This soup has a light tomato-based vegetable stock instead of the more classic chicken stock. It’s loaded with bell peppers, onions, jalapeños, black beans, and corn. Corn tortilla strips are used twice: Once in the soup as it simmers to give it body and also crispy baked ones on top for serving. This is warming comfort food perfect for the cooler autumn and winter months. Since the soup comes together in about 30 minutes, it’s also a staple busy weeknight favorite in my home.
What Is in Vegetarian Tortilla Soup?
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup starts with a base of sautéed onions, garlic, bell peppers, and jalapeños. Canned fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, and corn are added, along with store-bought vegetable stock and a blend of seasonings. It has strips of soft tortilla cooked in the soup; plus, crispy homemade tortilla strips are piled on top for crunch.
What Does It Taste Like?
This soup is seasoned with warm spices like ground cumin, and dried oregano, a bit of smoke from chili powder, and a little extra heat from fresh jalapeños. The corn tortillas melt into the soup and add a little sweet nuttiness.
Tips and Tricks for Making Tasty Soup
This recipe comes together easily and, thanks to the use of store-bought pantry staples, there’s minimum prep work required. To make the best pot of soup possible, I have a few tips to share with you.
The best part of this soup are all the colors and textures of the vegetables and beans. Finely chop your vegetables into small pieces so that you get a little bit of each kind in each spoonful. For a less spicy soup, cut back on the jalapeños. Instead, season it with chili powder to taste. Start with just a little and add more as you go. You can always add more heat, but it’s hard to take it away. Remove the seeds and white veins in the jalapeño peppers to cut down on the amount of heat. Want it spicier? Leave them on. Use a sharp chef’s knife or santoku knife to slice the corn tortillas into 1/8- to 1/4-inch strips. If you cut them too thin, they might burn in the oven while thicker parts take longer to crisp up. Keep a close eye on them while they bake. They can quickly go from crisp to burnt. If you want to make tortilla’s from scratch try our recipe for Corn Tortillas. Season the baked tortilla strips with a generous pinch of salt or seasoning salt. Otherwise, they’ll taste bland.
Equally Delicious Swaps
This recipe is flexible and turns out tasty no matter what kind of vegetables, canned goods, or spices you add.
Bulk 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 canned or cooked dried beans like kidney beans, pinto beans, or cannellini beans works.There are countless ways to season this soup. I used a blend of dried oregano, ground cumin, chili powder, ground coriander, and garlic powder. Chili powder is convenient, but the soup is traditionally spiced with fresh or dried chilies. For more mild heat, choose Poblanos or ancho chilies. Fun fact: Ancho chilies are dried Poblanos.
Spicier varieties like Anaheim or Fresno are options too. Roast or toast the fresh chilies until the skin is charred and then blend them with the canned tomatoes or the vegetable stock before adding it 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 extra crunch and peppery flavor.To counteract the spice and warmth, add a dollop of sour cream or diced avocado. They’ll add some creaminess and richness too.For a melty cheese pull with each spoonful, top the soup with shredded Mexican-style cheese or use queso fresco for a more authentic Mexican flavor.A wedge of lime and chopped fresh cilantro or scallions add a bright, fresh flavor.A sprinkle of finely chopped dried chilies will up the heat if you crave extra spice.
100 Percent Crispy Tortillas
You can make this soup entirely with crispy tortilla strips without adding any into the soup. Bake all the tortillas into crispy tortilla strips. When it’s time to serve the soup, place a handful of tortilla strips in the bottom of each bowl and reserve some for the top.
Need to Plan Ahead?
Like most soups, Vegetarian Tortilla Soup tastes even better the next day—a nice perk if you want to make it ahead of time. Prepare the soup as directed but leave out the tortilla strips. In fact, don’t bake them until you’re ready to serve the soup. They’ll become soggy and mushy. Refrigerate the soup tightly covered if you plan to serve it within two to three days or freeze for up to three months. When you’re ready to eat, reheat the soup in a pot on the stovetop. While the soup warms, bake the tortilla strips. When the soup comes up to a simmer, stir in the unbaked tortilla strips.
Storage Instructions
The soup will keep up to a week in the refrigerator or up to three months in the freezer. Store it in an airtight container or a plastic zip top bag. Make sure the storage container or bag is freezer safe. Leftover baked tortilla strips will stay crunchy for up to a week. Store them at room temperature in a paper bag or a lidded food storage container.
Mexican-Inspired Soup Recipes
Easy Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup Chicken Tortilla Soup Chile Verde Mexican Chicken Lime Soup (Sopa de Lima) Pressure Cooker Green Pork Pozole
Fresh cilantro, chopped Lime wedges Queso fresco, crumbled Mexican-style cheese, shredded Radishes, thinly sliced Avocado, diced Sour cream
Working with two or three stacked tortillas at a time, place them on your cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut them into 1/4-inch strips. If you prefer smaller tortilla strips, you can cut them in half crosswise. Set half of the tortilla strips aside. You will stir them into the soup later. Place the remaining 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. Keep a close eye on them starting at the 10-minute mark to make sure they don’t burn. The tortilla strips are ready to remove from the oven when they are lightly golden in color and crispy. Set them aside to cool. Add the bell pepper and jalapeños and sauté until the onion and peppers begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant and onions are starting to turn translucent. Stir in the vegetable stock and tomato paste. Did you love this recipe? Give us some stars below!
