Packed with cheesy flavor, Tex-Mex spices and hearty black beans, this vegan enchilada soup is pure comfort in a bowl! Serve topped with crispy tortilla strips for a cozy and super satisfying meal.
I try to make a point of paying attention to popular non-vegan dishes at chain restaurants. Normally I guess I'd never know or care that cheesy enchilada soup is a thing they serve at Chili's. But these days I'm always looking for recipe inspiration, so this information is very important to me. The world needs vegan versions of stuff like this!
So yeah, enchilada soup does in fact exist, it's served at Chili's and it's very much not vegan. Maybe you guys knew that, but maybe you're like I was and totally clueless.
(Side note: if you happen to know of any chain restaurant dishes, junk foods, or childhood favorites that need vegan makeovers, please let me know! I LOVE suggestions!)
Chili's version of enchilada soup is made with chicken, masa harina, enchilada sauce, and lots of cheese. Mine isn't an exact look-alike. I guess I could've put some vegan chicken-type-thing in there, but I thought veggies and black beans would be better. The important parts, i.e., spices, cheesy flavor, creamy texture, and tortilla strips for topping, are all there.
Masa harina is the thickener for this soup. Are you familiar with this stuff? It's a corn product that's available in the international foods sections of lots of supermarkets near the latin American foods. Corn tortillas are made from masa harina, and in addition to adding some thickness and body to the soup, it also gives it a great flavor that actually makes it taste quite a bit like enchiladas.
If you buy masa harina some for this soup and don't know what to do with the rest, go and make some vegan tamales. These are delicious.
This soup starts with some onions and bell peppers. Sauté them for a few minutes before adding garlic, followed by broth, spices and potatoes. Let everything simmer for a bit.
Once the soup has had a chance to simmer, transfer some of it to a food processor and blend it up with raw cashews. This creates a creamy, cheesy base for the soup!
Add the cashew mixture back to the pot, along with some black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, and masa harina. Let it simmer for a few more minutes until the mixture is thick and rich.
Toppings are crucial! I'm all about the crispy tortilla strips and fresh cilantro.
FAQ & Tips for Making Delicious Vegan Enchilada Soup
- I like a lot of spices in my enchilada soup! If you're don't, cut back on the amounts. If you're not sure if you do, start with half the amounts and add more when the soup is finished cooking.
- Where can I find masa harina? Most supermarkets carry it in the international section, near the Latin American foods. You can also get it on Amazon.
- Is this soup gluten-free? If your masa harina and tortillas (used to make the strips on top) are certified gluten-free, then it is!
- Feel free to use a different type of beans or add your favorite veggies. This recipe is super adaptable!
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📖 Recipe
Cheesy Vegan Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 cups diced (½ inch) red potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes)
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours and drained
- 1 (14 ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup masa harina
- 2 tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce (like Cholula)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For Serving
- Tortilla strips
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion and bell pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the peppers begin to soften and the onions become translucent.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, milk, nutritional yeast flakes, chili powder, cumin, and potatoes.
- Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and allow it to simmer, uncovered, until the potato is fork tender, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Ladle 1 cup of the soup into a food processor bowl (make sure you get a good mix of broth and veggies) and add the cashews. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Stir the cashew mixture into the pot with the remaining soup, along with the tomatoes, beans, masa harina and hot sauce. You can thin the soup with a bit more broth or water if you'd like.
- Simmer the soup for about 3 minutes more, then remove the pot from heat.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, and adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
- Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro and tortilla strips. Serve.
Notes
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Do you have Recommendations for making this for like 20 people?
You'll definitely need to do the blending in batches. If you want a shortcut and don't feel like making tortilla strips, use crushed tortilla chips instead. The recipe makes 4 servings, but each is about 1.5 cups, so pretty generous - if you're not serving it as a main dish, I'd just multiply the recipe by 3 or 4 so everyone gets about a cup. Otherwise, you'll need to multiply it by 5. You'll definitely need to cook it in a few pots. Other than that, I can't think of anything. Good luck and enjoy!!
Love this recipe! We added Barvecue Naked Shredded Chicken. It tastes like Max & Erma’s chicken tortilla soup and is so nostalgic! Thank you <3
Soo delicious! Simple ingredients but the soup is bursting with flavor. I will definitely make this again. I also added corn like a few suggested. Thank you for this amazing recipe! Yum!
I make a lot of soups year round and it is a real treat to find one with such a different flavor profile like this one.
Simply outstanding!
For the non dairy milk I used shelf stable coconut for the richness but lower cal than the canned one.
At the last minute "discovered" a small batch of frozen chunks from Before the Butcher, so tossed those in as well.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Thank you so much for this recipe, it is the bomb‼️‼️ I had to make a few modifications only because I found out a few months ago that I’m allergic to raw cashews and I didn’t have a couple of the exact ingredients.
First, I decided to double the recipe, so glad I did and I used soaked (only 30-40 min) raw sunflower kernels instead of cashews. I soaked and cooked up one cup of dry black beans and I used our homegrown canned tomatoes with a bit of sun dried tomatoes to do my own fire roasted tomatoes. I added about a quarter cup of our homegrown canned jalapeños, rather than the bell peppers, to the onion sauté.
WOW!!! My husband is still asking, “how does that happen?!”. It tastes just like enchiladas, SO GOOD!!
Thank you Alissa, your recipes are fabulous!!!
