Our Vegan Ash Reshteh is a thick Persian noodle soup packed with a cornucopia of herbs, lentils and beans. It’s nutritious, filling, and perfect for cold winter nights.
Growing up, I could always tell when my mom was making ash. I’d come home from school and the entire kitchen would be filled with the aromatic scent of minced herbs. While making this recipe recently, I found myself fondly reminiscing about chilly afternoons spent in the living room. I’d be doing my homework and waiting for my mom to finish the Ash Reshteh so I could be the first to chow down on a bowl.
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🇮🇷 WHAT IS ASH RESHTEH?
Ash (pronounced aash) is a variety of thick soup from Iran. While the word “ash” has become synonymous with the most popular variety—Ash Reshteh—there are more than 50 different types of ash in Iran. But more on that later.
A traditionally vegetarian dish, Ash Reshteh is hands-down the essential Persian soup. The three defining ingredients in Ash Reshteh are reshteh, kashk and herbs.
- Reshteh is a type of noodle slightly saltier and starchier than Italian noodles. (Here’s a great article by Samin Nosrat discussing reshteh). Reshteh was harder to get our hands on when I was growing up, so my mom typically made her version using spaghetti noodles. If spaghetti noodles are good enough for mom, they’re good enough for me! But if you would like to try classic ash with reshteh noodles, do search your local Middle Eastern grocery story or nab them online.
- Kashk is a thick drained yogurt which is saltier and more sour than your run-of-the-mill greek yogurt found in stores. For our vegan version, we swapped out the kashk with dairy-free plain yogurt and it worked like a charm.
- Finally, as is common with many Persian staples, Ash Reshteh is jam-packed with herbs—both fresh and dry. There is a ton of cilantro, parsley and mint in this recipe, ensuring the moment you start cooking, your kitchen will smell like a Persian house the day before Nowruz.
Like most things Persian, Ash Reshteh is old. Like really, really old. I’m talking ancient. Through the centuries, cooks tinkered with the recipe until around A.D. 500, when noodles were added, resulting in something similar to what we know and love today.
🍲 THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ASH
As mentioned above, there are over 50 different varieties of ash, originating in different parts of Iran. While not all of them are traditionally vegetarian—like Ash Reshteh—they all tend to be pretty thick and hearty, with a similar consistency to chili. Amongst to most common varieties of ash are: Ash Anar (pomegranate ash), Ash Jo (barley ash), and Ash Doogh (yogurt ash).
❤️ WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Herby
- Flavorful
- Nutritious
- Filling
- Healthy
Few things hit the spot like a warm bowl of Ash Reshteh on a cold winter night. All of the ingredients can easily be found at your local grocery store, so the next time you’re in the mood for something that’ll stick to the ribs and warm you up, give this recipe a shot.
📝 INGREDIENTS
- Lentils and pinto beans: Adds protein and texture
- Extra virgin olive oil: To cook down our aromatics and herms
- Cilantro, parsley and spinach: Ash’s classic herbs and greens
- Onion: An aromatic
- Garlic: An aromatic
- Spaghetti noodles or reshteh noodles: The signature noodles in our noodle soup
- Turmeric: Adds vibrant yellow hue and earthy, peppery flavor
- Dried mint: Enhances the herbiness of our soup
- Vegan yogurt: Adds tang and richness
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper: Season our soup
💡 RECIPE TIPS
- While you can chop the fresh herbs and spinach by hand, we recommend using a food processor to save time mincing the greens.
- If you can’t get your hands on reshteh, you can use spaghetti noodles instead.
- Make sure you sub out the kashk with plain vegan yogurt. Vanilla yogurt will throw off the taste.
- The noodles will absorb the water. So continue to add enough water to cover the soup ingredients, adjusting the seasoning as needed.
- Check out our recipe video below!
Love,
Mani
DID YOU MAKE OUR VEGAN PERSIAN ASH RESHTEH?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 MORE PERSIAN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
VEGAN ASH RESHTEH (Persian Noodle Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 14.5 oz cans lentils drained
- 2 14.5 oz cans pinto beans drained
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups parsley leaves and tender stems (2 bunches)
- 3 cups cilantro leaves and tender stems (2 bunches)
- 10 oz baby spinach
- 1 large onion chopped
- 7 garlic cloves minced
- 8 oz spaghetti noodles or reshteh noodles broken in half
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 3 tablespoon dried mint
- 5 heaping tablespoon plain, unsweetened vegan yogurt plus more to serve
- Water
- Salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Optional topping
- ½ teaspoon turmeric and 2 tablespoon dried mint sautéed in 3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in sauce pan over medium heat for 10 seconds.
Instructions
- Food process cilantro, parsley and spinach in batches until finely minced. Set aside. (Alternatively, you can mince herbs and spinach with a knife).
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, hit with a sprinkle of salt to draw out the moisture, and cook until golden brown.
- Add dried mint, turmeric and garlic cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add cilantro, parsley and spinach and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add beans and lentils. Then pour in enough water to cover all the ingredients by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Continue to check the water level and add enough water to keep cover ingredients, as needed.
- Add noodles and cook until they are al dente, around 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Stir in yogurt. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and top with more yogurt and mint oil, to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- While you can chop the fresh herbs and spinach by hand, we recommend using a food processor to save time mincing the greens.
- If you can’t get your hands on reshteh, you can use spaghetti noodles instead.
- Make sure you sub out the kashk with plain vegan yogurt. Vanilla yogurt will throw off the taste.
- The noodles will absorb the water. So continue to add enough water to cover the soup ingredients, adjusting the seasoning as needed.
This was the ultimate comfort food. The herb combo was BOMB.
I had my Persian grandparents over for dinner and made this for them. They were blown away.