clean eating, kale, quinoa, healthy soup, fall soup, clean eating, eat clean, michelle krill

Soup’s on! Kale & Quinoa Soup

Fall is here and it’s time for soup!

This kale quinoa soup will be ready in under an hour from start to finish. You’ll have a nice batch of tasty goodness that is easy to make and not very expensive! You can add whatever protein you want or none at all! I added some turkey sausage crumbles that I already had in the fridge.

I used to pack my lunch of soup in thermos all the time growing up. It was pretty much any variety of Campbell’s soup that struck my fancy that week. I also tried a soup diet before – when I ate a lot of Progresso soup for lunches and even dinners. Turns out those soups aren’t that good for you — check the sodium content! 🙄🙄

For this soup, adding a squeeze of lemon will brighten the flavor and a light sprinkle of parmesan will give it a bit of extra flavor. I love a good soup and this one is a keeper!

clean eating, kale, quinoa, healthy soup, fall soup, clean eating, eat clean, michelle krill

 

Get cooking!

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
  • 1/2 cup dried quinoa
  • 2 cups protein (diced rotisserie chicken works great)
  • 7 – 8 cups low sodium chicken broth or water
  • 1 package (5 oz.) baby kale or 1 small bunch*
  • parmesan cheese
  • sea salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
clean eating, kale, quinoa, healthy soup, fall soup, clean eating, eat clean, michelle krill
Watch the for the quinoa to “pop”.

Steps

  • In a large pot or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat, add onion and saute for 5 minutes, until translucent.
  • Add in garlic and spices (red pepper, salt, pepper) and cook another 2 minutes or so.
  • Add in the quinoa and chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. You can tell when the quinoa is cooked, because the pods “pop”.
  • Add in kale and keep on low heat, stirring occasionally, until kale wilts (baby kale will wilt faster than a typical bunch of kale).
  • Add your cooked protein – diced rotisserie chicken works great!
  • Top with shredded parmesan.

Serves 4 – 6.

Notes:

*If using a bunch of kale, be sure to remove the center stem and roughly chop the leaves.