Hearty Tofu Noodle Soup

Make this hearty tofu noodle soup for days when the weather is cold or when you need an immune system boost!

Hearty Tofu Noodle Soup

If you're someone who recently switched to a plant-based or vegan diet, you may find it challenging to re-create recipes that you grew up with. Me for instance, have always struggled with how to make my moms hearty and comforting chicken noodle soup. I have played around with adding chickpeas for more hearty soup, but didn't like the flavour they added to the dish. I've also tried adding soy curls and found that the texture didn't quite match the shredded chicken I remember.

So I went back to the basics and created this vegan version of "chicken" noodle soup and decided to simply add tofu! It's important to add the correct firmness to this soup otherwise it will throw off the mouth feel. I prefer a medium tofu as it will still hold its shape but melt in your mouth.

Tofu is great for two reasons: adding more protein to your soup and absorbing all of the flavours in the broth. The long the tofu sits in the soup, the better it tastes!

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

• carrots
• onion
• celery
• garlic
• leeks
• parsley
• medium tofu
• vermicelli or soup noodles
• vegeta seasoning or your favorite bouillon
• pepper
• water
• olive oil or avocado oil

Fortunately all of these ingredients are readily available at your local grocery store and can be made ahead of time for the perfect weekday or weekend dinner!

To Make The Soup

1. In a pot start by sautéing all of the chopped vegetables and parsley in a little bit of oil on medium heat. You want to cook it just until the onions begin to lightly brown.
2. Add the water and bring ingredients to a boil, then simmer until the carrots have cooked completely.
3. Strain broth and return to low heat adding back in any preferred veggies. (I like to add the carrots back in)
4. Add soup noodles or angel hair/vermicelli noodles broken into small pieces and keep stirring to prevent clumping.
5. Increase heat to medium to cook noodles to just before al dente, then return to low.
6. Add chopped tofu and seasonings to taste.

Some Suggestions

My kids aren't the chunky soup type, so I will usually make creamy style soups by using an immersion blender or my Vitamix. To make this a clear broth based soup, I strained the vegetables and added back the carrots as that's what they seem to like. You could always blend it all together for a creamier soup which is equally delicious! If you go this route, I recommend cooking the noodles separately and adding the tofu at the very end.

Hearty Tofu Noodle Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Enjoy this hearty tofu noodle soup on a rainy day or when you need an immune system boost!

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Ingredients

• 5 carrot sticks, peeled & chopped
• 4 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 5-6 garlic cloves, whole
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
• 1 pkg medium tofu cubed
• 200g vermicelli noodles/soup noodles
• 12 cups water
• Vegeta seasoning to taste (or 1-2 bouillon cubes)
• Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a pot saute vegetables and parsley in oil until lightly browned.
2. Add water and bring to a boil. Then simmer until ingredients are soft.
3. Strain broth and reserve carrots. Return broth to pot and add carrots with heat on low.
4. Add soup noodles or vermicelli noodles broken up into smaller pieces and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Meanwhile chop up tofu into cubes.
5. Add tofu and then seasonings to taste.
6. Serve warm.