No-Chicken Noodle Soup (Vegan or Vegetarian)
Are you craving hearty, brothy, delicious noodle soup - but want to keep it vegan or vegetarian? Then come try our easy veggie no-chicken noodle soup recipe. It's full of the comforting and nostalgic flavors of classic chicken noodle soup, but with special vegan flair.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Course: Main Course, Soup
Keyword: No-chicken noodle soupe, Vegan chicken noodle soup, Vegetarian chicken noodle soup
Servings: 6 servings
- 1 large onion - yellow, sweet, or white
- 4 large celery stalks
- 4 large carrots
- 3 Tbsp olive oil (or butter)
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dry)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 3 cups chopped hearty greens such as kale, green cabbage, Swiss chard, or collard greens
- 8 cups no-chicken broth or vegetable broth (low sodium, 2 quart containers)
- 1 can beans of choice, such as white beans, chickpeas, or pinto beans (approximately 15 ounces)
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- salt and pepper, to taste
- up to one 12 oz package of noodles of choice (*see noodle notes below)
Optional, but highly recommended
- 1 Tbsp fresh sage, about 8 to 12 leaves, finely minced (or 1 tsp dry)
- 2 or 3 bay leaves, fresh or dry
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp miso paste (dissolved in 1/2 to 1 cup water before adding to soup)
- chopped fresh parsley to top/serve
- bread or crackers, for serving
Add olive oil or butter to the bottom of your stockpot or sauce pan and turn it on over medium-high heat.
Add chopped onions, celery, and carrots, along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Saute until the onions become translucent, and the carrots and celery are just fork-tender (about 10 minutes). Stir occasionally.
Next, add the herbs (minced if fresh) and minced garlic along with the chopped leafy greens. Add optional sage and whole bay leaves now. Cook about five minutes, stirring on occasion.
Add all of the other called-for ingredients except the noodles: the no-chicken broth or vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, dissolved miso paste , ground cloves, and beans. (Drain and rinse canned beans before adding them).
Bring to a boil before adding noodles.
Add noodles. Break long spaghetti-like noodles in half first. Follow the recommended time on your particular noodle package, but remove from heat when the noodles are just about done but ever-so-slightly el dente still. They’ll continue to cook a bit once you turn off the heat. Stir on occasion while cooking. (*See noodle notes below for alternative option)
Serve and enjoy!
Store leftovers in the refrigerator and enjoy within one week.
Freeze extras in freezer-safe containers for up to 6 months.
Noodle notes: Use only half or two-thirds of the 12-ounce package as a lower carb option. We used an 8 ounce package in this particular batch, and it was plenty! Egg noodles are a chicken noodle soup classic, but you can use any type or long or short noodles that you wish. As a gluten-free option, I highly suggest these organic brown rice spaghetti noodles.
We always cook our noodles right in the same pot as the soup. However, you can also cook them in a separate pot of water and add them to the soup at the end, or add noodles to each bowl of soup upon serving.