It’s like chicken noodle soup.. but better.
Ingredients- (serves 6)
1 3/4 cups yellow onion, diced (about one medium yellow onion)
1 1/2 cups carrots, small dice
1 1/2 cup celery, small dice
tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups water
4 tsp (4 cubes) vegan chik’n bouillon cubes, or better than bouillon veggie stock blend
1/2 tsp crushed bay leaves (yes, they are edible)
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup kale
1 1/4 cup follow your heart vegan parmesan shreds
1 16 oz package of mini gnocchi (most store bought are vegan!)
For the chik’ns-
6-8 vegan chik’n tenders, 3-4 inches long (I like lightlife savory tenders or gardein chikn strips)
tbsp oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt
For the Cashew cream-
1/2 cup cashews
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/ 4 tsp salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
For the roux-
2 tbsp vegan butter (I like Miyoko’s)
2 tbsp flour
How to-
- Soak cashews, dice onion, small dice celery and carrot, and mince garlic. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot.
- Add onion and stir 3 minutes, then add carrot and celery and stir another 5 minutes, until tender. Add garlic another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add water, bouillon, bay leaves, parsley, oregano and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes.
- While liquid simmers, you will need to make cashew cream, chik’n tenders and the roux.
- For chik’n: heat oil over medium heat, add tenders to oil, flip and season each side with basil, garlic, onion and salt and cook on each side about 3 minutes until lightly crispy. Let cool a few minutes while you make the cashew cream, then shred into bite sized pieces. Add into soup after 20 mins of simmering.
- For cashew cream: drain soaked cashews. Blend cashews with water, basil, garlic powder, salt and nooch until completely creamy. Stir into soup after adding in chickens.
- For roux: if my instructions seem confusing, you can find youtube videos on how to make a roux showing color difference and what they are best for. A roux is a mixture of butter and flour that can make liquids thicker. The color of the roux is important, because it will change the taste and color of the soup a bit, but it really is easy. First, melt vegan butter then whisk in flour until smooth. Cook 3-5 mins for a light colored roux. Stir into soup after cashew cream until it thickens.
- After adding chikn, cashew cream, and roux to soup, stir in chopped kale and vegan parm. Add mini gnocchi 4 mins before serving. If you are making the soup ahead of time, reheat the soup mix over the stove until heated throughout, bring to a low simmer and add the gnocchi 5-10 mins and serve. If you save the left over gnocchi soup, keep in mind the gnocchi may get a bit soggy. Serve with vegan sour cream, parmesan and fresh parsley and enjoy!