Slow Cooker Tomato, Kale and Quinoa Soup
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Comforting, nourishing and healthy made in the crockpot. Even the quinoa gets cooked right in! 214.2 cal/serving.
It’s been pouring rain all week. And when it rains in Los Angeles, three things always happens.
1. We constantly talk about how it’s actually raining.
2. We begin to drive 20 miles below the speed limit.
3. We stay home, in our sweats, and eat soup.
I skipped out on the first two but I definitely took advantage of the third, crockpot-style, with loads of white beans, quinoa and kale in a tomato broth.
I mean, this has pretty much been my dinner all week long, with no complaints of course.
It’s pure comfort food without any of the guilt.
That’s something I can get on board with anytime.
Slow Cooker Tomato, Kale and Quinoa Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
- 2 14.5-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
Instructions
- Place quinoa, tomatoes, beans, onion, garlic, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in vegetable broth and 2 cups water until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Stir in kale until wilted.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Here are my tweaks when I made this after reading other comments & making some adjustments of my own: double all the seasoning, only 1 cup water, 2 bouillon cubes, cooked the quinoa separately, browned chicken sausage, pan fried the kale so it was super crunchy. Served the soup with added quinoa, chicken sausage, crunchy kale on top. Then squeezed lemon on top, drizzled balsamic glaze and sprinkled Parmesan. It was SO good! My husband who is not a soup fan kept talking about this all night & how delish it was! My 2 year who won’t eat soup even tried it and ate a bunch 🙂
I was excited to find this recipe, as I could make it with things I already had in my kitchen! Only made a few really minor tweaks: (1) since I made in an instant pot, I did water-sauté the onions and garlic a bit first – and then did instant pot slow-cook mode, (2) I was low on quinoa, so I did a mix of quinoa AND brown lentils, and (3) skipped the salt & instead added a whole squeezed lemon at the end. Oh, and I used frozen instead of fresh kale, but that’s technically the same ingredient, so not sure if that counts as a tweak. Thanks for the delicious soup!!
What I like about this recipe is how versatile it is. It was really easy to tweak it to fit my family’s tastes. I sauteed the onions with bacon then added carrots and celery and extra garlic and herbs. I deglaze the pan with about a half a cup of white wine, tossed everything else into the pot with a rind from parmesan cheese and substituted the quinoa for lentils. It was a hit!
I would suggest sautéing the onion and garlic first. The onion in my soup still had that “raw” taste which I don’t want in soup.
Followed this and came out delicious!
I made this soup exactly as the recipe said with one exception. I held the Kale out. I did this so it could be frozen. It freezers perfectly! Easily defrost in the Microwave as well as heats up. We add the kale at the end of reheating and let it wilt. Its soooo delicious!!! almost always have a batch in the freezer!
I made this exactly to the recipe and found it a little bit bland. I squeezed a dash of lemon into my bowl, and that helped a lot, so added lemon to the remaining servings, too. Next time, I want to add some more protein, maybe some browned ground turkey or chicken sausage for flavor. I think some additional veggies wouldn’t hurt either. The best part about this is how versatile it is. Can add or take away ingredients as needed.
I made this tonight and thought it was delish. I had to use diced tomatoes with peppers as the store was out of the plain diced tomatoes. I think it worked out for the best, as the peppers gave it a bit more flavor. I had a question about leftovers, has anyone froze them?
This was easy and tasted great. We added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and some browned Italian sausage. Otherwise, made as directed and it worked well.
This recipe is easy to make and so so good! I cooked it on high for 3 hours and the quinoa was perfect. The soup was very flavorful, although I might add a little extra of the herbs next time. I added in some red pepper flakes at the end and it really made the meal.
Hey! Not sure if you’re aware but this recipe along with another one of yours was featured on MSN:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/quickandeasy/65-healthy-slow-cooker-recipes-that-will-rock-your-crock-pot/ss-BBRGGN7?li=BBnb7Kz#image=17
I don’t usually recognize the sites they featured and I was thrilled when I saw yours twice as I’m a frequent visitor. Just thought you’d like to know!
Yum! Made it tonight with the following additions: extra clove of garlic, carrots, more onion, and when done drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with nutritional yeast. It was a hit with my vegetarian family! A big crusty loaf of bread, and some red wine – we were happy!
I doubled it, but did not double the quinoa or beans so I could get the texture I wanted. Also added diced celery and orange bell pepper and sautéed all the veggies in olive oil first. I also used bouillon cubes instead of prepared broth bc the soups with bouillon taste richer to me. Doubling the herbs and garlic further enhanced the flavor.
Was excited to have a recipe with simple ingredients and a variety of spices to make for the week. I agree with other reviewers, I didn’t think there was enough flavor with the current serving. If I made this again, would consider doubling the spices and considering what other ingredients may add more flavor such as carrot, celery, sauteed onion, or something else.
I made this soup exactly as written. I also used all fresh herbs and kale from my garden. It was delicious and my husband liked it as well. It was somewhat bland, so next time I will add a few things as mentioned by other reviewers. Will definitely make again and play with it a bit.
Love this soup! Perfect for a rainy spring day, also made it for a pot luck and it was a big hit! I used Trader Joe’s fire roasted tomatoes with chilies, added extra garlic, and used hearty vegetable broth. Very tasty!
I loved this. I omitted the beans and added ground turkey, carrots, and beef broth and bone broth for more taste. This would be a great start. It’s so customizable you can add or take away whatever you like! Thank you for this. I haven’t cooked with the slow cooker in so long and I’m so glad I tried this! I’m actually running out this afternoon for more ingredients to make it again tomorrow!!!
This was perfect for meatless Monday and a snowy day! Our store had some beautiful purple kale I HAD to buy, so I searched kale recipes and came up with this one! Only differences, I added some carrots and celery, sauteed them along with the onions and garlic before starting my slow cooker. Also found just parmesan rinds at the store, so I added a small piece half way through (forgot I had it). Last, anytime I add uncooked pasta to cook in soups, it doesn’t come out right, so I didn’t add the water or quinoa, cooked the quinoa separately and added to the slow cooker right before serving. That eliminates any broth or under/over cooked issues. Topped with a little grated parmesan. Delicious!
This recipe looks good and has a good flavor, but it is SO BLAND! I am trying to figure out how to spiff it up so that it won’t be so bland.
Jazzy, a little salt might be the only fix you need. Before adding more spices or seasonings, try just adding a teaspoon or a healthy three-fingered pinch of salt. Taste again and see if the flavors have improved. Adding salt reduces bitterness, which allows the aromas and tastes of the other ingredients to shine through.
This was so good. I made it exactly as written, and it was delicious. I probably added about a tablespoon of salt, which maybe would help those that thought it was bland. I did add some chicken apple sausage which was a nice addition. Thanks so much for a delicious, healthy, and easy meal!
This recipe has potential…Something is missing, just not sure. It’s unfortunately a little too bland for my liking. I will work on finding the perfect spice to balance it out. Then maybe adding cooked quinoa at the end bc it was too mushy!