Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

This Vegetarian Tortilla Soup is creamy, flavorful and so great for a cozy lunch or dinner!  Load on our favorite toppings and enjoy!

 It has been bone chillingly cold here lately and I am rapidly turning into a soup lover!  I’ve said before that I don’t make a ton of soup, but I do love creamy flavorful soups like this Vegetarian Tortilla Soup!  It’s thick, flavorful and you can top it with all your favorite ingredients.

I actually don’t think I had ever eaten tortilla soup until recently.  Tortilla soup just popped into my head one day and I did some research about it and then came up with my own recipe.  It looked like some people added the crispy tortillas in just before serving, while others blended them into the soup itself.  I love thick soup so I decided to blend mine and it is magical!

What You’ll Need For This Vegetarian Tortilla Soup Recipe

• Tortillas – Corn tortillas to be exact.  I’m not sure flour would work well in this recipe.  I like to use yellow corn because I feel like they have more flavor than white corn, but you could use whatever you prefer.  Just make sure they are corn tortillas and not flour.
• Vegetables – I used onion, garlic, red bell pepper and green bell pepper.  They’re my go to vegetables when I’m making a southwest themed meal and the flavors worked perfectly in this tortilla soup recipe.
• Canned Tomatoes – I used fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic because I thought that would add some nice extra flavor.  You don’t have to use fire roasted but just make sure you get diced tomatoes.
• Spices – The spices are really important to make this recipe as flavorful as it is!  There are quite a few spices so if you don’t already own some of them and don’t really want to buy an entire bottle, I would suggest seeing if your grocery store has a bulk spice section where you can just get what you need.
• Vegetable Broth – You could also just use water but it wouldn’t make this vegetarian tortilla soup quite as flavorful.  I like to use the Better Than Boullion vegetable broth paste and just add in a few teaspoons along with some water.

How To Make Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

I feel like most tortilla soups have similar ingredients, but the method to making the soup varies from person to person.  Here’s exactly how you make a thick and creamy tortilla soup:

• You start by crisping up your tortillas.  You can either brush each side of your corn tortilla with olive oil and then cut them up, or cut them up and then spray them with olive oil spray.  I like to add a pinch of salt and then spread them out on a baking sheet and bake until nice and crispy, but not brown.
• While those are baking you sauté your vegetables in a pot with some olive oil and salt until they’re tender and starting to caramelize.  I find they have much more flavor if you can caramelize them a little bit.  You then add in the whole can of diced tomatoes and all the spices.  Cook for a few minutes and then add in your broth.  Bring soup to a simmer and simmer for just a minute or two.
• Next, you add in two cups of your crispy tortillas, let cook for a minute and then add your pot of soup to a blender.  If adding hot, just be careful you don’t burn yourself!  You could also use an immersion blender if you like but I feel like a regular blender can blend up the tortillas a little better.  Pour soup back into your pot and heat, if necessary, and then top with more crispy tortilla strips plus your other favorite toppings!

If you’re not a fan of creamy soup you can always leave it un blended.  I just prefer all my soups thick and creamy 🙂  You can also go as crazy as you want with your toppings.  Crispy tortilla strips are a must but the rest is up to you!  I like avocado, onion, cilantro, tomato, jalapeño, hot sauce and green onion.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

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5 from 2 reviews

• Author: She Likes Food
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Description

This thick and creamy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup is so flavorful and delicious!  Perfect for a cozy meal on a cold day.

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Ingredients

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• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5) oz can diced tomatoes, I like to use fire roasted
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup corn kernels

Crispy Tortilla Strips

• 10 corn tortillas
• Olive oil or cooking spray
• Salt

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Cut corn tortillas into thin slices and then cut in thirds.  Toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt until all tortillas are coated.  Bake tortilla strips until crispy, about 15 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes and they will crisp up even more.
2. Heat a large pot over medium heat and add onion, peppers and a pinch of salt.  Cook for 5 minutes and then add garlic.  Finish cooking until vegetables have softened and are beginning to caramelize. Next, add in the entire can of tomatoes and all the spices, cook for a minute and then add the vegetable broth.  Stir and bring to a simmer.
3. Add two cups of the tortilla strips cook for about a minute and then transfer soup to the blender.  Be really careful with the hot soup in the blender, or you can let it cool a few minutes first.  You could also use an immersion blender but a high powered blender would be best.
4. Pour soup back into the pot, add the black beans and corn and heat until desired temperature.  Pour soup into bowl and top with desired toppings.

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Category: Soup, Vegan
• Method: Stovetop, Oven
• Cuisine: American/Mexican