Mexican Quinoa Stew
You're going to love this Mexican quinoa stew! It's hearty, easy to make and tastes amazing. This delicious soup recipe is vegan and gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
Sometimes I get really excited about a recipe because it sounds delicious, but it almost seems too easy—do you know what I mean? Like, am I about to get duped here? Am I going to end up with a so-so meal? Maybe I’m too skeptical, but I’ve been let down before.
This soup sounded both delicious and easy, and it proved to be even better than that—it’s amazing! And so easy! The recipe comes from my friend Megan’s brand-new cookbook called No Excuses Detox: 100 Recipes to Help You Eat Healthy Every Day. All of the recipes are vegetarian (mostly vegan) and gluten free, with short ingredients lists and prep times.
I love Megan’s approach to detoxing—the term often makes me think of scary juice fasts and extreme measures, but there’s nothing extreme about this book other than the ease of the recipes. She shares simple recipes made from whole foods that support your body’s natural detox mechanisms.
Plus, she shares tons of real-world tips on how to eat well when you’re short on time, money and energy. Megan manages to run a blog, write cookbooks, work as a greeting card designer, and raise two adorable kids all at the same time. She definitely has a few tricks up her sleeves and doesn’t let excuses get in the way. I’m the queen of making excuses and overthinking, so I’m taking notes.
I am especially pumped about her tips for pressure cooking, since I just caved and bought an Instant Pot. (Have you guys tried pressure cooking yet? I’m scared. So many buttons. The unopened box is resting nice and cozy next to my hamper.)
Anyway, her book’s full of recipes that look and sound delicious, and seem easy enough for busy weeknights. This hearty Mexican quinoa soup hit all of those marks. I could eat this soup every day until spring and I just might, since it freezes well.
Megan modeled this recipe after chicken tortilla soup, but made it a hearty vegetarian soup with quinoa and black beans. It tastes remarkably fresh and flavorful, thanks some basic aromatics, herbs and spices. I love that she used water instead of vegetable broth, too—something to consider in future soup recipes. Please let us know how you like it!
Watch How to Make Mexican Quinoa Stew
Mexican Quinoa Stew
You’re going to love this Mexican quinoa stew! It’s hearty, easy to make and tastes amazing. This soup recipe is vegan and gluten free. Recipe yields 4 large or 6 more modest bowls.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil (I opted to use 1 tablespoon olive oil instead)
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
- 3 ½ cups water
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups cooked black beans or 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ cup quinoa (dry/uncooked)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (for extra heat, optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Optional garnishes (my ideas): extra chopped cilantro, small wedges of lime, diced avocado, crumbled tortilla chips, grated cheese, sour cream…
Instructions
- In a medium Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and jalapeños. Sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
- Add the water, tomatoes, beans, cumin, salt, quinoa, cilantro and cayenne pepper (if using). Season with pepper and bring the soup to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower the heat, cover the pot, and let the soup simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Once the quinoa is tender, add more salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. You can serve this soup right away or use an immersion blender to purée a couple cups of this soup—this helps to thicken the soup while still leaving some texture (I may have overdone it a bit).
- Divide into bowls and serve with any garnishes that you’d like. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe reprinted with permission from No Excuses Detox, copyright © 2017 by Megan Gilmore, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Megan’s Instant Pot guidance: Sauté the aromatics (everything listed in step 1) in your Instant Pot with the olive oil. Add the ingredients listed in step 2. Securely seal the lid according to the manufacturer’s instructions and cook for 8 minutes on high pressure. Allow the pressure to release naturally, then carefully remove the lid. You might want to blend a couple cups of the soup as suggested in step 3. Serve with garnishes of your choice.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I wanted to try a new recipe and came straight to your site. This was so good!! I roughly doubled the recipe and added 1 tsp. of turmeric and some sweet potatoes that were about to go bad. It was great as it was, but after it finished cooking I added some organic whole milk to thicken and sweeten the broth. Then I served it topped with sharp cheddar cheese, plain organic Greek yogurt, and crushed tortilla chips. I still haven’t tried a recipe here I haven’t loved – and I’m picky! Thanks for
sharing another great one. Yum! :P
I’m so glad you loved it, Katrina! I’m happy this received your picky seal of approval. :)
Not sure if anyone has already commented on this, I took a chance and made it in my Instant Pot with great results! Sautéed the aromatics and herbs on the sauté function, then cooked the stew on manual for 12 minutes with natural release at the end another 8 minutes. One important note: only used 2.5 cups of water, and that was the perfect amount for the IP. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Really enjoyed the flavors!
