Welcome back, my friends! This is my first recipe post back after the New Year and it only seems fitting that we make a super duper cozy meal filled with veggies. It's time to shake off the holiday treats and get back to our healthy habits.
For me, that means filling my plate (and bowls) with veggies and plant-based proteins. If you've been following for a while, then you already know I'm pretty much a vegetarian at this point, but for those of you who aren't, I want to challenge you to something this year:
Eat 100% plant-based for one day a week.
Might sound a teeny bit scary I know, but trust me when I tell you this: when you nourish your body with plant-based foods and skip out on the meat and dairy, you are going to feel incredible. No joke. It's transformational.
Now to me, plant-based doesn't necessarily mean vegan. It means focusing on plants (fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes) and skipping out on meat and dairy. Eggs are fine in my book, as is honey. Two things about that: you want to make sure your eggs are organic and free-range, and honey needs to be raw and preferably local.
So what does eating plant-based look like?
It's actually pretty simple. You can check out any of my What I Eat in a Day videos on my YouTube channel, but here's what a typical day could look like:
- Breakfast: smoothie bowl OR oatmeal (my creamy coconut matcha oatmeal would be perfecto)
- Lunch: green salad with chopped veggies and chickpeas OR a veggie sandwich/wrap
- Dinner: a quinoa buddha bowl OR this creamy Italian quinoa soup
Snacks can include things like protein bars, fresh fruit, nuts/nut butters, lighter smoothies, etc. See what I mean? You can TOTALLY do that for one day week!
I've discovered that dinners tend to be the most challenging for folks. They're either working full time with little time to cook, or are cooking for a family of picky eaters, and often times both, so “healthy” or “vegetarian” meals are out of the question.
And then there's the issue of taste. How many times have you heard (or even said to yourself), “Healthy food doesn't taste good”?
When I was first transitioning to this way of eating, I told myself the exact same thing. Until I realized it wasn't about the kind of food I was making (i.e. healthy food), it was about the way I was cooking and the ingredients I was using.
Which is precisely where this soup comes into play. Not only is it a cinch to make, but it's also healthy, full of flavor and is made entirely from plant-based goodies.
The base of this soup starts with a mirepoix, which is just chopped up onions, carrots and celery. Those get sauteed with some garlic, salt and pepper, and begin to build the flavor of the soup. Then, it's on to the tomatoes.
Since we're in the heart of winter and tomatoes are certainly not in season here in New York, I knew turning to canned was the best option. And my brand of choice? Always Tuttorosso.
If you remember back in October when I shared that recipe for my healthy tomato bisque, part of that also talked about why I adore this brand so much. I was lucky enough to tour their factory and saw that the tomatoes are picked at the peak of ripeness (which also means the best flavor) and are in the can in less than two hours. The quality blew me away!
And I truly believe that your food is only as good as the ingredients you cook with. Because when you use high-quality ingredients, your food is going to have more flavor and nutrition.
I went with two different tomato products for this soup: stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce.
I chose stewed because I wanted the soup to have somewhat of a rustic feel. So by roughly chopping the stewed tomatoes, rather than using diced, there were larger chunks of tomato mixed in. Loved that! (if you don't want to use stewed, you can totally sub diced!)
The sauce gave the soup a nice thick texture, a gorgeous color and even more tomato flavor. After all, we want this to be as tomato-y and Italian as possible, right?!
The other secret to this Italian quinoa soup? Cream of course! (<– jk we're not using dairy, remember?)
So instead of the actual cream, I whipped up a cashew cream in my blender and stirred that into the soup. All you need are cashews, nutritional yeast, miso paste (for that nice umami flavor), some water and a scoop of the soup base. Blend it all together and you have a cheesy-tasting cream without any of the dairy!
And one final thing about this soup: it freezes wonderfully! You can make a big pot over the weekend, and freeze the leftovers in containers for lunches/dinners throughout the week. That means #noexcuses, my friend!
So are you ready to join me?
To make this a bit easier, let's start with just the month of January. For the next four weeks, let's make a goal to eat at least one day per week 100% plant-based. If you're up for it, click here to take the “pledge” and I'll send you a free ebook that contains 5 delicious, plant-based salad recipes!
Creamy Italian Quinoa Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 4 celery ribs, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 (15oz) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1/3 cup white quinoa (uncooked)
- 1 (14.5oz) can Tuttorosso Stewed Tomatoes*
- 1 (15oz) can Tuttorosso Tomato Sauce
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
- 4 – 6 cups fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (+ more if desired)
- 1 teaspoon miso paste
- 1/4 cup water
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and saute until carrots have started to soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add chickpeas and quinoa to the mixture.
- Roughly chop the stewed tomatoes, then add them, along with the juice, to the pot with the sauce, broth and herbs and stir to combine. Season with a bit more salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer and simmer, partially covered, for 20 – 30 minutes (or longer if desired).
