The most delicious homemade vegan chicken noodle soup! This soup is easy to make but filling, comforting, and full of delicious flavors. It will taste just like grandma’s version!
There is literally nothing like a bowl of soup when you need a warm and comforting meal. When I tell you that this homemade vegan chicken noodle soup hits the spot, I mean it. It is so nostalgic and wonderful.
Most of us that didn’t grow up vegan have had plenty of chicken noodle soup. Whether we were sick, we needed a quick meal, or it was just a comfort thing. If you were anything like in our home, it usually can from a can.
While this soup looks and tastes amazing and truly like something out of a restaurant, it is easy to make and you will love the homey feeling that you get with each and every single bite.
We are going to be using soy curls for this recipe to have a similar shape and texture as chicken without a lot of work making something like seitan.
Never miss another post! Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get them all delivered easily! Plus, 15 easy recipes delivered immediately!
Sign Up For My Newsletter Today!
Why You’ll Love this Dish
Comfort and Nostalgia
One of the biggest things when we went vegan was that we still wanted all of our favorite foods, just vegan. This homemade vegan chicken noodle soup gives you all the comfort and nostalgia that you crave in a bowl of soup, while being easy and quick too!
Flavor
You may think you can’t have that classic flavor and still make it vegan, but we promise if you follow the recipe you’ll have the most flavorful vegan chicken noodle soup ever. Shoot, we might bet that it’s the best chicken noodle soup period.
HOMEMADE VEGAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP INGREDIENTS:
Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make this vegetarian chicken noodle soup:
- soy curls – We are using soy curls in this recipe because of their chicken meat like texture, but also because of their neutral flavor and ability to soak up any flavor. They truly transform this soup into the best vegan soup
- stock – we prefer to use a low-sodium vegetable stock for this recipe and then adjust seasoning to our taste.
- carrots, celery, onions, and garlic – The base of any great soup needs these four ingredients and this is no exception. Fresh is best.
- pasta – egg noodles are not vegan, but you can find some pretty wide noodles in most grocery stores and that’s what we are using here.
- spices – the spices that we are using fill up the rest of the ingredients and add so much delicious flavor to the dish
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS:
- soy curls – Depending on your preferences, you could replace with jackfruit, chickpeas, tofu cubes, seitan, and more. We have found that soy curls give the most realistic version of chicken, but we know they aren’t available everywhere or can’t be sued by people who avoid soy.
- stock – You could also use vegan chicken stock if you can find it, but they also usually contain a lot more sodium, so you may want to dilute it with some water.
- pasta – while we used wide noodles for a traditional sense of the recipe (and it looks great in photos), it’s insanely hard to eat soup with these noodles, especially for kids. We’d recommend either break them into smaller pieces or using another smaller pasta for the recipe. Ditalini or rotini are great
Step by Step Instructions
To start, you are going to want to hydrated your soy curls by adding them and water to a bowl.
While waiting for that to hydrate, you are going to add oil to a large pot (we prefer a Dutch oven) and saute your carrots, celery and onions. Once they have started to soften, you’ll add garlic and cook as well.
Next thing, you’re going to do is add in your broth along with your bay leaves, thyme, oregano and pepper. You’ll let them cook for a few minutes and before moving on, your vegetables should all be fork tender.
Now, turn your heat down and add your pasta. Let it cook for the recommend time listed on the package depending on what pasta you are using (this will be about 8-12 minutes).
Lastly, we’re going to add in our soy curls (drained of any excess water), as well as parsley, and lemon juice. Let cook an additional 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves and adjust any other spices as needed. Serve!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Soy curls are literally just non-GMO soy beans. That is the only ingredient. It has been processed and formed into meat like pieces that are dehydrated. When ready to use them, you just rehydrate them in some form of liquid (water or stock). It is a great source of protein, zero cholesterol, and completely gluten free.
This recipe uses soy curls, which is obviously soy based making them not Top 9 allergy free. Swap the soy curls with something like jackfruit, chickpeas, or seitan (if you can have gluten).
As then just use a gluten free pasta of your choice. If using gluten free pasta, we’d recommend adding in the remaining ingredients after cooking the pasta for only 4 more since you don’t want the pasta to get too mushy.
Yes! This can be make 5 days in advance and then just heated up. You can heat up in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or you can place on the stove for 3-5 minutes or until heated through. *Note that as the soup sits, the broth may be reduce, so when reheating you may need more broth.
Yes, you can replace the oil with more vegetable stock if you would like to make this completely oil free.
What other vegan soup ideas could I make?
Soups are perfect warming, comfort foods. Warmth and filling meals is what we crave when it’s colder outside.
Naturally, we want more of those delicious recipes at out fingertips and we are happy to oblige those needs.
