Nourishing Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup

We love everything about this Nourishing Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup recipe!  This chicken quinoa soup is loaded with tender bites of chicken, quinoa, and vegetables all simmered in a lemon chicken broth that is seasoned with thyme.  

This chicken soup with quinoa is a cozy, comforting soup that is so easy to make. You’ll want to make it all winter long! 

Lemon chicken soup with quinoa is similar to chicken lemon rice soup only we sub out the rice and use quinoa instead.  I make this soup a lot during the cold winter months!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Quick and Easy. This is a quick and easy recipe that you can pull together any night of the week. 
• Richly Flavored. This soup is loaded with flavor! And if you love the flavor of lemon, you will love this soup.
• Nourishing Ingredients.  We use a delicious combo of nourishing ingredients for this soup!

Chicken Quinoa Soup Recipe

• Olive Oil. We use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil for the soup
• Chicken. You’ll need about 1 pound chicken breasts for this soup. Unseasoned rotisserie chicken works fine too.
• Quinoa. We use white quinoa for this recipe, but you can also use tri-color quinoa. Be sure the quinoa is rinsed well in a strainer before cooking, unless you purchase pre soaked quinoa. Rinsing quinoa before cooking helps to get rid of the bitter-tasting compound (called saponin) that coats it.
• Vegetables. We add celery and carrots to this soup.
• Aromatics. Onion and garlic add a ton of flavor to this delicious soup!
• Seasoning. We season this soup with a little dried thyme, bay leaves and fresh parsley.
• Chicken Broth. Use a low sodium chicken broth.
• Lemon. After the soup has finished cooking, we stir in fresh lemon and parsley to the soup which adds a nice perky flavor. 

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

How to Make Chicken Quinoa Soup

1. Cook Chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add chicken to the pot and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through.
2. Saute Aromatics. Add the remaining oil to the pot.  Add the garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Add the thyme and cook for another minute.
3. Add Broth. Pour in the chicken broth and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil.
4. Add Chicken and Quinoa. Stir in the chicken and quinoa to the pot. Reduce heat to low, place the lid on the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked and tender
5. Add Lemon Juice. Stir in lemon juice and fresh parsley.
6. Season Soup. Season soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Tips For Making The Best Lemon Chicken and Quinoa Soup

1. Simmer over low heat so the flavors from the ingredients infuse into the broth.
2. You can make the broth for this soup with a good long simmer, until the meat practically falls from the bones.  Or you can whip this soup together in no time by quickly sautéing the chicken and vegetables, then adding the broth and simmering  just until the veggies are tender, and the quinoa is done.
3. Use fresh squeezed lemon juice (not the bottled stuff from the store).

More Soup Recipes

• Roasted Garlic Chicken Soup
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Chicken Cabbage Soup
• Tom Kha Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
• Mexican Chicken Rice Soup

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Yield: 6 servings

Nourishing Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

We love everything about this Nourishing Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup recipe!  This chicken quinoa soup is loaded with tender bites of chicken, quinoa, and vegetables all simmered in a lemon chicken broth that is seasoned with thyme.  

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and copped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup mountain spring water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat.
2. Add chicken to the pot and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through.
3. Remove from the pot and set aside.
4. Add the remaining oil to the pot. Add the garlic, onion, carrots and celery.
5.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until barely tender,
6. Add the thyme and cook for another minute.
7. Pour in the chicken stock, water, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
8. Add the chicken and quinoa.
9. Reduce heat to low, place the lid on the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked and tender
10. Stir in lemon juice and parsley.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 459mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 28g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.