Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup (with Soy Curls)

🐔 How to substitute chicken in soup?

You have a few choices when making vegan chicken noodle soup. Seitan, Butler Soy Curls, store-bought chicken strips, or chickpeas.

Seitan - You can buy chicken-style seitan in most major grocery stores, or you can easily make it yourself with my vegan chicken recipe or my quick and easy seitan recipe. This is also known as wheat meat. It's made from gluten and obviously not gluten-free.

Butler Soy Curls - My favorite vegan chicken replacement to use in this soup is Butler Soy Curls! (They are dehydrated soy protein that has a taste and texture that is unbelievably close to chicken when they are re-hydrated in the broth). Soy Curls are super easy and gluten-free. Soy curls have a great flavor and texture, but they're also great because they're shelf-stable.  I love to have them in my pantry to add protein to soups or stir-fries as needed.

Beyond Meat Chicken Strips - If you are looking for a gluten-free and soy-free vegan chicken alternative, Beyond Meat Chicken Strips is a great option.

Chickpeas - if you want a whole food more natural alternative to chicken, you can simply use a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas instead of chicken.

🥄 Instructions

• Start by sauteing a diced onion in olive oil on very low heat and sprinkle with some salt.  (Sautéing the onion very slowly to give a slight sweetness to the broth.)
• While the onion is slowly cooking, chop up the celery and carrots. Then toss them in after the onion has become slightly translucent.
• Give it a stir and add the herbs and spices.

• Add the water and Not Chick’n broth cubes and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. You can use any vegan chicken-flavored broth, but this one is my favorite. (Soy curls soak up the broth so reduce the water by 1 cup if you are not using soy curls).
• Once the veggies are soft, add the butler soy curls or other vegan chicken products, stir and simmer for 5 more minutes.
• Finally, dump in 2 cups of dry noodles of your choice. Allow the soup to simmer for about 8-10 more minutes until the noodles are just barely cooked, then turn off the heat. (Gluten-free noodles will start to fall apart if they are cooked too long).

• If you like the taste of fresh parsley, chop up a handful and toss it in at the end to give it an added boost of nutrients and fresh flavor!

❓What to serve with vegan chicken noodle soup?

We love to make vegan cornbread, Socca, vegan Red Lobster biscuits, or vegan focaccia bread to eat with this soup to make it a full meal. It's also delicious with a vegan Caesar salad.

🥡 Can you freeze vegan chicken noodle soup?

Yes, this chicken noodle soup freezes well. The recipe makes a lot, but I do this on purpose to have leftovers for lunches or so I can freeze half of it for dinner another night when I don't have time to cook. Simply put it in an airtight bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. (Let the soup thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.)

This vegan chicken noodle soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

📋 Vegan chicken noodle soup recipe

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe

Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup

This vegan chicken noodle soup tastes like the real deal, except that it’s vegan and can be made gluten-free!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, vegan

Keyword: gluten free vegan chicken noodle soup, soy curl recipe, soy curl soup, vegan chicken noodle soup

Servings: 12

Calories: 99kcal

Author: Monica Davis

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped into pieces
• 3 stalks celery washed and chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• 11 cups of water (use 10 cups if not using soy curls)
• 2 Not Chick’n bullion cubes or equivalent that makes 4 cups of vegan chicken-flavored broth
• 1 ½ cup dry Butler soy curls or 3 cups of your favorite vegan chicken substitute
• 2 cups pasta noodles of choice
• ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley optional
• more salt and pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Peel and chop one medium onion and sauté it in 1 tbsp olive oil on low heat. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt.
• While the onion is cooking slowly, peel and chop 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, and 2 cloves of garlic.
• Toss in the veggies to the pot and give a stir.
• Add all of the spices to the veggies (1 tbsp poultry seasoning, 1 tbsp dried parsley, 1/2 turmeric, 1/4 tsp ground pepper) Sauté on low for another 3 minutes.
• Put in 11 cups of water (10 if not using soy curls) and 2 bullion cubes, increase heat to medium.
• Simmer for about 20 minutes until veggies are just barely cooked.
• Add 1 1/2 cups soy curls or vegan “chicken” substitute of choice (reduce water by 1 cup if not using soy curls).
• Continue to simmer for 5 more minutes, then add 2 cups of dry pasta.
• Cook for about 8-10 more minutes until the pasta is just barely cooked and then turn off heat. (Pasta will continue to cook slightly while sitting in the hot soup).
• Toss in some fresh chopped parsley.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

• If using soy curls, note that they are dehydrated and when added to the soup, they will absorb about 1 cup of broth.
• Saute the onions slowly to bring out their sweetness and help flavor the broth.
• Make sure to simmer the veggies for about 20 minutes before adding the noodles to ensure the vegetables are cooked and you won't overcook the noodles.
• Turn off the heat as soon as the noodles are al dente to make sure that they don't get soggy and fall apart.

Using homemade chicken seitan

• If you are using my homemade vegan chicken recipe, you can toss in the raw seitan dough and cook it with the soup. Just be sure that it simmers for 25 minutes before adding the noodles. (Raw seitan needs to simmer for at least 30 minutes to fully cook.)

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 345mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2710IU | Vitamin C: 3.9mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1.7mg