My vegan cream of chicken soup uses simple ingredients to recreate a cozy childhood dish we all love. An ULTRA simple recipe made in just 1 pot but packed with flavor & nutrients.
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The perfect substitute for cream of chicken soup, this is hands down one of my favourite recipes!
It's tried & tested to perfection, packed with savory flavors that will leave you craving another serving straight away!
💌 Why I Love This Soup
- The ultimate comfort food
- An ultra simple recipe
- Undetectably vegan
- Chicken flavor
- Basic ingredients
- Gluten-free option included
- No vegan butter needed
- An easy way to eat lots of veggies
- Can be made with or without mock (vegan) chicken
This is a super light and healthy take on the cream of chicken soup.
If you’re looking for a similar but heavier main, you might want to check out my vegan stew & dumplings or vegan pot pie.
🌱 Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this delicious creamy soup recipe.
Ingredient Details
Light olive oil - Other vegetable oil can be used too.
Carrot – I recommend a medium-sized carrot as they cook much quicker.
Non-dairy milk - Almond milk or another dairy-free alternative (soy milk, oat milk, etc.) Avoid coconut milk because it might have an overpowering flavour.
Cornstarch - called cornflour in the UK. Can be substituted for all-purpose flour.
Nutritional yeast – Sometimes referred to as ‘nooch’ or ‘yeast flakes’. It can be left out but gives it an extra flavour punch. You can find it in the health food aisle of your grocery store.
Vegetable broth: I used a vegetable stock cube and dissolved it in 500 ml (2 cups) of water.
Seasoning - I used salt, black pepper & dried thyme. Can be substituted for fresh thyme or other herbs of your choice (more ideas below!)
⏲️ Steps
Grab your quick visual instructions for this recipe below. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients are waiting for you at the bottom of this post.
- Add oil to a large saucepan, and gently fry your vegetables on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add a big splash of water and fry for another 12-15 minutes. In the meantime, dissolve cornstarch in plant milk to make a cornstarch slurry.
- When the veggies have softened a little, it's time for the next step. Add milk, cornstarch slurry, broth, nutritional yeast, and seasoning.
- Bring to boil. If you want your veggies even softer, let simmer for some longer. Add pasta to your soup pan and simmer until it's soft but chewy.
- If your soup is getting too thick add more broth or water.
- Optional - While your soup is simmering away, fry the vegan chicken in a non-stick pan for 4-5 minutes (feel free to substitute for baked tofu, soy curls, seitan, etc., or leave it out).
Serve immediately – this dish doesn’t keep well at room temperature. Make sure to enjoy it fresh, preferably with a side of crusty bread.
💡 Expert Tips
- Wash and chop your veggies before starting to cook. Pay particular attention to washing leek. Make sure to open the leek layer by layer and let it stand under cold water to remove the soil, especially near the root part. Scrub it well before chopping.
- Avoid whole-wheat pasta. Whole-wheat pasta will soak up any water much quicker, meaning you will be left with practically no soup. Choose white pasta instead. If you're determined to use whole-wheat pasta, make sure to halve the amount stated in the recipe card below.
- Cut your veggies small. The smaller they are, the quicker they will cook.
- Use unsweetened milk. Check the nutritional label on the back to make sure the sugar levels are 0g.
- Wait until your veggies have softened. To get the most out of this dish, you’ll want the veggies to be tender. Make sure to wait with adding the pasta until your veggies (particularly carrots as they need the longest) have softened.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. Overcooking the pasta is a surefire way to turn this dish into a failure. To avoid this, make sure to stay alert or set a timer on your phone.
Extra tip - prefer a thicker, heavier soup? Use cashew cream or full-fat coconut milk instead of milk.
You can also make it thicker by adding a bit of flour and allowing it to simmer for a few minutes.
❓ FAQ
Absolutely! Leaving out the vegan chicken will not affect the flavour of your soup at all. I’ve included the vegan chicken to add some crispy texture, but there’s definitely no need for it.
You could substitute it for tofu, tempeh, seitan, and soy curls or just leave it out altogether.
