Warm up to a bowl of this healthy, easy vegetarian Gluten Free Chickenless Chicken Noodle Soup. It has all the flavor chicken noodle soup, only without the chicken. Say what?!
ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…
Well, we just survived another manic Monday! Why is it that Monday’s only goal seems to be nothing less than slapping you in the face and body slamming your tired booty to the ground??? I mean geez, have some compassion on us, will you???
Actually, today wasn’t half bad if I’m being honest. The girls were relatively well behaved, I had an enjoyable time volunteering in Braelyn’s classroom, and I tried my hand at making my first recipe video. I’m sure you’ll be quite impressed. The video and recipe are coming very VERY soon!
So besides my kitchen being an udder disaster with crushed cereal, sticky marshmallows, and melted chocolate all over the floor, the day proved to be fairly delightful. We even got to spend some time outside at the park after school. And that is a rare occurrence. Between hectic schedules of dance, gymnastics, and homework…we rarely get a free afternoon to play.
And while at the park today, watching my kiddos and observing others, I realized something; my girls are full of adventure. Literally every single thing they do is active, exciting, creative, and…well…daring, aka dangerous. While most kids are running up the playground stairs and going down the slides, both my girls are literally standing on top of the monkey bars, scaling the outer edges of the play structure, and making their way to the highest point on the playground.
Do I even care??? After this many years…nope, not really. I’m actually secretly proud of them for their ambition. No broken bones yet, but there’s something in me that thinks we may just be full of good luck. And we all know good luck never lasts long.
We had a little hiccup in our lucky streak yesterday when Emry went flying off her long board and face planted it into the pavement. Braelyn thought it would be a fabulous idea to ride “tandem” and convinced Emry to stand up front. No surprise she wasn’t standing for long.
I’ll tell you one thing, your mama heart stops for a few beats watching your baby girl’s face smash into the asphalt, only to see blood everywhere. Fast forward, it was just a bunch of scrapes and a swollen lip. She’ll survive…although her ego is a little shot. This morning, she couldn’t figure out why I was still making her go to school looking the way she did. Again, she survived and even enjoyed the extra attention she received.
Anyhow, after her date with the pavement, it’s been a little hard for her to eat with her swollen lip and she has requested foods that are easy to chew…or not chew at all. No worries, I gotcha covered Emry. Leave it to mama.
HERE COMES THE RECIPE…
You know, there’s nothing quite like homemade chicken noodle soup to repair a broken ego and soothe the soul. Or is there???
How about an even quicker, just as tasty, vegetarian chicken noodle soup…or shall we call it Gluten Free Chickenless Chicken Noodle Soup?! It has all the wonderful, herby, savory flavors of your favorite homemade chicken noodle soup, only without the chicken.
No chicken = vegetarian, cheaper and less mess. I’ll take it.
I honest to goodness made this recipe intending to add chicken to the pot. But then I realized, “Ooops! I forgot to thaw the chicken!” And thus I improvised, and my obsession for chickenless chicken noodle soup was born. It was a happy misfortune indeed.
Now since initially I didn’t mean for this soup to be vegetarian, I added chicken stock to this soup. But, the chicken broth can easily be swapped out for any vegetable broth of your choice. The flavor will be just as delicious.
Also, like almost any other soup on the face of the planet, it gets better with time. Seriously, I ate this soup for three days straight and it only got better each day. Meaning, you can easily make this at the beginning of the week, store it in the fridge, and pull it out for a less chaotic midweek dinner.
I was lucky enough to find some gluten free noodles that were similar to those wide egg noodles that you see in some chicken noodle soups, but really any type of noodle will do. And the best part is, you get to throw them right in the soup pot without having to cook them first. They just cook with everything else. Less pots, less clean up. I’m seriously liking the ease of this recipe.
Oh, and a quick tip here. DO NOT throw out those celery leaves. They make for great flavor in this recipe. I chop them all up and throw them in the pot with the rest of the stalk. Trust me on this one.
So whether you are nursing a cold, a broken heart, or some aches and pains…or heck, if you just want soup because it tastes good, this chickenless soup is perfect for you. I’m quite certain you will be lifelong friends.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY:
- Gluten Free White Bean Chicken Chili
- Gluten Free Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Gluten Free Creamy Potato and Veggie Chowder
- Gluten Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Gluten Free Honey Cornbread Muffins
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼" rounds
- ½ large onion or 1 small onion, diced
- 4 cups chopped celery, with leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, divided, plus more to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 quarts chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
- 10 oz. gluten free wide shaped noodles or other desired noodles, uncooked
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon crushed dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- In a large soup pot, heat butter over medium heat. Once pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles, add carrots, onion, and celery. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir to coat. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and browning. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Add remaining ingredients, including the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a medium heat, still boiling, so pot doesn't boil over, and cook until noodles reach desired tenderness (this will depend on the type of noodle you choose and the cooking directions on that noodle package).
- Stir soup and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- Serve warm with preferred toppings and sides. Store leftover soup in airtight container in fridge for up to 5 days or in freezer for up to 3 months.
this sunds so yummy..i will definitely try this
Why thank you Albert! It’s such an easy meal with so much flavor. =)