No Chicken Noodle Soup

No chicken noodle soup is a bowl of warmth and comfort. It is simple to make and tastes better than the classic canned soup. As always this recipe is vegan and gluten free.

A note on some of the ingredients:

“Chicken” broth: My favourite broth to use for this soup is McCormick’s All Vegetable Chicken Style bouillon cubes. The cubes help to add a “chicken” flavour to the soup and are gluten free. Any vegetable broth works in this recipe, as added spices enhance the flavour. The McCormick bouillon cubes do contain a lot of sodium, the salt should be omitted if they are used.

Poultry seasoning: Poultry seasoning is a mixture of dried sage, thyme, marjoram and rosemary and can sometimes include nutmeg, ginger and/or black pepper. Ground sage is a good substitute if you don’t have poultry seasoning on hand.

Dehydrated minced onion: Dehydrated minced onion can be found in the spice aisle. I use it in this recipe for simplicity and because it is not over powering. Fresh, finely diced onion or onion powder makes a good substitute.

Gluten free pasta: I prefer to use either gluten free fettuccini or linguini in this recipe and break the sticks into 1 to 2 inch pieces. I have used Barilla gluten free and Catelli gluten free pasta and both work well. Any gluten free small pasta will work in this recipe. I use a heaping half cup so that the soup is heartier.

TVP: TVP stands for textured vegetable protein and it is a defatted soy flour product. TVP offers a neutral base and readily absorbs added flavours. When added to the no chicken noodle soup it very closely resembles the small pieces of chicken that can be found in a classic canned chicken noodle soup. It can be found in the natural aisle of the grocery store or in some bulk stores. If needed, ensure that it is gluten free.

How the No chicken noodle soup is made:

Begin the soup by finely dicing the carrots and celery. Set them aside. I also like to chop the green onion at this time.

all of the ingredients for no chicken noodle soup measured out in separate dishes

In a medium sized pot add water, bouillon cubes, carrot, celery, minced onion, bay leaf, dried thyme and poultry seasoning. Cover and bring everything to a boil.

If making this soup to freeze, stop at this point. Freeze the soup as is and when reheating bring it back to a low boil in a pot. This ensures that the pasta and TVP will hold it’s texture.

a pot with most of the ingredients for the no chicken noodle soup in it before it boils

While the soup comes to a boil, break up the pasta into 1 to 2 inch pieces. When the soup is boiling add in the pasta, cover and reduce the heat to a low boil. Stir occasionally so that the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes.

When the pasta and carrots are al dente add in the TVP and green onion and continue on a low boil for another 2 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Enjoy!