Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Quinoa Soup

Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Quinoa Soup is delicious and healthy. Crock pot soup recipes are ideal for cold nights.

This Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Quinoa Soup is for those who love a creamy chicken soup but are trying to eat a bit healthier these days.

Think creamy cheesy chicken and rice soup but get rid of the carb-packed starchy rice and add in a couple of cups of healthy quinoa instead.

I really watch my carb intake and altho quinoa is not low carb it is packed full of protein and dietary fiber.

When you take into consideration the added health benefits quinoa has over rice I would rather eat quinoa in this crock pot soup recipe and cut out a few other carbs during the day somewhere else.

Crock Pot Tip

I have found that when cooking boneless skinless chicken pieces in the crock pot it is best to cook on the low setting. Small bite size pieces of boneless chicken will dry out very easily in a slow cooker.

Most recipes that include small uncooked pieces of chicken only take about 3-4 hours to cook in a crock pot slow cooker set on low. Keep this in mind when planning your chicken crock pot recipes.

A good way to extend the cooking time when needed it to keep the skinless boneless chicken breast whole while cooking. This trick can add an extra hour to the cooking time preventing the chicken from overcooking.

Once the recipe is done simply use a couple of forks to break the chicken breast apart in the crock pot.

I would not recommend cooking a recipe like this with small pieces of chicken for 8 hours in a slow cooker.

How To Make Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Quinoa Soup

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless chicken cut into bite size pieces
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Franks Red Hot Seasoning or seasoned salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained or 1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese
2 cups cooked Quinoa

Directions

In a bowl season the chicken pieces with the salt, pepper, Franks Red Hot seasoning or seasoned salt and flour. Toss well so all pieces are coated.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet or the Crock Pot Multi Cooker set to the brown/saute setting.
Cook the chicken until lightly golden. Add the garlic to the skillet or multi cooker and toss for about 1 minute.
Place the browned chicken into a crock pot set on low if you used a skillet on the stove top.
Switch the Crock Pot Multi Cooker to the slow cooker setting on low if you used it to brown the chicken.
Add the spinach, chicken broth, heavy cream and sharp cheddar to the slow cooker. Mix well. Cook on low for 3 hours.
After three hours add the Colby jack cheese and cooked quinoa to the slow cooker.
Stir, recover and cook for another hour or until the soup has slightly thickened.
Makes 4 servings.

Print the Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Quinoa Soup recipe below