Crock Pot Chicken, Quinoa & Roasted Garlic Soup takes your boring old chicken noodle soup to a whole new level and turns it into a healthy, low-fat soup recipe loaded with the richness of roasted garlic and health benefits of quinoa. It is so easy and so delicious!
I know it is March and spring will technically be arriving in only a few short weeks. I know it, but I can’t feel it. We are currently hearing warnings for a blizzard tomorrow morning. The fact of the matter is, nothing resembling spring will likely arrive for MONTHS!
So, while we are still freezing our butts off here in Minnesota, I figured I may as well make a hearty soup to warm up with. I enjoy a good soup and I am completely infatuated with roasted garlic, so this meal was an instant favorite of mine.
I always suggest roasting at least twice as much garlic as called for in a recipe, so you can store the rest in the freezer for your next meal. It is a slightly time consuming process, but so easy and completely worth it. With extra garlic stored in the freezer, you can easily add a punch of flavor to any dish in an instant.
Crock Pot Chicken, Quinoa & Roasted Garlic Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb. chicken breasts
- 2 c. carrots chopped into 1/4″ pieces
- 2 c. celery finely chopped
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 red onion diced
- 1/2 c. quinoa uncooked
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°. Take your 2 gloves of garlic and slice the tops off so each clove is exposed. (This is important, if you leave some cloves intact, they will be difficult to get at later.) Place them on the sheet of tinfoil, cut side up, and use the the olive oil to rub over the each head. Be sure to cover them thoroughly, so they don’t burn. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and fold the tinfoil into a packet to enclose the garlic completely. Place in the oven and bake for 60-90 minutes until the cloves are a deep golden-brown.
- Once the garlic is done cooking, remove it from the oven and it should be a beautiful golden brown color. Squeeze each head from the bottom to release the individual cloves. (Use an oven mitt to protect your hand if you are impatient like myself, otherwise just wait for it to cool.) Dice the cloves finely and add them to the Crock Pot along with the remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
- Shred the chicken breasts using two forks and serve immediately.
Nutrition
21 Day Fix Approved Recipe – 1/3 Red, 2/3 Green, 1/4 Yellow
More hearty soups!
Marianne Mackenberg-Foote says
Awesome thank you so much!!
Marianne Mackenberg-Foote says
HI! I am trying this tonight… question- do you leave the Quinoa in all day? I would think it would get soggy! I love roasted Garlic!
Danielle Green says
Yes, the quinoa goes in the soup for the entire cooking time. It takes awhile to cook on low temps and the beauty of quinoa is that it doesn’t actually get really soggy ever.
Kate says
How do you “dice” the roasted garlic cloves? They seem to be too soft for dicing, they’re more of a spread consistency
Danielle Green says
Depending on how firm it still is your can just run your knife over it or use the edge to simply mash it. Either way, just make sure it is broken up.
Jen @ Baked by an Introvert says
We are garlic lovers and this would make a fabulous dinner option on a cold, snowy evening. I’m looking forward to trying it! Pinning!