Southwest Chicken Quinoa Soup is an easy, healthy, gluten free dinner. Make it in the slow cooker, instant pot or on the stove.
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This Southwest Quinoa Chicken Soup is the ultimate easy dinner.
Nutritious ingredients come together with yummy taco-inspired flavors for a quick, delicious dinner!
Why we love this quinoa soup:
- Made in the slow cooker (which is my favorite kitchen gadget)
- Warm and cozy
- Tastes kinda like chili but feels way lighter when you eat it
- Super easy to make.
All you need to do is throw a few things in the crockpot, turn it on, and let it do its magic (the best kind of recipe!)
We love quick and easy meals like this and think you will love this one too. Let’s make it!
Ingredients for Crockpot Quinoa Taco Soup
To make this soup you’ll use simple, pantry/fridge staples like:
- chicken breasts
- onions, carrots
- canned diced tomatoes
- black beans, pinto beans
- quinoa
- spices: onion powder, chili powder, cumin, turmeric, pepper, paprika, salt
- chicken broth
There are many ways to customize this recipe, look for the green substitutions box below!
How to make Crockpot Quinoa Soup
You can make this soup in your crockpot, instant pot or on the stove.
- Layer your chicken on the bottom of the crockpot,
- Add all your ingredients on top, stir, and add your broth
- After cooking for 6 hours on low in the crockpot – you can shred your chicken
- You can shred the chicken right in the crockpot, or remove the whole chicken breasts (carefully – they will be very tender!) and shred them in a separate bowl to avoid scratching your crockpot.
- Once your chicken is shredded, you add it back into your slow cooker.
- Stir to combine, and get ready to dig in!
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR CHICKEN QUINOA SOUP
These cookies are pretty versatile. Here are a few ways you can customize them!
Chicken– You can use boneless chicken thighs or tenders in this recipe if you prefer, but I like it better with chicken breasts.
Cooked Chicken – You can use this shredded chicken, crockpot whole chicken, slow cooker shredded chicken, or chicken from a rotisserie chicken. Cut the cooking time in half if you’re not using raw chicken.
Extra veggies – You could add chopped zucchini, kale, or spinach to this recipe too!
Broth – Broth is the same thing as stock and can be used interchangeably. Vegetable or beef broth will also work in this recipe. We recommend low salt broth whenever possible.
Beans- Any beans will work in this recipe. Navy, cannellinni, pinto, black, garbanzo, or kidney beans can all be used interchangeably.
Vegetarian/Vegan – Sub chicken for extra beans and vegetable broth for chicken broth.
If you love your crockpot check out these 45 Healthy Best Chicken Slow Cooker Recipes Ever.
Serving Quinoa Soup:
I like to serve my soup with sliced avocado, but you could also add cheese on top or even crushed tortilla chips! The crunch would be delicious.
Storing Quinoa Soup:
For storing: This soup keeps for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freezing this soup: This soup freezes very well! Freeze in airtight containers and store for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat, defrost the night before in the refrigerator. You can also heat in the microwave or on the stove directly from frozen.
We like these containers for freezing. Use code CLEANEATINGCOUPLE to save $$ on our favorite freezing molds!
Check out our tips on freezing chicken soup.
P.S. – If you love crockpot recipes, check out these 45 Healthy Crockpot Recipes!
Regardless of how you serve the soup, it is so tasty and perfect for feeding a crowd or meal prepping!
Love chicken? Check out our favorite healthy chicken breast recipes!
Chicken Quinoa Soup FAQ
Yes! Any quinoa will work in this recipe. We like white quinoa but black or red will work just fine.
Quinoa does hold up in soup! Similar to rice and pasta it can absorb liquid. After a day or two it might get a little mushy, but it is totally fine.
This recipe uses raw chicken but you could use cook
Love tacos? Check out our Chicken Taco Soup or Taco Casserole!
Other healthy soup recipes:
We love healthy soup recipes. You can get our free Healthy Soup Ebook here or check out these 35 Healthy Soup Recipes. Here are some other healthy soup recipes you may like:
Chicken Quinoa Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup onions chopped finely
- 1 cup carrots chopped in small pieces
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can black beans rinsed + drained, low/no salt added
- 1 15 oz can pinto beans rinsed + drained, low/no salt added
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1.5 quarts chicken stock (6 cups) low or no salt added
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions
- Chop onions and carrots.
- Lay chicken breasts along the bottom of the crockpot.
- Cover chicken with chopped veggies, diced tomatoes, beans, quinoa and spices.
- Stir to combine. Add broth, cover and cook on low for 6 hours
- After 6 hours, shred chicken breasts. You can shred them right in the crockpot with two forks or remove from the pan and pull apart on a cutting board. The chicken will be tender enough that it falls apart. Stir the chicken in with the other ingredients.
- Serve with fresh avocado, guacamole or even cheddar cheese.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Chop onions and carrots. (Optional: add olive oil and sauté for 5 minutes before turning instant pot on.)
- Lay chicken breasts along the bottom of the instant pot. Cover chicken with chopped veggies, diced tomatoes, quinoa and spices. Do not add beans.
- Stir to combine. Add broth. Cover the pot and set to sealing, Manual Pressure for 10 minutes. Once cooked, allow pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and pull apart on a cutting board. The chicken will be tender enough that it falls apart. Stir the shredded chicken and beans in with the other ingredients. Add beans. Serve with fresh avocado, guacamole or even cheddar cheese.
Stovetop Instructions
- Chop onions and carrots. (Optional: add olive oil and sauté for 5 minutes before turning instant pot on.)
- In a large pot. Lay chicken breasts along the bottom of the pot. Cover chicken with chopped veggies, diced tomatoes, quinoa beans and spices.
- Stir to combine. Add broth, cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and pull apart on a cutting board. The chicken will be tender enough that it falls apart. Stir the shredded chicken and beans in with the other ingredients. Add beans. Serve with fresh avocado, guacamole or even cheddar cheese.
Mike says
Made this for dinner yesterday. It was simple + delicious! Makes a lot so I have leftovers for lunch this week
The Clean Eating Couple says
Awesome!! It does make a lot so it’s perfect for leftovers 🙂
Stephanie says
This soup is so delicious and easy to make! We’ve made it dozens of times. Plenty of leftovers. It’s almost like a chili. A crowd pleaser for sure, everyone we make this for loves it! A little shredded cheese and sour cream/yogurt to finish it off and YUM!!!!!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Stephanie! Love the cheese/sour cream addition – delish!!
Robyn Schmidt says
Love it! We recommended this one to a client who loves quinoa and needed a freezer-friendly paleo soup. She is legume-sensitive so we had her swap red and yellow pepper for the beans (plus, yay for color!) . It did not disappoint.
We always send clients to your site – never fail, easy to make recipes! thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad they liked it! Thank you!
Liz says
So delicious. especially on a cold rainy day!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it!
Erin Dooley says
This was really good,and easy to make which was a plus since I didn’t have much time
Kayla says
We made this and it was delicious! Just curious – where does the trans fat come from in the nutrition info?
Thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you enjoyed it! I just took a look at the nutrition facts and something was off there but I’ve updated it since so it should be accurate now! No trans fat 🙂 Thanks!
Stacy says
This soup was so different than what I am used to! It was so refreshing, easy to make, healthy, and delicious! I will definitely be making it again!