Hello! I love your recipes! Honestly you made my week with this one! Growing up and before I was vegan the chicken enchilada soup from chilis was one of my favorite comfort foods. I made this recipe for dinner last night and it took me back all those years as the taste was SPOT ON! I'll definitely be keeping this recipe for the future. Love it so much I can't thank you enough! Keep up the great work <3
So disappointed. I've been wanting to make this all week so I went and bought the flour today. Realizing I also needed raw cashews I went to the bulk food store to find they don't carry them anymore. Where will I find them now? Not sure other than ordering them on line which I really don't want to do. The search is on......
Try the regular supermarket! Lots of stores in my area have started carrying them during the past few years. You might be pleasantly surprised!
Help! I'm allergic to corn. Any suggestions for a substitute for masa harina??
You can leave it out if needed. It does help thicken the soup, but all of the blended ingredients should make it pretty thick and creamy on their own. Enjoy!!
Does this recipe freeze well?
I'm afraid I'm not sure! I do know that freezing potatoes can change their texture, so that's one thing to watch out for.
This is one of our favorite soups. We’ve made it without the masa (didn’t have any on hand) and with jarred peppers (when we didn’t have fresh), and it’s delicious every time.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Thanks Deb!!
I finally found the Masa Harina at a Mexican store. Made this soup tonight and it was exceptional!! Would make this for company! Will definitely make it again. Great recipe, thank you!
Awesome! Thanks Liz!!
Just an fyi for people who are gluten free, true masa is made from pure dried corn that has been soaked in lime (Limestone) water in a process called nixtamilization. Some cheaper masas may be mixed with wheat flour so be sure to grab the real deal. Maseca (masa harina) is the way to go and usually a household name in Latino families.
Thanks for the tip!
Fantastic recipe! I will be making it again! :) Even my non-vegan husband really liked it. I added a small can of organic green chiles and some organic frozen corn, it was delish! Since I was pressed for time, I just used crushed tortilla chips on the top with some diced avocado. Thank you for the great recipe, I have tried so many vegan soup recipes and this is one of my favorites! One question, when you simmer the soup should it be uncovered or covered?
Thank you!
Thanks for asking! Uncovered - it's always uncovered if I don't specify, but I just updated the recipe to be clear. I'm so glad you both enjoyed the soup!
Hi! Is there a sub for masa harina? Not sure if I'd be able to find it here. Thank you!
You can leave it out if necessary. Check your store's international section and definitely get your hands on some if you can - it adds a lot of flavor!
Instead of buying masa harina, you can use corn tortillas! I found a recipe online. You basically blend 3-4 corn tortillas with some salt and then add water to make a paste. I made the soup with this method and it turned out great!
Oh interesting! And that totally makes sense. I'll have to try it out! Thanks Laurin!
Holy Guacamole! I didn't know this was a thing and didn't know i was missing it until I made it. Covers so many cravings in one pot. And the best part, I always have everything needed on hand. 2019 is going to be good!
Yay! I'm glad you liked it!
So, I am originally Mexican. I made this for me and my husband. It was wonderful! I also chopped a jalapeño for extra spiciness. By error, I put everything in my blender, so it had this beautiful creamy consistency. As I only had the black beans that had not been put into the blender, I also put a handful of frozen corn. What a winner!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Jalapeno and corn both sound like wonderful additions! Thanks Gina!!
This was amazingly yummy! Thank you!
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Kristen!
Is there a subtitiute for nutritional yeast; I find it hard to find over here.
I don't know of any substitutes, but the soup would still be tasty without it I'm sure. You could use a little extra hot sauce for more flavor if you'd like!
This soup is fantasitic! Will definitely be making this again and again. I agree with the comments about your recipes being a consistent hit for me. Thanks so much for your great blog Alissa!
I absolutely love this soup! I just made it for my partner and myself and had to switch up a couple of the ingredients since we're snowed in at the moment (used regular cornmeal and petite diced tomatoes with liquid smoke), but all of the flavors come together super well! I have been missing the taste of enchiladas since going vegan, and this soup definitely brought that back for me. We had it with some corn bread on the side--super fantastic! Thank you for this recipe!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much Carrie!
I'm so excited to try this out! Is Harina the same thing as Masa Harina?
I don't think so! I believe regular harina is just flour, whereas masa harina is a type of corn flour. :)
I love your recipes. They're all so do-able. Even long ones like this. They're never overly complicated or scare me away. You have such a great blog. Much kudos! <3
And junk food suggestions.... how about a vegan chocolate molten lava cake. OR how about a vegan cheesy crunch wrap type thing?
YES!! I love both of those ideas, and I actually already had lava cakes on my list for some time around Valentine's Day! I'm so glad you're enjoying the blog! Thanks so much Shanna!
Hi
My partner is allergic to raw tree nuts. Any suggestions for a substitute? Thanks. This looks delicious.
Hi Maris! Coconut milk is a great way to add creaminess and richness to recipes like this without using cashews. I'm not sure what the exact substitution would be, since you'd be switching nuts for liquid, but I'm thinking you could replace a cup of the broth with coconut milk and blend up 2 cups of the soup instead of just 1 cup plus cashews.
If the issue is just that the nuts are raw, put them in the pot at the same time as the potatoes instead of soaking them. This will soften them up too. I don't know how long of a cooking process is needed to alleviate the 'raw' factor though.
This was so good! I have been trying to make vegan soups all week that were flops and finally came across this one! Thank you! Delicious!
Awesome!! Glad this one was a winner! Thanks Lisa!
I used raw sunflower kernels, soaked, just like you would the cashews except the raw sunflower kernels only need to soak for 30-40 minutes! WOW, this recipe is fantastic!!! Thank you!! I’ll write a general post so all can see a few modifications I made and how great this is!!