No-Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup is one of the ultimate comfort foods, but what if you are vegetarian? We wanted to come up with a vegetarian version that would still feed the soul and it turns out that chicken really isn’t essential to a great tasting “chicken” soup - in fact I think the celery and garlic are where much of the flavor resides. This makes a very noodley soup. If you want more broth and fewer noodles, use just 1 – 1 1/2 cups of the noodles.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. butter or use additional extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced, about 2 tsp.
- 4 stalks celery sliced (use the leaves, too)
- 4 carrots sliced
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 64 oz. reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (or use any variety)
- 2 cups fine egg noodles (use wheat/gluten-free noodles if needed)
- 1/4 tsp. salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Heat a stockpot over medium heat, add the butter and oil, and when the butter melts add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Sauté them until the onions are tender and translucent, 8 – 10 minutes.
- Stir in the thyme, then add the broth and bring it to a boil.
- Add the noodles and cook them until they are just tender, about 4 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper to taste, and serve it immediately.
Slow Cooker Directions
- Add all ingredients except the noodles to the slow cooker, and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours or on high for 3 - 4 hours. 30 minutes before serving add the noodles and turn the slow cooker to high, if it isn’t already, for the final 30 minutes of cooking. (Slow cooker cooking times may vary—Get to know your slow cooker and, if necessary, adjust cooking times accordingly.)
Notes
Do Ahead or Delegate: Dice the onion, peel the garlic, slice the celery and the carrots.
Scramble Flavor Booster: Add 2-3 Tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley with the broth.
Tip: If you have leftovers of this soup, you may want to add some broth to it before serving it the second time around. I find that with soups like this, the noodles often soak up some of the broth while it's stored in the refrigerator.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (% based upon daily values): Calories 139, Total Fat: 5g, 7.5%; Saturated Fat: 2g, 8.5%; Cholesterol: 16mg, 5%; Sodium: 242mg, 10%; Total Carbohydrate: 18g, 6%; Dietary Fiber: 3g, 9%; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 7g
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