Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup

🔪 Helpful tools

• 2 Soup Pots – One for making the broth and 1 for making the roux.
• A ladle – For scooping up the broth.
• Whisk – For stirring the roux.

🥄 How to make vegan cream of chicken soup

Step 1 - Chop mushrooms and peppers into small pieces.

Step 2 - Sauté the mushrooms and peppers in a tbsp oil over medium-low heat and sprinkle with a little salt.

Step 3 - Cook the mushrooms and peppers for about 5 minutes until they release their juices.

Step 4 - Add the broth and spices and bring to a slow boil.

Step 5 - If using soy curls - break up the dry soy curls into small pieces before adding them to the broth.  (If using other vegan chicken stips see notes below).

Step 6 - Dump in the Butler Soy curls and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they are soft.

Step 7 - Pour the plant-based milk into the soup.

Thicken the soup by making a roux

Step 8 - Heat oil or soy margarine in a separate soup pot.

Step 9 - Add flour to the oil and stir the mixture with a whisk until smooth.  It will start to bubble and thicken slightly and look like the picture below.

Step 10 - Skim off ladles full of the broth out of your soup, leaving large pieces of vegan chicken and veggies behind.

Step 11 - Add the hot broth from the chicken soup one ladle at a time, stirring well between each scoop.

Step 12 - Add the remaining soup with the chicken and veggies once most of the broth has been incorporated into the roux.

Note - You can read my full post about roux or more detailed information about how to make a vegan roux.

🍞 How to make gluten-free cream of chicken soup

You can make a roux using gluten-free flour instead of wheat flour.  Just be sure to use a gluten-free flour mix that does not contain sorghum flour.  When I tried it using any mixes with sorghum flour, it had a weird slimy texture.  I usually use the general gluten-free flour mix from Trader Joe’s and it works well for me every time.

🍗 How to add vegan "chicken" to soup

• Use 2 cups or 16 oz. of my vegan shredded chicken or any vegan chicken product you choose to replace the soy curls.  (One cup of soy curls will soak up about 1 cup of broth and double in size).
• If you are using chicken strips, add them with the mushrooms and peppers and saute them for a few minutes before adding the broth.
• Make sure to reduce the broth by 1 cup if you are not using soy curls.  Add only 4 cups of broth instead of 5 since the soy curls soak up about 1 cup of the broth.

🧈 How to make fat-free cream of chicken soup

If you want this soup to be fat-free, simply thicken it with cornstarch (or potato starch) and water.  (Use ¼ cup cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup cold water and then add it to the hot broth at the end once all other ingredients have been added.  Then heat it until it bubbles and thickens). This is still a delicious soup made this way, just not quite as rich and creamy as the roux method.

🍲 Serving Suggestions

Serve it with some vegan Caesar salad, gluten-free vegan breadsticks, vegan drop biscuits, skillet cornbread, or my vegan cheddar bay biscuits, and make it a meal!

🌟 More creamy soups

If you like this vegan cream of chicken soup and you like spicy food, then try my vegan white chili or vegan green chile chicken stew that I made all of the time when I lived in New Mexico! 

You may also like my other creamy vegan soups like vegan cream of celery soup, vegan cream of broccoli soup, vegan potato corn chowder, vegan chicken and dumplings, or vegan cream of mushroom soup!

Looking for a vegan substitute for a condensed soup to use in other recipes? Try this canned vegan cream of mushroom soup! 

📋 Vegan cream of chicken soup recipe

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe

Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup

A rich and creamy dairy-free cream of chicken soup made with vegan chicken.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, gluten free, vegan

Keyword: vegan cream of chicken soup

Servings: 10 cups

Calories: 207kcal

Author: Monica Davis

Equipment

• large soup pot
• souper cubes (for storage)

Ingredients

For the broth

• 1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell peppers diced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups water (or 5 cups broth of choice if not using bullion cubes).
• 2 cubes not chick'n broth (or 5 cups vegetable broth instead of water and cubes)
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional for a savory flavor)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup Butler soy curls (dry) or 2 cups of vegan chicken strips
• 2 cups soy milk or any other plain plant-based milk
• 1 dash salt and pepper to taste

To thicken the soup with a roux

• 1/2 cup canola oil or vegan margarine
• 1/2 cup flour (use an all purpose gluten free flour without sorghum's flour if GF)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the soup

• Chop mushrooms and peppers into small pieces.
• Sauté the mushrooms and peppers in a tbsp of oil over medium-low heat, and sprinkle with a little salt.
• Cook the mushrooms and peppers for about 5 minutes until they release their juices.
• Add the broth and spices and bring to a slow boil.
• If using soy curls - break up the dry soy curls into small pieces before adding to the broth.  (If using other vegan chicken strips seen notes below).
• Dump in the Butler Soy curls and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they are soft.
• Pour the plant-based milk into the soup.

Thicken the soup by making a roux

• Heat oil or soy margarine in a separate soup pot.
• Add flour to the oil and stir the mixture with a whisk until smooth.  It will start to bubble and thicken slightly and look like the picture below.
• Skim off ladles full of the broth out of your soup, leaving large pieces of vegan chicken and veggies behind.
• Add the hot broth from the chicken soup one ladle at a time, stirring well between each scoop.
• Add the remaining soup with the chicken and veggies once most of the broth has been incorporated into the roux.

Notes

Tips for making a roux

• When you first add the broth to the oil and flour mixture, it will become very thick at first and look like a paste.  Don’t worry, it will thin out and be the right consistency once you add all the broth.
• Be sure to stir it well between each ladle of broth to keep it smooth.
• Use a spoon to scrape the bottom corners of the pan to make sure to get any of the roux that has stuck to the corners.
• You can reduce the oil to 1/4 cup to make a lower fat roux.

To use the starch method to thicken the soup

• You can also thicken the soup with cornstarch (or potato starch) and water.
• Use ¼ cup cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup cold water and then add it to the hot broth at the end once all other ingredients have been added.  Heat until it bubbles and thickens. 

How to use vegan chicken strips instead of soy curls

• Use 2 cups or 16 oz. of a vegan chicken product to replace the soy curls.  (One cup of soy curls will soak up about 1 cup of broth and double in size).
• If you are using chicken strips, add them with the mushrooms and peppers and saute them for a few minutes before adding the broth.
• Make sure to reduce the broth if you are not using soy curls.  Add only 4 cups of broth instead of 5 since the soy curls soak up about 1 cup of the broth.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 349mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 213IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2mg