Can winter fare be both vibrant and comforting? I think this colourful soup is proof that it can. Sometimes it feels difficult to pack in as many bright coloured vegetables and fruit into one’s diet this time of the year, but it’s certainly possible. Just think of all the bright colours in season right now – winter squash galore, sweet potatoes, kale, pomegranates, citrus, radish, apples, cranberries, pears, persimmons, etc. If you feel yourself in a cold weather food rut, try busting out some of these into your shopping cart each week. The pop of colour will instantly boost your mood no matter what the weather is like outside. And if it doesn’t, well at least they are pretty to photograph!
Last week, I picked up a couple sweet potatoes because it had been a while since I had any. I usually prefer squash over sweet potatoes, but it’s nice to change it up once and a while. This hearty soup is filled with sweet potato chunks, fluffy protein-packed quinoa, black beans, and is seasoned with cumin, coriander, and chili powder. While it’s a good soup on its own, it really shines with toppings like avocado, cherry tomatoes or salsa, cilantro, crushed corn chips, and green onion, giving it a Tex-Mex flare. Cashew cream would also be nice on top too, as I used in my Raw Taco Salad recipe. If sweet potatoes aren’t your thing, feel free to use butternut squash in its place.
This was hands down, the most fun bowl to eat so far this season!
Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Red Quinoa Soup
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Inspired by: Sprouted Kitchen & Coconut & Quinoa
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked red quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cup diced sweet onion (about 1/2 large)
- 1 jalapeno, seeded if preferred and diced
- 1 large sweet potato (350 g), peeled and chopped to 1/2-1 inch dice (2.5-3 cups)*
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1.5 cups cooked black beans (one (15-oz) can rinsed and drained)
- fine grain sea salt and black pepper, to taste (I used 1/2 tsp salt or a bit more)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes)
- 2 handfuls Spinach or kale leaves, optional
- toppings: avocado, corn chips, cilantro, cashew cream, lime juice, tomatoes or salsa, green onion
1. In a medium-sized pot, add quinoa along with 1.5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cover with tight fitting lid. Simmer covered for about 17 minutes or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with fork, and keep it covered until ready to use.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large wok or pot. Add garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Now add in the jalapeno and sweet potato and sauté for 5-7 minutes more.
3. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, coriander, and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 18-20 minutes uncovered, or until the potatoes are tender.
4. Just before serving, stir in the cooked quinoa, drained and rinsed black beans, cayenne, and optional spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding more spice if desired.
5. Garnish soup with cherry tomatoes, cilantro, green onion, corn chips, avocado, and/or cashew cream.
6. Feast on tasty, vibrant comfort food!
Updates!
I did some major updating on my FAQ page, adding some common questions and I also wrote an update on my knee injury in the running section.
Well, we’re off to our first Christmas party of the season tomorrow and Sunday is going to be dedicated to picking out our tree and decorating. It should be a festive one….just what I love this time of year. Have a great weekend!
This soup looks beautiful! And delicious. You always seem to find the right balance in your dishes.
I love everything about this soup – it’s right up my alley! It’s so beautiful too =)
This soup is totally right up my alley! I love beans, sweet potatoes, and lentils, and am currently totally obsessed with making and eat soups. Thanks for sharing! :)
This soup looks delicious! Does it reheat well?
Yes it does :)
A related question – do you think this would freeze well? I’m never sure about quinoa…
I just froze a batch last week in individual containers. It still tasted delicious!
This looks lovely! So healthy :)
Such a great combination! I love sweet potatoes with black beans and that quinoa must add the perfect texture. Something about winter makes me crave Mexican. And Indian. Maybe the warming spices?
Indian is perfect for winter… I guess it is the spices. I love hot dishes, anyway…
sweet potato and black bean is the best combo ever.
That soup looks beautiful! I cannot wait to make it.
What a gorgeous post. The colors are just leaping off the screen. I must try this. Thank you.
This is perfect to warm you up on a cold winter day… beautiful pics, too!
I never tried red quinoa, does it taste a lot different from the white one? I love white quinoa…
Apparently red quinoa has a stronger flavour, but I havent really noticed much of a difference.
I find red harder to cook – seems to take longer and I am always needing to add more water/veg broth. But I feel like it is healthier (not sure that it is) because it has more color! :)
Yummo! Perfect for my “eat the rainbow” Elf 4 Health challenge for today! Thanks.
This looks insanely delicious and the colors are so perfect. It looks like the perfect comfort food.
I love hearty and spicy ethnic foods in the winter! Soups, stews, shepherd’s pie, etc. I love it all. Thanks for sharing.
This looks delicious and since it’s been pouring alllll week in SF I think this is the perfect Friday night dinner for when I get home tonight. Can’t wait!
I need to stop reading these posts when I’m hungry. :) I’m not a huge soup lover, but I’ve been trying to eat more of it because it’s such a good way of getting liquids in during the dry winter. I made Dreena Burton’s paprika lentil soup last night and LOVED it – so perhaps there is hope for me in the soup department! This will be the next one I’ll be trying, thanks!
That is a fiesta in a bowl baby!! Beautiful!
I love black beans & Quinoa. I never thought of adding potatoes to the mix and making into soup. This is a keeper for me. :)
Angela, this looks perfect! I am going to make it for lunch for my family today. We love the basic ingredients: black beans, quinoa, kale, and sweet potatoes especially!!
I have known about your blog for quite a long time, but have just started making your recipes. They are so good! You are very skilled, and your healthy, tasty recipes have been a great addition to my kitchen. Thank you for sharing your amazing skills. Been a total blessing for this family. Keep goin’ girl!
I think I will add more Indian spices to this, as I have just started to dabble in Indian cooking, and I LOVE it.