Nice! I’m so glad your experimentation worked out so well! Thanks, T. I’m sure other readers will appreciate these pointers.
I also made this in my 3 day old instant pot and it was a hit. Saute function as above and then dumped everything else in and cooked on manual for 5 minutes. Quick release and then I added zucchini and bell peppers and closed it back up for a few minutes and let it sit. It was great!
I made this stew last night, it was delicious! Nice complex flavors with simple ingredients. It’s very filling: I halved the recipe and it will make three filling meals for me.
Could you make this in the crock pot?
I haven’t tried it myself, Rachael, but you could poke around the comments here and see if someone else had. My readers are super helpful and usually post tips!
Made this for dinner and it was sooooo good!! My other half isn’t great with spice so I didn’t add jalapeños and instead did 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes and 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. Absolutely delicious topped with plain yoghurt, lots of chopped corriander and a squeeze of lime, and some toritilla chips for dunking!
This is only the second thing I’ve made from your site (the other was spiralized ratatouille) and it’s been a 100% success rate so far!! Haha can’t wait to make more.
Just tried this recipe. Wow! It turned out absolutely amazing. Delicious, hearty, wonderful. I am far from an experienced cook – but it would be hard to mess this up. Highly recommended! Oh, and I used the immersion blender at the final stage, and love it. Brings all the ingredients together and creates a lovely texture :)
Sounds delicious, Suzannah! I’m so glad this was a straightforward process for you.
Hello Kate Taylor, I prepared this stew today, which happened to fall on May 5th … This was not planned; but turned out perfectly … I love this stew and I am a huge fan of all of the chunky veggies; yumster! I know that you suggested to puree some of the stew; but I think it’s perfect as is! I also made an extra crockpot of black beans to eat along with the stew, I took your advise and served extra cilantro, sliced avocado, lime, and tortilla chips on the side! Thanks a whole bunch Kate; this Mexican quinoa stew will be a regular go to in my meal planner!
Yum! That sounds delicious, Gail. I’m so glad you are happy with the result! Thanks for reading.
I just made this recipe for lunch and I love it! The taste, the textures, everything is very satisfying.
A new favorite on list from C&K
Perfect! Thanks, Julie. :)
This looks delicious, I can’t wait to try it tomorrow night! Do you think subbing the quinoa for barley or farro would change much?
I don’t think so, Sheila. Other than the obvious texture changes, I think they would function the same in the stew. Let me know how it goes!
My teenage daughter has given up meat and we are trying new recipes. So I made a double batch of this for the family (and school lunch boxes) and it was SO delicious. Really delicious and really simple to make. I’m making it again tonight…it’s a keeper, so thank you.
Great! Thanks, Claire.
So easy to make, and so so delicious!! Thank you for this!
Perfect for a weeknight dinner :)
Added bonus: My house smells amazing when I make it!
Great! I hope this goes on regular rotation for you. Thanks, Kirti.
Kate, love your recipes. I have made many of them. I am a vegan that follows the Eat to Live plan. I often do not use the oil or salt. I substitute my own salt free veggie broth mix and make most recipes in a crock pot if they are soup like. Just bought your cookbook and cannot wait to try some of those recipes. Keep up the healthful, yummy recipes! :-) :-)
That sounds delicious, Linda! Thanks! I hope you love the book.
Another fantastic stew! The jalapenos really give it a nice kick.
Thanks, Tonya! I love that little bit of heat, too.
Excellent soup, especially with a dollop of sour cream!
Have you had a chance to break out the Instant Pot yet? I’d love to see some Instant Pot recipes on your site!
Stay tuned! I have some ideas coming in January. :)
My hubby and I are making the switchover to a vegan diet so I have been scouring the Net for new ways of preparing meals and came across your site. I tried this recipe because I had most of the ingredients on hand and we both love quinoa. It was quick and easy to prepare and surprisingly tasty. Next time I will try your tip on blending some of the mixture and re-adding it for a thicker stew. We like our grains on the firm side so I cook my quinoa separately with less water/broth and add it when serving so that it doesn’t get mushy.
Hubby gave it a big thumbs up so this will be a repeat in our home. I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes! Thanks for making good food so beautiful and tasty.
