It's that time of the year where almost everybody is sniffling and can be seen with a tissue box. Meat eaters have their chicken soup as a magic potion to feel better and comfort themselves. So what's the option for us vegetarians in times like this?
The answer is "stinking rose" aka immune booster garlic. Include it in your diet as much as possible to not only fight this year's flu but also because, it is an antioxidant, keeps your blood pressure under check, lowers cholesterol, slows down the progress of cancerous cell growth to mention just a few.
I always make it a point to include a lot of garlic especially in my soup recipes, so I was thrilled to see a soup recipe which actually highlights its flavor and benefits.
I found this recipe in the Vitality magazine. People in Canada, don't forget to pick a copy of it whenever you are in the library or any natural health food store.
Because getting quality information about health and related issues for free should not be missed. I also learned from the article that it is best to consume garlic crushed and raw or when it's cooked minimally. That's the reason for adding crushed garlic just before serving in this soup recipe.
Because not everyone likes garlic flavor, I have mentioned that it's optional but I highly suggest including it as instructed in the recipe. Since I'm not the person who follows a recipe as it is, I used quinoa instead of lentils and also included a good bunch of kale to the recipe to boost up the nutrition even more.
Flu-Fighter Garlic Soup Recipe |
| Prep Time | Cook Time | Makes |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Mins | 25 Mins | 5 Servings |
| Author | Category | Method |
| Madhuram | Soups | Cooking |
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 big onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 big carrot, finely chopped
- 5 mushroom caps, finely chopped (I used cremini)
- 1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 6 cups water or vegetable broth
- salt, pepper and crushed red chili flakes to taste
- 1 cup kale, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- quinoa - lentils
- kale - spinach, swiss chard
- In a medium-sized pan heat oil and sauteed the onions, turmeric powder, red chili flakes and garlic. Add a little salt, so that the onions will cook faster.
- Now add the carrots, mushrooms and coriander and fry for a couple of minutes.
- Stir in the rinsed quinoa and vegetable broth/water. Add some more salt and pepper and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the quinoa is cooked. If you feel that the quinoa has absorbed a lot of water making a stew like consistency add some more broth/water. Switch off the stove.
- Stir in the chopped kale and minced garlic if using. The heat will wilt the greens.
- Lentils can be used instead of quinoa and in that case the cooking time would be about 35-40 minutes. Using a pressure cooker would reduce the cooking time.
- I used no-salt added homemade vegetable broth. So used about 1.25 teaspoons of salt to the soup and that's what is reflected in the sodium content in the chart below. If you use store-bought vegetable broth the sodium content will vary.
| Calories: 196.6 Total Fat: 9.7 g Saturated fat: 1.2 g Unsaturated fat: 7.3 g Cholesterol: 0.0 mg Total Carbohydrate: 24.2 g | Sugars: 5.2 g Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g Protein: 4.2 g Sodium: 650 mg Potassium: 207.9 mg |
I made this with a few tweaks and it turned out great! I omitted the mushrooms, added about 1 cup of cubed squash, used miso paste rather than vegetable broth, a bit of fresh ginger and added 1 tsp of tumeric. As for the noodles, I used rice noodles because those were the only ones I had on hand.
I’m sure the recipe is delicious as-is but wanted to add additionnal flu-fighting ingredients.
That’s awesome, Shelby. Thanks for trying the recipe.
Delicious …. I substituted lentils for the quinoa, put a lot of kale in at very end. My daughter had the flu and had to try this ….. we loved it! Thank you.
You’re very welcome, Judy.
I made this today seeing I had the flu. Needed a quick soup. Quick easy and delicious. I added more quinoa because i added and extra cup of water because the veggie broth i had was pretty salty. I also added 2 splashes of raw allole cider vinegar and some lemon. Next time I’m going to add double spinach, garlic and more lemon
Thanks for trying the recipe and for the feedback, Larissa.
We make this every time someone in the house has a cold, often tossing in a bit of ginger, peas or celery. Adults and kids love it. Quick, easy and delicious.
Thank you very much for trying the recipe and the valuable feedback, Cali.
Hi made this it is quite good. Used beet greens and escarole since that is what I had on hand. It does need salt. Freezing for the upcoming season. Enjoy.
Thank you. We generally use less salt than most.
Everyone in my household dislikes mushrooms so I kept them out.
