This should actually be called the ‘No Fuss Vegetable Soup’ or ‘A Very Good Vegetable Soup’.
I threw this together on my return from vacation back in June. If you remember I went to Catalina with family for a few days. Once home, it was back to the kitchen to cook and I couldn’t have been happier.
I love vacationing but I also love being in the kitchen cooking my own meals. I grabbed whatever produce that survived my short week away and made this easy as can be soup.
There were the basics – onion, celery, carrots and a bunch of kale. All of which have a good shelf life. I put it all together with some pantry staples like white beans and quinoa for protein, and threw in a can of diced tomatoes to make it even heartier.
For the herbs & spices I used herbes de provence, a pinch of red pepper flakes and some lavender I had from this Lavender Chai Tea – Concentrate as an extra bonus.
I shared a sneak peak on Instagram that day and meant to have it here a bit sooner. Since then I’ve made it a couple of times and have yet to tire of it.
Today I finally share with you this flavorful, super easy, budget friendly soup that will make plenty of leftovers. There’s plenty of wins here and so much to love!
Let’s start with a few pantry staples. These are always good to have on hand. They are versatile, cheap, accessible and will come in handy in times of need.
From what I’ve seen canned beans can range anywhere from $.99 cents to $1.99 in some stores. The tomatoes will run you about the same. Keep your pantry lined with a few cans of your favorite beans and diced tomatoes.
Bulk up when they’re on sale if you can. And, if you have time to make your beans from scratch, you’ll save even more!
The kale can be either packaged or straight from the farmer’s market. My first batch of this soup included a small bunch of lacinato kale that I de-stemmed and chopped.
Here I chose to use a packaged baby kale. Either one works and will run you about the same dollar wise. I’ve seen bunches of kale for as low as $.99 cents and as high as $1.99. This package cost me $1.99. Some packaged kale may cost a bit more, shop accordingly.
The produce, spices and quinoa are pretty much basic and all staples in my home. The produce is typically hearty and will stay fresh for a week or two, at least if stored properly.
Here are some variations to try:
- Sub in thyme for the herbes de provence if you prefer.
- Red pepper flakes for me, but if you don’t like a little heat, omit it.
- Lavender is optional but a nice addition!
- The quinoa can be any color you prefer and is a welcome ingredient to this soup, adding more texture and substance.
- I should mention that I do include garlic in the recipe but it’s not shown above.
I use and recommend Better Than Bouillon for your vegetable broth base. It’s convenient, you only use what you need when you need it so nothing goes to waste, it stays well in the fridge and will really add a nice robust flavor to your soups.
I never use the amount called for either. I use about 1 teaspoon for every 4 cups instead of the called for 1 teaspoon per cup. Anymore than that and it’s too salty for my taste, and in return it lasts me a little longer. For this recipe I only used about 1 1/2 teaspoons. You can play with the amounts and see what works best for your taste. You may even prefer to just use plain water.
This is a one pot soup making it even easier on you. Less dishes equals less mess which is a definite plus around my home and I’m sure you feel the same way too!
Soup will be ready in under an hour from start to finish. Then you have yourself a big batch of hearty goodness that will feed a family of four and didn’t break the bank.
Serve with your favorite crusty bread to help soak up some of the juices. Adding a squeeze of lemon will brighten the flavor and a light dusting of almond parmesan will go a long way. I love a good soup and this one is another keeper!
KALE, QUINOA & WHITE BEAN SOUP
Hearty and healthy, this colorful soup will warm your tummy and brighten your spirit!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water/broth (for water saute)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 large celery stalks, chopped (leaves ok too)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons herbs de provence or thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon lavender, optional
- pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
- 1/2 cup dried quinoa
- 2 cans (15 oz.) white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices (fired roasted pref.)
- 7 – 8 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 package (5 oz.) baby kale or 1 small bunch*
- mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
In a large pot or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat, add onion and saute for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add in garlic, celery, carrots and herbs/spices, cook another 2 minutes or so. Add in the quinoa, beans, tomatoes and vegetable broth, bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Add in kale and keep on low heat, stirring occasionally, until kale wilts (baby kale will wilt faster than a typical bunch of kale).
Serve with crusty bread and a light dusting of almond parmesan.
Serves 4 – 6.
NOTES:
Make this oil-free by useing 1/4 cup of water in place of the oil for a water saute.
*If using a bunch of kale, remove the center stem and juilenne or roughly chop the leaves.
Use cannellini, great northern, navy beans or chickpeas. If using freshly made beans from scratch, use about 3 – 3 1/2 cups.
Heather@ASpoonfulofHealth says
Yum! This looks so good, and how creative to add lavender! I will definitely give this a try!:)
Rmatt says
Like essential oils?
