Vegetable Quinoa Soup (Vegan, High-Protein)

Close-up of a colorful vegetable quinoa soup with chickpeas, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, and quinoa in a pot, garnished with fresh herbs.

Vegetable Quinoa Soup (Vegan, High-Protein)

This healthy vegetable quinoa soup is loaded with carrots, celery, zucchini, chickpeas, and baby spinach in a herb-infused tomato broth. It's a nourishing one-pot meal ready in under an hour. Vegan, vegetarian, high-protein, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Course Soup

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Keyword quinoa soup, quinoa vegetable soup, vegetable soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 290kcal

Author Julia

Equipment

Large Dutch oven

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
2 medium carrots diced
2 stalks celery diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 small zucchini diced (optional)
1 cup uncooked quinoa rinsed
1 teaspoon sea salt to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon tomato paste
14.5 oz diced tomatoes (1 can)
5 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
15 oz chickpeas drained and rinsed (1 can)
2 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5–6 minutes, until softened.
Stir in the minced garlic and diced zucchini. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.
Add the rinsed quinoa, sea salt, black pepper, and tomato paste. Stir well to coat the quinoa and vegetables.
Pour in the diced tomatoes and vegetable broth. Add the bay leaf, fresh thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprig.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked and the vegetables are tender.
Stir in the drained chickpeas and the baby spinach. Cook for 2–3 minutes, just until the spinach wilts.
Remove the bay leaf, thyme stems, and rosemary stem. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve with chopped parsley.

Notes

Any white bean, such as cannellini beans, can be substituted for chickpeas.
If you don't need the soup to be vegetarian or vegan, you can use chicken broth or stock in place of the vegetable broth.
For a bit of a kick, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Nutrition