Vegetarian tortilla soup is classic Tex-Mex: peppers, jalapeños, black beans, corn, and of course, crunchy corn tortillas.
In this recipe
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What’s in Vegetarian Tortilla Soup?
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How does it taste?
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Tips and tricks for preparing delicious soups
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Equally tasty swaps
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What to serve with vegetarian tortilla soup
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100 percent crispy tortillas
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Need to plan ahead?
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Storage Instructions
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Mexican inspired soup recipes
The vegetarian tortilla soup has all the ingredients of a classic Tex-Mex tortilla soup (spice! tomatoes! black beans and corn! tortillas!), but this version is meatless and made with vegetable broth.
This soup has a light tomato-based vegetable broth instead of the more classic chicken broth. It’s packed with peppers, onions, jalapeños, black beans, and corn. Corn tortilla strips are used twice: once in the soup while it’s simmering to give it body, and once baked on top for serving, too.
What’s in Vegetarian Tortilla Soup?
The vegetarian tortilla soup starts with a base of sautéed onions, garlic, peppers and jalapeños. Roasted canned tomatoes, black beans, and corn are added along with store-bought vegetable broth and a blend of spices. It has soft tortilla strips cooked in the soup; Plus, crunchy homemade tortilla strips are stacked on top for the crunch.
How does it taste?
This soup is flavored with warm spices like ground cumin and dried oregano, some smoke from chili powder, and some extra spiciness from fresh jalapeños. The corn tortillas melt in the soup and add a little sweet nuttiness.
Tips and tricks for preparing delicious soups
This recipe is easy to put together and requires minimal prep thanks to the use of store-bought staples. To make the best possible soup, I have a few tips for you.
Equally tasty swaps
This recipe is flexible and will taste great no matter what type of veggies, preserves, or spices you add.
- Fill up the soup with more vegetables. Try sweet potatoes, fresh tomatoes, finely chopped cauliflower, green beans, baby spinach, parsley or cilantro.
- I use canned black beans in this recipe, but any type of dried canned or cooked beans such as kidney beans, pinto beans, or cannellini beans will work.
- There are countless ways to flavor this soup. I used a mixture of dried oregano, ground cumin, chili powder, ground coriander, and garlic powder. Chili powder is handy, but the soup is traditionally flavored with fresh or dried chilies. For a milder heat, choose poblanos or ancho chilies. Worth knowing: Ancho chilies are dried poblanos.
Spicier varieties like Anaheim or Fresno are also options. Roast or toast the fresh chiles until the skin is charred, then mix them with the canned tomatoes or vegetable broth before adding them to the soup.
What to serve with vegetarian tortilla soup
While vegetarian tortilla soup is delicious and filling on its own, there are endless toppings you can add for extra flavor and variety.
- The crispy baked tortilla strips give it a little crunch. Add thinly sliced radishes for a crunchier and pepperier finish.
- To counteract the zest and warmth, add a dollop of sour cream or diced avocado. They’ll also add some creaminess and richness.
- For a melty cheese puff with every spoonful, top the soup with Mexican-style shredded cheese, or use Queso Fresco for a more authentic Mexican flavor.
- A lime wedge and chopped fresh cilantro or scallions add a bright, fresh flavor.
- A sprinkling of finely chopped dried chiles will turn up the heat when you’re craving extra spice.
100 percent crispy tortillas
You can make this soup entirely with crunchy tortilla strips without adding anything to the soup. Bake all the tortillas into crispy tortilla strips. When it’s time to serve the soup, place a handful of tortilla strips at the bottom of each bowl, reserving a few for the top.
Need to plan ahead?
Like most soups, vegetarian tortilla soup tastes even better the next day—a nice touch if you want to make it ahead of time. Prepare the soup as directed, but omit the tortilla strips. Don’t bake them until you’re ready to serve the soup. They get mushy and mushy.
Refrigerate the soup tightly capped if you plan to serve within two to three days, or freeze for up to three months. When ready to eat, heat the soup in a saucepan on the stove. While the soup is heating up, bake the tortilla strips. When the soup is simmering, stir in the unbaked tortilla strips.
Storage Instructions
The soup will keep in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months. Store in an airtight container or a ziplock plastic bag. Make sure the storage container or bag is freezer safe.
Leftover baked tortilla strips will stay crisp for up to a week. Store them at room temperature in a paper bag or food container with a lid.
Mexican inspired soup recipes
- Easy Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- green chili
- Mexican Chicken Lime Soup (Sopa de Lima)
- Pressure cooker pozole with green pork
Vegetarian tortilla soup
ingredients
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12 (6 inch) Corn tortillasdivided
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2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oildivided
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1 1/2 teaspoon Saltdivided
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1 big yellow onionfinely chopped
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1 big green paprikacored, seeded and finely chopped
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2 jalapenoscored and finely chopped
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2 cloves garlicchopped
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1 (14.5–Ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
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1 (15.5–Ounce) Can of black beansrinsed and drained
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1 (15.5–Ounce) can cornrinsed and drained
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2 teaspoon chili powder
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1 teaspoon ground cumin
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1 teaspoon dried oregano
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1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
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1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
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1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
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1 Bay leaf
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4 cups vegetable broth
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1 tablespoon tomato paste
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2 spring onionstrimmed and chopped
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1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
For optional toppings
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Fresh coriander, chopped
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lime wedges
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Quarkdecay
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Mexican style cheese, grated
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radishthinly sliced
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avocadorolled
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sour cream
method
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Preheat the oven and bake the tortillas:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Working with two or three stacked tortillas at a time, place them on your cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice into 1/4-inch strips. If you prefer smaller tortilla strips, you can cut them in half lengthwise.
Set aside half of the tortilla strips. You’ll stir them into the soup later.
Place the other half on a large baking sheet. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and use your hands to toss and coat the tortilla strips.
Spread them out into an even layer and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. After the 10 minute mark, keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.
The tortilla strips can be removed from the oven when they are slightly golden and crispy. Set them aside to cool.
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Fry the vegetables:
Heat a large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and when hot (shiny but not smoking) add the onions. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. The onions will not be soft yet.
Add the peppers and jalapeños and sauté until the onion and peppers are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is fragrant and the onions are beginning to turn translucent, about 1 minute.
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Add the rest of the ingredients:
Add the diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, chili powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, garlic powder, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Stir well to combine.
Stir in the vegetable broth and tomato paste.
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Cook a soup:
Increase the heat to medium-high heat. When it comes to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
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Add the rest of the ingredients:
Stir in the reserved unbaked tortilla strips, scallions, and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes.
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Surcharge:
Pour the soup into serving bowls. Garnish with crispy tortilla strips and one of your favorite toppings like cilantro, queso fresco, shredded Mexican cheese mix, sliced radishes, avocados, and sour cream.
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| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 310 | calories |
| 8g | Fat |
| 55g | carbohydrates |
| 11g | protein |