Liz says
You and I seem to make soup in a very similar fashion! These are all my favorite ingredients for veggie soup— sometimes I swap out brown rice instead of quinoa and dried lentils instead of canned beans. Works great!! This recipe looks so simple and SO perfect for the approaching fall! Thanks for sharing :)
Anna - BeautyFixations says
Looks yummy, I love discovering new healthy recipes :)
Flo says
Ooooh this looks delicious! I have used lavender in baking before but never in cooking so I’m going to give this soup a go! :)
Flo
Arlene says
When you hit the print button, you literally get every page (I stopped the printing) before the actual recipe starts printing……. OMG wrote it down.
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Hi Arlene, It is print friendly so you can control what content you want to print. You’re able to delete blocks of text (they’ll highlight to yellow and have a delete note) and you can remove images by clicking on the button at the top the PF page. Try it again and see. It just takes a minute to get used to. :)
Arlene says
Ah thank you! I save all my favorite recipes printed out in a binder! I know old school but I like it right in front of me.
Thanks again.
chloe says
Ok, this looks amazing?! I need to try, I’m a sucker for any food recipe that contains quinoa.
Kalisha Bowry says
Just made this soup and it taste great! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Andrea says
This was so delicious! I’m definitely making it again. I didn’t have a second can of white beans so I added chopped porcini mushrooms instead. Also didn’t have lavender so I subbed with one bay leaf. Thank you for this recipes! Look forward to trying more :)
Lora says
I made this for a potluck today and all of my coworkers absolutely loved it. I sauteed all the veggies then put the quinoa, tomatoes, beans, veggies, and broth in a slow cooker. Cooked it on high for about a half hour then set it to low for the next four hours. I added the kale about 20 minutes before serving. Worked out perfectly for a potluck dish on a rainy October day, and NO ONE complained about it being too healthy…not even the ones who have told me before that they would never eat vegan :-)
Jennifer says
Did you used to be “cookin skinny”? I’ve been trying to find the old kale, bean and quinoa soup that I love from that site and this looks almost just like it. Have you revamped or are you a separate site? Thanks!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Nope, I’ve been The Simple Veganista from day 1. It is a simple recipe so I imagine there may be similar recipes out there. Hope you love this one just as much. Cheers :)
Carice M. says
This soup is amazing!! I have been wanting a nice hearty soup that was good and good for me. I did do some things different. Instead of two cans of white beans, I used one and one can of black beans with diced jalapeños. Added turmeric and omitted red pepper flakes and lavender. Thank you a million times for such an excellent recipe. In Ohio I’ll be eating this year round!
RafaelA says
Oh my, oh my! This soup was a knockout!! Loved it…skipped the kale because I didn’t have any but what a great way to recycle what one already has. Super delicious. Thank you.
Lindsay Thomas says
How many oz for the tomatoes ?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Oops, I forgot to add that in. I used a 14 oz can, if you prefer more tomatoes use a 28 oz can. Enjoy! :)
Carolyn Daniele says
I’m in a summer rental and had no way to chop the bag of fresh kale, so I put it in the freezer. Then I had a great idea. I took the bag of frozen loose kale and put it in a large bowl and crushed it with a plastic bag over my hand, I was able to throw out the thick stems as they rose to the top easily. Voila, chopped kale1
Abby@OvenCleanTeam says
Looks lovely! I will definitely make the soup soon, I haven’t combined white beans with quinoa, but it sounds so good! Thanks for the idea.
Chaya says
Tried this soup. Very tasty, healthy and super easy to make.
Carm says
Delicious and surprisingly hearty soup! I took your suggestion of using the Better Than Bouillon and it really made it flavorful. I also didn’t have Herbs de Provence so I used Italian Seasoning and it worked!
Nini says
Great soup! Easy to make, hearty, and I feel good about eating it. I added some celery salt to give it a little more flavor.
Leslie R says
This was as beautiful as it was tasty! My pickiest child even liked it which I wasn’t expecting. My husband kept raving at how good the house smelled and continued raving throughout the meal, I added a little chicken sausage for his dish. The herbs de province with lavender really does make this dish. Having a rustic loaf of bread was a perfect accompaniment. This is now on our dinner rotation.
Poch says
Awesome and east! I made this on Mother’s Day because I wanted to make something special for
moi! My meat-loving husband couldn’t get enough!
Josh says
You added the quinoa into the pot dry? Or did you cook the dry quinoa, then add it to the pot?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Yes, add the dried quinoa to the pot, it will cook with everything. Enjoy!
Stefanie says
I love this recipe but it reeks havoc on my stomach (with the kale, white beans & quinoa). Do you think I could sub the quinoa with white rice to make it a little easier to process?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
You can definitely give it a try and see if works better for you. If needed add more liquids during cooking, but I think the amounts listed will be good enough. Enjoy, it will be delicious!