
| Tomato paste | If out, sub with crushed tomatoes (though the flavor will be lighter). |
| Seasonings | Adjust chili powder for more/less heat. |
| Beans | Swap with chickpeas, white beans, or black beans. |
How To Make Quinoa Soup
- Sauté veggies (carrot, celery, onion) in olive oil until softened. Stir in garlic, tomato paste, and seasonings.
- Add chicken, quinoa, beans, broth, and seasonings to your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- Cook until chicken is tender and quinoa has “popped.”
- Shred chicken and return it to the pot.
- Serve with toppings and enjoy!
How To Top Your Soup Bowl
This Quinoa Soup is great right out of the pot, but toppings take it to the next level!
- Freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (my kiddos love lots!)
- A scoop of sour cream (lite or fat-free is great) or Greek yogurt
- A squeeze of fresh lime
- Fresh herbs like cilantro (or parsley if you don’t love cilantro)
Pair This Soup Recipe With:
Appetizers
Life-Changing No-Knead Dinner Rolls
Fruit Salads
Watergate Salad Recipe
Side Dishes
Roasted Broccoli Recipe
Quinoa Vegetable Soup
This Quinoa Vegetable Soup is a hearty, flavor-packed dish with veggies, shredded chicken, quinoa, and a tasty spice blend. Make it easily in your Instant Pot or slow cooker!
Video
Equipment
- 6-quart Crock-Pot or an Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1/2 cup sliced celery
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
- 1 (16-ounce) pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, see note 1
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1-1/2 cups frozen corn or 1 can
- 3/4 cup tri-colored quinoa or plain
- 1 large orange
- 5 cups chicken stock or broth, I like Swanson’s
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Optionally sauté veggies (adds loads of flavor—see note 4): In the base of a slow cooker that can sauté, an Instant Pot insert, or a sauté pan, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high. Once oil is hot, add onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté, stirring frequently, until golden, about 5–7 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and all the seasonings. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper). Sauté, stirring frequently, until very fragrant and tomato paste starts to darken, about 5 more minutes. Pour in tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom to release any browned bits (especially in an Instant Pot to avoid a burn warning).
- Meanwhile, trim the fat off the chicken. If using breasts, cut each breast into 3 large, even pieces.
- Slow Cooker: If you didn’t use a slow cooker to sauté, scrape every bit of the contents from the pan into the slow cooker. Add trimmed chicken, drained and rinsed pinto beans, undrained corn, uncooked (but rinsed—see note 5) quinoa, 1/2 cup orange juice, and bay leaves. Pour chicken stock over everything and mix well. Cover and cook on high 3–5 hours or until chicken is tender and shreds easily and quinoa has “popped” (my slow cooker takes closer to 3 hours). The longer it cooks, the more liquid the quinoa absorbs, which is why I don’t recommend cooking on low—see note 6.
- Instant Pot: Turn off sauté function and add trimmed chicken, drained and rinsed pinto beans, undrained corn, uncooked (but rinsed—see note 5) quinoa, 1/2 cup orange juice, and bay leaves. Pour chicken stock over everything and mix well. Put on the lid, set valve to “sealed,” and cook on manual for 10 minutes. Naturally release pressure for 7 minutes, then manually release the rest of the pressure (turn valve to “release”).
- Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker or pressure cooker. Remove bay leaves and discard. Taste and season if needed with additional salt and pepper—flavors should sing!
- Ladle the soup into bowls and enjoy topped with your favorite toppings such as freshly shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, fresh lime, sour cream (I use low fat), etc.
Final step! Please let us know how it was by leaving a review.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: I definitely prefer chicken thighs—the meat is much more tender and flavorful. That said, breasts work too. Cut breasts into smaller pieces so they’ll cook in time.
Note 2: I use McCormick Cajun seasoning, which tends to be a bit milder than other brands. Scale up or down to preference. Note that a lot of Cajun seasonings have salt added, so you may want less salt depending on the brand used.
Note 3: Optional Toppings: sharp Cheddar cheese, low-fat sour cream, fresh cilantro, fresh lime wedges or lime juice.
Note 4: The quick sauté of veggies and tomato paste adds amazing flavor and depth to the soup. It also ensures veggies are tender at the same time as the chicken and quinoa. If you opt to not sauté, you may want some extra seasonings, and be sure to very finely dice carrots, onion, and celery. (If you chose to skip this sauté step, simply add all those ingredients to the slow cooker or Instant Pot.)