I doubled the recipe and added 4 red potatoes, which I let simmer in the stock for 15 mintues before adding the sauteed ingredients and a 16 oz can of corn. Added a pinch of smoked paprika in the pan.
I used red lentils and allowed to cook for another 15 minutes. Added spinach at the end.
So freaking amazing and I’m so glad I made a big pot. Thank you!!
Wow, that’s awesome, Dee.
I do not have lentils nor quinoa. Can i add macaroni instead?
I don’t use oils — think i can all this together in my InstaPot? Thoughts? thanks,
I guess so, Susan.
Made this for my hubby and I tonight as we aren’t feeling the best. Don’t let the simple ingredients fool you this soup is very tasty and fast to make. The soup was delicious I loved the fresh coriander and tumeric. I added spinach and green sweet peas along with the carrots, onions and garlic. Bookmarking this recipe as I plan to make it in heavy rotation during the upcoming fall and winter (cold/flu) season.
Thank you very much, Sara.
Tonight I will be making this for the third time in two weeks. We all love it! I originally made it for an elderly friend who had a cold, and my family enjoyed it so much we keep making it. I used portobellos and the quinoa, with baby spinach. We doubled the carrots and mushrooms last time. Tonight I’ll be adding a roughly chopped head of broccoli with the carrots. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
You’re very welcome, Phyl.
I have an excruciating sore throat today and not much energy for cooking but this soup came together without much effort and it is sooo delicious! I used homemade veggie broth, left out mushrooms, added extra carrots and used spinach at the end. It’s just spicy enough
Thanks for the feedback, Molly.
Wow! What a great recipe! I was looking for a recipe to make a soup for my daughter and found your recipe. Made this today and my daughter loved it .. so did my wife, son and I!
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
You’re very welcome, Nanda.
I basically followed the recipe except I used coconut oil, cabbage and a kale/ spinach mix, shiitake mushrooms and some mustard seed. I didn’t have quinoa or lentils so I added whole wheat rotini noodles. Still got rave reviews. The turmeric and cilantro (coriander) made it taste similar to the Persian soup, ash.
Thanks for trying the recipe, Cassandra.
This soup is fantastic – currently using it to battle a cold and I already feel better. It tastes so good!
I added ground coriander at the start rather than chopped coriander leaves, and I also squeezed half a lemon a couple of minutes before serving. I used three carrots, 10 cloves of garlic and 3/4 cup of quinoa. Overall, 5/5. Will definitely be making this again in the future.
Wow! That’s great Ricky. Thanks for the feedback.
I just made this soup today, it was so good!!! Even my meat eater husband liked it. I only put 3tbs of garlic since I wanted my 3 and 5 year olds to try it. They also ate it without a complaint. I added 1 potatoe and used lentils instead of quinoa, I squeezed some lemon at the end. Will definitely will make again. Thank you thank you!!!
Lentils instead of quinoa is a good substitute, Karina. Thanks for trying this recipe.
Hi would this be too spicy for a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old? Thanks
I guess you tried it already, Karina. Sorry for not getting back to you immediately.
[…] found this recipe out there and it looks promising. It’s for a garlic and veggie soup that purports to boost […]
It was delicious l will definitely make it again. I didn’t put carrots in it since l don’t liked them cooked. I also didn’t add the red pepper flakes.
Thanks MB.
Awesome. Made this yesterday pretty much to a T. The only modification i did was to only puree about half the solids so it still has lots of whole chunks. Great recipe!
So happy I came across this soup in a Google search! Omg, so simple, versitile, flavorful, and filling! I followed the recipe exactly, but added cauliflower that I chopped up and instead of kale I used baby spinach that I had. I tore up the spinach and placed it in the bottom of each bowl then added the hot soup on top. Kept it fresh and perfect! I don’t like over cooked greens in soup. I did add extra garlic in the soup at the end. Saving this recipe for sure! Was so quick to make and I had all the ingredients already! Thank you for this wonderful? delicious healthy recipe!
Thanks for the feedback 🙂
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This was wonderful. I made a few changes: 1 tbsp coconut oil instead of 3 tbsp EVOO, upped the carrots by one, used a whole head of garlic and added corn and peas as well. Didn’t use any optional ingredients, but served it with lemon wedges which complemented it nicely. Very delicious, very healthy and very comforting!
Wow looks healthy and colorful tasty soup
Seriously i need a bowl full of this soup..
OMG, this looks seriously too good. Thanks for sharing.