Classic Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup is made vegan by simply replacing the chicken with healthy, hearty potatoes. Much healthier and still filling and comforting. This soup still has that classic comfort flavor and feel without the excess sodium. A bowl of this will fill you up and satisfy you perfectly.
CLASSIC VEGAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Today, I’m sharing a classic with you. I grew up eating chicken noodle soup…honestly, who didn’t? That warm bowl of comforting soup that was overly loaded with salt, was somehow so satisfying. Of course, looking at the can of ingredients now is pretty gross. I do remember how the chicken in the can was always really rubbery and I would end up spitting most of it out.
When I became an adult my mom started making a chicken noodle soup recipe that she picked up from a newspaper. It was creamy and slightly spicy and incredibly delicious. Come to find out, it was made using a cream of mushroom can of soup! What?! I thought it was homemade 100%. Lol. Regardless, it was really yummy and I always requested it.
Instead of using actual chicken or even vegan chicken, I used healthy whole food potatoes! They are just as comforting, filling and satisfying. I love comforting soups and stews so much and it’s something that I thrive at when being creative in the kitchen.
You can make this for 8 easy ingredients, so simple and nothing fancy and completely plant-based.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
Full recipe and details on recipe card below.
- Carrots
- Celery
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes
- Veggie broth
- Vegan bouillon cubes (see recipe below for alternate version)
- Dried thyme
- Nutritional yeast
- Noodles: Use regular or gluten-free. I used gluten-free brown rice spiral noodles.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Step 1: Add the water (or broth if using the alternate version) and bring to a boil. Add the bouillon cubes (or spices version) and whisk to ensure thoroughly mixed.
Step 2: Add all of the veggies except the pasta. Bring back to a boil and stir well. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes until veggies are becoming tender, but not fully.
Step 3: Add the pasta and raise the heat to medium-high and bring back to a boil. Cook about 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender to your liking. If using gluten-free, it will cook faster, so watch closely so that it doesn’t become mushy.
Step 4: Taste and add any more salt, if needed, as this can greatly vary depending on the broth or quality of bouillon cubes used. I like a good grind of freshly ground black pepper to serve on top.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS SOUP?
A perfect thing to serve with a delicious healthy vegan chicken noodle soup is my Vegan Caesar salad and have a really satisfying, healthy dinner.
MORE VEGAN SOUP RECIPES
- Vegan Red Lentil Curry Soup
- Low-fat Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
- Creamy Vegan Lentil Soup
- Hearty Veggie Potato Stew
- Lazy Day Vegan Tomato Bisque
- Smoky Sweet Potato Black-eyed Pea Soup
Classic Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 4 large long carrots, sliced (you will need 1 1/2 cups sliced, 170 g)
- 4 large long celery stalks (you will need 1 1/2 cups sliced, 200g)
- 1 packed cup (160g) finely diced yellow onion
- 3 X-large garlic cloves, minced (about a tablespoon-15g)
- 3 small red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you will need 2 1/2 cups, 370g)
- 6-7 cups water (or broth, see update under NOTES)
- 2 vegan bouillon cubes (see update under NOTES for alternate version!)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (depending on your bouillon cube, this may need adjustment)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 cups (170g, 6 oz) gluten-free brown rice spiral noodles
- optional garnish: fresh parsley and fresh lemon juice
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Prepare all of your veggies, spices and set aside.
- Add only 6 cups of the water (or broth if using the updated version below) to a large pot and bring to a boil, add the bouillon cubes (or all the additional spices listed under the updated version below in place using the bouillon cubes), thyme, salt, nutritional yeast and whisk to dissolve.
- Immediately add all of the veggies (carrots, celery, onion, garlic and potatoes). You are adding all of the ingredients except the pasta. Stir well and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, immediately turn to the lowest heat, cover and simmer around 10 minutes until the carrots and potatoes are becoming tender, but not fully.
- Add the pasta and bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once simmering, leave the lid off and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender, but still firm. If using gluten-free pasta, it will cook much faster, so keep an eye.
- Taste and add any more salt, if needed, as this can greatly vary depending on the broth or quality of bouillon cubes used. I like a good grind of freshly ground black pepper to serve on top. If you want it more brothy, add more broth and adjust seasonings as needed to account for extra broth.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and a fresh squeeze of lemon juice right before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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my husband came home complaining of an upset stomach. I made this soup and he’s feeling better.
