Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup
This vegan cream of chicken soup is a protein-packed hearty soup that’s pure vegan comfort food! Use any vegan chicken product you like to make this rich and creamy soup that your whole family will love!
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Why make this soup
This creamy vegan chicken soup is a classic soup that will bring you back in time. It’s classic plant-based comfort food that the whole family will love! It’s easy to make, plus it’s rich, creamy, and flavorful.
I loved Campbell’s cream of chicken soup when I was a kid and wanted to recreate a vegan version for my kids. I added some green peppers and mushrooms for a more sophisticated taste, but you can omit them if you want it more like Campbell’s style.
This soup was delicious! Total comfort food! I missed Cambell’s cream of chicken and this was just as good!
—Sarah
Ingredients and substitutions
- Mushrooms –Optional to flavor the soup and give it more texture.
- Green Bell Peppers – Optional, but gives it a nice flavor
- Broth –I like to use the Not Chick’n broth cubes because my family likes that flavor, but any vegetable broth will work.
- Vegan Chicken – You can use any vegan chicken strips that you like. I usually use Butler Soy Curls because they are gluten-free and have a nice texture. They come dry, are shelf-stable, and will soak up the flavor of whatever you rehydrate them in. If you need it to be soy-free, you can use Beyond Meat chick’n stips. If you don’t need a gluten-free option, most major grocery stores sell vegan chicken strip products that will work well or you can easily make your own vegan shredded chicken or slice up vegan chicken breasts. I like to use my easy seitan chunks recipe for this soup too. See all of my ideas for vegan chicken substitutes.
- Garlic powder –for flavor
- Nutritional Yeast –Nutritional yeast gives your soup a savory slightly cheesy flavor (optional).
- Salt and Pepper –to season the soup. I also like a dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes to spice it up a little.
- Plant-Based Milk –Any plain flavored plant-based milk will make it creamy. You also may want to use unsweetened milk if you don’t want it too sweet. I like to use soy milk or oat milk in this soup since they are thick and creamy, but you can also use almond milk or any other you prefer.
- Fat –Any neutral-flavored oil or vegan margarine will work to make a vegan roux. Plus a little to saute the veggies if you choose to add them.
- Flour –Regular all-purpose flour will work well, or if you need it to be gluten-free, I find the gluten-free flour mix from Trader Joe’s works the best for making a gluten-free roux. You can also omit the roux method and make your soup fat-free and gluten-free by using corn or potato starch to thicken it. See directions for this below.
Helpful tools
- 2 Soup Pots – One for making the broth and 1 for making the roux.
- A ladle – For scooping up the broth.
- Whisk – For stirring the roux.
How to make vegan cream of chicken soup
Step 1 – Chop mushrooms and peppers into small pieces.
Step 2 – Sauté the mushrooms and peppers in a tbsp oil over medium-low heat and sprinkle with a little salt.
Step 3 – Cook the mushrooms and peppers for about 5 minutes until they release their juices.
Step 4 – Add the broth and spices and bring to a slow boil.
Step 5 – If using soy curls – break up the dry soy curls into small pieces before adding them to the broth. (If using other vegan chicken stips see notes below).
Step 6 – Dump in the Butler Soy curls and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they are soft.
Step 7 – Pour the plant-based milk into the soup.
Thicken the soup by making a roux
Step 8 – Heat oil or soy margarine in a separate soup pot.
Step 9 – Add flour to the oil and stir the mixture with a whisk until smooth. It will start to bubble and thicken slightly and look like the picture below.
Step 10 – Skim off ladles full of the broth out of your soup, leaving large pieces of vegan chicken and veggies behind.
Step 11 – Add the hot broth from the chicken soup one ladle at a time, stirring well between each scoop.
Step 12 – Add the remaining soup with the chicken and veggies once most of the broth has been incorporated into the roux.
Note – You can read my full post about roux or more detailed information about how to make a vegan roux.
Pro Tips
- When you first add the broth to the oil and flour mixture, it will become very thick at first and look like a paste. (Like the picture below). Don’t worry, it will thin out and be the right consistency once you add all the broth.
- Be sure to stir it well between each ladle of broth to keep it smooth.
- Use a spoon to scrape the bottom corners of the pan to make sure to get any of the roux that has stuck to the corners.
How to make gluten-free cream of chicken soup
You can make a roux using gluten-free flour instead of wheat flour. Just be sure to use a gluten-free flour mix that does not contain sorghum flour. When I tried it using any mixes with sorghum flour, it had a weird slimy texture. I usually use the general gluten-free flour mix from Trader Joe’s and it works well for me every time.
How to add vegan “chicken” to soup
- Use 2 cups or 16 oz. of my vegan shredded chicken or any vegan chicken product you choose to replace the soy curls. (One cup of soy curls will soak up about 1 cup of broth and double in size).
