There’s something about chicken noodle soup that just feels like comfort in a bowl—and when my kids first got sick after going vegan, I knew I had to make a vegan version of the one I’ve relied on for decades.
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As a long-time vegan and a mom, I’ve learned how to adapt all the familiar classics in a way that still feels nourishing and nostalgic. This vegan chicken noodle soup is exactly that: cozy, comfort, flavorful, and easy (it’s one-pot meals and ready in about 30 minutes—because no one has time for complicated or daunting when someone’s under the weather).
It’s based on a recipe I’ve been making since my early twenties, but with simple plant-based swaps that keep it just as satisfying. Whether you’re making this for a sick day, a chilly evening, or just because it sounds good (because honestly, it always does), this is one of those staples worth keeping in your back pocket.
Pro Vegan Tip: We are going to be using soy curls for this recipe which have a similar shape and texture as chicken without a lot of work making something like seitan.
Jump to:
Why You’ll Love this Vegan Noodle Soup
- 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 soup gives you all the comfort and nostalgia that you crave in a bowl of soup, while being easy and quick too!
- Flavor – This is the most flavorful vegan chicken noodle soup ever.
- Easy – This entire recipe is made in one pot and only needs 30 minutes! You’ll be shocked at how quickly it comes together!
Vegan Chicken Soup Ingredients & Substitutions
Gather your ingredients! See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
- soy curls – We are using soy curls in this recipe not only 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
- Substitute: You can use any vegan chicken substitute that you can find like Tofurky or Gardein strips, chickpeas, jackfruit, tofu cubes, seitan, and more.
- stock – we prefer to use a low-sodium vegetable stock for this recipe and then adjust seasoning to our taste.
- Substitute: If you choose to use a regular or vegan chicken broth that contains a higher amount of sodium, adjust your other spices accordingly
- 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 in this recipe.
- Substitute: 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. Rotini is a great option
- spices – the spices that we are using fill up the rest of the ingredients and add so much delicious flavor to the dish
How to make Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup (without chicken)
1. Add 4oz soy curls to a bowl and pour enough water over them to cover. Let soak for 10 minute to rehydrate. Then drain water, rinse, and drain again. Set aside.
- Tip: We personally like to cut into 3-4 smaller pieces after hydrated so they are bite size pieces.
2. To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add 2 tablespoons oil and heat over medium heat. Once shimmering, add 1 cup each thinly sliced carrots, celery, and onions. Saute for 7-8 minutes or until vegetables have started to soften, stirring occasionally. Add 2 cloves minced garlic to pot and cook for 2 more minutes.
3. Add 3 quarts broth, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon each thyme and black pepper and ½ teaspoon oregano. Stir together. Increase heat 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.
4. Turn heat down to medium. Add 12oz 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.
5. Add in hydrated soy curls, 3-4 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice (if adding). Let cook an additional 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and more pepper as desired. 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 serve.
- Note: *At any point if you feel like there is not enough broth, you can add more as desired.
How to Store Vegan Noodle Soup
You should store the soup in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. For best results, separate the broth from the noodle mixture so the noodles don’t soak up the broth. Alternatively, store together and add more broth when reheating.
If you’d like to freeze this, we recommend omitting the noodles and only freezing the broth with the veggies. Add the noodles when ready to eat and you thaw your soup broth.
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Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe (30 Minutes!)
Ingredients
- 4 oz soy curls *(see notes) (114g)
- 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 (2720g)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, (sub with ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon pepper, more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 12 oz wide noodles (or other preferred noodles) (340g)
- 3-4 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add 4oz soy curls to a bowl and pour enough water over them to cover. Let soak for 10 minute to rehydrate. Then drain water, rinse, and drain again. Set aside. Tip: We personally like to cut into 3-4 smaller pieces after hydrated so they aren't so large to eat.
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add 2 tablespoon oil and heat over medium heat. Once shimmering, add 1 cup thinly sliced each carrots, celery, and onions. Saute for 7-8 minutes or until vegetables have started to soften, stirring occasionally. Add 2 cloves minced garlic to pot and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add 3 quarts broth, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon each thyme and black pepper and ½ teaspoon oregano. 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 12oz 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 hydrated soy curls (chop into smaller pieces before if desired), 3-4 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice (if adding). Let cook an additional 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and more pepper 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 serve.
- Note: *At any point if you feel like there is not enough broth, you can add more as desired.
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.
Video
Nutrition
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 minutes 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.
Fridge: You’ll want to store this in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Place in freezer safe containers or bags. We DO NOT recommend storing with the pasta, so if you know you want to freeze this, make the recipe without the pasta, then freezer and add then pasta when reheating.
Yes, you can replace the oil with more vegetable stock if you would like to make this completely oil free.
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Originally published 12/10/2021.
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.
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!
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!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Feel better!
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! 😊
So glad that you enjoyed the recipe!
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!
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!
Very good recipe.
Thanks for sharing! Glad you enjoyed
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.
So glad that you enjoyed it! Soy curls really are such a great substitute!
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.
Love that you enjoyed it even with your changes! So happy to hear that!