This vegan creamy Cajun “chicken” and couscous soup is the perfect soup in every way. This should immediately be added to your soup season list. The “chicken” is a baked tofu that has been tossed in Cajun seasoning and olive oil. The soup is started with a lot of garlic and onion. Then Cajun seasoning, vegetable broth and crushed tomatoes. The couscous is cooked right in the soup making this an ALMOST one pot. You just need one pot and one sheet pan. The creaminess is from vegan cream and vegan Parmesan. The baked tofu is added into the soup once it is done, and the whole thing is just mind-blowingly delicious.
What You Need For This Creamy Cajun Soup:
- Olive Oil, Garlic and Onions: To start the soup off right.
- Tofu: Extra firm, to make the “chicken”.
- Cajun Seasoning: This coats the tofu and goes into the soup.
- Vegetable Broth, Diced Tomatoes, Vegan Heavy Cream: These are the liquid for the soup. You want canned diced tomatoes and I like to use Country Crock Vegan Heavy Whipping Cream, but you can also use cashew or coconut cream.
- Couscous: You want to use pearl couscous for this soup.
- Vegan Parmesan: I like to use Violife!
If you know anything about me, you know I love a soup. But more than any other soups, I love something creamy with pasta in it. I just wanted to do something a little unique here and use couscous. This vegan creamy Cajun “chicken” and couscous soup seemed like the best use of couscous. It is a little spicy, salty, creamy, hearty and so insanely yummy. You will probably find it hard to stop tasting it while you make it!
Why Should You Make This “Chicken” and Couscous?
- It is super simple. Just throw tofu on a pan and then the rest is made in one pot.
- This is soup is the most delicious soup ever!
- The tofu in the soup with the couscous is perfect!
- This soup takes only about 30 minutes to make.
- Only 10 ingredients are needed to make this incredible soup.
Vegan Creamy Cajun “Chicken” and Couscous Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Olive oil, divided
- 1 Block(15oz) Extra firm tofu, drained and pressed*
- 2 Tablespoons Cajun seasoning, divided
- 1/2 a Sweet onion, diced
- 6 Cloves Garlic, chopped
- 6 Cups Vegetable broth
- 4 Ounces Pearl couscous
- 1 Can(15oz) Diced tomatoes
- 1 Cup Vegan heavy whipping cream, I used Country Crock**
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Parmesan, I used Violife
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees(F).
- After you have drained and pressed the tofu, break the tofu into chunks with your fingers and put the tofu in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Drizzle the tofu with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning. Toss to coat the tofu.
- Put the tofu on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Spread out evenly.
- Bake for 15 minutes, toss and bake for 10 to 15 more minutes or until the tofu is firm and brown.
- While the tofu bakes, make the soup. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot on medium high.
- Add the onions and garlic and sauté, reducing heat as needed until the onion is translucent. About 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning and toss to combine. Let sauté for another minute.
- Then pour in the vegetable broth and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then add the couscous. Stir.
- Reduce heat to medium low and let the couscous simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the couscous is tender.
- Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and the vegan cream. Stir to combine.
- Add the vegan Parmesan and another pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine and let simmer for another minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Once the tofu is done, add the baked tofu to the soup and stir to combine.
- Serve with extra vegan Parmesan if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How would you suggest making this if we expect leftovers or want to meal prep it? I’m guessing maybe keep the tofu separate and add it before serving?
Also the calories listed seem way off. Could it be missing the heavy cream?
Can we put this in the Instapot?
Thank you!
This was fabulous, however, you have to watch the cajun spice mixture you use – the one I bought had way too much salt. I’m going to make my own!
I made this last night for my family. We’re vegetarian but not vegan, so used regular milk and parmesan. I doubled the recipe and used half tofu, half vegan sausage, which I really liked. Also added in a bag of frozen spinach. Very cozy and comforting. Will be happy to eat this again in the winter!
This was great except almost inedibly salty. We used 1/2 store bought and 1/2 homemade Cajun seasoning. We are going to bulk out the leftovers with kidney beans and corn. The tofu texture was on point!
So delicious! What an excellent cozy soup. My cajun spice seemed pretty salty so I used 3 cups of water and 3 cups of broth. Such a great idea using pearl couscous in here and my non-tofu-loving husband absolutely loved the tofu in this recipe.
Made this recipe because I had some couscous I needed to use up and it was way better than I expected! I used regular (small) couscous, but I will definitely make again with the Israeli style. I also made my own cashew cream because store bought isn’t accessible for me and it was still great!
Another stunner! this was so tasty! I did burn the tofu so i made soy curls instead and they worked perfectly. In case anyone is wondering, i used this cajun seasoning recipe and it was great. https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cajun-seasoning/
*TW for mild ED content*
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Ruby
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