One of the ultimate comfort foods in my book is soup, especially chili and chicken noodle soup! Lately, with the change of the weather, I have seen several chicken noodle soup recipes on my favorite food blogs. Despite how good these soups have looked, as a vegetarian I am not able to make these recipes. As I saw more and more chicken noodle soup recipes, I craved the soup more and more and became increasingly frustrated that this delicious soup was no longer something that I could enjoy. But instead of accepting the fact that I would be deprived of the taste of chicken noodle soup forever, I created my own version of chicken noodle soup. This version, however, contains no chicken or chicken broth, yet still somehow tastes amazingly like chicken noodle soup. My cravings have been satisfied!
“No Chicken” Noodle Chickpea Soup
Serves: approximately 6 large servings
Ingredients
water
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into half-moons
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into half-moons
3 stalks of celery, cut into half-moons
2 15 oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
6 cups of water
7 tsp of Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base
3/4 of a tsp of black pepper
1/4 tsp of dried thyme
1/4 tsp of dried basil
1/2 tsp of dried parsley
1/2 tsp of fine sea salt
1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning
16 oz package of frozen egg noodles
Directions
1. Line a large soup pot with a thin layer of water. Heat the water on medium-high heat until very hot. Add in garlic and onions and cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to soften. Add additional water if the pan gets too dry.
2. Add parsnips, carrots, and celery to the soup pot. Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chickpeas, corn, water, Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base, and seasonings to the mix. Stir, return heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.
4. Once the soup is boiling, add frozen egg noodles. Return to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer approximately 15-20 minutes.
5. Serve with crackers and your favorite side and eat!
The “No Chicken” Noodle Chickpea Soup fully fulfilled my cravings for chicken noodle soup. The broth tasted exactly like chicken broth, and the addition of chickpeas left me completely satisfied. Who needs chicken, anyways? 😉 Due to my success with achieving the taste of chicken broth, I would highly recommend that you use the No Chicken vegetable base. It was certainly a key ingredient in making the soup taste like its meaty counterpart.
Uhh….just typing this post makes me want another bowl and I just ate dinner so I’m not even hungry! I cannot wait to eat my leftovers on Saturday! 🙂
