There’s a quality to the late spring and early summer sunlight that is different from any other time of year; it’s yellower, brighter and seemingly more deliberate, somehow. The sun shines down on us from a high point in the mellow blue sky in this warm season, and for me, takes on an almost “tangy” quality—a lemony and piquant “high note”.
Late spring and early summer remind me of one of my favorite pieces of produce that I so often use to liven up so many of my foods, both sweet and savory—the fragrant and refreshing lemon.
If a lemon were a person, it seems like it’d be the talkative type, and far from being shy. Lemons are bold and colorful, alive and wonderful in bringing out the best qualities in other foods, and they do it seamlessly. Their flavor often ties everything together into a palette-pleasing and awakening experience, something which begins to be craved in the dishes of this time of year, in particular.
When the weather starts to become warm, and the light outside gets bigger and more golden, a simple and refreshing meal that takes only a few moments to put together sounds like the perfect thing to prepare. Bright, seasonal vegetables, tender chicken, fresh basil and some healthy quinoa come together to create a little “spring harvest” in a bowl—a delicious and light soup finished with a healthy squeeze of a vibrantly ripe and juicy lemon.
It’s spring-time reproduced in a colorful and broth-y soup, and a little taste of sunshine in my spoon.
It always makes me happy when I can somehow capture the unique characteristics of a season in a meal. Mildly tangy, light and healthy, this Lemony Chicken & Spring Veggie Soup with Quinoa and Fresh Basil is the perfect bowl of goodness to prepare for this “lemony” time of year.
So enjoy the glow of the sunlight; enjoy the lightness of the breeze as it flitters and dances around you. Treat yourself to a little taste of the color of the season, and allow a bit of late spring’s tangy light to shimmer and glisten in your spoon.
Taste what’s good and pass it on.
Ingrid
Simple Lemony Chicken & Spring Veggie Soup with Quinoa & Fresh Basil
by Ingrid Beer
Yield: Serves about 4
Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 leek, quartered, white part sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced small (if you can find multi-colored carrots, those are beautiful)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
• 4 cups chicken stock, hot
• 1 cup fresh English peas (or frozen peas)
• 1 cup baby zucchini, small dice
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cubed (you can use rotisserie chicken for convenience)
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• ¼ cup chopped, fresh basil leaves
• 4 lemon wedges, garnish
Preparation:
-Place a medium-large soup pot over medium heat; add in the butter and olive oil, and once melted, add in the sliced leek and diced carrots, and sweat for about 3-5 minutes, or until slightly tender and the leeks are becoming translucent.
-Add in the garlic, and once that becomes aromatic, add in a pinch or two of salt and pepper, and the herbs de Provence; stir to combine.
-Next, add in the hot chicken stock, and bring to a gentle simmer; cover partially with a lid, and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
-Turn the heat off; add in the English peas (or frozen peas), the diced baby zucchini, the shredded or cubed chicken breast, and the lemon zest and juice; stir to combine, and allow the peas/zucchini to become crisp-tender and bright green in the hot stock, about 3-4 minutes; check to see if additional salt or pepper is needed.
-To serve, add about ½ cup of the cooked quinoa to a bowl, and ladle some of the soup with the veggies and chicken over top; sprinkle over some of the fresh basil, and squeeze in some additional lemon juice from the lemon wedge garnish, if desired.
Welcome to The Cozy Apron—so glad to have you as a guest at my table! Here's where I share my passion for food, people and life through my culinary creations and my writing; and where my husband shares his love for food photography and all things visual. 
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I’ve never done quinoa in a soup before! But add lemon to anything and I’m there.
Hi Allyn! I’m so with you—lemon in everything!
And I also think you’ll like the quinoa, too. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks so much Ingrid! I found your recipe on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago. I cooked it tonight, and I am addicted! The lemony tang is amazing! My boys loved it too.
Rachael, I’m so happy to read that! I’m thrilled that your boys loved it, as well—whenever the kiddos enjoy something that’s also full of veggies and healthy for them, it’s always a bonus!
Thank you for sharing with me.
Hi Ingrid,
I made this last night and my picky eaters gobbled it down. Really delicious and quick especially with the rotisserie chicken. It’s all gone…lemony YUM!
