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Vegan chicken noodle soup is classic comfort food. And it’s ready in about 30 minutes. Here’s how to make this super-flavorful, super-easy meal.
Why we love this recipe
The best vegan comfort food is easy to make, full of flavor, cozy and fulfilling, and won’t weigh you down. Our recipe has all this and more. It’s:
- Comfortable and familiar
- Light yet satisfying
- Made from ingredients you may already have on hand
- Ready in about half an hour
If you’re not into vegan chicken substitutes, you might try our super-popular vegan chickpea noodle soup instead.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- You can use your favorite strip-style vegan chicken here. I’ve somewhat hilariously pictured breaded tenders here because that’s what I had on hand when I made the video, but generally I’d use unbreaded strips like these.
- If you’re in the habit of making your own vegetable stock, this is a great place to use it. If you’re a mere mortal like the rest of us, use a really good vegetable broth. My favorite by far is this one.
- Regular chicken noodle soup usually calls for wide egg noodles. Use a vegan version of this style, often called eggless wide noodles or something similar.
- Herbes de Provence are a beautiful blend that typically includes thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and/or bay leaf. It quickly elevates a simple recipe, so we use it a lot on this site. You can type it into the search bar to find more ways to use it.
How to make it
Here’s what you’ll do to make a great batch of vegan chicken noodle soup. You can see all the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get the details in the recipe card below.
- Sauté the onion, carrot, and celery in a little bit of olive oil until softened and lightly browned. Don’t rush this part, since a little bit of browning contributes a lot to the soup’s depth of flavor. Add the garlic, herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper, and cook for a minute.
- Pour in the broth, add the bay leaf, and bring to a boil.
- Cook the noodles in the broth for the amount of time indicated on the package. Or cook them separately — see the notes below if you want to make in advance or think you’ll have leftovers.
- Off the heat, stir in the cooked vegan chicken, lemon juice, and parsley. That’s it!
Expert tips and FAQs
If you have your own favorites for vegan chicken, feel free to use that here. A chicken strip style product (as opposed to a breaded one) makes sense in this recipe — despite what you see in the photos and video. I’m a fan of Gardein meatless chick’n strips here.
It’s up to you.
As with all noodle soups, the noodles will absorb the broth fairly quickly. If you plan to eat the soup right away, it’s a great idea to cook the noodles in the broth so they absorb all the great flavor.
If you’d like to make the soup in advance or think you’ll have leftovers, you can cook the noodles separately according to package directions, toss them with a bit of olive oil, and add them directly to serving bowls when you serve the soup.
If you’ve cooked the noodles in the soup and end up with leftovers, you can add more broth when you heat them up.
Keep leftovers tightly sealed in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze them for up to a year.
More favorite vegan comfort food
Here are a few more of our favorite vegan versions of classic comfort foods.
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Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 large celery ribs, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups really good low-sodium vegetable broth or homemade stock
- 1 large bay leaf
- 8 ounces eggless wide egg noodles
- 1 10- ounce package vegan chicken strips, cooked according to package directions
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- In a medium pot, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned in spots, about five minutes.
- Add garlic, herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for one minute.
- Add stock and bay leaf. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Simmer for five minutes.
- Add egg noodles, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for the amount of time indicated on the package.
- Cut cooked vegan chicken into bite-sized pieces. Off the heat, stir in the chicken, lemon juice, and parsley.
Notes
- Don’t rush when you’re browning the vegetables, since it contributes a lot to the soup’s depth of flavor.
- My favorite boxed vegetable broth by far is Imagine No Chicken.
- If you want to make the soup in advance, or if you think you’ll have leftovers, consider cooking the noodles separately so they won’t absorb all the broth. Cook them according to package directions, toss with a little bit of olive oil, and add them to each bowl of soup as you serve it.
- If you’ve cooked the noodles in the broth and end up with leftovers, you can always add a little bit more broth before eating subsequent servings.
- Keep leftovers tightly sealed in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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