The Best Vegetarian “Chicken” Noodle Soup – Vegetarian Chickpea Noodle Soup
This vegetarian chickpea noodle soup is a cozy, protein-packed (about 18g per serving) alternative to classic chicken noodle soup, and comes together in about 40 minutes.
Jump to RecipeWhen people ask if it’s hard to be vegetarian, my go-to response is that sometimes I miss chicken at Mexican restaurants and a good bbq pulled pork sandwich, but otherwise I don’t think about it. I tried it out for a month during COVID and just never went back to eating meat. However, one other item that I forget about until it’s really cold outside or I’m feeling sick is a solid chicken noodle soup.
My husband found a chickpea noodle soup recipe on the New York Times Cooking app a few months ago and it’s been a staple ever since – I’m genuinely sad that I didn’t know about it years ago. I’ve made a few modifications over time, so I wanted to share my recipe here. Let me know if you try it!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
What makes this chickpea noodle soup taste like “chicken” noodle soup?
The vegetables in this chickpea noodle soup are the same as most chicken noodle soups, so that’s critical – it starts with sautéing onion, carrots, and celery.
The magic of this soup flavor, though, is in the seasoning. While it’s not identical to a chicken noodle soup flavor, the ingredients create a savory, umami flavor that tastes, at the very least, chicken-adjacent. I use:
- Lots of nutritional yeast
- Turmeric
- Parsley
- A little dill
- Some salt and pepper
Somehow, these mix together with the vegetable broth and make a perfect chicken noodle soup flavor without using any chicken or chicken broth.
What kinds of noodles are best in chickpea noodle soup?
This is up to you – some recipes call for angel hair pasta broken into pieces, you could use mini bowtie or mini penne for something cute, or – my personal favorite – broad size, No Yolk Egg Noodles. The type of noodles you use determines how long the soup needs to boil at the end of the recipe instructions; if you use angel hair, it only needs to boil for about 4 minutes. If you use the No Yolk egg noodles, you’ll need to boil it for 8-10 minutes.
Can I use frozen vegetables in a soup?
I would still use a fresh onion and sauté it in olive oil, but yes – you can sub frozen veggies for carrots and celery in a soup by adding them when you add the chickpeas and bring the soup back to a boil, or when you add the noodles – just make sure your noodles are actually cooked at the end since adding frozen vegetables to the boiling soup will cause it to stop boiling for a bit until it reaches boiling again.
Can I use canned vegetables in vegetarian chickpea noodle soup?
Yes, you can use canned vegetables in chickpea noodle soup by adding them when you add the noodles in the last recipe step. Note that this usually isn’t as flavorful compared to if you sautéed the vegetables in oil at the beginning of the recipe, so you may want to add more seasonings to compensate for that.
Serving & Storage
How many people does chickpea noodle soup serve?
The recipe makes about 4-6 servings; I eat a lot of it at a time so it’s probably closer to 4 for me. I also usually double the recipe and get closer to 8-10 servings out of it.
What’s the best way to freeze soup?
I like to freeze soup in glass containers so I can stack them easily in the freezer; I personally feel like glass preserves flavor better than freezer-safe Ziplock bags or plastic containers. My favorite are the Rubbermaid Glass containers in various sizes so I can use whatever fits them best.
What should I serve with vegetarian chickpea noodle soup?
Bread is a staple to serve with soup – I love a good French, sourdough, or garlic bread with pretty much any kind of soup.
Salad also pairs well with this soup – I love a simple spinach & arugula salad with croutons, grapes, my favorite Protein Salad Topper and Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette dressing.
Timing
How long does soup take to cook vegetarian chickpea noodle soup without meat?
This chickpea noodle soup took 40 minutes from start to finish to make, but it would have taken longer if I didn’t have my Fullstar vegetable chopper. This speeds up chopping the onion, carrots, and celery significantly.
