Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Soup
A delicious, easy and comforting slow cooker Italian chicken soup with quinoa
Ingredients
- 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed well, uncooked
- 24 oz marinara sauce I like to use a brand that doesn’t include any added sugar in the ingredient list, jar
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 bell pepper seeded and chopped, red
- 3 carrot peeled and sliced into rounds, large
- 1 yellow onion diced, medium
- 1 diced tomatoes 14.5 ounce can, petite diced, not drained
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Optional Toppings:
- mozzarella cheese shredded
- Parmesan Cheese
- parsley fresh
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large slow cooker.
- Cover, and cook on “low” for about 7-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Shred or dice the meat, return it to the pot, and season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with cheese and parsley and serve.
Notes
- Want to Make it Vegetarian? Omit the chicken and replace the meat with 2 cans of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, garbanzo beans, or kidney beans. You can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth, too!
- Cooking for Just Two? You can easily cut the recipe in half, which will give you 4 servings of soup. It freezes nicely or keeps in the refrigerator for about a week, so you can enjoy the extra servings at a later date (with no grocery shopping or prep work necessary)!
- Want to Prep Ahead? You can make this a slow cooker freezer meal by dumping all of the raw ingredients into a zip-top bag and freezing until ready to use. Before cooking, thaw the bag in the refrigerator overnight and then cook the next day as instructed. Alternatively, you can prepare a big batch of this soup over the weekend and store the extra cooked soup in your freezer for up to 3 months or in your refrigerator for about a week.
- Want to Make it Vegetarian? Omit the chicken and replace the meat with 2 cans of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, garbanzo beans, or kidney beans. You can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth, too!
- Cooking for Just Two? You can easily cut the recipe in half, which will give you 4 servings of soup. It freezes nicely or keeps in the refrigerator for about a week, so you can enjoy the extra servings at a later date (with no grocery shopping or prep work necessary)!
- Want to Prep Ahead? You can make this a slow cooker freezer meal by dumping all of the raw ingredients into a zip-top bag and freezing until ready to use. Before cooking, thaw the bag in the refrigerator overnight and then cook the next day as instructed. Alternatively, you can prepare a big batch of this soup over the weekend and store the extra cooked soup in your freezer for up to 3 months or in your refrigerator for about a week.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8 (2-cup servings)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 266
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 266kcal | 13% |
| Carbohydrates | 26g | 9% |
| Protein | 29g | 58% |
| Fat | 4g | 6% |
| Cholesterol | 72mg | 24% |
| Sodium | 1032mg | 43% |
| Potassium | 1167mg | 25% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 5215IU | 104% |
| Vitamin C | 60.6mg | 67% |
| Calcium | 63mg | 6% |
| Iron | 3.2mg | 18% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.