Looks really good. I just got an instant pot too. Do you know how you’d go about making this dish in the instant pot? Or do you have any other recipes written out with instant pot instructions. Thanks for being a great resource both online and with the new cookbook. :)
Hi Erin! I’m hoping to test a bunch of recipes in my Instant Pot and provide that as a resource in the coming months. That said, Megan provided some input in her book on how to make soups in an Instant Pot so I’m adding her suggestion as a recipe note on this soup now!
It is amazingly flavorful! I made it last night and had leftovers for lunch today.
Leftovers are the best! Thank you, Stephanie for the review. Happy you liked it so much!
This stew is my new favorite and I’ve already made it 4 times in as many weeks! Even my meat loving fiance can’t get enough. Thanks for the great recipe!
Wow! 4 times, that is great! Thank you so much for your review, Kelly!
Looks amazing! Quick question about nutrition info – are the values based on 4 servings or 6?
Hi Claire, based on the nutrition facts provided, it is based on a serving for 4. To note, this these figures are estimates. Hope this helps!
I am making this for dinner tonight. If it is half as GREAT as your vegan lentil soup I am sure it will be fabulous!
Let me know what you think once you try it!
Hi Kate, This is a great recipe! We really enjoyed it last night. There was a chill outside and this was so warming and delicious! I was worried when we stopped eating meat that no recipes I found would be rich and satisfying. I was wrong! Thank you for sharing.
Kate,
LOVE this recipe, I’ve made it three times now and it’s still as amazing as the first time. My husband isn’t usually a fan of meatless dishes, but this one he loves. Thank you! Ps: I added sweet potato this most recent time, a nice addition!
That is a win! Thanks, Hannah for sharing. I appreciate your review. Sweet potato in stew is so good!
I love all your soups that I’ve tried so far, but this one is especially simple & flavorful. I love how delicious it is even without stock or bouillon.
I am happy you think so, Rachel! Thanks for your review :)
Loved this recipe! Simple ingredients that I often have at home already, and easy steps. I blended it at the end for just a few seconds and we loved the consistency.
That’s great! I love when you can whip something up and don’t have to run to the store. Thank you, for your review!
Made this a few days ago and it was a huge success!!Used 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in place of jalapenos and about 3x more cumin(slip of the wrist). For garnishes used chopped iceberg lettuce, cilantro,lime, broken tortilla shells, sour cream and sliced radishes. Cut the plum tomatoes in a 28 oz can with a scissors. Used a stove top pressure cooker. We used the immersion blender but still left it somewhat chunky. Definitely a keeper! Will make again and again!! Thank you for another great recipe. By the way, do you have one for posole?
Delicious! Thanks for sharing your experience and for the review.
I’ve tried 5 of your recipes in the past couple of months and they all turned out great! As a result I just ordered your recipe book :-).
I did have one question…. I noticed that some of the recipes are high in sodium; I suspect this is due to use of canned products? Any suggestions on reducing sodium content (e.g. in the above recipe)? Thx.
Awesome! Thanks so much for your review. The nutritional information is an estimate. You can see my nutritional disclaimer here: https://sooka.info/nutrition-disclaimer/%3C/a%3E. But yes, it is a little higher due to some of the canned ingredients. Hope this helps!
This was great. Indeed simple yet very satisfying although I must admit I added some tomato puree and couldn’t leave the veg stock behind. Thanks, love ur recipes!
I appreciate the comment and review, Tessa!
OMG!!! I finally made this. So easy and so yummy . I made my beans in the instapot and then the rest in my Dutch oven. Because my wife is a vegetarian, I added more celery, two small shallots , another 1/2 cup of beans and 2 more cloves of garlic. This will be a staple!! Thanks Cookie and Kate!!
So happy to hear that, Wade! Thanks for your comment and star review.
I just made this recipe and it turned out so great! I thought of substituting water with a broth just in case it might turn out bland. However, it came out so delicious! Thanks, Kate!
I’m happy you think so! Thanks so much :)
I loved this recipe! I doubled it and substituted barley for Quinoa. Will make it again.
Wonderful, Jeanne! Thanks for the review.
This recipe made my Monday night! It was easy to throw together and then it simmers for just enough time to have a half glass of wine. :-) It smelled so good when it was ready that I actually forgot to chop my avocado for the garnish – I NEVER forget the avocado! But even without the accoutrements, it was dee-lish. Thanks so much for your excellent recipes!
I love your style! Waiting with a glass of wine. Thank you, Eleanor for sharing.
Yum!! Easy and so so delicious!!
Thank you!
I haven’t made the recipe yet, but am thinking to double the recipe. Looking forward to trying this.
