Vegan Tofu Chicken Noodle Soup (gluten-free option)
Tofu ‘Chicken’ Noodle Soup- packed with flavor and protein, you won’t miss the chicken in this plant-based version of the classic chicken noodle soup! (vegan + gluten-free option)
If there’s one thing that can get us through this time of year, it’s a warm bowl of soup. Especially chicken noodle soup. Unless, of course you don’t eat chickens.
In that case, don’t worry! This tofu ‘chicken’ noodle soup is the answer to your plant-based prayers. Not only is it packed with protein but the flavor is even better than the classic chicken noodle soup. Because chicken on its own isn’t that flavorful, you know? It’s all of the veggies and herbs that bring chicken noodle soup to life and this vegan version definitely achieves that.
Tofu ‘Chicken’ Noodle Soup Ingredients
- Extra Firm Tofu- You’ll want to use firm or extra firm tofu (as opposed to silken tofu) to assure it holds shape in the soup. Also, extra firm tends to be the highest in protein. If you want to make it soy-free, feel free to use fava bean tofu instead of soy bean tofu.
- Tamari (Soy Sauce)- Just a bit of tamari adds umami flavor to the tofu.
- Nutritional Yeast- Combined with the tamari, nutritional yeast imparts a mild cheesy flavor that enhances the tofu marinade. Add the tofu to the tamari and nutritional yeast mixture while it is still hot from baking as this helps it absorb more of the marinade.
- Onion, Celery, Carrots- A classic mirepoix makes the perfect flavor base for the soup.
- Garlic- Fresh garlic is essential for the best flavor, however, if you are averse to garlic feel free to omit it.
- Thyme and Oregano- Dried thyme and oregano add earthiness to elevate the broth.
- Noodles- Feel free to use whatever kind of pasta you like here. You can do fusilli, elbow pasta, classic egg noodles (for non-vegan version) or even broken pieces of spaghetti. See notes of recipe for tips on how to make the soup gluten-free.
- Vegan Chicken Broth- It is very important that you choose a quality broth as that will ultimately determine how flavorful the soup is. My go-to is Better Than Bouillon’s No Chicken Base which you can add water to create a broth.
- Lemon Juice- Please don’t skip the lemon juice! It provides a subtle tang and brightness that is key. Plus a little extra vitamin C never hurt anyone. ;)
How to Make Tofu ‘Chicken’ Noodle Soup
- Bake the tofu at 400°F for 15 minutes. (There is also an option to pan fry the tofu, if desired).
- Toss baked tofu in tamari and nutritional yeast. Set aside.
- Sauté onion, until translucent. Add celery, carrot and garlic. Cook for a few minutes more.
- Add herbs, vegan chicken broth and noodles. Cook until noodles are tender. *If you are cooking gluten-free pasta or plan to save the soup for later, I recommend cooking the pasta separately then adding to each bowl as you serve it. Otherwise the pasta will absorb all of the broth and begin to break down.**
- Stir in tofu, until heated through. Add lemon juice.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
More Comforting Soup Recipes to Try
- Cauliflower Potato Leek Soup
- Creamy White Bean Lemon Soup
- Easy Vegetable Minestrone Soup
- Easy Lentil Spinach Soup
- Curried Red Lentil Pumpkin Soup
Tofu 'Chicken' Noodle Soup
5 bowls
Packed with flavor and protein, you won't miss the chicken in this plant-based version of the classic chicken noodle soup.
Ingredients
For the Tofu 'Chicken'
- 16 ounces (453 g) extra firm tofu, patted dry and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- high heat oil spray
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) tamari, or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) nutritional yeast
For the Noodle Soup
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 (1) large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3-4 (3-4) celery ribs, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3-4 (3-4) carrots, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3-4 (3-4) garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) dried thyme
- 6-8 cups (1420 ml) chicken flavored vegetable broth, such as Better Than Bouillon
- 8 ounces (226 g) pasta of choice, see notes for GF option
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt & pepper, to taste
- fresh parsley , for serving (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the Tofu 'Chicken'
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange the diced tofu on the baking sheet and lightly spray with oil. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until light brown on the edges. Alternatively, you can coat the tofu with seasonings as listed in next step, then pan fry on the stove in oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the tamari and nutritional yeast. Whisk until smooth. Add the baked tofu and toss until evenly coated. Set aside.
Prepare the Noodle Soup
- Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium-low heat, warm one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion and cook for several minutes, until translucent. Add the celery, carrots and garlic then cook for 5 minutes more.
- To the pot, add the oregano, thyme and 6 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add pasta and cook until tender. *If you are cooking gluten-free pasta or plan to save the soup for later, I recommend cooking the pasta separately then adding to each bowl as you serve it. Otherwise the pasta will absorb all of the broth and begin to break down.
- Lastly, add the baked tofu and lemon juice. Cook until heated through. Add salt & pepper to taste. Depending on how much broth the pasta absorbed you may need additional broth. Serve soup warm garnished with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Facts are for 1/5th of the recipe. They are an estimate and will vary depending on specific brands you choose.
