Quinoa Vegetable Soup with Chickpeas

This quinoa vegetable soup with chickpeas is incredibly delicious while also being packed with vitamins, protein and fibre. It's loaded with veggies and chickpeas, and it makes a hearty plant-based meal that's super filling and satisfying.

Quinoa soup may not be quite mainstream, but it really should be since it's such a delicious and nutritious dish.

Even if you're not a quinoa fan, you're bound to fall in love with this quinoa vegetable soup with chickpeas.

That's because it's a hearty, super filling veggie soup that boasts some enviable nutritional information.

A single-serve bowl of this vegan quinoa soup has 10 grams of fibre, 11 grams of protein and just 262 calories. That's quite a nutritional punch there!

This is a naturally vegan soup that you can easily customize to use just about any veggies you may have around.

It's also perfect for meal prepping because quinoa soup tastes even better the second day. You can also easily make a double batch and freeze the soup for future busy days.

Ingredients and substitutions

Olive oil — Sauteeinng the onion, carrot and celery in a bit of extra virgin olive oil enhances their flavours. If you want to make this quinoa soup oil-free, you can saute them in a bit of vegetable stock.

Onion, carrot and celery — A soffrito is the base of all good veggie soups, and this quinoa soup is no different. It consists of a mix of diced onion, carrot and celery — I use about 100 g (2 cups) each, but you can use as much as you like.

Garlic — Fresh garlic is best in soups like this. I add a lot of it because what's a veggie soup without garlic, but you can adjust the quantity to your liking.

Italian seasoning mix — You can substitute this with a mix of dried oregano, basil and rosemary.

Red chilli flakes — You can skip this if you don't want your quinoa soup to have a bit of a kick.

Tomato paste and chopped tomatoes — If you'd like the soup to be less tomato-ey, you can use just the chopped tomatoes and skip the tomato paste.

Quinoa — I used white quinoa for this soup, but any colour would work just as well.

Courgette + extra veggies — You can add just about any veggies you want to this quinoa soup. Ideas include butternut squash, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes and shredded cabbage.

Chickpeas — A can of drained and rinsed chickpeas adds texture to the soup while also boosting its protein content.

Vegetable stock — You'll need approximately 1.5 litres (6 cups) of veggie stock for this soup, but it's a good idea to have more at hand in case it looks too thick towards the end of cooking.

Lemon juice — This is optional, but I highly recommend it for a boost of brightness.

Baby spinach — You can substitute this with kale or other greens if you want.

How do you make quinoa vegetable soup?

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, and then add the onion, carrot and celery together with a pinch of salt. Cook on medium heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring often until the veggies are slightly softened.

Add the garlic, Italian seasoning mix and red chilli flakes and continue to cook for another minute until fragrant.

Next, stir in the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes.

Add the quinoa, courgette, chickpeas and stock and stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, partially covered. Check the pot from time to time to stir and see if it needs more liquid.

Add the lemon juice and baby spinach and simmer for another minute to allow the spinach to wilt.

Season to taste and serve as is or with your favourite bread. You can add some extra lemon wedges to each bowl if you like.

Recipe notes and tips

• Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. This vegan quinoa soup tastes even better when reheated!
• Reheat the soup in the microwave or on the stovetop. You may need to add some extra water or veggie stock because quinoa will continue to soak up the liquid.
• This veggie quinoa soup freezes well for up to 3 months. Allow it to cool completely before transferring to freezer-safe containers or Ziploc bags. Thaw the soup overnight in the fridge before reheating.

If you liked this quinoa vegetable soup with chickpeas, you might also like some of my other easy vegan soup recipes:

• Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Beans
• Vegan Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon Orzo Soup)
• Easy Vegan Potato Soup
• Easy Pinto Bean Soup
• Creamy Vegan Chickpea Soup with Garlic and Herbs

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