So glad the soup made him feel better!
I make/request this every time I’m sick, or just looking for simple soup. Best recipe!!
So glad you love it, thank you Gina!
This soup has TRULY become our go-to! I make this for my fiancé all the time. He looks forward to colder weather because it means he gets this soup! One question though, what does the nutritional yeast add to it? I’ve literally overlooked that it is an ingredient in this soup for 2 straight winters and I’m afraid to add it because it’s so good already! 😅
That is so awesome to hear Jessica!! To be honest, I actually don’t use the yeast anymore since my husband cannot have it (huge gout trigger) and he loves this soup so much. I learned awhile back how bad it triggers gout, so I just leave it out now. Although, I personally find it more flavorful with it, if you love it as is, then feel free to skip it! It just aids in depth of flavor and a salty bite, which classic chicken soups have so much.
Just wanted to let you know this is now a staple in my house. When I became vegan one of the things I missed was homemade chicken noodle soup. So glad I tried this recipe! Now, when it’s cold, or when I’m not feeling well, all I want is this soup! It is healthy, comforting, and freezes well (without the noodles). I always have a batch in the freezer. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
So awesome to hear that Lynne, thank you for the review!
I am 14 and made this awesome soup successfully. My dad was making a traditional acadian soup but it had chicken, so I made my own by adjusting this recipe to match the acadian frico which includes dumplings. Me and my mom loved very much!
Oh this is so wonderful to hear Isabelle! You are so amazing and awesome to make this soup!!
I made your vegan noodle soup for lunch today and it was perfect for this gray chilly Michigan day. I could not find vegan bouillon so I used the update and it was wonderful. Thank you!!
Wonderful, so glad you enjoyed it Angie!
This is the second time I’ve made this soup, it’s so yummy and easy to make. I add a can of drained, rinsed chickpeas, as well, for a little added protein. Definite comfort food! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear how much you enjoy the soup Julie!!
With a sick girlfriend, this soup was the perfect thing to see her back on her feet. I’m a new fan to this site.
Thank you for this recipe!! I’m sick for the 1st time since going vegan 4 months ago and didn’t have energy for complicated soup recipe. This is amazingmy delicious, even my omni husband and kids loved It! Definitely adding my rotation!!! I also love that most ingredients are in pantry already. 😀
I’ve made this soup several times and it is fantastic. One question, we’re snowed in today and I have everything except the rice noodles. Will it work with whole wheat pasta? Should I cook it separately? Thanks!
THIS SOUP IS DELICIOUS!!!! We are vegan and it’s so hard to find a soup to replace chicken noodle in the winter when everyone gets sick. WE ALL LOVE IT!!! Added lots of nutritional yeast and used “better than bouillon” and it’s delicious!!! Thank you for sharing your recipe! Will be making it for years to come! 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that Stephanie! Thank you so much for making it and leaving such an awesome review!
I liked this very much… and not a big soup fan! I played with it some….did it in the Instant Pot. Saute the vegetables for a bit, throw in the rest of the ingredients. Manual for 4 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes then quick release. Vegies were soft and the pasta al dente. It worked! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that Karen, thank you for sharing!
The flavor was spot on. For some reason,though, I lost most of my broth. Maybe I let it cook too long? I added an additional 4 cups of water to get the consistency right. Tasted so good. Thank you for another great recipe.
Hi! So glad you loved the flavor! Sounds like there was too much pasta added and it will soak up all the broth or like you mentioned, letting it cook too long or at too high of a heat will cook the broth away. If you want to make sure this doesn’t happen again, you could always cook the pasta separately and just add some to the finished soup, that way it won’t cook away 🙂
Hi! I made this soup last night and it was beyond delicious 🙂 the whole family loved it. Thank you! I love your recipes
Yay Elisa! So happy your whole family loved it! Thank you so much for the lovely review!
We love this recipe and can’t wait to make it a lot over the colder months. We add extra thyme and some parsley for extra flavor. The worst part about this recipe is that we don’t have enough left overs!!! =) haha Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear how much you all loved this recipe Jennifer, thank you so much for the review! I usually sprinkle in extra thyme as well because I love it so much!
Sorry I forgot to rate the soup. Thumbs up all the way.
Thank you so much Carmen, I really appreciate it!
