Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup

Name: Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon olive oil; 1 medium onion (finely chopped); 2 sticks celery (sliced); 2 medium carrots (sliced); 4 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed); 1 teaspoon chicken seasoning; ½ teaspoon dried thyme; 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable or vegan chicken stock ((extra if needed)); 125 g (4 ½ oz) dry pasta*; 200 g (7 oz) seitan "chicken"**; black pepper

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Vegan chicken noodle soup - this vegan soup is hearty, healthy, comforting and very easy to make in around 30 minutes!

Made with seitan "chicken", pasta and veggies, this soup is packed with flavour and is the perfect cold weather comfort food.

A bowl of vegan chicken noodle soup with a bowl of dried thyme.

A hearty bowl of vegan chicken noodle soup is the perfect recipe to make when you’re feeling under the weather, or simply craving something warm and comforting during the cold winter months.

This vegan spin on the classic soup recipe is super satisfying and delicious, and it’s ridiculously quick and easy to make too!

It is great as it is, or serve it with some crusty buttered bread or toast to soak up the juices.

Chicken noodle soup is quite an American name for this recipe, and "noodles" refers to pasta rather than Asian style noodles. You can use any kind of pasta shapes you like in this soup.

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan chicken noodle soup.

Ingredient Details:

Seitan chicken shreds: I use my shreddable seitan "chicken" which works great in this soup. I like to make a big batch of the chicken, shred it and freeze it so that I have a ready supply for cooking with.

You can use shop bought vegan "chicken" instead, or dry TVP chicken style pieces (often found in Chinese supermarkets), soya chunks or curls. If you don't want to use a meat substitute then a can of chickpeas or some air fried tofu would also work.

Chicken seasoning: Most chicken seasoning blends are vegan friendly and are a good way to add a chickeny flavour to your soup. I use a Dunn's River one. Bear in mind that the flavour of the soup will vary depending on the brand of seasoning that you use, as well as the salt level, as some are salted and some aren't. I find that with the seasoning and stock I generally do not need to add any additional salt to the soup.

Pasta: You can use any kind of pasta shapes or noodles that you like. Here I used pappardelle but a small soup pasta or orzo work really well; or you can even use broken up spaghetti. Bear in mind that most fresh pasta contains egg, so you will need to use a dry variety.

Stock: I use Marigold vegetable bouillon but you can use a vegan chicken stock for even more chicken flavour if you want.

Vegetables and aromatics: Onion, celery, carrot, garlic and thyme form a great flavour base as well as adding a bit of veg to your meal. A good grinding of black pepper also really adds to the flavour.

Olive oil: You can use vegan butter instead for a richer flavour.

Close up of a ladleful of vegan chicken noodle soup.

How To Make Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Gently fry the onion, celery and carrot for about 10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, chicken seasoning and thyme and cook for another minute.

Step 1, the fried vegetables and seasonings in a pan.

Step 2: Add the stock, pasta, chicken and a good grinding of black pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked then serve right away.

Top Tips:

You can add extra vegetables to the soup as you like; fried mushrooms or leek would work really well, or throw in some tinned or frozen sweetcorn or chopped broccoli florets towards the end of cooking.

Depending on the type of pasta you use, you may need to add a splash more stock.

For a richer soup you can stir in a dash of vegan cream at the end of cooking.

If you like you can add a glass of white wine to the vegetables once they are cooked and simmer until it is cooked off before adding the stock.

Use fresh thyme instead of dried for even more flavour, and adding a sprig of fresh rosemary would be great too.

If you like your soup with a little spice, add ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes.

This vegan chicken noodle soup ideally needs to be eaten as soon as it is cooked as the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid as it sits. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to three days but you will need to add more stock when reheating them.

FAQ's:

What can I use instead of the seitan chicken?

Instead of the seitan chicken, you can use about 50g/2 oz of dried TVP chicken style pieces, soya chunks or soya curls. Rehydrate them in warm water then squeeze them out thoroughly before adding them to the soup along with the pasta.

You can also use shop bought vegan chicken, if it is a ready to eat one it can be added straight to the soup, some others may need to be cooked first, just check the instructions on the packet.

For a no meat substitute option, throw in a can of drained chickpeas, or cook some seasoned tofu pieces in the air fryer or over until crispy before stirring them into the soup.

Can I freeze it?

No, I do not recommend freezing this soup, it is best eaten freshly made as the pasta will become soggy if frozen.

More Vegan Soup Recipes:

A bowl of vegan chicken noodle soup with a spoon and a bowl of dried thyme.

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