You can substitute the cornstarch in this recipe for all-purpose flour (or plain all-purpose GF flour).
Firstly, use a non-stick pan. Next, add a good splash of water or more oil. Last but not least, remember to stir the veggies regularly.
No problem! Simply fry the vegetables in water instead of oil. Remember that your vegetable broth might contain some oil or vegetable fat so your dish won't be entirely oil-free.
🥂 Variations
Gluten-free - Use GF milk and GF pasta or replace pasta with brown rice, quinoa, etc.
White wine - Helps add acidity and bring out more flavours. Make sure to simmer it for a while to allow the flavor to become more mellow.
Spicy - Add red chili flakes or fresh chilies if you prefer a spicier version.
Oil-free - Use water instead of oil.
Umami - Miso paste or yeast extract (Marmite) add so much flavor and make great additions.
👩🍳 Serving
Goes well with my vegan dinner rolls or vegan pretzels.
You may also want to serve it with a side portion of pan-fried broccolini or a light salad.
🍄 Substitutes
Missing any ingredients? Here's how you can replace them.
- Vegetables - any other veggies of your choice can be used. For example, you could use white onions, scallions, or shallots instead of red onions. You could also add celery, potatoes, or mushrooms if desired.
- Poultry seasoning - This is great if you want some more herbs.
- Italian herbs - are a great addition too.
📦 Storing
This soup is SUPER easy to store. Keep in mind it stores WAY better WITHOUT the pasta. This is because the pasta will soak up much of the soup.
To store - Place in an airtight container in the fridge. Keeps for 4-5 days.
To freeze - Allow to cool. Place in an airtight container in the freezer. Keeps for up to 3 months.
To reheat - It's best to heat it up in a microwave or on the stove. Make sure it's piping hot when serving.
🥣 More Soups
Enjoyed my vegan cream of chicken soup? Discover other soup recipes suitable for the vegan diet:
As always, thank you so much for being here!
If you have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comments section below. I'm always happy to help if you run into any issues or have any doubts about the cooking process.
Remade this delicious soup? I would LOVE to hear about your remake in the comments.
Recipe
Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup - Dairy-Free
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Measuring cups or kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil or other light vegetable oil
- 1 red onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 leek chopped
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch cornflour in the UK
- 1¼ cup non-dairy milk unsweetened almond, soy, oat, etc.
- 2 cup vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 cup soup pasta
- vegan chicken, tofu, seitan, soy chunks, etc & seasoning optional
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables.
- Add olive oil to a hot medium-sized pan.
- Then add onion, garlic, carrot and leek.
- Gently fry on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Then add a big splash of water and fry for 12-15 more minutes until the veggies have softened. Stir regularly and add more water if required.
- In the meantime, mix cornstarch and non-dairy milk. This will create a cornstarch slurry. Mix well to ensure no clumps remain.
- Add the slurry, broth, thyme, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper to your pan. Bring to boil. If you want your veggies to soften further, simmer for 5-10 more minutes.
- Optional step: In the meantime, heat up a teaspoon of oil in a separate pan and fry vegan chicken for 4-5 minutes (or longer if needed - depending on the type of mock chicken you are using). Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Return to your soup pan and add pasta.
- Simmer until your pasta is cooked (usually around 8-9 minutes depending on the pasta shape). If the soup is becoming too thick, add more broth.
- Serve immediately and add vegan chicken if desired.
Notes
- Prepare & wash your vegetables well before starting the cooking process.
- Cut your veggies small (particularly carrots) - the smaller they are, the quicker they will cook.
- Avoid using wholemeal pasta. It will soak up any water much quicker, meaning you will be left with practically no soup.
- Make sure you use completely unsweetened plant milk. Check the nutritional label on the back to make sure the sugar levels are 0g.
- To make it gluten-free, use GF pasta.
- There's a chance you will need to add more broth than the amount stated in the recipe. This depends on the size of your pan, the heat of your stove, your personal taste, etc. Feel free to add more if needed.
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