Best Vegan Tom Yum Soup 🌱 A bright, flavorful hot & sour Thai soup abundant with fresh veggies, tofu, lemongrass, spicy chiles, fresh lime & other healthy ingredients. Your taste buds are going to say "yum yum" with this delicious & nutritious plant-based soup! Oil-free and gluten-free.
Sometimes I crave for a bowl of vegan tom yum soup. There is just something about the citrusy tartness, flavors and colorful veggies that I adore.
The first time I tasted tom yum soup was at a small Thai restaurant in North Hollywood. I had ordered won ton soup and my husband decided to try something new, which of course, I had to sample. Let's just say, his tom yum won over my won ton. We were both hooked, immediately.
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As soon as we returned home, John went on a quest to make his own tom yum soup. The challenge was, many of the key ingredients weren't items we kept on hand. In fact, some we hadn't ever heard of, like kaffir lime or galangal. After doing a bit of research, he visited a local Asian market and found the ingredients he needed. A couple hours later, he had a pot of simply the best vegan tom yum soup on the stove.
The first thing you should know is this soup is easier to prepare than it might appear. Yes, there are a lot of ingredients and steps, but each is simple and straightforward.
🥕Note: See the printable recipe card below for all the details.
Equipment
- 7 qt or larger soup pot
- Cutting board
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Kitchen knife
- Citrus juicer optional
- Citrus zester optional
- Veggie peeler
- Cutting board
- A tofu press or two cutting boards and some heavy cans as weights
- Long spoon
- Cheese cloth or sachet bag
Ingredients
Don't let the exotic-sounding ingredients scare you. Chances are, you've seen most of these in your grocery store and didn't know what they were! You should be able to find these ingredients at most Asian markets, organic produce stores or at many local supermarkets.
🥕Tip: Don't worry if you can't locate an ingredient - you can substitute it with something similar, such as:
- Galangal root - use ginger root
- Cilantro - use dried coriander
- Thai Chiles - use Chile de arbol (use fewer - they're HOT) or red pepper flakes
- Kaffir lime leaves - use dried/powdered Kaffir lime leaves
- Vegetable broth
- Vinegar - white
- Agave nectar - or sugar
- Bok choy
- Carrots
- Mushrooms
- Tomatoes
- Onion
- Lemongrass
- Limes
- Garlic
- Onion
- Tofu
Variations
🥕 There are lots of other great veggies/ingredients you can add to this soup! Go for it! Be creative!
- Baby corn
- Squash
- Water chestnuts
- Bean sprouts
- Broccoli florets
- Snow peas
- Green beans
- Rice noodles
- Steamed rice
For the batch of tom yum soup we made for this post, we didn't have tomatoes on hand, but we did have some mini squash, so we added those to the soup. They were delicious! Don't hesitate to add or switch out veggies in your ingredients. You really can't go wrong.
Instructions
🥕See the recipe card below for details on how to make vegan tom yum soup.
Finely dice onion & garlic 
Sauté onions & garlic 
Add broth & water 
Combine lime zest & vinegar. Add to broth 
Rinse lemongrass & peppers 
Cut into strips 
Place with lime leaves/seasonings on cheesecloth 
Bundle into a sachet with string 
Place sachet in broth 
Rinse bok choy 
Cut in half lengthwise 
Peel & slice carrots 
Add bok choy & carrots to broth 
Rinse mushrooms 
Add mushrooms to broth 
Rinse squash 
Roughly chop squash 
Add to broth 
Drain and cube tofu 
Add to broth 
Remove sachet
And there you have the best vegan tom yum soup! Yum yum!
What is Tom Yum Soup?
According to Wikipedia, tom yum or tom yam is a type of hot and sour Thai soup, usually cooked with shrimp (prawn). Tom yum has its origin in Thailand.
The words "tom yam" are derived from two Thai words. Tom refers to the boiling process, while yam refers to a Thai spicy and sour salad. Tom yum is characterised by its distinct hot and sour flavours, with fragrant spices and herbs generously used in the broth. The soup is also made with fresh ingredients such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, and crushed red chili peppers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_yum
With our vegan tom yum soup recipe, we omitted all the animal-derived ingredients. It's so much better for us, the animals and the planet!
