This hearty Quinoa Soup is loaded with plant-based protein and is the perfect cold weather comfort food. Made with fast-cooking quinoa and red lentils, it’s an easy weeknight meal, or a convenient packed lunch.
Why You’ll Love It
Inspired by a can of Amy’s Quinoa, Kale & Red Lentil Soup, this soup is a complete meal in a bowl. Thanks to the quinoa, it has the 9 essential amino acids that the body can’t make on its own, plus extra fiber to help keep you feeling full.
Paired with red lentils and kale, which are both a good source of iron, this soup also contains prebiotics, which may help to promote a healthy gut. Since we’re adding tomatoes to this recipe, which are a source of vitamin C, the iron found in these plants should be better absorbed, too.
Plus, this recipe makes a huge batch of soup! If you’re into meal prepping, you’ll be covered for several meals when you make this. It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free so it should accommodate a number of special diets.
Have more quinoa to use up? Be sure to try my favorite Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Instant Pot Quinoa Bowls, or Quinoa & Black Bean Salad.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in quinoa soup?
- Quinoa
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Red lentils
- Diced tomatoes
- Kale
- Water or vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper
Feel free to use any other vegetables you have on hand, too. Soups are very flexible and forgiving!
If you don’t have dried lentils on hand, you could used canned beans in their place, but be sure to use less water in that case, since the lentils absorb quite a bit of liquid in this recipe.
Note: Quinoa is coated in saponins, which make it taste bitter and can affect nutrient aborption. For the best tasting soup, be sure to rinse the dry quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under running water for at least 60 seconds, to help remove that.
You can also soak quinoa for up to 1 hour in advance, but be sure to drain and rinse it very well with fresh water before using it in this recipe.
(I never take the time to do this, however, unless I’m making a sweet recipe, like Quinoa Porridge. Rinsing is sufficient for the flavor of this recipe.)
How to Make the Best Vegetable Quinoa Soup
1. Saute the aromatics. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large pot over medium heat, and add in the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add in the garlic, cumin, ginger, and turmeric and stir briefly, about 1 more minute, just until fragrant.
2. Simmer. Add in the red lentils, quinoa, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper, and water.
I usually start with 4 cups of water for this recipe, but you may want to add additional liquid at the end, to make it more soup-like, rather than a thick stew. The choice is yours!
Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Let the soup cook at a gentle simmer until the quinoa and lentils are both tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Enjoy! When the quinoa is done cooking, remove the lid and add in the kale. Stir well, until the kale is wilted, which should take about 1 to 2 minutes.
Adjust the flavoring to taste, by adding more salt, or more water to thin out the soup, as desired.
This quinoa soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Frequently Asked Questions & Substitutions
Can I cook this in the Instant Pot? Yes! Use the Saute button to cook the onions, carrots, and celery, then add in the spices as directed. When they are fragrant, be sure to deglaze the bottom of the pan by adding a splash of the water, and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon or spatula, until you’re sure there is nothing stuck to the bottom of the pot.
From there, you can add in the tomatoes, lentils, quinoa, water, salt and pepper, and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. (Honestly, 5 to 8 minutes might be sufficient, but this is my go-to timing for most vegetarian soups, so that the flavors have time to meld.) Let the pressure naturally release for at least 15 minutes, so liquid won’t shoot out of the steam release valve.
When the floating valve in the lid has dropped, it’s safe to open the pressure cooker lid. You can add the kale and make adjustments after that.
What if I don’t like kale? You can swap the kale for chopped spinach instead. I find that I prefer the texture of kale much more if it’s very finely chopped, so be sure to try that if you are kale hesitant.
How can I adjust the flavor? If you don’t need a vegetarian recipe, you can use chicken broth instead of the water for a extra flavor. You can also add a squeeze of lemon juice at the very end of cooking, to brighten the flavors, or swap the veggies if you have a different preference. Zucchini, red bell pepper, or sweet potatoes would also be a nice addition!
What if I don’t have quinoa? You can swap white rice for quinoa, as it has a similar cooking time. (It just won’t have as much fiber or protein in that case.)
Hearty Quinoa Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 3 carrots , peeled and chopped
- 3 celery ribs , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup dry red lentils
- 1/2 cup dry quinoa
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt , plus more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 4 cups water
- 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes , with juices
- 2 cups chopped kale
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions, carrots, and celery until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the minced garlic, cumin, ginger, and turmeric, and stir for another minute, just until fragrant.
- Add in the lentils, quinoa, water, salt, several grinds of black pepper, and tomatoes, with their juices, and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and cover the pot to let everything simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Once the lentils and vegetables are very tender, stir in the chopped kale and cook until it's wilted, just a few minutes. Season with additional salt, if desired, and serve warm. For a thinner soup, you can also add more water and season to taste.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this quinoa soup recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
Also just quick question on spice amounts. Is 1/2 a half? Or do you mean one to two teaspoons? Sorry silly questions!!
