Light, bright soups are fun to make and wonderful to eat. I recently wanted to make a light chicken soup to take away the chill on a cold winter day. I didn’t want to use pasta and thought Quinoa would be a great substitute for noodles.

Quinoa has a unique texture and is easy to use in recipes. I have made salads using Quinoa and even created a Spinach Quinoa Cake that was delicious (check it out at dmariedining.com). Adding Quinoa to the chicken soup definitely kept it light and adding Napa Cabbage helped kick up the flavor and nutritional value.

Next time you have a desire for a quick tasty soup or just want to use the leftover chicken in the frig think about making a nice Chicken and Quinoa Soup with Napa Cabbage.

Chicken and Quinoa Soup with Napa Cabbage

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken pre-cooked
2 cups Napa cabbage shredded
4 cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups Quinoa rinsed
1 bay leaf
½ cup baby carrots thinly sliced
½ cup slice celery
¼ cup red peppers thinly sliced into strips
¼ cup red onion chopped
½ tbsp salt
½ tbsp seasoned salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp Adobo seasoning
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp parsley
½ tsp cilantro
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Cook Quinoa according to package. Set aside.

Place chicken in a small bowl and season with seasoned salt and onion powder. Set aside.

Add chicken broth, onions, peppers, celery, carrots, bay leaf and seasonings to a large pot on medium high heat. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium then stir in chicken, Quinoa and cabbage. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with crackers.

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