White Bean Soup with Quinoa

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Chopped zucchini, onion, carrots, celery, and kale with canned diced tomatoes, spices, dry quinoa, lemon, garlic, nutritional yeast, bay leaves, white beans, vegetable broth, and olive oil.

Ingredients for White Bean Soup with Quinoa.

Quinoa is an excellent way to add protein to soups. It develops more flavor from cooking in the vegetable broth versus water. Plus, it adds body to the soup, making it more satisfying.
White beans also add protein to this soup. Cannellini beans are higher in protein that the other white beans, but all varieties work
Nutritional yeast is the third major source of protein. It is also high in vitamin B₁₂, and is a complete protein in this white bean & quinoa soup recipe. Even more, it gives the soup an addictive cheesy taste.

See recipe card for quantities.

🫑 Substitutions

Zucchini - instead of zucchini, use your choice of seasonal vegetable (potato, bell pepper, butternut squash, pumpkin)

Kale - use curly or lacinato kale, spinach, or collards

White beans - Cannellini beans have the most protein of all the white beans but Great Northern, navy, and even chickpeas are all good options

Nutritional yeast - omit as desired or substitute with 2 tablespoons white miso (dissolved in 2 tablespoons water) for a similar umami flavor

Spices - omit the chipotle powder and crushed red pepper for less spice

Canned diced tomatoes - use fire roasted diced tomatoes instead for even more depth of flavor

Try my Best Cabbage Soup for a low-calorie, protein-rich dinner. Visit my Soups and Stews Recipes page for more easy soup ideas.

📖 Instructions

How to make White Bean Soup with Quinoa using one saucepan.

Chopped onion, carrots, and celery cooking in a white saucepan with a gray spatula.

Step 1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, carrots, and celery for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

Chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic, spices, herbs, and zucchini cooking in a white skillet with a gray spatula.

Step 2. Add the zucchini and cook for one more minute. Mix in the garlic, smoked paprika, thyme, crushed red pepper, and chipotle powder. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly.

Vegetable broth in a white saucepan with chopped zucchini, onion, carrots, herbs, dry quinoa, and nutritional yeast.

Step 3. Add the vegetable broth, water, quinoa, diced tomatoes, and bay leaves. Cook partially covered for about 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked. Add more broth as desired.

Orange colored vegetable soup with white beans, quinoa, celery, carrots, zucchini, kale, and diced tomatoes cooking in a white saucepan.

Step 4. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the white beans, kale, and nutritional yeast. Cook until the kale is just wilted. Season with fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

💡 Expert Tips

Quinoa: If you are not using pre-rinsed packaged quinoa, place the quinoa in a sieve and run it under cold water for about 2 minutes before cooking. This removes the bitter-tasting saponins.

Vegetables: If you plan on storing your soup for longer, use firmer veggies or ones that taste good soft (zucchini, potato, bell pepper, peas)

Add more broth or water depending on the desired consistency.

Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to three months.

🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

Can I use a different grain instead of quinoa in this soup recipe?

White rice also works in this recipe but you will need to adjust the amount of vegetable broth during the cooking process. You can also add less broth at the start and skip the grain altogether.

Does this soup freeze well?

Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. The quinoa will become more mushy but because this is a soup, it still tastes good.

How do you add protein to vegan soups?

For this soup recipe, I used quinoa, legumes, and nutritional yeast to up the protein. These three ingredients work well for many vegan soup recipes. You can also add hemp hearts as a topping, or serve this like a stew with some hummus for additional protein.

📖 Recipe