Well winter finally arrived here a few days ago, now that Christmas Eve is only a blink away! Today, however, it is raining cats and dogs and the temperature is creeping back up. It’s supposed to be near 50 on Christmas, unheard of in Michigan! While it was getting chilly, all I really wanted to do was make soup and drink hot chocolate. Probably because for two months I’ve been waiting to be cold enough for these things to sound good! That’s just sad. I have a feeling January and February are going to make up for it.

When it does, and you’re shivering under your fuzzy blanket, you have to promise me you’ll make this soup. Also, when the inevitable cold/sniffles/flu goes around your office/school/household, do yourself a favor and cook a big pot of it. Growing up, there was nothing better than chicken noodle soup for when you were feeling down in the dumps. I made this several times before I was satisfied with its chk’n noodle soup-ness, determined to make it as delicious as the most traditional chicken noodle soup. Everyone needs a good noodle soup recipe in their arsenal and I’m so happy I finally got it right.

I’m confident that anyone, vegan or not, would love this veggie noodle soup! It’s comforting, flavorful, and loaded with tender vegetables and hearty noodles. I’ve used tempeh and vegan chik’n strips for the “chicken” and brown rice fettucine for the noodles. I love Better Than Boullion No Chicken Base  for the broth, but I’ve also used Celfibr Vegan “Chicken” boullion cubes. Both are vegan, but I prefer the flavor of the Better Than Boullion, it has a much more traditional “chicken noodle soup” flavor.

This soup comes together so easily, and it can be doubled if you want to freeze some for later, or you have a houseful of guests to feed. This is soup that kids will love! We’ve had our soup along with crackers, grilled cheese, or pb and j, fruit, or homemade muffins. Talk about an easy, crowd-pleasing meal idea over holiday break!

No Chicken Veggie Noodle Soup (vegan and gluten free)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Coconut oil (or other cooking oil of choice)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• 1 large stalk of celery, sliced
• 1 leek, white part sliced
• 1 small parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 package of tempeh, cubed or 1/2 package of frozen chkn strips like Beyond Meat (if using frozen strips, saute in a little oil first for about 5 minutes, so they aren’t frozen)
• salt and pepper
• 8 cups of water
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Better Than Boullion No Chicken Base or 3 Celifibr Vegan Chicken Boullion cubes
• 6 oz of Brown Rice Fettucine (I used Tinkyada brand, which I found at my regular grocery store) or your pasta of choice
• 1/3 cup of fresh curly parsley, chopped
• Optional: other herbs of choice (fresh thyme leaves, etc)

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the next seven ingredients (up to and including bay leaves) and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tempeh or pre-cooked chk’n strips and saute for another 5 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Veggies should be starting to get tender.
2. Add water and boullion and stir, bring to a boil and add fettuccine noodles (I break mine up into smaller pieces as I’m putting them in). Continue to cook until noodles become tender but not too soft.
3. Turn off heat. Stir in fresh parsley and serve.