Keep warm with this nourishing slow cooker vegetable soup made with quinoa and fresh veggies.
This year I finally replaced our old slow cooker with one that’s programmable and I’ve been on a slow cooking bender since. I love the ease of doing nothing but throwing everything into a pot and ending up with a delicious meal. It’s like magic! Plus, the warm and comforting meals that come out of the slow cooker are perfect this time of year.
My slow cooking adventures started with this fajita soup. It was a big hit, but after posting it I had a few people request I make a vegetarian slow cooker soup. Your wish is my command! 🙂 Seriously though, I actually love when you all request recipes. It gives me an idea of what you want and makes my brainstorming process a little easier. It’s a win-win for us both. So anytime you have a recipe request — feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me an email. 🙂
Okay so this veggie-filled soup is for all my vegetarians and vegans out there! That said, meat eaters will surely not complain if you serve them a steamy bowl as the soup is still plenty flavorful and filling with a ton of veggies and protein-packed quinoa. The cauliflower, sweet potato and carrots add great texture while the quinoa adds a breadyness that almost makes it seem like a pot-pie soup.
Speaking of quinoa… you all know my favorite brand is Ancient Harvest so of course that’s what I used in this recipe. I stuck with the traditional variety.
The best part? You don’t have to wash the quinoa beforehand (Ancient Harvest does that for you!) AND you don’t have to cook the quinoa before adding it to the slow cooker either. This was my first time cooking quinoa in the slow cooker and I was a little worried that the quinoa wouldn’t cook fully. I did a little Google research and saw that a few slow cooker quinoa recipes call for boiling water, however I wanted to keep this recipe as simple as possible so I tested out adding the quinoa uncooked without boiling water. Guess what — it cooked up just fine. Hooray!
This hearty soup was a big hit over here and hopefully you’ll feel the same way. Enjoy!!
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PinDescription
A flavorful and filling slow cooker vegetable soup made with protein-packed quinoa and fresh veggies.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil or coconut oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1/2 cup mixed mushrooms
- 1/2 cup uncooked Ancient Harvest quinoa
- 2 cups cauliflower
- 1 cup chopped sweet potato
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups chopped kale
- grated parmigiano-reggiano, for topping (omit if vegan)
Instructions
- Sauté oil over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic until onions are translucent and fragrant. Add in carrots and mushrooms and sauté for 5-10 minutes more. Add sautéed veggies and all remaining ingredients except the kale into the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours or until quinoa is fully cooked. Add kale about 30 minutes before soup is finished cooking. Taste the soup before serving and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Portion soup into bowls and top with cheese if using.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups without cheese
- Calories: 198
- Sugar: 7g
- Fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 34g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 7g
Looking for more vegetarian soup recipes? Check out these EBF favorites:
- Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup
- Carrot and Parsnip Soup <– this one has quinoa too!
- Health Boosting Cabbage and Lentil Soup
- Vegan Curried Pumpkin Soup
These pictures are beautiful!
Thank you, Sarah!
Yum, this looks great! I love all the ingredients and I will definitely be sure to try this in the coming weeks!
This looks so delicious, Brittany!
YES!
i plan on making this next week!
thanks for sharing!
Yay! Please let me know how it turns out, Amy.
I need to get myself a new slow cooker, a programable one would be great! This soup looks so delicious with all those vegetables and quinoa!
Getting a programmable slow cooker was a total game changer for me. You don’t have to worry about over cooking stuff because you can set a timer and have it switch to warm on it’s own. It actually makes me want to use my slow cooker more. 🙂
Sounds like its time for me to get out the slow cooker!
YES!!!
Looks really yummy, perfect for the colder temperatures!
I feel like I can smell this soup through the screen right now! I really need to get a slow cooker.
This sounds delicious! But what do you mean by “mixed mushrooms”? Are there variety packages of mushrooms that can just be snagged at the store?
Yup! The store usually has a package with a variety of mushrooms. If not, just choose your favorite mushroom and use that! 🙂
Another great recipe for all health buffs out there…I am not sure though if I can find quinoa in this part of the globe! Great!!!
Is there a way to can this soup for later use? Any recommendations?
Great question. I’m not well-versed in canning so I’m not 100% sure how it would work. I’m sorry I’m not much help.
Have you ever frozen it?
I haven’t, but I think it would freeze fine.
I’m so cold right now, all I want is a bowl of this soup! It looks so warm and comforting. I always use Ancient Harvest quinoa too, it’s great!
I love using my slow cooker and this soup sounds amazing!
What a great soup for the fall and winter months! Looks so delicious!