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This easy quinoa vegetable soup is a bone-warming meal that combines the comfort of chicken noodle soup with the health perks of a veggie-packed bowl (and it comes together in under 30 minutes!).
save this recipe!Your New Go-To Soup
This soup is impossible to mess up. Throw everything in one pot, heat it up, and boom: soup.
This veggie soup is flexible and forgiving, making it especially great for those nights when you forget to make a grocery pit stop (and your fridge is looking a little sparse). Don’t leave the warmth of your house – make this instead!
Reader rating
“Delicious new addition to my limited soup choices. I’m not a big fan of soup, but this is great!” —Krista
Key Ingredients
When I say this soup is easy, I mean easy. If you keep your veggies and spices pretty stocked, you likely already have everything! Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements; this is just an overview!
- Quinoa: Cooks directly in the broth, which means it absorbs the flavor of every ingredient in the pot rather than tasting like plain quinoa. Rinse it before adding to remove any bitterness from the natural coating.
- Chickpeas: To bulk up the soup and add extra protein, throw in some chickpeas! You can use canned for convenience or cook chickpeas from scratch for a creamier texture.
- Mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery): The aromatic base that gives the soup its depth. Chop everything to a similar size so it all cooks evenly and gives the soup a consistent texture throughout.
- Veggie Broth: For our liquid base, we’ll use vegetable broth (learn how to make vegetable broth here!).
- Herbs: Add fresh thyme for an earthy note, oregano (always great in vegetable soup), and bay leaves for that extra hearty flavor boost.
- Parsley: Complete your soup with some chopped fresh parsley.
Can I add more vegetables?
Absolutely, and this soup is one of the more forgiving recipes on the site for customization. A few additions that work well without compromising the broth:
- Add with the quinoa and chickpeas: diced zucchini, corn, green beans, diced sweet potato, or frozen peas. They all cook through in the same 12-minute window.
- Add in the last two minutes: kale, spinach, or any other leafy green. They wilt quickly and don’t need much time. Adding them too early turns them dark and slightly bitter.
- Avoid: very starchy vegetables like raw potatoes or hard winter squash unless you dice them small and give them extra time before adding the broth.
Can I use a different grain instead of quinoa?
Yes, with small adjustments to the cook time.
- White rice: Add with the broth and simmer for 18 to 20 minutes. It produces a slightly thicker, starchier broth as it cooks.
- Farro or barley: Both add a chewier, heartier texture. Add with the broth and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Worth the extra time if you have it.
- Small pasta like ditalini or orzo: Cook time is similar to quinoa, about 10 to 12 minutes. Not gluten-free, but a good option if that’s what you have on hand.
All of these absorb more broth as they sit, so plan to add extra liquid when reheating leftovers.
Pair it with…
Crusty bread for dunking is the obvious pairing and genuinely the right one. Beyond that, this soup works well alongside my avocado bruschetta as a light lunch combination. If you’re in a soup rotation kind of week, easy vegan minestrone and creamy gnocchi soup with white beans are the two I’d put in the same weeknight category.
Quinoa Vegetable Soup With Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, 30 mL
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 cups vegetable broth, 3 quarts, 2.8 L
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dried quinoa, 180 g
- 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, 2 425 g cans, drained
- ½ cup chopped parsley, 20 g
Instructions
- Base: Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add 1 yellow onion (diced), 2 carrots (diced), 3 stalks celery (diced), and 4 cloves garlic (minced), and cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Fillings: Add 12 cups vegetable broth, 1 tsp fresh thyme, ½ tsp dried oregano, and 2 bay leaves, then bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add 1 cup dried quinoa and 2 15-oz cans chickpeas. Cook until quinoa is tender, about 12 minutes.
- Serve: Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup chopped parsley. Serve warm with crusty bread!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!Why is the sodium so high?
The sodium in this recipe comes almost entirely from the vegetable broth. Twelve cups of standard store-bought broth accounts for the bulk of it, which means the fix is simple: use a low-sodium broth and the number drops significantly. If you want full control over the sodium from the start, my homemade vegetable broth has no added salt and lets you season the soup entirely on your own terms.
Hi Sarah! Would I be able to throw some cruciferous veggies in, like broccoli and/or brussel sprouts? I’m not sure if that’d work but my dad has cancer and I’m trying to increase the cruciferous veggies…thank you!
Yes those would be tasty here!
Quick soup that tastes great. I added a couple of chopped baby portobello mushrooms and the aquafaba from the chickpeas. Just delicious!! Thanks
Thrilled you loved it, thanks for the review!
I’ve never made soup with quinoa. This was easy to make, flavorful and healthy. The quinoa was the perfect addition!
So happy you loved the soup Andrea, happy eating!
that’s a lot of broth – why so much ? is it because the quinoa soaks it all in ?
sounds really yummy so rating it a 5 but need the question about the broth amount 🙂
Hi Pamela! Yes, the quinoa absorbs quite a bit of the broth and it’s also just a bit of a brothy soup. You can see in the photos the texture that we’re going for 🙂 If you want a thicker soup, you could reduce it to 8 or 10 cups.