This was excellent! I added some jalapeño while cooking, and I like to add some Cider Vinegar to lentil soups/stews. Your site is great. I am doing a standard process liver cleanse and was looking for some new ideas. Trying several of your smoothies too! Happy to have found you! 🙂
We had this deliciously warming stew for supper at the weekend. It was a hit! Really easy to make and tweak if you’re missing any ingredients. We’ll certainly be making this again. Makes for tasty leftovers too. ENJOY
An instant favorite! All that chopping for the veggies takes a while, but the end result is well worth it. The recipe makes A LOT and is super filling thanks to the lentils and quinoa. I only used the minimum amount of salt, but added in a lot of fresh ground pepper for a bit of extra kick. I’ll be making this many times more, you can bet on that!
My family really enjoyed this recipe. My husband couldn’t stop raving about it. He is a big fan of vegetarian meals, so it was no surprise that he would like it. My 12 year old on the other hand stated that she was not going to eat it, but then after a few bites decided that it was pretty good.I had most of the ingredients, but had to make some substitutions. I was short on carrots (only had 3 that were not big, had pink split lentils instead of red and did not have any celery. I decided to add in a can of navy beans and used fresh ginger instead of powdered. Thanks for the recipe!!
Made this stew for dinner and it was delicious!! Because of an intolerance to tomatoes, I substituted it with butternut squash, I used 4 cups of water instead of 5 as I wanted it to be thicker, and added some black pepper. Definitely going to make this recipe again. Thank you!
OMG,this is one of my favourite stews!Been making this recipe for a while now!Thank you so much
Was a remarkable recipe and am definitely making again! I added olives cause my dad loves them and some mushrooms I’d had for a while. i aslo used green lentils place of red as I can never find red ones that are certified GF. It was my first time using Pomi tomatoes, which I can tell enhanced the flavor compared to canned.
I just made this and it was so delicious! I shared the recipe with my mother in law and aunt. I can’t stop eating it! My husband needs to slim down a bit and thought this was super delicious as well.
Thanks so much for the healthy and yummy recipe!
I made this stew last night and it was so good. Instead of kale though I used spinach. Leftovers were just as delicious. Thank you!
I just made this and it is delicious! I will definitely be making it again. I had leftover cooked quinoa and lentils from another recipe, which also had about a cup of brown rice mixed in. The amount of liquid definitely made it more like a soup, but that worked out perfectly for us. Thanks for the recipe. It is going in my regular rotation.
I found this recipe looking to copy a NYC lentil quinoa and kale soup I ear all the time in delis. I left out the tomatoes and added chicken broth, and this soup/ stew is by far the best thing I have ever had. I cannot stop eating it! I also used brown lentils instead of red. I was skeptical about the coconut oil at first, but it gives it this depth of flavor that is amazing. I will be making this many more times!
Would you consider making this in an instant pot?
I don’t practice food combining but I do love a hearty, vegan recipe. I am also trying to make friends with kale This will be a recipe I make again. 🙂
Tips for making this in the instant pot? Should I add more liquid? Cook time suggestions?
I would probably keep the liquid the same and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes with a 10 minute natural release. It might not even need that long, but I’m pretty sure everything would be cooked through with that!
Just finished making this! It turned out great in the instant pot. It’s super flavorful! I let the veggies sauté for a couple minutes then cooked at high pressure for 6 minutes with a natural release of 8 minutes then a quick release. My instant pot took awhile to come to pressure so I lowered the times a little bit. Thanks so much for the suggestions!
Thanks for letting me know! Glad you enjoyed it!
Love this recipe! Wondering if anyone has made it in the Instapot?
Instead of kale we used spinach,reduced the amount of water and instead of quinoa added a half cup of lentils as extra. We had this with rice steamed with garasalama(half teaspoon)and this was delicious. Forgot to mention clipped coriander leaves to taste and lemon quarters to add after serving to taste.
This was soooooo delicious! Kept to the recipe other than replacing coconut oil with olive oil and added some additional fresh ginger and cayenne for a little extra kick. This will definitely be a new staple!
This has become a staple in my house. I follow the recipe exactly except I add a whole chopped sweet potato and always add more kale at the end. It’s so flavorful and aromatic. It’s filling and healthy and is a perfect meal for a cold winters day. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe:
Very easy and healthy! Made it in the ip, 10 min low pressure, 10 min NPR, followed by qpr, then added the kale. Used one can of crushed tomatoes and one can of diced tomatoes in place of the box of tomatoes. However, I got 11 servings from the basic recipe!