Note 5: Quinoa has a naturally-occurring bitter coating on it, and it needs to be rinsed before adding. Many quinoas are pre-rinsed, so check the package to see if that’s the case. If not, rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water until the water runs clear.
Note 6: Quinoa will continue to absorb liquid as long as there is liquid to absorb! When cooking this soup on low or in the Instant Pot, it does absorb more liquid, making this more of a stew than soup (It’s still so tasty!) If you’d like the soup thinner, simply stir through some additional chicken stock (to individual bowls) at serving time.
Nutrition Note: Calories will vary, depending on toppings you add to the soup. Current calculations are for the soup without toppings.
Storage: Let the soup cool, then store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of broth if needed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.5g | Protein: 17.2g | Fat: 7.2g | Cholesterol: 56.4mg | Sodium: 661.4mg | Fiber: 4.6g | Sugar: 7.9g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Quinoa Soup FAQs
Can You Add Uncooked Quinoa To Soup?
Yes! No need to cook it beforehand!
Does Quinoa Get Mushy In Soup?
Unlike pasta or rice, which can get mushy in leftovers, I find that quinoa holds up well. It may soak up more liquid, but it stays soft, not mushy. I love this soup as leftovers, just thin it with a bit of extra chicken stock!
Can You Freeze Soup With Quinoa?
Unfortunately, soups with quinoa don’t tend to retain their texture after freezing, thawing, and reheating.
Variations
- For a fall Quinoa Vegetable Soup, try this Butternut Squash Chili instead or add some in-season fall produce to this soup.
- Stir through 2 cups of coarsely chopped baby spinach at the end for more greens and nutrition!
- Replace the pinto beans with drained and rinsed white beans or chickpeas.
- Try this soup with a different variety of quinoa like garlic-infused quinoa, plain quinoa, or tri-colored quinoa.
Hi! If I wanted to cut the recipe in half do you think that would work or should I adjust it differently than just straight in half?
Hi Missy! I think cut exactly in half will work great! Enjoy 🙂
Hi Chelsea! This soup looks amazing, especially with colder weather now thankfully here. I was wondering if this would work in a dutch oven as well? Would you recommend cooking the quinoa and everything the same way? Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much Jen! 🙂 I definitely think it would do well in a dutch oven. If you want a quick soup, I’d cook the quinoa and chicken separately, saute the veggies in the dutch oven and then add it all into the dutch oven at once, heat, and enjoy.
Can I substitute beans for chickpeas you think?
Sure 🙂
Hi, I’m just wondering what sized cans you used for the pinto beans, corn and diced tomatoes as our grocery store has different sizes for each. Thanks.
Of course! Beans – 15 ounces, tomatoes – 14.5 ounces, and corn 15 ounces. Anything similar to those amounts should be fine. 🙂
finally got around to making this yday, turned out yum!!
Hi Chelsea. This looks so yummy. I’m wondering… is it freezable? I’m guessing yes, but maybe leave the quinoa out and add it to the crockpot…?
Hi Randi! I’ve never frozen this so I can’t say for sure, but I think it should be just fine if the quinoa is kept separately 🙂 Enjoy!
Wondering if you mean a small or large can of tomato paste? The small is 6 oz.
The 6 ounce can 🙂
It was so delicious! My husband liked them as well. I will certainly make it again!
I’m so thrilled you both enjoyed this soup! Thanks for the comment Nasrin!
Oh this looks amazing. Was wondering what chicken seasoning is?
Thank you Sara!! Chicken seasoning is just a dry mix of herbs and spices that really season chicken well 🙂 I like to use a pre-made blend usually; right now I use a chicken seasoning made by Mrs. Dash (just near all the other seasonings in the store). If you want, you can also make your own. Here is a recipe I have used before and love: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/174452/chicken-seasoning-blend/
This was so good!! Thank you thank you for your slow cooker recipes– and love that you showed us how to do soup in a slow cooker!! I subbed in black beans for corn (we don’t like corn around here) and made a couple of other tweaks, but the base of the soup is so good and filling! With tons of cilantro and tortilla chips, my husband and I liked our bowls clean last night. 🙂
I am so thrilled to hear you’ve been enjoying my slow cooker recipes! 🙂 So glad this soup was enjoyed!! Thank you so much for the comments Rachel 🙂
Chelsea, I love how packed with veggies this recipe is! Besides that, there’s the added bonus that it’s a slow cooker recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Sarah! 🙂 And aren’t slow cookers the best?!