Gluten-free Option: To make the recipe gluten-free, substitute equal amounts gluten-free pasta. Because gluten-free pasta tends to break down easier, I recommend cooking it separately then adding it to each individual bowl when serving. Store leftover pasta separately from the soup.
Recipe minimally adapted and republished with permission from Eat Like You Give a Damn
Calories: 375kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 512mg, Potassium: 662mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 6140IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 98mg, Iron: 4mg
Did you make this recipe?Please consider Leaving a star rating and review!
Making Thyme for Health receives commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer. Click here for affiliate details.
This looks really good and REALLY makes me miss tofu! :(
So sad! :(
I would love to cook more vegetarian/vegan meals. I’ve never been real big on meat, and it has really started to wig me out lately. And this soup looks like something the whole fam will enjoy! I think soups and casseroles will be the way to win my meat-loving husband over. This book looks amazing – I love any recipe help I can get.
Is there really 3162mg of sodium in one serving? It looks so good, but can’t have that much salt.
Hi Kathie! No, there isn’t that much. I just went back and recalculated the nutrition facts and it’s actually 990mg per serving. For some reason it was estimating the tofu to be really high in sodium (when it’s not). Thanks for pointing that out!
You are my SAVIOR! I’ve been looking for a good vegetarian chicken noodle recipe and I think this is it!!
Buffalo Chicken Blue Cheese Pizza
Made this soup last week and the entire family was raving about it. Thanks for the amazing recipe!! Will definitely be making again soon!!!
So happy to hear that, Amy! Thanks for the feedback! :)
Pingback: Chickenless Noodle Soup | kitwocky
Can you leave the nutritional yeast out? It does not agree with me. The soup does look amazing and so close to the real thing. I really would like to try it.
Hi Kathy! You can definitely make it without the nutritional yeast. It might not be quite as flavorful but I think it would still be good. I would just make sure you are using a quality broth.
Where do you find the nutritional yeast flakes? I’ve never used them
Hi Jodi! You should be able to find them at your local health food store. It’s usually in the bulk section. Or, if you can’t find it at the store, you can buy it online. I hope that helps! :)
Not a vegan, but I made this for meal for a family with a new baby… WOW! The tofu is delicious with the tamari and yeast. Making this again.
Do you know if it will freeze/reheat well?
I’m so happy everyone loved it, Kristen! I haven’t tried freezing it but my suspicion is that it would work fine. I might let it defrost to room temp before reheating. Let me know if you end up trying it! :)
I made this tonight and it was so good! The only changes I made were- I added some more olive oil and some vegan butter to give it some fat on the tongue, we love nutritional yeast so I literally used about 1/2 cup, and doubled up on the garlic per personal preference. It was so good! My daughter is vegan and soups have been tough to find a good recipe for. This was a home run! Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it, Nicole! Thank you! :)
I tried it and it was a big succes. Thank you. I did once with yeast and once without and did seems to have a huge impact. I also like to keep the tofu separate and add it to the soup before serving.
I have use the Tamari seasoned tofu in other recipes as well.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Adva! I agree, the nutritional yeast makes a big difference. I love the idea to use the tamari tofu in other recipes as well. Thanks for the feedback!
Pingback: The Perfect Snacks and Meals Rich in Vitamins!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I gave up meat a year ago and I missed chicken noodle last winter. I wanted to find a good one before the cold really got here. This recipe is super tasty. Even my meat eater husband said it tasted just like chicken noodle. This will be a standard meal for us during the winter. I did cooked the tofu and the soup using the same pot so we had only one pit to clean.
I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed the soup, Tanya! It’s one of my favorites too. So comforting! Thank you for commenting. :)
Loved it. I added 1/2 TSP of sage and it turned out amazing!
Thanks for the great recipe.
Sage sounds like a wonderful addition! So glad you enjoyed it, Shane!
OMG, I love that Better Than Bullion No-Chicken base too. I’ll have to give this a try.
Is there a substitute you can use for nutrional yeast. I don’t have that ingredient handy to me. I am vegetarian, not vegan.
Hi Allison! The nutritional yeast adds a slightly cheesy flavor that I personally love. But you can just leave it out if you can’t find any. I hope you enjoy it!
I made this tonight and it was a big hit with my husband and 3 yr old. I used Better Than Bouillon “Seasoned Vegetable Base” because I couldn’t find the chicken-less version and I thought it turned out great. The tofu was good tossed with the Tamari and Nutritional Yeast – My toddler took several pieces while it was waiting to go in the soup….I’ll use that combo in other recipes. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Jenny! Thank you!
Pingback: Food with Vitamins: The Perfect Snacks and Meals Rich in Vitamins!
Wow! This was goooood! Will make again! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks Kjersten!
Pingback: 150 Cheap and Easy Vegetarian Recipes - Prudent Penny Pincher
Do you think it’ll taste good with using vegetable broth instead of the vegan chicken broth? I want to make it tomorrow and don’t have time to wait for shipping.