- While the soup is cooking, add the cashews, nutritional yeast, miso, water and ½ cup of the soup broth (just scoop it from the pot) into a high-powered blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cream. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary (I stirred in a touch more nutritional yeast). Serve immediately!
by Alyssa


Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Serving Size | Based on 6 |
Amount Per Serving | As Served |
Calories 320kcal Calories from fat 117 | |
% Daily Value | |
Total Fat 13g | 20% |
Saturated Fat 2g | 10% |
Sodium 1205mg | 50% |
Carbohydrate 42g | 14% |
Dietary Fiber 12g | 48% |
Sugars 12g | |
Protein 14g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
Calories | 2000 | |
---|---|---|
Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
Dietary Fiber | 25g |
This post was sponsored by Tuttorosso, but all opinions are my own. As always, thank you for supporting the brands that I love and I hope you try their tomatoes!
New to cooking quinoa? Grab your FREE Quinoa Starter Guide!
Become part of the Simply Quinoa community and receive weekly emails with exclusive content that I only share in email, as well as my in-depth guide to starting your quinoa journey.
Want more quinoa dinner recipes?
Follow my board on Pinterest!
Karlie says
The flavors of the cashew cream sound incredible! I can’t wait to try this!
Alyssa says
Yay!! I can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you, Karlie! xo
Sarah | Well and Full says
Thank you for promoting a plant-based diet!! This soup looks incredible 🙂
Will says
Don’t you have to soak the cashews for several hours beforehand?
Alyssa says
Depending on your blender, not necessarily. I have a high powered blender and didn’t soak mine at all and they came out totally smooth!
Cris says
I’m allergic to cashews. Is there a substitution you could recommend? I’d use a dairy product but that would defeat the purpose 😉
Alyssa says
You could coconut cream, but that would change the flavor profile….so maybe the other option would be to blend up some chickpeas or tofu?
Emily says
Macadamia nuts or Brazil nuts both make fantastic rich nut creams. Raw brazil nuts are pretty easy to find in a WholeFoods or heath store. Hemp hearts are another option, but they have a slightly grassy flavor.
Sorry you can’t enjoy cashews. 🙂
Alyssa says
Thank you so much for sharing! Will definitely try that out 🙂 xo
Suha says
Oh my god Alyssa!! I am totally obsessed with the recipes, every single day I have to visit your website and pull something out and try it, I have a list for faves… I just tried this creamy yumm-ness!!! Oh my god!
I cooked all kind of things, cookies, breakfast bowls, soups, pesto divine sauce, and I don’t know what to say other than thank you!
Alyssa says
I’m thrilled you’re enjoying everything, Suha!!! xo
patricia says
I made this tonight and it was yummy! I added atouch more nutritional yeast also!;-)
Alyssa says
So glad you enjoyed it!! xo
Donna says
This creamy Italian quinoa soup is incredible. I’ve had it three times this week. My new favorite go to soup when it’s chilly outside. I add Cabbage to mine.
Alyssa says
That’s amazing!! I’m SO glad you’ve been enjoying it 🙂 And the cabbage? Such a great idea!
Liz says
Love this soup! It was a big hit in my house! Delicious! Do you happen to know how many cups this recipe makes? Trying to calculate Weight Watchers points 🙂
Alyssa says
I would say 12 – 14? I think a serving is about 2 cups
Gabrial says
Thumbs up!! My boys (including Dad) usually want meat with dinner. I made this and everyone finished their bowls!! I skipped the cashew cream (although that sounds delightful) and went a heavy cream. Also, topped with a bit of parmesan cheese…I know, I know, but it was YUMMY!
Alyssa says
So glad you enjoyed it! And modifications are totally fine 🙂
Lora says
Gabrial, how much cream did you use? Thanks!
Debbie says
Is there a substitute for the Miso?
Alyssa says
You could try a little tamari!
Emma says
Just made this AGAIN! Me and my family LOVE it. Thank you Alyssa, keep up the great work, lots of love xxxx
Susan says
I am eating a bowl of this awesome soup now! It is soooo delicious!
I sautéed the veggies in a bit of water (not using oil) and thinking next time may use a white bean instead of chick peas…..
Thank you for this recipe; it is hands down one of the best I’ve tried…..and I think that brand of tomatoes made a huge difference. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!
Alyssa says
YAY!!! So glad that you enjoyed it 🙂 XO
Sarah says
Just made this and …… AHMAZING!!! Being vegetarian for 9 years I’m always looking for new veggie soups in the winter and this one knocked it out of the park! The cashew cream with miso is brilliant . Thank you Alyssa!!
Alyssa says
OMG YAY! So happy to hear you enjoyed it!!