Let me know what you think, Nicole!
I’ve been cooking recipes from cookieandkate.com for over a year now. I love this soup. It is even better with fresh avocado diced and added on top with feta.
Thanks so much for your support, Clare! Those sound like delicious toppings for sure. :)
So flavorful! This has been our go-to quinoa stew recipe ever since I found it a few months ago. Thank you for sharing!
O.M.G!! This dish was SO delish that even my meat-loving hubby gobble it up and went back for more. Amazing flavours and super easy to make – a new staple for us for sure!
That’s a win! I’m glad it was enjoyed by all. I appreciate the star review.
I love this recipe. My son is a very picky eater and he loved it. Thank you for this. I’m definitely going to make it again.
I’m glad this won over the picky eater! Thanks, Felicia for sharing.
Was missing some ingredients but I used some other to thicken it up a bit..
I added plantains and boniatto(cut into quarters)and it was a masterpiece.
It was delicious, and now maybe next time around I’ll make it on a larger scale.
I just love to do these mumbo jumbos,cause you never know how good a result
You’ll have..thkx,Vic..
Thanks for sharing!
Delicious, as all of your recipes always are. I followed the recipe nearly exactly– just used chicken broth instead of water and 2 cans of black beans. It is so delicious. I didn’t love it before I used my immersion blender, but after you puree it, the soup comes together beautifully. Definitely recommend pureeing it. I used 3 huge carrots–next time I may just use 2. Also used a little more cumin and cilantro than called for.
Thanks for sharing, JG!
This recipe seemed so simple, but it was amazing! I have yet to make a recipe off your site that I didn’t absolutely love! This one is definitely going into my normal rotation.
Wonderful, Allison! Thanks so much for the review.
Thanks for sharing this great stew! Made it in my Instant Pot. I added corn, Swiss chard, 1 tsp garlic, and 1/2 tsp regular chili powder. Used pinto beans for the black beans. Turned out yummy!
I love pinto beans! I will have to try those here, too. Thanks, Sue! I appreciate the review and comment.
Quick, easy and delicious – and blitzing a cup or two of the soup made a world of difference. Love it!
It does! Thank you, Kate.
Great winter meal! Added sweet potato too and it’s delicious. Will definitely make again
Great, Tash! Thank you for your review.
This was quite delicious and warming (meal-prepped for the week’s lunch) as it’s winter here. However it did need a little extra flavour – I added extra cumin and some garlic powder, but next time I might also add smoked paprika and ground coriander! :)
Thanks for sharing, Asako. I appreciate the review.
This looked really visually pretty, healthy and enticing to eat! I would love to have this included in our catering menu. Do you have quick/major DON’Ts when it comes to this recipe? I would love to have our own dish as perfect as the one from yours. Thanks!
I made this recipe for my family today. Everyone loved it! I added all the toppings you suggested except cheese and it was absolutely delicious! We’re going vegetarian so I’m looking for great new recipes and this will definitely be a favorite. Definitely will be a regular in my kitchen.
Thanks for sharing, Jasha! I’m happy you enjoyed it. I appreciate the review.
This is one of my go-to recipes! Great to packing for lunch too. I like to add plain greek yogurt, diced avocado, and sometimes tortilla chip crumbles.
Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a great combinations. I appreciate the review.
Very good article. thank you !!!
You’re welcome, Ben!
Absolutely delicious. Can’t believe how easy and adaptable recipe it is as I used the ingredients I had handy.I ate more than double of my normal dinner and it doesn’t feel heavy at all. This is definitely going to be my go to recipe for soup. Thank you both of you.
Great to hear! It’s a great go to soup. Thanks for your comment and review, H!
Hi Kate! I made this AMAZING stew today – wanted to tell you about my version of it!
I don’t like cilantro and therefore did not have any on hand, so that was omitted. No carrots either, which was rare for me! Used a red onion instead of yellow, and used a can of crushed tomatoes instead of diced. With the missing veggies/herbs, I substituted the water for 2c veg. stock and 1.5c water to add more flavor! I used tri-color quinoa. Otherwise, followed the instructions and it was perfect. I think because I used the crushed tomatoes, the consistency came out wonderfully and I did not feel the need to blend any of it.
This tasted so good by itself, but I had also baked a spaghetti squash, so took a bit of that and used it as a sort of base for the stew. Holy cow. Highly recommend that!
You are my go-to vegan recipe site, keep up the great work!
So happy to hear and thanks for sharing your version, Jess! I really appreciate you comment and review.