Description
Cozy, savory, and perfect for fall, this Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup is hearty, healthy, and stick-to-your-ribs satisfying.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely
- 3 medium carrots, chopped or sliced
- 3 celery ribs, chopped or sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 4 cups vegan chicken broth (see note 1)
- 1 cup white wine, optional (see note 2)
- 1 cup white or brown rice (see note 3)
- 4 oz Butler soy curls (or other, see note 4)
- 3 tbsp rice flour (or all purpose if not GF), optional, (see note 5)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or cream (see note 6)
- Salt and pepper, optional
- Fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
- Saute the onion: Saute the onions over medium high heat for about 2-3 minutes, in just a splash of water. You can use oil if you want to, but I prefer to just use water or sometimes broth.
- Add veggies: Add the garlic and saute for another minute, then add the celery and carrots. Saute those for about 2 minutes--you’ll notice that they become much brighter in color. If using flour, add it now and just let it soak up any extra moisture in your pot, stirring constantly. Otherwise move onto the next step.
- Add rice, etc.: Add the rice, broth, wine if using, and dried thyme. Stir well, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 10-15 minutes (I’d check it in 10, especially if using white rice).
- Rehydrate soy curls: While that cooks, if using soy curls, rehydrate them by adding them to a medium bowl and covering them with water or broth. I used about one and a half cups of vegan chicken broth (in addition to the broth in the pot) to rehydrate them.
- Add soy curls: When the rice is cooked, or almost there, add your rehydrated soy curls (or whatever vegan chicken you are using).
- Make it creamy: Add the coconut milk and stir well. Continue to cook until the soy curls and coconut milk are heated, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and serve!
- Serve: Serve this soup hot with salt and pepper if desired (it did not need salt for me, as the broth is salty enough, but I did add freshly cracked black pepper), even a little parsley if you’re feeling fancy. Serve with crusty bread for extra cozy points.
- Store: Once it cools down a bit, refrigerate this soup in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Note 1: My go-to vegan chicken broth is Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base because it tastes SO GOOD. Other vegan chicken bouillon products (like Orrington Farms) will work, as will prepared vegan chicken broth (like Imagine). In a pinch, vegetable broth will also work--in this case I recommend adding a bit of poultry seasoning, which is totally vegan and just contains the herbs typically used in preparing poultry.
- Note 2: For a bit more flavor, I swapped out a cup of broth for a cup of white wine. The alcohol will cook off, leaving only a bit of extra flavor, but it’s totally optional. If you do want to use the white wine, Barnivore (not affiliated, just a fan) is a phenomenal resource for finding vegan alcohol!
- Note 3: Brown or white rice will work well for this recipe. Brown rice will take slightly longer to cook, and may require a touch more water (add at your discretion). You could also sub it for pasta--like rotini noodles or even orzo--for a slightly faster cooking time. If you’d like to omit the rice altogether, I’d recommend reducing the broth by about 2 cups, otherwise it will be quite thin.
- Note 4: Instead of the soy curls, you could use any kind of vegan chicken you like. You could use chickpeas, baked tofu, seitan (use my vegan chicken nuggets recipe as a base!), or a store-bought chicken alternative like Gardein.
- Note 5: I started off my soup with a cheater’s roux--A roux is typically made with butter, and flour, but I’ve just used a bit of flour here before stirring in the broth. Feel free to add the flour at the beginning like I did, make a real roux with vegan butter (I did not), or leave it out altogether. The flour does add some substance and creaminess but it’s totally optional.
- Note 6: I used coconut cream (the thick part of canned coconut milk because it was handy and adds a beautiful creaminess to the soup. I promise you can’t taste the coconut, but you can substitute cashew cream or a thicker plant based milk if you like.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Sugar-Free, Can Be Soy-Free, Soup, Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup