This spicy vegan tortilla soup is packed with flavor and comfort! Made with beans, fire roasted tomatoes, and Mexican spices, then served with crispy tortilla strips, it's hearty enough for a meal and easy enough for a weeknight.
For the longest time, I was intrigued by the idea of tortilla soup. I started seeing it pop up on restaurant menus in the 90s, and it sounded so good... with the beans and veggies and spices and of course, those crispy little tortilla strips. Everything except the chicken, which seemed to be a required ingredient.
Jump to:
Well now I know better. Chicken is never a required ingredient! If I can make vegan chicken noodle soup, vegan chicken salad, and vegan chicken nuggets, I can certainly make vegan tortilla soup.
Here's the thing: chicken is far from being the star ingredient in tortilla soup. There's so much else going on, and it could be any number of things. Tex-Mex spices? Possibly? Juicy tomatoes? Maybe those. Crispy tortilla strips? They definitely play a big part. It's probably all of those ingredients together, though. And they're all in this vegan version, along with hearty black and pinto beans. It's total comfort food that's really easy to make, and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. You can use another high-heat oil if you prefer, such as corn, canola, or avocado.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- JalapeƱo pepper. Or leave this out for a milder version.
- Spices. We're using cumin, oregano, and sweet paprika.
- Vegetable broth. I used Better Than Bouillon's roasted vegetable flavor.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes. Plain old diced tomatoes will work too, but using fire-roasted will add smoky flavor to the soup, so I highly recommend them.
- Beans. The recipe calls for a can of pinto beans and a can of black beans, but you can really use whatever you've got on hand ā kidney, cannellini, navy beans or lentils would all work well.
- Corn tortillas. Flour tortillas won't work, so stick with corn.
- Lime juice. Use fresh ā it's so much better than the bottled stuff!
- Salt & pepper.
- Additional toppings. I like fresh cilantro and diced avocado on my vegan tortilla soup. Cashew cream, guacamole, vegan queso, shredded vegan cheese, and scallions would all be nice as well.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Make the Soup
- Heat up some olive oil in a large pot. Give it a minute to get hot, then add diced onion. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring it often, until it begins to soften up.
- Now add minced garlic, jalapeƱo pepper, and your spices. Cook everything with the onion for about a minute more, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, tomatoes, and beans.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, until the broth reduces a bit and the beans are very tender.
- Take the soup off of the burner when it's done simmering, and stir in some lime juice, along with salt and pepper to taste.
Make the Tortilla Strips
- While the soup simmers, heat up the oven and line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
- Slice your corn tortillas into narrow strips (about Ā¼ to Ā½ inch wide), brush or spritz both sides with oil, and sprinkle them with salt.
- Pop the baking sheet into the oven and let the strips bake until the become crispy.
Tip: For a quick and easy substitute for the tortilla strips, simply buy tortilla chips and break them into small pieces.
- Ladle your soup into bowls and pile on the strips, along with any other topping you like. Dig in!
Variations
- Add protein. Add some pan-fried seitan, soy curls, or vegan sausage (I think Field Roast's chipotle flavor would work well).
- Add veggies. Fresh veggies like cauliflower or asparagus could be added when you've got about 15 minutes of simmer time remaining. Thawed frozen corn or peas could be added at the end of cooking.
- Creamy vegan tortilla soup. Add up to a cup of full-fat coconut milk, cashew cream, or vegan heavy cream alternative to make this soup extra creamy and decadent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! The recipe includes no gluten-containing ingredients.
The jalapeƱo pepper adds a little heat. Feel free to leave it out for a milder version. You can make it even spicier if you'd like by adding your favorite hot sauce to taste.
Store leftover soup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store leftover tortilla strips in a sealed bag or container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
š Recipe
Spicy Vegan Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a bit more for the tortilla strips
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeƱo pepper, seeded and minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 corn tortillas
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Toppings of choice, such as diced avocado and fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes soft and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, jalapeƱo, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Cook everything, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, tomatoes, black beans, and pinto beans. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 30 minutes, until the beans are very tender and the broth reduces a bit. You can add a bit of water if it reduces too much while cooking.
- While the soup simmers, preheat the oven to 400Ā°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut your tortillas into narrow strips, about Ā¼ to Ā½ inch wide.
- Lightly brush or spray both sides of each tortilla strip with oil, then arrange the strips in a single layer on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them with salt.
- Place the baking sheets into the oven and bake the strips until crispy and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
- Place the baking sheets on cooling racks and allow the strips to cool when they're finished baking.
- When the soup has finished simmering, remove the pot from heat and season it with the lime juice, along with some salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top it with tortilla strips and any other toppings you choose. Serve.
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This was really great. I did not add the avocado crema, since I had no avocados, but even so the flavors were very good. I will definitely make this again.
why would you indicate the spices in gr, rather than using teasppon or table spoon
and why put ingredients in units with 2 digits after the comma? like 14.79 ml lime juice
that is so inconvenient, to put it mildly
Sounds like you accidentally switched over to metric units. Click the button below the ingredients that says "US Customary" to switch back. I provide both options because I have readers in countries where both are used.
This soup is terrific! It is in continual rotation on our menu. Sometimes I add 3/4 cup roasted corn for added texture. Love it!
delicious soup recipe..
It's an awesome recipe for all, not only vegans.
Thank you for sharing.