It won’t be as authentic as the “chicken” broth but it will most definitely still taste good, assuming you’re using a flavorful broth. :)
How does the tofu taste on day 2-3? Considering leaving the tofu out until serving. Don’t want it to get soggy. One part I do miss about thicken- gets more tender as the days go on! Cooking this now for my dinner meal prep for the week!
I don’t think it gets soggy but you can always store it separately to be on the safe side!
Pingback: 30 Tofu healthy recipes - Chape Fitness
This was GREAT! I really can’t believe how simple and delicious this is. Who knew that soy sauce (regular, not even tamari) and yeast make the perfect tofu sauce.
So firstly I allowed the veggies to cook for about 20 extra minutes before adding the noodles because I didn’t want them to be crunchy. I put an extra clove of garlic because I love it. I didn’t add as much noodle and that was fine. I also added a little cornstarch to my tofu before and after frying to make it crunchy and make the sauce thick.
The lemon juice was good but not even necessary. If you eat it as leftovers the noodles will soak up all the broth so if you want it the next day you might wanna add some more liquids before you microwave it.
Perfect flavor!
Pingback: 93 Vegan Tofu Recipes from Breakfast to Dessert | Sarahs Vegan Guide
I love this recipe! I’ve done it many times. I’m off and on good about being vegetarian. This one I make in large batches and freeze for those sickly winter times. My nieces husband was very sick last winter and I took my freezer stash to a couple that never cooked with tofu before. Niece said, it’s the only thing he wanted to eat.
I’m replenishing my stash which brought me back to the recipe. I’m eating for lunch this week too as it’s calling to me! Thanks for a great recipe and your pressing tofu tip is good. I forgot it on my off vegetarian time and it’s really required for a good finish. I forget, do you freeze and thaw your tofu first? That’s a big help in texture for me.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy this recipe and your family does too! I don’t usually think far enough in advance to freeze the tofu but I’ve heard that helps. Thanks for the tip!
I absolutely love this recipe! Sometimes I will use whatever pasta I have on-hand at home (like farfallina), but depending on the type of pasta it will soak of more of the liquid than just the spaghetti/angel hair pasta will (so fair warning!). And when I make the tofu, I make a double batch and let it cool and store separately from the soup. This way prior to eating, I can heat the soup up separately and toss the tofu in to “warm up” without losing a lot of the flavor & and wind up with “water logged” tofu texture. Wicked good and recommend to even non-vegetarians/non-vegans!!
Amazing recipe. My entire family enjoyed it. I used the celery heart and leaves when I added the veggies. Not sure if that makes a difference but thats the only change I made. I will be making this a lot this winter. Thanks so much.
I love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing! It was delicious!!!
I love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing! It was delicious!!!
This was super-easy to make, and my family loved it!
I’ll be making this for my 2nd time tonight, we absolutely love it! We’ve eaten it while either developing or while having a cold and honestly it has helped SO much. Thank you for sharing!
This has become a family favorite, and I love that the recipe is flexible based on the veggies and pasta we have on hand. My favorite is chewy egg noodles. I usually use a full 16 pz block of extra firm tofu. The kids love this and it’s funny to hear us eating — no talking, lots of slurping broth.
Pingback: The Best 34 Vegan Tofu Recipes (Simple and Healthy!) | The Green Loot
Pingback: 12 Tofu Recipes for Kids - Superfoodliving.com
This soup is the bomb! OMG it is so good. Thank you for the recipe. I added chives to mine as well and next time I’m going to try it with chickpeas instead of tofu! Thank you again.
Pingback: 17 Healthy Tofu Recipes for Weight Loss - TheDiabetesCouncil.com
Pingback: 150 Cheap and Easy Vegetarian Recipes - Prudent Penny Pincher
So I used only 4oz of the pasta and still thought it was too much. I’m I missing something? It is still delicious though next time I will probably use 2oz
Thought it was strange that the directions called for the tofu to be cooked before coating with tamari and nutritional yeast but I did it anyway. The seasoning fell right off the tofu once added to the broth. I recommend seasoning first then pan frying then adding to the broth. Also next time I will be doing less noodles and more broth, just a personal preference. Overall this recipe is delicious, will certainly be making again. Thank you!
Pingback: Favorite Soups Minimalist and Vegan - My Home Chef Recipes
Looks delicious! Just a note – it’s marked as being gluten-free, but calls for whole grain angel hair pasta. To make it gluten-free, one would have to use a gluten-free pasta. Might seem obvious, but if you’re cooking for someone who’s gf but are not gf yourself, it would be an easy mistake to make.
I make this soup weekly! No joke. My son loves this soup and eats it for days. Healthy and comforting.
Pingback: 50+ Amazing Vegan Soup Recipes (Healthy & Easy) | The Green Loot
Looking forward to making this, thank you!
For GF/Celiac folks, please be aware – BETTER THAN BOUILLON is NOT a GF safe product. I would substitute with your known or preferred GF brand of broth or bouillon.
The Better than Bouillon organic vegetable base (which is the kind I use) is gluten-free. Not sure what variety you have seen that isn’t GF but that kind is.