- If you are using chicken strips, add them with the mushrooms and peppers and saute them for a few minutes before adding the broth.
- Make sure to reduce the broth by 1 cup if you are not using soy curls. Add only 4 cups of broth instead of 5 since the soy curls soak up about 1 cup of the broth.
How to make fat-free cream of chicken soup
If you want this soup to be fat-free, simply thicken it with cornstarch (or potato starch) and water. (Use ¼ cup cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup cold water and then add it to the hot broth at the end once all other ingredients have been added. Then heat it until it bubbles and thickens). This is still a delicious soup made this way, just not quite as rich and creamy as the roux method.
Storage and reheating
Refrigerator – This vegan cream of chicken soup will keep well in the fridge for 3 days.
Freezer – Seal in an airtight or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat – You can reheat the soup in a saucepan until warm or microwave it for a few minutes.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it with some vegan Caesar salad, gluten-free vegan breadsticks, vegan drop biscuits, skillet cornbread, or my vegan cheddar bay biscuits, and make it a meal!
More creamy soups
If you like this vegan cream of chicken soup and you like spicy food, then try my vegan white chili or vegan green chile chicken stew that I made all of the time when I lived in New Mexico!
You may also like my other creamy vegan soups like vegan cream of celery soup, vegan cream of broccoli soup, vegan potato corn chowder, vegan chicken and dumplings, or vegan cream of mushroom soup!
Looking for a vegan substitute for a condensed soup to use in other recipes? Try this canned vegan cream of mushroom soup!
Vegan cream of chicken soup recipe
Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 cup green bell peppers, diced
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups water, (or 5 cups broth of choice if not using bullion cubes).
- 2 cubes not chick’n broth, (or 5 cups vegetable broth instead of water and cubes)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, (optional for a savory flavor)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup Butler soy curls , (dry) or 2 cups of vegan chicken strips
- 2 cups soy milk, or any other plain plant-based milk
- 1 dash salt and pepper , to taste
To thicken the soup with a roux
- 1/2 cup canola oil, or vegan margarine
- 1/2 cup flour, (use an all purpose gluten free flour without sorghum’s flour if GF)
Equipment
- souper cubes (for storage)
Instructions
Make the soup
- Chop mushrooms and peppers into small pieces.
- Sauté the mushrooms and peppers in a tbsp of oil over medium-low heat, and sprinkle with a little salt.
- Cook the mushrooms and peppers for about 5 minutes until they release their juices.
- Add the broth and spices and bring to a slow boil.
- If using soy curls – break up the dry soy curls into small pieces before adding to the broth. (If using other vegan chicken strips seen notes below).
- Dump in the Butler Soy curls and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they are soft.
- Pour the plant-based milk into the soup.
Thicken the soup by making a roux
- Heat oil or soy margarine in a separate soup pot.
- Add flour to the oil and stir the mixture with a whisk until smooth. It will start to bubble and thicken slightly and look like the picture below.
- Skim off ladles full of the broth out of your soup, leaving large pieces of vegan chicken and veggies behind.
- Add the hot broth from the chicken soup one ladle at a time, stirring well between each scoop.
- Add the remaining soup with the chicken and veggies once most of the broth has been incorporated into the roux.
Notes
- When you first add the broth to the oil and flour mixture, it will become very thick at first and look like a paste. Don’t worry, it will thin out and be the right consistency once you add all the broth.
- Be sure to stir it well between each ladle of broth to keep it smooth.
- Use a spoon to scrape the bottom corners of the pan to make sure to get any of the roux that has stuck to the corners.
- You can reduce the oil to 1/4 cup to make a lower-fat roux.
- You can also thicken the soup with cornstarch (or potato starch) and water.
- Use ¼ cup cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup cold water and then add it to the hot broth at the end once all other ingredients have been added. Heat until it bubbles and thickens.
- Use 2 cups or 16 oz. of a vegan chicken product to replace the soy curls. (One cup of soy curls will soak up about 1 cup of broth and double in size).
- If you are using chicken strips, add them with the mushrooms and peppers and saute them for a few minutes before adding the broth.
- Make sure to reduce the broth if you are not using soy curls. Add only 4 cups of broth instead of 5 since the soy curls soak up about 1 cup of the broth.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
*This recipe was originally published on January 23, 2019. It was updated on February 25, 2022, to include new images and more detailed information.
Would love to see a condensed cream of chicken soup for recipes like you have done with condensed cream of mushroom.
Love all our recipes! Accessible ingredients and easy for us at home.
This soup was delicious! Total comfort food! I missed Cambell’s cream of chicken and this was just as good!
So happy that you liked it Sarah! 🙂
I’ve been on the hunt for this recipe!!! This is on the menu for Meatless Monday 🙂 Looks so hearty and flavorful
Thanks Jenna! It’s so creamy and comforting, I hope you love it as much as we do!