Need dinner in a hurry? Meet my wonton soup! Wontons float in a fragrant Vietnamese Pho broth, made in just 15 minutes flat! This lifesaving soup is nourishing, healthy and warming and super speedy. Vegan-adaptable. Video!
I’ve been holding out on you. 😉
For the past few winters, I’ve been making this wonton soup on nights when I’m feeling especially tired, worn out, hungry and in need of bone-warming sustenance in a great big hurry. It’s a cross between Vietnamese pho and wonton Soup, which I’ve nicknamed Photon Soup, but what’s most extraordinary about this is that it can be made in 15 minutes flat. Try it!
What I love most about this wonton soup is the flavorful yet effortless Vietnamese broth. Chinese Five Spice gives the soup its flavor. Vietnam and China are neighbors and while visiting, it was impossible not to notice how their flavors would overlap, and how Five Spice was often used in Vietnamese cooking.
The Vietnamese Pho-style broth is radically and unapologetically simplified for the sole purpose of speed. Call me shallow if you like. 😉 But you’ll find the simple broth has unexpected depth, all things considered. The wontons, admittedly, are store-bought but true lifesavers during hunger emergencies, and I always try to have some in the freezer for backup.
WOnton Soup | 60-second video
Wonton Soup Ingredients
- Wontons: Your choice of wontons: chicken, shrimp, pork, or vegan. Trader Joe’s has mini wontons, which are little bite-sized versions that are perfect for soup. They also have shrimp wontons, which I’m in love with.
- Broth or Stock: Seek out organic stock, veggie broth, or beef bone broth. You can also make your own stock and freeze in quart-size mason jars, thawing as necessary.
- Soy sauce and fish sauce (optional, sub vegan fish sauce)
- Ginger, Garlic and Green Onions
- Chinese Five Spice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: chopped greens (chopped kale, bok choy, arugula, mizuna)
- The toppings: Fresh jalapeño slices, basil, scallions, lime wedges and bean sprouts dress the soup when it’s done. But know that the soup is also pretty good without this, and often during a hunger crisis, if these ingredients are not in the house, I make the soup anyway, with just the wontons, broth, chili sauce and lime, and call it good.
Wonton Soup Variations
- You can improvise quite a bit here, adding mushrooms, greens, shredded cabbage, shredded Brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, or most any veggie to the soup as long as your soup base is flavorful and balanced.
- I often add a few heaping handfuls of chopped arugula, spinach or baby kale to “up” the nutrient level at the very end. (I call this having my salad in my soup.)
Give me a brothy soup any day of the week, and I’m content. Restoring, healing, and filling without being overly high in calories, my body feels nourished after eating this!
More Brothy Soups
- 20+ Best Broth-Based Soup Recipes
- Brothy Tortellini Soup w/ Spinach, White Beans &; Basil
- Turmeric Broth Detox Soup {Ayurvedic + Healing}
- Asian Chicken Meatball Soup
- Hot and Sour Cabbage Soup
Have a happy weekend! xoxo Sylvia
Print
Wonton Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 2
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
This lightning-speed Wonton Soup is made with a flavorful Vietnamese pho broth. Make it in 15 minutes flat! Vegan adaptable.
Ingredients
- 4 cups beef, chicken or veggie broth
- 4–5 thin slices ginger (OK to leave peel on)
- 1–2 rough chopped garlic cloves (optional)
- 4–5 Scallions, sliced, divided into white parts and green parts (or sub very thinly sliced onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 12– 14 mini wontons (or to your preference)
- 2 cups greens – optional ( chopped kale, bok choy, arugula, mizuna)
- Splash soy sauce
- Splash fish sauce
- generous pinch sugar
- Garnishes: bean sprouts, lime wedges, jalapeno slices, fresh basil or cilantro, chopped greens, sriracha, hoisin sauce, sesame oil.
Instructions
- Place stock, ginger, garlic, scallions (white parts only) 5 Spice, pepper into a medium pot and bring to a boil.
- Add frozen wontons and return to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes or according to directions on the package (perhaps longer for bigger ones). Add greens (optional) When wontons float, they should be done.
- Add the green scallions, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar.
- Taste for salt. Adjust. The broth should taste flavorful and have depth, so adjust with soy sauce,fish sauce or salt, as necessary.
- Ladle into two large bowls and top with fresh bean spouts, a handful of herbs, thinly sliced jalapeño peppers. Stir in sriracha sauce and hoisin to taste.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 big bowl
- Calories: 219
- Sugar: 10.6 g
- Sodium: 431.9 mg
- Fat: 5.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.2 g
- Fiber: 9.1 g
- Protein: 13.1 g
- Cholesterol: 14.8 mg
This is my new favorite! So easy and so delicious. I added napa cabbage and an extra pinch of 5 spice.
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
Sounds great! Glad you liked this one.
This is what I make in the winter or on colder nights and you are not kidding: it truly is lightning speed. It tastes as though I spent all day letting it simmer. My husband and daughter love this and I do too!
Thanks Joelle! So happy the whole family is enjoying!
This is what I make in the winter or on colder nights and they are not kidding: it is truly lightning speed. It tastes as though I spent all day letting it simmer. My husband and daughter love this and I do too!
Thanks Joelle! Glad you are enjoying this and thanks for circling back and rating it for us!
Thanks again Sylvia! I’ve used your recipe a handful of times now as a starting place for that ‘pho’ taste I wasn’t sure how to approximate before. Great easy recipe as you have it, but also fun to play around with. Making it tonight with turkey stock from Thanksgiving (getting a little tired of the Thanksgiving standard fare) with Vietnamese meatballs and lots of veg. You always inspire!
So nice to hear this Bonnie, glad you are inspired!
I really love all the recipes on your site, but really dislike all the advert boxes that appear .. is there anyway I can view without them?.. it really doesn’t add anything to your delicious food.
Hi Rosemary we are working on an ad-free version!
Delicious! Broth tastes as if it simmered all day but was ready in less than 30 minutes!
Awesome to hear!
What brand of mini wontons do you prefer?
Thank you!
I get the mini chicken wontons from Trader Joes. 😉
I make this at least twice per month. One of the simplest and tastiest recipes I’ve made.
Great to hear Ana!
I made this for Lunar New Year. Who knew that Chinese Five Spice could make such a flavorful broth! I added Pho rice stick noodles and spinach because I had them on hand. Next time I will play with the broth a bit more by adding adjustments of fish sauce, soy sauce, and hoisin. I’m thrilled to add this to our family’s go-to recipes.
Awesome – so happy you liked this!
This was so yummy and easy. I love soups for lunch and this one went together very quickly. I added frozen Asian pork meatballs because I had some in the freezer, very healthy and comforting for a fall lunch.
Perfect Kaydee!