This cozy vegan chicken noodle soup features savory baked tofu, lots of noodles, and tender veggies simmered in seasoned vegetable broth. It tastes just like the stuff mom used to make, without the meat!
What could be more comforting than a big, piping hot bowl of vegan chicken noodle soup? Not much, as I can confirm firsthand after creating and testing this version!
This recipe has been a long time coming. It was before I even started blogging that my husband asked if I could create a vegan chicken noodle soup recipe.
What You’ll Need
- Vegetable broth. I used Better Than Bouillon in roasted vegetable flavor.
- Soy sauce. You can also use gluten-free tamari.
- White wine vinegar. Regular white vinegar can be subbed if that’s what you’ve got.
- Poultry seasoning. This is a blend of herbs normally used to season poultry. Look for it in the spice aisle of your supermarket. I use McCormick brand.
- Olive oil. Or whatever high-heat oil you’ve got.
- Tofu. Use firm or extra firm.
- Leeks. You’ll only need the white and pale green parts for this recipe.
- Celery.
- Carrots.
- Garlic.
- Dry white wine. This ingredient is optional, but adds a nice flavor to the soup. Make sure to check with Barnivore to ensure the brand you buy is vegan if you decide to use it.
- Dried thyme.
- Bay leaf.
- Turmeric. This is optional, but great for adding a golden color to make the broth look chickeny.
- Rotini pasta. Feel free to substitute another type of pasta. Shells, bow-ties, or ditalini would work well.
- Salt and pepper.
- Fresh parsley.
How to Make Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down if you’d prefer to skip right to the recipe.
Bake the Tofu
We’re using baked tofu as the “chicken” in this recipe. Feel free to substitute seitan or soy curls — either can be pan-fried instead of baked. You can even use a can of chickpeas, which can just be drained, rinsed, and thrown in the soup!
- Make sure your tofu has been pressed, to remove as much moisture as possible. Then dice it up.
- Now mix up your marinade: broth, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, poultry seasoning, and a bit of olive oil.
- Pour the marinade over the tofu and let it soak for about 30 minutes.
- After the tofu has marinated, arrange the pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake them for about 30 minutes, until they darken and shrink a bit.
Make the Soup
- Heat up some olive oil in a large pot, then add diced leeks, celery, carrots, and minced garlic. Sweat the veggies until they soften up a bit.
- If you’re using wine, add it now. Stir it in and let it simmer until it reduces by about half.
- Stir in the broth, dried thyme, bay leaf and turmeric.
- Raise the heat and let your soup simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the veggies are soft. You can cook your pasta according to the package directions while the soup simmers.
- When the soup is done, take it off the burner and season it with salt and pepper. Now stir in your baked tofu and noodles before ladling it into bowls. Top each one with some fresh parsley.
Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup Tips & FAQ
- Can this recipe be made gluten-free? Yup! Just use gluten-free pasta and gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce.
- Shelf-life & storage: If you think you’ll have leftovers, I recommend storing the soup, tofu, and noodles separate, if possible. Keep each in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Wait, poultry seasoning…doesn’t that contain poultry? The only poultry seasoning I’ve ever come across is just a blend of herbs, but check the ingredients just to be safe. I used McCormick brand, and I can confirm that that it’s vegan.
- What about the pasta. Doesn’t that contain egg? Dried pasta is generally vegan! There are a few exceptions, like egg noodles, so check the ingredients before buying.
- Not into tofu? Try subbing seitan, soy curls, or chickpeas for the baked tofu.
- Looking for more vegan “chicken” soup recipes? Try my vegan chicken and rice soup, or vegan cream of chicken soup!
Video
Need some guidance on how to make my vegan chicken noodle soup? Check out my video!
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Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
This cozy vegan chicken noodle soup features savory baked tofu, lots of noodles, and tender veggies simmered in seasoned vegetable broth. Tastes just like the stuff mom used to make, without the meat!
Ingredients
For the Savory Baked Tofu
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package firm or extra firm tofu, drained, pressed at least 20 minutes, and diced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped
- 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup dry white wine, optional, but really nice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 6 ounces rotini pasta
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
Make the Savory Baked Tofu
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Stir together the broth, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, poultry seasoning, and olive oil in a small bowl or cup.
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Place the tofu cubes in a shallow dish and pour the broth mixture on top. Gently stir to distribute the ingredients. Marinate the tofu for about 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Arrange the tofu cubes in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
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Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the tofu cool a bit.
Make the Soup
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While the tofu bakes, coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the leeks, celery, carrots and garlic. Sweat the veggies until they're slightly softened, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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If you're using wine, stir it in now and bring it to a simmer. Allow the wine cook, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
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Stir in the broth, thyme and bay leaf. Raise the heat and bring the broth to a boil.
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Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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While the soup simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions.
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Drain the pasta into a colander when it's done cooking.
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When the soup finishes simmering, remove the pot from heat and season it with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the pasta and tofu.
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Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a sprinkle of parsley. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to substitute seitan, soy curls, chickpeas, or your favorite savory marinated tofu. You can skip the marinating and baking steps if you do that.
Great recipe! This was a hit – the tofu was delicious, I wanted to eat it all before it hit the soup. I used Old Bay Seasoning and Sirracha instead of poultry seasoning and liquid smoke. Can’t wait to make again!
Yay! That sounds like an awesome way to season up the tofu! Glad you’re enjoying this. :)
This looks super yummy! Definitely worth the wait!
Thanks Ana!
This recipe was amazing! My boyfriend and I loved it.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Kaitlyn!!
This is resting on the stove right now. My diet is more restricted (vegan, gluten free, soy free) so I made some changes. Rice noodles, no soy sauce and Jackfruit instead of tofu. I made the marinade, simmered the Jackfruit in that, then diced it. Cooked the noodles in the broth to save a pan and it tastes great. Next time I’ll use a little more water and less broth. I’ve been wanting a soup like this for ages and I love poultry seasoning.
Those sound like great adaptations! I hope you enjoy it!
Love this recipe! I did add a little lemon-pepper and onion powder to the broth. So delicious!
That sounds delicious! Glad you liked it!
this was REALLY GOOD! Only suggestion is I’d double the tofu, the tofu really adds the yummy flavor that makes this so good….I’d definitely make this again
Thanks Julie! I’m glad you liked it!
YUMMY! I will make this again and again.
Chicken noodle soup
6 cups of soup each meal eaten 1-2x a day for 5 meals. The oldest keeps going back for seconds for seconds.
1.5 hrs to cut veggies, marinate & bake tofu, & boil soup. A bit complicated, but worth it. 10 year old says she likes it better than pizza and that’s saying something!
I’ve made this like 5x. The whole family loves it. See my above comment.
What’s your preferred go to choice for a vegetable broth brand?
I like Better Than Bouillon’s roasted vegetable flavor.
This recipe went down a treat with the family. Tastes great. Thanks for sharing.
This sounds delicious. I’m trying it tonight!
The tofu is amazing in this soup!!! Love the marinade!!! It’s a delicious soup and definitely will be adding it to our meal rotation!!