This soup is amazing. Healthy and chock-full of chicken, black-eyed peas, spinach, quinoa, onions, carrots, and celery. For a hearty and delicious plant-based soup, omit the chicken.
We love traditions surrounding the holidays. In the South, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring good health and prosperity for the coming new year.
Here’s to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2020!
Call me superstitious, but I grew up on this tradition and my Mom never missed serving up black eyed peas on New Year’s Day…even though we weren’t from the South.
And you’ll want to have this perfect good-luck meal not only on New Year’s day, but all through the year.
Easy Steps
- In a large saucepan, sauté onions for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and finely diced jalapeños and cook for another minute.
- Add chicken or vegetable broth, 2 bay leaves, and fresh thyme sprigs and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add quinoa, celery, and carrots and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa is cooked and veggies are crisp tender.
- Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
- Add shredded chicken (or omit for a hearty plant-based option), spinach, cilantro, and mint. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, until the spinach is slightly wilted and chicken is heated through.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
Squeeze that lime!
Healthy and refreshing! Enjoy with a side of Sweet Potato Cornbread.
Chef Joel’s Tip
Some batches of quinoa can have a bitter taste due to quinoa’s natural coating, called saponin. This natural coating protects the grains from being eaten by birds.
However, much of the quinoa sold in the U.S. is pre-washed before it’s packaged. If the package does not state pre-washed, for the best flavor, rinse quinoa before cooking.
Check out this small colander for rinsing quinoa, rice, and other small grains.
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Chicken, Quinoa and Black-Eyed Pea Soup
Yield 6-8 Servings
Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.
The perfect good-luck meal!
Ingredients
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 cup yellow or white onions, small dice
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 quarts low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed (see recipe notes)
1/2 cup celery, small dice (see recipe notes)
1/2 cup carrots, small dice
4 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 (15-ounce) cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
6 ounces fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped (about 8 cups packed, then chopped)
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and jalapeños and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Pour in broth and increase heat to medium-high. When the broth comes to a boil, add bay leaves, thyme, quinoa, celery, and carrots. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until quinoa is cooked and vegetables are crisp tender.
- Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
- Add chicken, black eyed peas, spinach, cilantro, and mint. Simmer, uncovered an additional 5 minutes, until the chicken is heated through and spinach is slightly wilted.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with additional cilantro, if desired. Serve with lime wedges.
- Enjoy with a side of Sweet Potato Cornbread!
Notes
- Quinoa's natural coating, called saponin, can make it taste bitter or soapy. Much of the quinoa sold in the U.S. is pre-washed before it's packaged. If not, for best flavor, rinse before using.
- Small dice cuts measure 1/4-inch x 1/4-inch x 1/4-inch.
- Recipe yield: approximately 12 cups.
- Make Mine Veggie: For a delicious plant-based option, use vegetable broth and omit the chicken.
Courses Soups & Salads