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Stopped eating animals, but don't want to stop loving your favey soup that makes you feel better when you aren't feeling great? I was looking at so many vegan chicken soup recipes, and almost all of them either call for soy curls or some other processed store-bought plant-based chicken stuff. So I put something special together using all-natural ingredients you can make at home from scratch, and my recipe testers all say this soup really slaps!
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This Ultimate-Vegan-Comfort-in-a-Bowl has tender, succulent seitan, hand-torn and perfectly browned, mingling with a symphony of veggies, aromatic herbs, and a choice of noodles to suit your preference. It goes great with some big ol' fluffy vegetarian steamed buns, some crispy rice dumplings, or a slice of vegan lemon pound cake!
Now, why should you choose this recipe? Simple. It's your key to absolutely nailing Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup that gives the non-veg stuff a run for its money. Let's dive in!
The best chicken noodle soup! Not your momma's soup! The flavor surpasses any chicken soup out there. I'm gonna make some later today to warm up my tummy cause this soup is yummy and it's only 49 degrees outside. Try it you'll love it!
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🥰Why this is the best vegan chicken soup recipe
🔥Perfectly Seared Seitan: It wouldn't be chicken soup-y if this soup didn't have something with the consistency of chicken, right? My vegan chicken recipe broke the internet, and now it's being given the star treatment in this classic soup!
✅Global Reliability: Like all of my vegan recipes, this one has been tweaked to perfection and then shared with a massive team of recipe testers all over the world. I have dialed it in and made it work reliably, no matter your location, ingredient brands, or cooking gear.
✊Vegan AF: Like all of the vegan soup recipes I share, this recipe is made completely without animal products. As someone who was at the helm of the #1 highest-rated place to eat in NYC (according to yelp at least 🤷♀️), which just happened to be vegan, you can trust me that this recipe is a banger.
👩🍳 Master the dark arts of vegan soup-making
This guide to my most popular soups is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🍜 Vegan chicken noodle soup ingredients
Seitan
Hand-torn and expertly seared, seitan mimics the texture and satisfaction of traditional chicken without killing any lovable birds! My seitan recipe works as vegan chicken pieces in this soup, and is also great in dishes like vegan bulgogi, vegan kofta, and Vietnamese rice paper salad. If you want a less processed gluten-free option, consider making it with young green jackfruit instead, which is my go-to for dishes like adobong sitaw, and kathal ki sabji.
Garlic
Part of this noodle soup's anti-inflammatory arsenal makes it a sorta comfort food medicine for when you are under the weather. If you are trying to get better, add a little minced raw garlic to the soup just before serving it.
Vegetable Broth
The liquid base is the soul of the dish, enhancing flavors without excessive calories. I like to make my own simple unsalted vegetable stock (which freezes well too) by boiling onions, carrot, celery, and some dried mushrooms with a tiny bit of peppercorn and a bay leaf or two. Otherwise, a little bit of the "Better Than Bullion" Vegan No-Chicken paste mixed into some water makes a great chicken-y tasting broth. If you use bouillon cubes, that's ok too, but check to see if you need to use less salt in the soup, as some cubes are high-sodium.
Noodles
The choice of noodles lets you personalize the dish. From ramen (like you might use in mie goreng or to make Indo-Chinese Hakka Noodles), to angel hair pasta (what I make Burmese Khao Suey with) to wide rice noodles (what I would use in pad see ew), they absorb the flavors of the broth, providing a comforting element. Pick your favey noodle and cook them in the soup so that the noodles absorb and carry the flavor of the stock and herbs.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Gluten-Free Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup: For a delicious gluten-free version, replace seitan with either pressed, frozen, and pressed upon thawing soft tofu (like I demonstrate in my tofu katsu recipe) or use seared oyster mushrooms (like I use in my vegan shawarma recipe). Then use some kind of rice noodles. My top suggestions would be thin rice vermicelli (like I use in my bihun goreng recipe), glass noodles (like I use for making pad woon sen) or wide rice noodles (like I use for making Pad Kee Mao).
Creamy Bean Bliss: White beans don't just make fantastic loubia! Add cannellini or navy beans to the soup. Blend a portion of the beans with a bit of the stock for a creamy base without dairy. Keep the seitan for a protein boost, and let the beans bring a velvety texture to the soup. Garnish with fresh rosemary or thyme for an extra layer of flavor.
50+ of my own family's fave recipes. Carefully concocted to win over even your most anti-vegan friends.
