Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup with Spinach
This easy lemon chicken quinoa soup is packed with fresh spinach leaves and has a bright, bold flavor. Use leftover or rotisserie chicken in this healthy soup for a quick shortcut!
Servings 6
Calories 243kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups water, plus 1-2 cups additional if needed
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups packed baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken
- Juice of 2-3 lemons or to taste
- Grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Let cook for 4-5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring a few times. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add dry quinoa and stir. Let quinoa toast for 1-2 minutes, then add chicken broth, 3 cups of water, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and bay leaf and stir to combine.
- Bring soup to a simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until the quinoa is fully cooked. You should notice the quinoa germ ring (that little squiggle) has separated from the kernel. Add additional water and/broth, up to 2 cups, if soup has thickened too much.
- Add cooked chicken and spinach and stir. Simmer for several minutes until the spinach leaves have wilted and chicken is warm. Remove bay leaf and stir in lemon juice to taste. Add additional salt/pepper as needed. Highly recommended: serve with a heavy sprinkle of grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.
Notes
Start with the juice of two lemons and taste to ensure the soup is lemony to your liking. Three lemons worked perfectly with our taste buds.
When serving leftover portions, you may wish to add additional chicken broth/water and lemon juice if the quinoa absorbs a little too much of it and you'd like extra lemon flavor.
This soup would lend itself nicely to a variety of fresh herbs, such as thyme, depending on what you have on hand. The lemon juice brings a bold flavor, but otherwise this recipe has wiggle room for customization.
Nutrition
Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.2g | Protein: 23.8g | Fat: 5.9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 624mg | Potassium: 556mg | Fiber: 3.1g | Sugar: 2.2g | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2.7mg
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