Yum! Soups are the best in wintertime, just through your pantry into a pot with broth and there you have it, a comforting nutritious meal for the soul.
Mmm, this looks so hearty. I’ve been making veggie loaded soups since it started getting cold and have been devouring this one for two straight weeks: http://barefootcrafts.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/roasted-butternut-squash-apple-soup/. No one believes me that there’s no cream in it haha.
Quick question- do you have a tomato soup recipe on here, other than the gazpacho? I can’t seem to find one. Thank you! xo
No im sorry I dont! I need to fix that next summer :)
Yes you do Angela! What about your coconut tomato soup?
http://ohsheglows.com/2011/09/23/creamy-roasted-tomato-garlic-onion-coconut-soup/
PS I added nutritional yeast to this and it was yummy. Definitely DONT use hot house tomatoes though, go all out with the nice Romas if you can find them!
yes that is a good tomato soup too! Although not traditional but still fun :)
This looks like a perfect “clean out the fridge/cabinets” soup!
looks amazing! I LOVE soup in the winter, especially adding all sorts of topping like this one :)
Oh that looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it out.
I’m a sweet potato kinda gal myself – it usually wins over squash for me.
This looks so yummy, and perfect for a cold rainy weekend! Soups are all I’ve been craving lately :)
This looks amazing! It seems like exactly what I need to get over a cold that’s just hit me. I imagine that the coconut oil would really bring out the other flavours.
I’ll be buying the ingredients tomorrow!
Oh that looks so good. I check my usual blogs in the morning when I wake up and even when you have a savory recipe posted I think, “That could work as breakfast food, right?” :) Have a great weekend, Angela!
The definition of eating the rainbow is the opening picture -beautiful, Angela! I love the look of that shot and your site in general seems tweaked or something. The graphics are just popping and look so pretty!
Sweet potatoes can do no wrong in whatever they’re in!
I can’t wait to make that!! I think it is supposed to get cold here soon (below 50 is cold in Texas ;-) ) So I will be making it asap!
YUM…now, these are the types of creations that I adore – savory, nutrient dense, special! I can’t wait to make this lovely soup filled w/all my favorite foods!
That first picture is absolutely beautiful. You have such talent with photography! Wish I could have like a tenth of it, lol. Great recipe :D
Looks delicious! I make something similar to this but it isn’t a soup.
Cannot wait to try this :) Q for you Angela, this may sound really really stupid but how do you rinse and drain quinoa? I’ve tried it a couple of times and lose half it trying to drain, i feel like i might be missing something….
Hey Alicia, I use a fine mesh strainer that way the quinoa doesnt fall through (dont worry it took me a while to figure this out as well!) hope this helps.
Mine never needs to be drained! It just soaks up all of the water.
Sorry, ignore my last comment! I misunderstood what you were talking about.
Love the beautiful colors in this bowl. It looks like a perfect detox soup that is healthy and filling and warming during these cold months. Love love love.
I love the colors, I love the flavors, and I love that it is light and healthy in the midst of all the heavy cool weather dishes I’ve been eating!
This soup is so colorful, healthy, and yummy looking!
That is a festive soup! My goal in the winter is to get in as many veggies as I can and still cater to my warm comfort needs, so this fits the bill! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so hungry…this is not helping – TGIF! This will make an excellent addition to the weekend.
As always, this looks amazing.
I LOVE the setup of your first shot Ange!! This looks so delicious and vibrant. Like you, I usually prefer squash over sweet potatoes too. I bet this would taste brilliant with both. Have a great time at the Christmas party tonight!
I love black beans and sweet potato together! I have a black bean and sweet potato soup that I make, but it’s pretty different from this one so I’m going to have to try yours out!
Have fun at the Christmas party this weekend. :)
As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. I made this for dinner tonight (I used regular Quinoa instead of red) and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks for such a great recipe!
Delicious and warm! I would pair this with a lovely Chardonnay! Do you agree?
What a gorgeous bowl of soup! Looks like the perfect thing to celebrate these cooler months-beautiful photography as always!
I love all of the bright colors in this soup. I made tons of your soups last season and can’t wait to dig into this season’s recipes. Thanks for always posting such healthy and filling recipes!
Ok, I just had to comment on this recipe. You are a genius :-)
I am always looking for a healthy recipe with in season foods for the winter. This soup is amazing! Thanks!
I was thinking the same thing. I really think she is a genius!!!!! YUM!
I just made this tonight…it was FANTASTIC!! Loved loved loved it. I added some chopped tomatoes and green onions at the very end of the simmering. I think you could easily add in other veggies…broccoli could be good. I look forward to making this again! Plus it make a very large batch, so I will be having it for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!!
Im so glad you enjoyed it Liz! Thanks for letting me know.
This bowl looks so comforting, and has all my winter favorites! Now that it’s getting colder out I’ve been seriously craving sweet potatoes and avocados – in fact, I’d say that comprised about 50% of my meal tonight. Anyhow, this recipe might be a more well-rounded way to incorporate both!
Made this tonight- but didn’t add any toppings because I was too lazy to go to the store. It was delicious with the optional spinach and no toppings. My husband had 3 servings and has designated it a keeper. Thank you!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it Lisa!
When I saw the title I thought sounds good, then I saw your photo’s, oh my gosh! I want this for dinner tonight! What a wonderful, healthy soup!! Have fun at your Christmas party!
This soup looks incredible!
So healthy and colourful. I have officially added this recipe to my “to make” list!
Cheers!
Tara
What a wonderful bowl of color and goodness Angela! All the best things in a bowl together :) Love it!
Gorgeous soup Angela ~ and ~ your blog re-design looks GORGEOUS!