Joanne, I’m so happy to read that! And I’m also glad that it was fairly convenient for you—it’s a good, healthy and quick little soup that both adults and kids, including “picky eaters”, can enjoy! Thanks for sharing your experience with me.
I just made this soup, and oh my goodness, it’s just wonderful! It’s 90 degrees today, but it doesn’t matter. This soup is so light and fresh, it’s not like eating a heavy winter soup. I’ll be making this again and again. I’d never eaten quinoa before, let alone cooked it, but I really like it.
Sarah, that’s great! I have the same thought about a soup like this; that though it’s hot outside, this type of soup is still, somehow, refreshing! So glad that you, too, enjoyed this recipe; and thank you for taking some time to share your experience with me. Here’s to cooking (and trying) new things!
Just a follow-up comment: I ended up freezing some of the soup since it’s just me and I couldn’t eat it all in a few days. It freezes great! I’m having some now and it tastes as good as it did the day I first made it.
That’s excellent, Sara! Thanks so much for taking a moment to share that with everyone!
Your photos are magazine worthy! Absolutely beautiful!
Elizabeth, thank you so very much—my hubby, the photographer, truly appreciated your comment!
Hello.
This soup looks wonderful and I am looking forward to trying it. I noticed in the pictures something red in your soup, but nothing red in the ingredients list. Is that bell pepper or tomato?
Good eye, Aislinn! No; believe it or not, that is actually carrot! It’s an “heirloom” type of carrot, which I had purchased at my local Trader Joe’s. In the bag there were orange, purple, reddish and golden. Couldn’t help but use those, as they were so pretty and colorful! Feel free to use regular carrots, of course. Hope you enjoy!
Hi! I’d love to try this recipe. Could you please tell me where I can find nutritional information for this soup.
Hi Veronica! I don’t have the nutritional info for this soup, but this site may be of help: http://www.calorieking.com/foods/ Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Awesome soup!
Thank you!
Made this delicious soup tonight. It was the perfect evening meal on a warm summer night. I added a few handfuls of baby spinach at the end just because I had it on hand also had lots of fresh basil in my garden that needed to be used so this recipe really fit the bill. Add some fresh baked bread and my husband and I were both happy campers. Thanks!
Eleni, that addition of spinach at the end sounds so very delicious, not to mention the garden-fresh basil! How wonderful. So glad you and your hubby enjoyed this light an healthy soup, with the perfect accompaniment of warm baked bread—one of my and my hubby’s favorite’s with soup, as well! Thank you for your comments.
I just wanted to say…this soup looks great ..I will be making this tomorrow.
I love this soup recipe. Thank you.
So glad you do! Thanks for your comments!
Just made this soup for dinner, came out great. I love anything involving lemons!
Hi Aeryn, that’s great! Thanks for sharing!
This looks so good, I’m going to make it tonight for dinner thank you for sharing the recipe . Janice
Janice, so glad to read that; it’s my pleasure to share! And I’m hoping that you really enjoy your dinner!
I’ve made this soup two times in the past week. I am in love. It is sooo good. Made a double batch when I made it today.
Haven’t had any quinoa on hand, so done it with barley.
The lemon, though, is so divine. I am in love.
Barley is perfect, too! I love the texture of it. So glad you’re enjoying this recipe—the double batch was a great idea!!
This was amazing!!! My husband loves soups of all kind and so I’m always looking for new recipes. And he absolutely loved this one. (He thought I got the recipe from his mom
#winning.) I can’t wait to try your other recipes. Thank you
Hi Sara! I can’t wait for you to try other recipes, as well! I love that “#winning”, haha! (And it really is when you’re talking something that reminds a hubby of his mom’s good cooking!) Thanks so much for your comments, and continued happy cooking to you!
This was really great! We’re making it again tonight. I’d never used Herbs de Provence or leeks before. I’ve since used leeks in another recipe instead of onions and the flavor was awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Melissa, don’t you love to find something new that you end up really enjoying and using again? So glad to hear that this soup is having an encore presentation at your home—thanks for sharing! Glad you’re enjoying…
This is super delicious! We added a bit more broth and doubled the peas. Because I had no leeks, I used vidalia onion and a shallot. Super delicious—even without the quinoa (it’s just not for me.) Thanks for an awesome, beautiful and healthy recipe!