📖 How to make this Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup recipe
Nail this perfectly on your first shot by following these step-by-step instructions with helpful tips. Or you can follow along with the easy-to-print recipe card towards the bottom of this page.
Step One
Lightly Brown your vegan chicken:
Heat olive oil in a sizable pot over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is sufficiently hot, sauté torn seitan pieces for 4-5 minutes until they are a light, golden brown.
Step Two
Soften Yer' Veggies:
Stir in diced onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté, occasionally stirring, for another 4 minutes until the vegetables become tender, just like my tender dog Mildred who I love to snuggle with. She's really tender!
Step Three
Spice and Aroma:
Stir in diced potatoes, minced garlic, dried thyme, and ground coriander. Cook for an extra 2 minutes until the garlic's fragrance fills the air.
Step Four
Now, Turn It Into An Actual Soup:
Pour in vegetable stock or vegan chicken broth, cranking up the heat to high until it reaches a rolling boil.
Step Five
Tub Time for Noodles:
After approximately 6 minutes of boiling, when the potatoes are just about fork-tender, stir in the noodles. Cook until they hit that perfect balance of tenderness with a very slight firmness. Timing will vary based on noodle thickness, but generally, it should take a few minutes. Rice noodles and whole grain noodles will probably take a bit longer, depending on their size.
Step Six
Herb: Not Just for Cyprus Hill Any More:
Stir in chopped parsley, optional fresh dill, salt, and ground black pepper. Let it all simmer for a few more minutes, allowing the herbs to gracefully wilt and infuse their essence into the broth.
Step Seven
Ladies, Preeeeesent:
Serve your vegan chicken soup hot, garnished with a few leaves of fresh parsley and dill. Consider pairing it with vegan garlic bread, or freshly grilled sourdough bread, because that is one of the most lovely things in the galaxy!
💡Serving Ideas
Looking to add a little punch to your soup? A tiny spoonful of shatta or nam prik pao could only step things up, right?
Pair this comforting bowl with freshly baked kuboos bread, vegan challah (or apple and pomegrate seed stuffed round challah), grilled parotta, or delightfully warm potato kulcha.
Serve it with crispy sides like onion bhaji, Indonesian vegetable fritters, or the wholesome goodness of tempeh mendoan, creating a symphony of textures and flavors that perfectly complement the heartiness of the soup.
👉Top tips
- Seitan Sizzle: Ensure your seitan achieves a golden brown hue by allowing it to fully sear for the recommended 4-5 minutes. This step not only perfects the texture, making it a lot more like actual meat, but also imparts a rich, savory flavor crucial to the overall profile of the soup.
- Noodle Timing Mastery: The key to perfectly cooked noodles lies in precise timing. Add the noodles when the potatoes are just about fork-tender, ensuring the noodles absorb the rich flavors of the broth without becoming overly mushy. Adjust the cooking time based on the thickness of your chosen noodles, and make sure to give the pot a give stir 30 seconds after adding the noodles to the pot, so they do not stick together.
- Garnish is Everything: I think it's super important when you have a heavily cooked dish like a soup to garnish with some uncooked herbs just before serving. It's what I do with my ginitaang calabash and Filipino Mung Bean soup too. It really helps put some life and balance in a soup.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Make vegans chicken noodle soup completely gluten-free by substituting the seitan with tofu or young green jackfruit, and choose gluten-free noodles as your noodle.
Absolutely, this soup freezes well. Just ensure make sure not to cook the noodles below al-dente if you plan to freeze it, and make sure it's cooled completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container for future cozy meals.
🥶 Storage:
Allow the soup to cool to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container. Store it in the refrigerator for up to four days.
❄️ Freezing:
To freeze, portion the soup into freezer-safe containers, leaving some space for expansion. Seal tightly and store for up to three months. If you intend to freeze it, ensure the noodles are only cooked al dente, as they will continue to get softer from freezing, thawing and reheating.
🥰 Thawing:
For the best results, transfer the frozen soup to the refrigerator the night before you plan to enjoy it and allow it to thaw gradually for even reheating.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
1. In a saucepan, gently reheat the soup over medium heat.
2. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
3. Once thoroughly heated, portion into bowls, garnish with fresh herbs and enjoy the cozy goodness.
⚡Microwave Reheating:
1. Place the desired portion in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Heat on medium power in short intervals, stirring between each burst.