Awesome recipe Megan, I will try out soon and let you know, cheers
What’s the sodium content? I LOVE the Amy’s soup, but it’s so high in sodium so I’d been looking for a good alternative. Any idea?
well I remembered everything at the store except the tomatoes!! Can I sub maybe butternut squash? Im not sure what boxed tomatoes have for juice, would I need to add extra water? Thanks! I don’t want to wait another day to make it lol
For anyone interested in doing it in the instant pot I did it last night! It was fantastic, great flavor and texture, didn’t change anything except the water amount, only did 3 cups and a splash maybe like 1/4 cup. Did 5 min HP and natural release. It was perfect I loved it!!
I’ve never left a review but I just wanted to say that you’re my go to when I’m looking for ideas or just for anything food wise. Thanks for your hard work!!!
Megan, this dish was fantastic! So much flavor, and so many good things inside. I did add about 4 cups of kale, though, just because we wanted more. Thank you for sharing it!
This came out better than I thought it would. I used 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes in lieu of the boxed tomatoes. Made in the instantpot. Sautéed everything as directed then added ingredients and cooked for 13 minutes high pressure. Added the kale after cooking. Thanks Megan for another amazing recipe.
Thank you for this recipe:) I’m not vegan, but I can’t get enough of it. It’s already hearty, but I might try adding potatoes next time. Making this for my veggie friends soon:)
From someone who would not eat stews or anything that resembled a stew (really traumatic experience with them) I am slowly trying to try them and this is the first one I have made since that bad experience and I have to say WOW, it was amazing. The taste, the texture and I loved the kale in there too. I may just be converted to stews now (if they are like yours)thank you for this amazing recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks so much for letting me know. 🙂
I’ve made this twice. It’s wonderful. The only modification I’d suggest is finishing it off with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Hi there, I imagine this can be done in the instant pot? How long do you think, 6 to 8 minutes?
if the tomatoes are in juice (bc they’re canned) should we put the tomatoes in with their jucies or drain them?
You can use the juices in this one!
So yummy! What a comforting meal! I used different lentils so the cooking time was about 40 minutes instead of 20.
I just made this recipe for the second time, and it turned out much better since l used the type of tomatoes you recommended. The first time, I used fire roasted canned tomatoes, and they didn’t work too well. I also used less carrot this time. However, I inadvertently added more quinoa than the recipe calls for. But I really like it!
Could you use baby kale in this soup?!
Yes, definitely!
I’ve made this a few times and it’s absolutely DELICIOUS! Great for fighting off a cold or just having that “warm and cozy” feeling on a winter night. So easy to make with simple ingredients. Thanks for this one!
This is a go to recipe for my daughter and I, I have now made it at least half a dozen times. The only modification I make is I add a chopped medium sized sweet potato to the recipe when all the liquid goes in. The only question I have is on the posted serving size. Seems off that it states this only serves 4. My daughter and I get 8-9 servings and we eat very generously sized bowls of it. Certainly one sweet potato hasn’t doubled the recipe?
Hi Megan! Another great recipe – I made it today for my lunches for the week. It is delicious and easy to make. .
I made this last night for our flat dinner and everyone loved it! I increased the spices by about half and didn’t use celery or kale (didn’t have any) and it was incredible! I think it would be even better with the other veggies added too 🙂
Im obsessed with you and the person who asked you to make this. After looking into bulk options for getting this soup in Amy’s brand, i took to the internet and found this. Super excited!!
Can this also be cooked in the instapot and for how long?
This came together easily and tastes great! Very filling and perfect for a winter day!
Can you do this without tomatoes? I avoid nightshade for inflammatory reasons. Love all your recipes!
I have everything except the boxed tomatoes. Can I substitute any type of canned tomatoes or fresh ones? Thanks!
Wondering if you think the stew would freeze well?
This is fabulous! I am new to cooking with lentils, kale and quinoa…this was so easy and its beautiful and flavorful. I added red pepper flakes to my bowl to add a little heat.
Ooops, forgot to mention that I did not have canned tomatoes, so chopped up three large tomatoes from a friends garden.
Very tasty and satisfying!! Thank you!!
The only tomato-anything i had in the house were a few left overs from the garden that didn’t have a whole lot of flavor…My soup overall was a bit bland with just this stuff, so I added vegetable bullion & some lemon juice and that made it pretty tasty.
2nd time making this in the Instapot, so hearty & delicious! I forgot celery, & didn’t have any packaged tomatoes so I added a small tin of tomato paste, along with a large handful of chopped cherry tomatoes. I added a chopped Serrano pepper. This was the perfect meal on a cold, wet, Canadian evening!
So hearty and wholesome!
Really delicious and easy! I used baby kale and finished off with a squeeze of lime.