Holly, so glad you enjoyed this with your specific swap-outs! Thank you for sharing your comments.
I have not tried this yet but I defintely will. Is there any reason you cannot mix the Quinoa in with the soup. I didn’t know if there was a reason for serving the soup over it.
Hi Carol, that is a great question, and I’m glad you asked. You can certainly add quinoa into the soup as it’s cooking; however, the reason that I never like to add anything like quinoa, pasta, barley, etc. into the soup is that it will end up absorbing a lot of the liquid, especially by the next day. This way, when it’s separate, the soup stays brothy, and I control how thick it stays. Hope that explains it!
Thanks, that is what I thought, I just wanted to verify. I will probably add the Quinoa and if the soup gets too thick I will thin it with water and a bouillon cube.
It’s getting pretty cold in MN already, but I still wanted a light soup. This was delicious–thanks for the recipe!
My pleasure, Michele!
hello! this looks so yummy i just bought all the ingredients but i’m totally new to leeks. could you be a bit more specific about how you’re supposed to cut them?excited to make it! thanks so much!
Hi Sarah, my pleasure to help! Best way to cut leeks is to just lop off all of the green part and toss it, leaving just the white part (it looks like the white part of a huge scallion/green onion.) Take that white part, and quarter it (slice it in half lengthwise, then again so you have four smaller sections) then slice. Basically, you just want to slice the white part of the leek into thin slices. Hope that helps, Sarah! Please enjoy…
We have just recently decided it was time we started eating healthier. I made this last night and I was pleasantly surprised at how fantastic it was. I had left over turkey breast and used that in place of chicken. Added green onions and a cup of spinach. This will be a great way to use up left over turkey after Thanksgiving. I’d give this recipe a 9. Great.
Hi Kim, thanks for that! So glad you enjoyed this with your own little twist—it’s definitely a soup that can handle people adding in their own veggies or other substitutions. Best wishes on healthier eating!
Hello, I’m very interested in trying this soup, it sounds delicious! However, being a vegetarian, do you think it would be possible to substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and tofu for the chicken (i.e. same quality and reasonable taste)?
Hi Kristina, you can certainly sub veggie stock for the chicken, and tofu for the chicken. Truthfully, you can even leave out the tofu (or chicken, in this case) altogether, and just make it veggie soup.
Enjoy!
Hello! This looks like a lovely soup to warm up with this week. It’s pretty cold up here in North Dakota and soups are always my go to when we need some comfort food! I love that this one sounds like a little bit of sunshine, which we definitely need. I’m hoping my 14 month old daughter will like it too. She loves peas and soup so I’m thinking it’ll be a hit. Thanks for the great idea!
Hi Angie, I’m so excited that you’re thinking of trying this soup out! I really believe that your little precious gem of a daughter will also love this, especially if she’s already one to enjoy soup (and peas!). This will perfectly warm your bellies, and I do hope that it takes the edge off the cold for you! Please enjoy.
Thanks for this! Just made today and just wanted to say thank you. What a fabulous fresh soup, and hearty too. Also perfect for any time someone mentions they aren’t feeling well.
Robin, my dear, you are more than welcome—it was my pleasure to share this with you! And you’re right; this is definitely one of those soups that is perfect for preparing for someone a under the weather, for a little comfort and warmth. I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
Made this today and so yummy. I am on a strict diet so no butter or oil. I water sauteed the veggies. I also made it vegetarian so I am sure changed the flavor a bit but none the less delicious. I also added spinach as I didn’t have fresh basil. Will use fresh next time.
Hi Pam! Way to make this recipe “taylor-made” for you—great substitutions, especially considering that it’s a very strict diet. Glad you enjoyed!
Just made this last night!! It was very good! Thought I would share something funny – I used some purple carrots in with my regular carrots and well….everything (except the zucchini and peas) turned purple! Hahaha we had purple chicken soup for dinner last night! I wonder if this was bc I chopped them in my small food processor or if I should just rinse them post-chopping
Super fun dinner tho!
That is so funny, LeAnn! Thanks for sharing that…you know, certain foods, like beets for example, easily leech out color. So perhaps had you kept it a bigger dice, it wouldn’t have colored the soup so much; who knows!
I’m just glad you enjoyed, regardless of the mauve color, haha!