Quinoa, Kale, and Chicken Soup
Quinoa, kale, chicken, and white beans combine in a hearty soup that serves as a healthy remedy to this bitterly cold winter.
I know everyone is sick of hearing about how frigid it is this winter, so I’ll skip all the whining and jump straight in to talking about this soup. The soup contains all sorts of good-for-you ingredients, so there’s no guilt in indulging in a big bowl of it after shoveling the driveway for the third time in a week. Sorry, I said I wasn’t going to talk about the weather…
It’s no surprise at all that we loved this soup. In fact, I’ve made it the past two Sunday nights for us to have to take in our lunches throughout the week. While kale and quinoa are two of my favorite ingredients, our friend Michelle despises both. I wish we still lived in Boston so I could bring her a bowl of this and hopefully change her mind about quinoa and kale.
I adapted this from a crockpot recipe and just made it on the stovetop. If you want to see the crockpot version, be sure to click through to the original recipe.
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Quinoa, Kale, and Chicken Soup
Quinoa, kale, chicken, and white beans combine in a hearty soup that serves as a healthy remedy to this bitterly cold winter.
Yield: Serves 6-8
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
~1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 leeks, chopped and thoroughly washed
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 spring rosemary, chopped
4 cans chicken broth
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can white beans (such as cannellini or great northern), drained and rinsed
1 bunch curly kale, chopped after removing ribs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper for seasoning
shredded parmesan cheese for serving (optional)
bread for serving (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degF.
Cut the chicken breasts in half and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Put chicken in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, heat a tablespoon of oil in a dutch oven or stock pot. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, and leeks. Cook until the vegetables start to soften, 5-7 minutes. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, quinoa, and beans. Set heat on high and cover with a lid. When the soup begins to boil, reduce heat to med-low and continue to simmer.
When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes. Chop the chicken in to bite sized pieces.
Stir the chicken, kale, parsley, and lemon juice into the soup. Taste soup and season with salt and pepper if desired. Allow to cook another 2-3 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty bread.
Recipe from Beantown Baker, inspired by Cooking Classy
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’ve tried a bunch of recipes and can never get the rich beefy broth that you find at most steak houses. But yours looks really dark… so maybe it’s what I’ve been looking for. I often think about going all out and roasting bones first to make it. Ha. Love the cheesy toasts on top. Jeff is weird and only likes the cheese and not the bread. So difficult to get the cheese to stay on top without bread!
beantownbaker — January 9th, 2013 @ 8:48 am
Ok that is weird that he likes the cheese and not the toast… This was definitely nice and rich and super easy.
Oh yum, and I’ve been adding a bunch of crockpot recipes to add to my to-do list. This one is perfect…and can I tell you how much I LOVE LOVE the new site? It looks pretty fabulous. I love the colors!!!!!!!!
beantownbaker — January 9th, 2013 @ 12:28 pm
Crockpot recipes are the best. Just set it and forget about it and voila – you have dinner ready!
Thanks – I’m totally loving it too 🙂 It was like the best Christmas gift I could have given myself!
Wow our recipes for the crockpot look so similar and I can attest it is delicious!
I love French Onion Soup! My husband made a big pot of it when I was pregnant and had some cravings, but we agreed it just didn’t have that same restaurant flavor. Can’t wait to try this!
beantownbaker — January 9th, 2013 @ 9:10 pm
That was sweet of him to make it for you!
Is your design new? Maybe I haven’t been to your actual site in a while–Reader makes me lazy, heh.
Anyways, I need to make this! One of my gripes about french onion soup is that it is annoying to prepare but I do like it a lot–I’ll have to try the crock pot version 🙂
beantownbaker — January 10th, 2013 @ 1:43 pm
It IS new! As of late last year. It was my own little gift to myself. Reader makes me lazy too 😉
This is the only French onion soup I’ve ever made. I’m glad I started with a crockpot version because I’m definitely going to be making it again!
What a great idea to make this in the crockpot! I’ve been trying to find more good recipes to make in mine… and this one looks too good to pass up!
We’re also huge French Onion soup fans and this looks so easy in the crockpot. i need to get one! And now I might have to go eat some cheesy toast,… 🙂
beantownbaker — January 12th, 2013 @ 4:20 pm
I can’t believe you don’t have a crockpot! I use mine all.the.time.
We are living in a construction site and all I have is a crockpot (or two) to cook with. It’s amazing what you can do with a crockpot! This recipe was a pleasant surprise to find after cooking meat meals for weeks now. I’m starting the onions tonight. I’ll post back on the results 🙂
beantownbaker — February 24th, 2013 @ 10:35 am
That has to be tough! Let me know what you think of the soup.
Just licked the bowl clean… 🙂 Great recipe! I wasn’t certain how much Thyme to put in so I chopped up about a tablespoon full. I also added a tablespoon of soy sauce when I added the wine which seemed to give it a little bolder flavor. It was perfect! My husband agreed 🙂 thank you!
beantownbaker — February 26th, 2013 @ 7:57 am
So glad you guys like it!
I’ve been craving onion soup. My girlfriend and I always trying to outdo each other in the kitchen . She made an awesome jumbya in the crock pot the other day. Tonite I’m trying the French onion. Can’t wait till dinner tomorrow . I’ll let you know how she liked it.
beantownbaker — March 3rd, 2013 @ 11:10 am
That sounds like a fun healthy competition! Let me know how it goes.
I have made the Crock Pot French Onion Soup twice and tonight I started my third. My father-in-law, a French Onion Soup lover and connoisseur has tried my FOS and says this recipe rivals any restaurant any where! I consider this high praise from a man who has tasted FOS in restaurants all over the world. Thank you for this wonderful tasting and easy recipe soup.
I will definitely be trying more of the crock pot recipes. Thanks so much for sharing your delicious recipes with us.
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2013 @ 9:38 am
So glad you guys enjoy this soup. As I mentioned, I am NOT a French Onion Soup connoisseur, so I’m glad to hear that someone who is enjoys this recipe!
Epic fail. Onions were burnt followed the recipe exactly. Used the paper towel and woke up with a huge mess of onion juice all over my stove ( crockpot sits on stove f Let’s hope the stove still works….
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:17 pm
Bummer. Sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you 🙁
This recipe is AMAZING!!!!! I made it 2 years ago I when I found this recipe after searching for what seemed to be the perfect one! Then I lost this recipe and just came across it again and so happy I did! The onions are caramelizing over night now and I can’t wait to dig in tomorrow. It’s by far the best French onion soup recipe EVER! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I too ended up with burnt onions leaving them cook overnight on low. Not sure if it’s because of using the paper towel trick or that 8-10 hrs is too long. I’d recommend not cooking them overnight.