3. Microwave until uniformly hot, garnish with fresh herbs, then savor the warm embrace of your Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup.
✌️My faves to serve with vegan chicken soup:
The Best Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe in the Galaxy
Equipment
- Stovetop or microwave
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups seitan hand torn into small pieces
- 1 cup onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 medium carrot diced
- 1 cup potatoes peeled and 1 cm. diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 8 cups unsalted vegetable stock or vegan chicken stock
- 150 grams noodles of your choice about 1 ½ cups ramen noodles, wide noodles, or broken spaghetti noodles)
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- ¼ cup fresh dill minced (optional)
- 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
To serve:
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh dill
- Grilled Sourdough bread optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, sauté torn pieces of seitan for 4-5 minutes until they are very lightly browned all over.
- Add diced onion, celery, and carrots, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for another 4 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- Add diced potatoes, minced garlic, dried thyme, and ground coriander. Cook for an additional 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in vegetable stock or vegan chicken broth, and raise the heat to high until boiling.
- After about 6 minutes boiling, when the potatoes are just barely fork tender, add noodles and cook until tender yet slightly firm. The exact timing will depend on how thick the noodles are.
- Stir in chopped parsley, optional fresh dill, salt, and ground black pepper. Simmer for a few more minutes for the herbs to wilt and impart their flavor to the broth.
- Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley and dill, with freshly grilled sourdough bread on the side if desired.
Notes
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Sally says
Very good, very comforting. Coriander again makes a guest appearance in the ingredient list - perfect.
Robyn says
What store bought seitan do you use ? I have made it before but sometimes like your soup recipe you need to have the convenience of purchasing it. I havent found a “great” tasting one. Thanks.
Adam Sobel says
I use my vegan chicken recipe
Jwiltz says
We absolutely loved this. So easy to make and we will be definitely making this again!
Dushenka Silberfarb says
I was so nervous making this even with the step by step instructions and photos. I’ve never eaten or made or even smelled anything like chicken noodle soup before and I was worried the seitan would be soggy and that cooking the noodles in the soup would be too starchy. My fears were completely unfounded. This recipe was delicious! According to my 9yo, “my favorite parts were the potatoes, carrots, seitan, noodles, and broth!” I think he mentioned everything but the celery and onions and he’s never been a fan of those. Despite their inclusion, he had four bowls. And my very particular mother who doesn’t eat “fake meat” and who never ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup before going vegan in 1962 when being vegan simply wasn’t done, not only tasted this soup despite the inclusion of mock chicken and mock chicken broth opined that it was seasoned to perfection! Can we say winner winner no chicken dinner?
Rx says
Utterly delicious! It’s the recipe I’ve been looking for in 30 years of being veggie. I used Tofoo seitan and OXO vegan chicken stock (in UK). I popped in a little extra thyme and no parsley to make it like the chicken soup I had as a child. Browning the seitan really elevated the dish.
Empty bowls all round!
Paige Davis says
This soup is comforting and flavorful. The broth is rich and perfect for what ails ya, especially in colder weather although I’ll make it year round. I used Ramen noodles and they were perfect. Yummy!
Maryann Howard says
The best chicken noodle soup! Not your momma’s soup! The flavor surpasses any chicken soup out there. I’m gonna make some later today to warm up my tummy cause this soup is yummy and it’s only 49 degrees outside. Try it you’ll love it!
Liane says
The broth is rich and full of flavor—just the right balance of savory, umami, and spices that make each spoonful so satisfying. It's totally worth making chicken seitan, it's sooo good! This soup is wholesome, nourishing, and perfect for a cozy meal.
Adam Sobel says
Thanks for all your recent reviews. I am so glad you've been loving these recipes ✌️
Nikki says
I love this but I subbed chickpeas so I realize I'm missing a large component of the recipe. I used orzo and a bit of lemon juice as well
Sharon Sharpe says
Great flavor! Good comfort food recipe . Will definitely make again
Karla Merrels Lewis says
My first time making seitan and it was wonderful in this comfort soup!
Robyn says
The. Best. Chik'n. Noodle. Soup. EVER!! I chose to use Daring chicken, because... well, I'm intimidated by the idea of making homemade seitan. I also went heavy on the herbs 'cause that's how I roll. Easy to make and so very very flavorful. I do however recommend making a double batch, to avoid the inevitable withdrawals from this deliciousness!
Adam Sobel says
Super-glad to hear you loved this one, Robyn ❤️