If you are looking for more vegan soup recipes you should try our:
- Vegan Apple Chili
- Vegan French Onion Soup (pictured above)
- Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegan Lentil Soup
- Vegan Tomato Soup
- Vegan Lasagna Soup
- Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Soup
- Slow Cook Vegan “Chicken” Tortilla Soup
See all of our easy vegan soups!
Pin this homemade vegan chicken noodle soup for later!
Homemade Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 4 oz soy curls *(see notes)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 ½ large carrots)
- 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup onions, diced small (about 1 medium – sweet or yellow)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 quarts vegetable stock (low sodium preferred), more as needed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, (sub with ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon pepper, more or less to taste
- 12 oz wide noodles (or other preferred noodles)
- 3-4 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add soy curls to a bowl and pour enough water over them to cover.
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Once shimmering, add carrots, celery, and onions. Saute for 7-8 minutes or until vegetables have started to soften, stirring occasionally.
- Drain any remaining water from the soy curls and set aside. Add garlic to pot and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add broth, bay leaves, thyme, oregano and pepper. Stir together. To hear to medium-high and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Vegetables at this point should pierce easily with a fork.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add pasta and let cook until done (8-12 minutes depending on package instructions). Add more broth or water as needed to keep the level of liquid desired.
- Add in soy curls (chop into smaller pieces before if desired), parsley, and lemon juice (if adding). Let cook an additional 5 minutes. Taste and add salt to taste. Depending on the broth used, you may want anywhere from ½ teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of salt for the amount of soup made. Remove bay leaves and adjust any other spices as needed.
- *At any point if you feel like there is not enough broth, you can add more as desired.
Video
Notes
- Cook the soy curls separately and then add to the bowls when you are ready to consume. Store leftovers, separately from soup.
- Do not hydrate the soy curls in the beginning, but rather add them dehydrated when adding in the pasta. Note that this will soak up some of the liquid that you added and you may need to add more.
Nutrition
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Did you make and love this recipe?
Click the 5 stars in the recipe card above or below in the comment section! This is a great way to support us so we can continue to bring great recipes!
Anne Nguyen
Delicious
Larisha Bernard
Thank you
Teresa
Fabulous! I did substitute a Chick’n product instead of using the soy curls. The product I used looks like shredded chicken and it worked well. I sauted it before adding to the soup so it was browned a little. I also added a dash of red pepper flakes. My neighbor loved it, and had no idea it was vegan.
Larisha Bernard
Love that so much!
Larry
What brand is you hot plate. And where did you get it.
Love your programs
Thanks
LarishaBernard
Hi Larry! This is the one in the videos (affiliate) https://amzn.to/3FyCMMt
Sam
I tried this before and the soy curls turned to absolute mush, is there a way I can avoid that? Especially with the leftover soup, I don’t know what happened but I am also very new at using soy curls and this is my favorite type of soup.
LarishaBernard
Hi! We make this all the time and would never say that the soy curls turn to mush. They definitely get softer over time, but shouldn’t be literal mush. The only suggestion we have would be to cook them separately and add them to each bowl as you go/eat the leftovers. Hope that helps!
Alissa
We’re all under the weather in my house and needed a hearty bowl of comforting soup. This hit the spot. First time trying the soy curls and they were a GAME CHANGER!
LarishaBernard
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Feel better!
Kylie D
Just made this tonight, and used vegan chickenless broth, and it was absolutely delicious. We didn’t add the lemon, but will try it next time. Thanks for sharing! 😊
LarishaBernard
So glad that you enjoyed the recipe!
Jelecia
I loved this recipe! I didn’t have soy curls so I just cooked some morning star chicken strips, cut them into small pieces and then added them in at the same point where you mentioned to add in the soy curls.
Very delicious! Both my 2 year old and 11 month old loved it as well!
LarishaBernard
So happy that you found an option to work for you and that your kids loved it! I know how hard it can be to impress kids! Thanks for sharing!
Audrey
Very good recipe.
LarishaBernard
Thanks for sharing! Glad you enjoyed
Jack Conyers III
This recipe is so easy and full of flavor; such a great use for soy curls in how versatile they are. You can make your soup as chunky as you would like and it makes a good amount for meal prep. I tossed in a little cayenne to make it spicy and I paired it with a nice fennel and seed bread on the side. I am definitely adding this to my winter time soup rotation.
LarishaBernard
So glad that you enjoyed it! Soy curls really are such a great substitute!
Erica
I made this for dinner the other night and it was sooo good! I was a bit nervous because I used a lot of shortcuts (pre-chopped veggies, dried herbs) but it still came out really good! and the added lemon juice at the end is key! it really brought everything together.
LarishaBernard
Love that you enjoyed it even with your changes! So happy to hear that!