On the other hand, it would have taken less time if I used frozen vegetables or canned vegetables. See how to sub canned or frozen vegetables in for at least some of the vegetables in the section above.
How do I know if the soup is ready?
Before putting in the noodles, taste a few chickpeas. They should be soft or really close to it – you don’t want the noodles to be cooked but feel like the chickpeas could have used more time.
Similarly, after cooking the noodles for the amount of time specified on the noodle instructions, taste a few noodles. Sometimes, the soup will need another minute since the noodles are boiling in soup broth instead of water.
Other Cozy Recipes
Below are a few of my favorite cozy vegetarian recipes I’ve created over time:
- Vegan Taco Soup – only uses an onion + cans + seasonings
- Mini Veggie Pot Pies – another great recipe with chickpeas
- Veggie Quiche – a brunch staple
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta – one of my other go-to noodle recipes
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Best Chickpea Noodle Soup Recipe
Difficulty: Medium5
servings15
minutes25
minutes700
kcal40
minutesI wish I’d started making this soup years ago – it’s a great vegetarian or vegan substitute for chicken noodle soup on a cold day or when I’m under the weather.
Ingredients
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion (or white onion)
2 large celery ribs (or 3 small)
2 large carrots OR 3 medium carrots OR about 20 large baby carrots OR about 30 petite carrots
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried dill weed
4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 (15 oz) cans of chickpeas
4 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups of water
4 oz of pasta (I prefer No Yolk Egg Noodles; my husband prefers angel hair pasta. If you’re vegan, be sure to use egg-free noodles)
- Tools
Large cooking spoon
Cutting board and knife
Strongly Recommended: Fullstar Vegetable Chopper
Recommended: Food scale
Directions
- Dice the yellow onion (use a vegetable chopper to speed this up). Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to a large pot and add the chopped onion. Sauté on medium-low heat.
- While the onion is sautéing, chop the carrots and celery using a kitchen knife and / or vegetable chopper. Add them to the pot. Sauté on medium-low heat until all of the veggies are cooked through and the onions are turning translucent. Don’t turn the temperature above medium-low heat; the lower temperature is better for the flavor. If it seems to get dry, add up to 1 more Tbsp of olive oil to the pot. Sauté for at least 10 minutes after adding the carrots and celery.
- Gather the other ingredients while the vegetables sauté; I like to combine all seasonings (1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp dried dill weed, 4 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper) in a small bowl so I can dump them in once the veggies are ready. Drain and rinse the chickpeas for later.
- Once the veggies are cooked, dump in the seasonings. Stir until the veggies are coated and saute for another 5-7 minutes, stirring every 1-2 minutes. This helps the spices release their flavor before adding the broth.
- Add 2 cups of water and 4 cups of vegetable broth to the pot and increase the temperature to high to bring the pot to a boil. Stir occasionally so the veggies don’t stick to the bottom.
- Once the pot is boiling, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the pot and boil for 5 minutes. Watch the pot if it’s very fully (depending on the size of the pot / if you doubled the recipe); you can reduce the temp a bit if it seems like it might boil over.
- Add the noodles to the pot and boil for the amount of time specified on the package. Taste a noodle before turning off the stove – make sure they’re cooked since some noodles take a little longer to cook in a soup than they do in just water. If you’re using angel hair pasta, it should be about 4 minutes. If you’re using egg noodles, it should be 8+ minutes.
- Prep any bread or salad you’re serving with the soup. Remove any bay leaves you added and discard them. Let the soup cool in bowls for at least 5 minutes before serving. The soup will stay hot in the pot for a while, so it’s perfect for getting a second bowl. Enjoy!
- If freezing, let cool completely before putting in Ziplocs or freezer-safe containers. Also note that noodles will be mushier upon reheating, so if this bothers you, you can freeze it without noodles and add fresh noodles once you reheat the broth. I also end up adding about half a cup of water per serving when I’m thawing frozen soup.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you buy through my links.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you buy through my links.
