Kale & Quinoa Minestrone Soup Recipe

Minestrone soup is so great because it's so flexible.

One of the things I love teaching my clients the most is how to incorporate kale, quinoa, and other superfoods into familiar favorites. That's exactly what I do in this Kale and Quinoa Minestrone Soup recipe. Using new ingredients can be daunting, but after a few tries, they will be your new go-to's.

You can find my original Minestrone soup recipe here. Use any dark leafy greens that are a good price that day (collards or chard would be delicious) or switch up the garbanzo beans for kidney or white beans.

This kale & quinoa minestrone soup recipe is a great way to turn what you already have in the fridge or pantry into a fantastic meal.

Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil: I use 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. I just love how aromatic and flavorful olive oil is, so I honestly use it in most of my recipes.
• Onion: For this recipe, I recommend using white or yellow onion. You'll only need one but make sure you dice it well.
• Carrot: You'll also need 1 large carrot, diced well.
• Celery: Celery is a standard in any minestrone soup and it's a great vegetable to use to add flavor to any stock or soup. I use 2 diced celery stocks.
• Bay leaf: I know a lot of people might not feel like bay leaves have any flavor but if you let it infuse well in your soup it actually releases a delicious minty flavor. In this Kale and Quinoa Minestrone Soup recipe, I use 1 large bay leaf.
• Basil: You can use whatever basil you have on hand, I use 2 teaspoons of dry basil or 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh basil.
• Oregano: You'll also need 1 teaspoon of dried oregano.
• Garlic: 3 cloves of finely chopped or pressed garlic.
• Tomatoes: I use one (28-ounce) can of crushed or diced tomatoes (including juices).
• Beans: You'll need one (14-ounce) can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas). You can always substitute it with any type of beans you prefer.
• Stock: Use 1-quart vegetable stock, organic chicken stock, or even water. You can learn to make your own homemade Chicken Stock here.
• Red Wine Vinegar: You only need 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar but it makes all the difference.
• Kale: 1 bunch of Lacinato kale (aka black kale or Tuscan kale), stemmed and chopped into about 1-inch pieces. Lacinato kale has thinner leaves so it's easier to eat and cook with but again, you can use whatever type of kale you prefer.
• Quinoa: ½ cup of dried quinoa, prepared according to package instructions. I cook the quinoa before I add it to the soup since cooking it in the soup soaks up a little too much of the liquid. Quinoa is naturally gluten-free and packed with protein and fiber; I like using it here instead of the traditional small noodles usually found in minestrone soup.
• Salt: I use fine sea salt, the Real Salt brand.
• Black pepper: I use freshly ground pepper because the aroma released from fresh grounds is just amazing but any black pepper will do.
• Water: You'll need 2 cups of filtered water for this Kale and Quinoa Minestrone Soup.

How To Make Kale & Quinoa Minestrone Soup

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and a large pinch of sea salt and sauté for 5-6 minutes until the veggies are soft.
2. Add the garlic, bay leaf, dried basil, and oregano, and continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes until they're very fragrant. (If you're using fresh basil, don't add it until you add the kale). Garlic burns easily, so watch it carefully or reduce the heat until you add the liquid.
3. Add the tomatoes with their juices and cook for another minute. Then, add the beans, stock, 2 cups of filtered water.
4. Turn the heat to high to let it come to a high simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer for 5-10 minutes.
5. Turn the heat to low then add the cooked quinoa and chopped raw kale. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the kale is wilted but not soggy, then turn off the heat.
6. Add 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar and stir. Discard the bay leaf.
7. Serve immediately, or let it cool to room temperature to freeze or refrigerate.

*Quinoa is easy to prepare. Here's how to cook it:

1. I like to rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander before cooking it.
2. Add double the amount of water to the quinoa you are cooking (½ cup dry quinoa needs 1 cup water).
3. Combine the quinoa and water in a small pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 12-15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed.
4. I like to add 1 no-salt-added veggie bouillon cube to the boiling water to add extra flavor.

Learn how to make perfectly fluffy quinoa here.

Cooking Time

40 minutes.

You'll need around 20 minutes of prep time and then 20 more minutes to cook your ingredients.

Yield

6-8 people.

This recipe yields around 6-8 servings of kale and quinoa minestrone soup depending on your preferred portion size.

Storing

Quinoa stores beautifully in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, so I always cook double what I need to use in a recipe later in the week.

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