Love great soup? Check out these delish recipes!
- Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
- Great Homemade Vegan Wonton Soup
- Easy Vegan Lentil Veggie Soup
- Chilled Cucumber Avocado Soup
- Vegan Rustic Vegetable Soup
very vegan 🌱 very good
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please consider rating it using stars in the comments below. It helps others decide if they would like to give it a try too! Thanks a bunch!🥕
Best Vegan Tom Yum Soup
Equipment
- 7 qt or larger soup pot
- Long spoon
- Cheese cloth or sachet bag
Ingredients
- ½ onion red or yellow, diced
- 6 cloves garlic diced
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 6 cups water filtered
- 3 whole limes juiced
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ¼ cuo cilantro fresh, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried coriander
- 4-5 stalks lemongrass cut in 3" lengths
- 10-12 whole Thai chiles sliced and de-seeded
- 1 piece Galangal root
- 6 - 8 leaves Kaffir lime or 1 tablespoon dried Kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or brown sugar - optional
- 1 package tofu extra firm
- 8 - 12 whole baby bok choy thoroughly rinsed, quartered lengthwise, then cut ½
- 4 - 6 whole carrots peeled & sliced
- 1 cup mushrooms your choice
- 2 cups tomatoes fresh, firm tomatoes cubed into 1" - 2" pieces
- salt or pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place 7 qt. (or larger) soup pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and a small amount of water. Sauté until transparent.
- Add garlic, stir frequently making sure not to burn.
- Add vegetable broth and rest of water.
- Add lime juice and zest. Stir to combine.
- Add vinegar.
- Create sachet by placing cilantro, lemongrass, chiles, galangal root (or ginger), Kaffir lime leaves (or powder), in a food-safe sachet bag or, bundle in a piece of cheesecloth tied with string.
- Place sachet into broth and bring to a boil.
Tom Yum Veggies Tofu
- Drain tofu and cube into 1" pieces.
- Thoroughly wash and rinse bok choy. Slice in quarters lengthwise, then cut pieces in half.
- Wash & peel carrots, cut into bite-size pieces.
- Thoroughly wash and rinse mushrooms. Small mushrooms can be kept whole, larger mushrooms should be sliced.
- Cut tomatoes, and other optional veggies into large bite-size pieces.
- Add all to broth. Lower heat and simmer for at least 45 minutes - 1 hr.
- Remove sachet with tongs, squeezing out the excess liquid & flavor into the soup. Discard.
- Add extra agave/sugar or salt and pepper to taste, as desired.
- Serve soup hot, garnish with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Galangal root - use ginger root
- Cilantro - use dried coriander
- Thai Chiles - use Chile de arbol (use less - they're HOT) or red pepper flakes
- Kaffir lime leaves - use dried/powdered Kaffir lime leaves
- Baby corn
- Water chestnuts
- Bean sprouts
- Broccoli florets
- Snow peas
- Green beans
- Rice noodles
- Steamed rice
Nutrition
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please rate it in the comments below. Sharing your experience helps others decide if they should give it a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
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JoAnne Lowe
Connie, this was just the best I've make yet! So flavorful and just the right blend of flavors and heat. Tastes even better the next day as the flavors mellow and the tofu absorbs the flavor. It took a while for me to gather the ingredients as the Asian store nearby has the same supply issues as the grocery stores, but the search was worth it and It was so so good!
When I have this in a restaurant I usually have rice with it and sometimes noodles. Thanks again for this familiar and loved taste made "legal"!
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Hi JoAnne! I'm so glad you made yourself a batch of Tom Yum! The list of ingredients can appear a bit daunting and good for you for persevering! I'm like you, I love having rice noodles with mine too. Thanks a bunch for sharing your experience and for the 5-star rating!💚🥕
Connie Edwards McGaughy
If you're in the mood for a flavorful soup full of bright intense flavor, fresh healthy ingredients and super satisfying - this is your recipe! 🌱