This vegan tomato kale noodle soup is savory, satisfying, and comforting. Requiring less than 10 ingredients (plus s + p), little more than 15 minutes of active kitchen preparation, and a fairly hands off simmer, this soup comes together in a pinch, making it the perfect meal for those busy fall weeknights!
This is a fall kind of meal. Comforting, satisfying, soul-soothing, and toasty.
This simple soup comes together with little more than a bit of chopping and stirring.
Plus, it requires few ingredients, all of which are easy to find and rather ordinary (and I mean that in the best possible way).
To make it, you'll start by heating a bit of olive oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium-low heat.
Halve and thinly slice a white onion and add it to the pot. Sauté for about five minutes, or until it becomes soft and translucent.
Then, add four cloves of minced garlic and cook for another minute, or until the garlic softens and mellows.
For this next step, you'll want to wear an apron!
Hand-crush a can of whole peeled tomatoes into the pot, adding any leftover juices as well.
Then, add two quarts vegetable broth and a bundle of fresh thyme and rosemary.
Give everything a good stir, bring the mixture to a boil, and add the pasta shells. Continue to boil for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.
Finally, reduce the heat to a simmer, stir in a bunch of chopped lacinato kale, and continue to cook for just five more minutes, or until the kale wilts.
Serve the soup nice and warm with plenty of chewy bread for dipping.
Vegan Tomato Kale Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large white onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- Handful fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta shells
- 1 bunch lacinato kale, washed, stemmed, and chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another 1 minute, or until softened.
- Use your hands to gently crush the tomatoes into the pot (you'll want to use an apron for this step), adding any leftover tomato juice from the can as well. Stir in the vegetable broth.
- Use kitchen twine to tie the thyme and rosemary together into one bundle. Add the herb bundle to the pot along the with the sea salt.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the soup to a boil. Then, add the pasta shells and continue to boil until the shells are al dente (this will vary from 6 to 14 minutes based on the size and type of shells you use), stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from clumping.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer. Use tongs to carefully retrieve and discard the herb bundle. Stir in the kale, and continue to cook for 5 minutes, or until the kale begins to soften and wilt.
- Turn off the heat, taste, and season with more sea salt and black pepper, to taste. I usually add another ½ teaspoon sea salt.
Looks tasty!
Is the vegetable broth amount 4 cups or 8 cups? The recipe description in the post says a quart and that sounds like the right number...
Thanks!
Oh my goodness, great catch, Kate! Just updated the post, but it should be as the recipe states (8 cups or two quarts). I know that seems like a lot, but that much broth is needed to ensure there's plenty of liquid for the noodles to absorb. Thanks for catching this error and pointing it out!
Of course! That makes sense I’d forgotten about the pasta needing plenty of liquid!
Have a great day!
Thanks, Kate! You too and happy cooking! :)
Looks and sounds yummy, I can hardly wait to make it! I have a couple questions: 1) What is the easiest way to get Thyme leaves off the stem or do you use the stem also? 2) Did you make the beautiful sliced bread and the spread that is in the pictures? Where can I find those recipes? 3) Okay, I lied, I thought of another question! I see what looks like white sesame seeds in the picture, but don't see them on the list. Is that garlic instead?
Thank you!
Marcia
Thanks, Marcia! To answer your questions: 1) No need to strip the thyme leaves off the stem as you'll be creating an herb bundle (see recipe), 2) Sadly, I didn't make the bread or spread. The bread is from Whole Foods' bakery (a seeded bread of sorts—my favorite is their 12-grain scratch bread) and the spread is Kite Hill's Vegan Chive Cream Cheese (so good), 3) No sesame seeds, so what you're seeing must be the garlic! Hope this helps and enjoy!
This looks so delicious! A great weeknight meal or quick lunch. Adding these ingredients to my grocery list right now! Thank you!
Thank you! Hope you enjoy it! :)
How would this freeze? There’s only one of me and it looks delicious to have on hand in the freezer for chilly day lunches.
Hi, Jen! It should keep well in the freezer (for up to one month). Enjoy!
We have tried making friends with kale, but always seems chewy. Any other green you can recommend?
Hi, Janel! You can try Swiss chard. It holds up about as well as kale but isn't as chewy. Enjoy!
I made this over the weekend. Very hearty and flavorful. We enjoyed it for dinner then lunch the following days. I did add some additional broth to it as it thickened up after it was refrigerated. Good to have some vegetable broth on hand.