Beef, Potato and Quinoa Soup

For the meat and potato lover, this soup is for you. Hearty soups like this are exactly what I love about South American cuisine. A nourishing one pot meal, typically served with aji and avocado on the side.

This soup uses cooked quinoa, which is a South American seed which has become very popular in North America lately. Quinoa is very high in protein, and contains all 9 essential amino acids, lysine, phosphorous, copper, iron and magnesium. It's gluten-free and you can find it at any healthy food store, Amazon, Trader Joe's and even at your local supermarket. Click here for the recipe to cook basic quinoa.

By now I don't think I have to tell you just how much I love Latin American cuisine. It's the ultimate comfort food to me, so I am happy to share some wonderful South American dishes with you. This dish was adapted from Laylita's Recipes, her blog features many wonderful Ecuadorean dishes.

The key to making a good beef soup is letting the beef simmer until it gets soft, the longer the better so the meat is tender. If you have a pressure cooker, this will cook in half the time and the meat will be incredibly soft. I love my pressure cooker, probably more than my crock pot but I wrote the directions assuming you don't own one. I recommend buying one, it's great for making stews and beans in half the time, and the flavors really get into the food. I own a 6-quart Presto which is perfect for making a pot of beans. Lot's of you are asking me which I own, click here to see.


Beef, Potato and Quinoa Soup
Adapted from Laylita's Recipes
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 1-1/2 cups • Old Points: 7 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 307.9 • Fat: 13.8 g • Protein: 15.7 g • Carb: 31.3 g • Fiber: 4.6 g  

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 6-7 scallions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp Badia Sazon with Annato
• 1/2 lb beef, cubed into small bite size pieces (I used beef tenderloin)
• 5 cups water
• beef bullion
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 6 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Saute oil in a large pot, add scallions and garlic and sauté until soft over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Add tomato, cumin, sazon with achiote, 1/4 cup cilantro and cook another 2 minutes. Add beef, water, bullion, carrot, bell pepper, salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low about 1-1/2 hours, until meat is tender.

Add potato and cooked quinoa and cook an additional 25 minutes. Add remaining chopped cilantro and serve.