VEGETABLE QUINOA SOUP
Healthy and well-balanced, this Vegetable Quinoa Soup filled with hearty vegetables, protein rich quinoa and beans is oil-free and so easy to make using a slow cooker, Instant Pot or stovetop method!
It’s another rainy day in Southern California, and as much as I love the sun, the rain is always welcome. So what could be better on a rainy day than a bowl of warm, nourishing soup brimming with an abundance of vegetables, quinoa and flavorful herbs!
Using cabbage leftover from this, A Very Good Vegan Split Pea Soup, and zucchini I had on hand gave me a good starting point. Add to that the usual mix of carrots, celery and onion, along with diced tomatoes, beans, quinoa and herbs completes the medley of goodness!
Not only is this vegan vegetable soup with quinoa super easy to make (whether in the crock pot or on the stove-top), but overall you will find the ingredients to be accessible, healthy and low-fat. It has all the attributes I love!
For those who don’t care for quinoa, you will love it in soups – I promise! It adds fiber, protein, and cooks up perfectly every time.
Ingredients You’ll Need
In this recipe, onion, carrots, celery, and herbs are sauteed and simmered with quinoa, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini and beans for a healthy and delicious soup perfect for a vegan lunch, dinner or meal prep idea.
Here is everything you will need:
- Quinoa – I used a tri-color, use your favorite color quinoa
- Cabbage – green or savoy cabbage, or sub with a few handfuls of spinach or kale
- Zucchini – sub with yellow squash or use a combo
- Carrots
- Celery – feel free to add a few leaves
- Onion – any color will do
- Herbs – I used herbs de provence, but feel free to use thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano or Italian seasoning blend.
- Tomatoes – use diced tomatoes (pref fire roasted)
- Beans – use your favorite. I used a three bean medley and one can of white beans.
- Vegetable broth – I use and recommend 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of BTB Veg Paste (affiliate link) with water. The jar lasts forever and the flavor is delicious!
- Salt + pepper
How To Make Vegetable Quinoa Soup
(Note – The full printable recipe and instructions for Instant Pot, stovetop and slow cooker methods is at the bottom of this post)
- Start by sauteing the onion, carrots and celery for 4 minutes, add the dried herbs and garlic powder and continue to cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the quinoa, beans, cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, pour the vegetable broth overtop.
- Give a good stir and cook according to the method used as noted in the recipe card below.
And there you have it, shown below, a hearty vegetable soup with quinoa to nourish your day. Cheers to good food that encourages good health!
Top Tips
- Serve with avocado. This soup is especially delicious served with avocado, adding creaminess and another layer of flavor!
How To Store
- Refrigerator: Leftovers will keep for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator, stored in a covered container.
- Freezer: This quinoa vegetable soup freezes well for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer safe containers (affiliate link), leaving 1/2 inch head space for expansion. Let thaw before reheating.
- Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through. Alternatively, reheat in the microwave using 30 – 60 second intervals, stirring after each, until warm.
- Meal prep: It makes a great meal prep for the week with homemade Artisan Bread or Naan on the side for soaking up the juices.
Serving Suggestions
Pair this healthy vegetable quinoa soup with a side for an even heartier and filling meal. Here are a few of my favorite options:
- Bread: Serve with a slice of homemade Artisan Bread, soft & chewy Naan Bread, or gluten-free Socca flatbread for soaking up the juices.
- Salad: Pair with a House Salad, Green Salad + Chickpeas, or simple leafy green salad with Vegan Ranch, Lemon-Herb Hemp Dressing or Healthy Flax & Evo Balsamic Vinaigrette.
- Sandwich: Pair with this Grilled Hummus Sandwich + Sauteed Onions, Tomato & Arugula, Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich, or Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich!
- Veggies + dip: It’s wonderful served with veggies sticks and Classic Hummus or Simple White Bean Hummus for a light snack or lunch.
More Easy Soup Recipes
Soups can be light or hearty, and make great lunch and dinner ideas. Take a look at these other vegan soup recipes, you just may find a new favorite!
- Lemon Chickpea Orzo Soup (a fan favorite!)
- Smoky Lentil & Quinoa Soup
- Creamy Broccoli + Red Lentil Soup
- See all vegan Soup recipes on TSV!
If you try this easy soup recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintVEGTABLE QUINOA SOUP
Bursting with vegetables and flavor, this vegetable quinoa soup recipe is another great vegan soup for the crockpot, Instant Pot or stovetop!