My husband and I just finished this delicious noodle soup for lunch. We ended up having seconds and fortunately there is enough left over for another meal. Thanks again for another great recipe.
So wonderful to hear Carmen, thank you so much! I’m happy you both enjoyed it! Would you mind star rating the recipe, it helps me out so much, thank you?!
This was such a big hit with everyone. My mom made traditional chicken noodle soup and I had my vegan one to eat for myself. My family loved adding some of this soup to their chicken because the broth is so flavorful. And I was so happy for my own tastebuds. :).
Really wonderful meal. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
So awesome to hear that Allie, thank you so much for the wonderful review! Glad everybody enjoyed it!
My oldest son & I have been eating Plant Based for almost 3 months now. I love your recipes! Can’t wait to try this one! Our favorite recipe of yours so far is the Nacho Cheese sauce from your Mexican Casserole. It is the bomb!!! My youngest son who is Autistic & is a total Carnivore, loved the nacho cheese! I look forward to all your recipe posts!
Hi Fritzi! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so happy to hear how much your son enjoyed the cheese sauce and I apologize for just seeing this comment! Thank you for your support!
How can you leave out the step of sweating vegetables and spices first in fat? Surely this is how you get the most flavour out of vegetables. All soups have this ‘base’ step.
Hi Kimberly! I find that step absolutely unnecessary in some recipes and since I don’t believe in cooking my food in oil, I don’t saute these in oil. Judging by the ton of reviews all above, seems everybody thinks the soup is amazing and flavorful. I used to cook in oil and find NO difference in how delicious my food turns out. It really depends on the recipe I’m doing though, as well, as some I will saute the veggies first. But with oil, it’s just unnecessary calories/fat. If you want to saute them first before adding the remainder broth etc., then go for it! I just am about quick and simple sometimes. This soup is so flavorful, nobody would ever know if they were sauteed first.
I would love to make this soup in my pressure cooker/slow cooker instead of on the stove, how would I go about doing that?
Hi Celena! I’m not sure since I never use a slow cooker, so I’m not able to give advice on that. But this soup is really fast, so it is very easy to just do on the stove.
This recipe is sooo yummy!!! Even better than the original chicken recipe lol. I just went vegan about 2 weeks ago and I caught a really bad cold — wasn’t sure how I would last without chicken soup. This recipe definitely did the trick and it’s super easy?! I couldn’t ask for more!!! This will definitely become a staple in my house! Thank you for the recipe!!!!!
Yay! So glad you loved this Lizzie! So glad it helped to make you feel better too. Thank you so much for the feedback!
I’m not vegan-Yet!-but one big reason is because the recipes I come across have ingredients too hard to find, expensive, or just plain “what is that?!” to a newbie. Once I found this website I was hooked. Three kids ages 5-14 plus a meat loving husband makes this transition and journey hard. Since I’ve been making your recipes the amount of “yes, please, more” has drastically increased. I’m sooo glad I came across your recipes. You have made my “what’s for dinner?” challenge manageable. This is for dinner tonight. Cannot wait to try it.
Oh, Amy, this made me SO happy to hear! It is so much appreciated to hear from readers who are having such great success with my recipes. I am so glad to hear you ALL are loving the recipes so much! Thank you a million for letting me know!
I noticed someone put it in a crockpot….at what point would you suggest putting noodles in so they don’t go to mush? Thanks in advance, can’t wait to make it later in the crockpot (too hot for the stove)
Hi Brittany, I am not sure since I never use a crockpot, but my guess would be at the very end after everything else is cooked, add the pasta and let it cook until it’s tender. That’s my guess though!
Hi there! I think I forgot to post about how incredible this soup is the last time I made it. My whole family loved it! I’m making it again as we speak, even though I live in the Texas heat! Yummy nums!! Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes with us!
Thank you so much Melissa, that is so wonderful to hear! Sorry I missed this comment before!!
This is exactly the soup I have been looking for since I stopped eating meat 27 years ago! My family loves it (even my meat eating husband). I’m actually a bit happy our spring weather disappeared and soup weather has returned! So yummy! (I didn’t have the bouillon cubes so I made the alternate version, but am picking up the cubes today to try that version). Thank you!!
Wow, that is so awesome to hear Amy! So happy everybody all loved it! Thank you very much for the feedback!