- Cook Time: 1 - 8 hours
- Total Time: 31 minute
- Yield: Serves 4 - 6 1x
- Category: Soup, Entree
- Method: Slow Cooker, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 large carrots, sliced or diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
- 2 medium zucchini, cut in half & sliced
- 1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes with juices (pref. fire roasted)
- 2 cans (14 oz.) beans of choice, drained and rinsed (I used one can white beans & one can three bean medley)
- 1/3 cup dry quinoa
- 2 teaspoons herbes de provence or 1 teaspoon each thyme & rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
- 6 cups water or vegetable broth
- mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
Slow Cooker:
- In 5 – 6 quart crockpot, place ingredients in the bottom starting with the carrots and ending with the liquids.
- Cook on LOW for 6 – 8 hours, or HIGH for 3 – 5 hours. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Instant Pot:
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE and add the 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water, onion, carrot, and celery, saute for 5 minutes, adding the herbs and garlic powder in the last minute (feel free to skip this step entirely adding everything to the pot and cooking).
- Add quinoa, beans, cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth, stir to combine.
- Attach lid and turn to the lock, set the valve to SEALING, and manually set to HIGH pressure for 3 minutes (takes about 25 minutes to come to pressure). Let natural release for 10 minutes. Season to taste.
Stovetop:
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil (or 1/4 cup water for water saute), add onions, carrots and celery, saute for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 35 minutes – 1 hour. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with your favorite artisan bread. Add diced avocado for another layer of flavor.
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for 5 – 6 days. To keep longer, store in the freezer for up to 2 – 3 months. Let thaw before reheating.
Serves 4 – 6
Notes
For the beans, use your favorite. I just happen to use what I had on hand. I used one can of great northern beans and one can three bean medley which included black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans. I was nice mix.
I use herbes de provence here (it is one of my favorite herb blends). If you don’t have any on hand, a mix of any of the following herbs will work just as well: thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds, basil, savory, and coriander. Use any combo of up to 2 heaping teaspoons. If you have a bay leaf on hand, by all means add one.
Instead of cabbage, sub with 2 – 3 cups of fresh baby spinach or kale. If cooking in the slow cooker add it the last 30 minutes. Stovetop, add at the last 5 – 15 minutes. Instant pot, stir in as soon as you remove the lid.
Updated: Vegetable Quinoa Soup was originally published in February 2017. It has been updated with new photos and helpful tips in April 2020.
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Thank you so much for these recipes! My husband wanted to try going vegan and I have looked at hundreds of vegan recipes and we have eaten dozens of meals we never want to try again. Last night I made this soup and we both loved it! He asked for leftovers for lunch today (and “Leftovers” is NOT his style!) He said, “I could eat this all time time!” We picked out a weeks worth of recipes to try and we are so excited about them! Thank you again, love your website!
I made this a few days ago and let me tell you, it was absolutely AMAZING! Every one wanted to try it and loved it, so much I didn’t have any left overs!
★★★★★
Hi any suggestions for converting this recipe for the Instant Pot, re: time?
Thanks so much!
Great question! I haven’t worked with an instant pot just yet. They are a pretty amazing appliance. It’s on my must have list! I would suggest looking at other soup recipes to get an idea of the time and adapting it here. Soups are pretty easy to adapt and I’m sure this one will do fine with a basic instant pot vegetable soup recipe as a guide. Enjoy!
From what I understand you set the timer for as long as it takes to cook the ingredient in the recipe that takes the longest to cook.
Is there anything you could replace the cabbage with? I can’t have it but love the recipe!
Absolutely, you can replace the cabbage with a few handfuls of fresh chopped spinach or kale 10 minutes before it’s done. The greens should just wilt and they’ll be ready. Or, you can omit greens all together and use extra vegetables. Adding a diced potato would be nice here too. Enjoy! :)
Oh my Goodness! Pinned this immediately and will be making ASAP!
Thanks for the deliciousness!
It’s a little chilly in Dallas today, this is a perfect find! :)
Sounds like a hearty (and easy!) soup! I love using my crockpot so may have to make this on my next work day. I typically don’t have canned food on hand but I keep dried beans in the pantry, do you know if I could just add the dried beans to the crockpot or would i have to pre-cook them?
You’ll want to cook the beans first in the crockpot, drain and rinse them, then put together the soup using about 3 cups of the cooked beans. A quick google search will lead you to many recipes on how to cook your beans in the crockpot. I think it’s a great idea! I’ll have to it try soon as I like cooking my beans from scratch and the crockpot makes it super easy. Hope you give the recipe a try! Cheers :)
This looks so yummy! I can’t wait to test it out!
It’s delicious, enjoy! ❤️
the soup looks great! however, I don’t have a crock pot so do you have any thoughts on how to modify the recipe for stovetop use? Also, the bread looks great as well. What is it and is it widely available?
Hi Jacquie, If you look in the recipe itself you’ll see there are instructions for the stove-top method. Also, the bread is from La Brea Bakery (it’s the multi-grain loaf), I found it at my local grocery store. It is delicious and I highly recommend seeking it out if you can! Cheers :)
Impressive!