Vegan tortilla soup

This Vegan Tortilla Soup recipe is healthy and packed with smokey chipotle, black beans and topped off with crispy homemade tortilla chips for a soup that’s packed with flavour!

I love Mexican food. In fact I love it so much that I’ve been to Mexico 5..6..7 times? I don’t know. But dayum Mexican food is seriously one of my favourites.

This past year I’ve adopted a tradition of having #tacotuesdays in my home, and while we don’t make actual tacos every Tuesday, we make something Mexican inspired. (last week’s taco Tuesday dinner was these cauliflower rice burrito bowls)

This week, we’re taking a bit of a different route from traditional tacos, burritos or bowls and making a Mexican inspired soup. Which has officially been added to the taco Tuesday rotation because it’s THAT good!

What is tortilla soup?

Well, beyond the fact that it has tortillas and soup, it’s a creamy thick soup broth filled with delicious garnishes like beans, corn, avocado, cheese and traditionally with some shredded chicken.

The broth is also generally made with some type of chilli, (traditionally ancho chillies) though today we’re using chipotles.

I like to think of this soup almost like a stew since it’s filled with so many amazing garnishes and makes a great filling meal!

How to make tortilla soup

There are a number of ways you can make tortilla soup. It can be made in a pot and blended up in a Vitamix, (this is my preferred method) or it can be made in a slow cooker or instant pot.

If you’re making the tortilla soup in a slow cooker, you’ll want to add all the soup ingredients in the slow cooker and let that cook on low for 4-6 hours. Then transfer to a blender (or use a hand blender) and blend until smooth.

Now, let’s talk about the MOST important part of this dish…the homemade corn tortilla chips.

How to make tortilla chips:

Ok, so once you learn how easy it is to make homemade tortilla chips it will change your life!

1. First things first, make sure to get your hands on some CORN tortillas, not flour tortillas. Corn tortillas will turn into the most perfect crispy corn tortilla chips!
2. Heat some vegetable oil (I use avocado oil) in a pan. Use just enough to coat the bottom of the pan 1/2 inch thick. Then cut up your tortillas into strips and add them to the pan.
3. Make sure not to overcrowd them! You want the tortilla strips to have enough space in the pan to fry. Cook them up for 1-2 minutes on each side then remove and place them on a plate with some paper towel and sprinkle with salt.

And that’s it! Super simple and homemade tortilla chips are soooo good!

Tips for making this recipe perfectly

• I use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, not dried chipotle peppers but you can use either. I use 2 chipotle peppers which results in a pretty spicy soup. (The way I like it!) If you’re sensitive to spicy food, just stick with 1 chipotle pepper.
• The brown sugar is essential in this recipe to giving the soup a nice rich caramelized flavour. The brown sugar coats the onions and chipotle and cooks down to help them caramelize and really gives the soup a punch! You can also substitute with coconut sugar
• You can use any type of toppings you like for this soup. I love adding some corn, black beans, avocado, tortilla chips, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. You can also add some shredded dairy-free cheese to the soup too, which is also delicious!

More soup recipes to try

• Korean Tofu Soup
• Vegan Minestrone Soup
• Tuscan White Bean Soup

Vegan Tortilla Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Jess
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minute
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
• Category: Main
• Method: Cook
• Cuisine: Mexican

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

This soup is loaded with smokey chipotle flavour and topped off with homemade tortilla chips!

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Soup

• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar) 
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1-litre vegetable broth
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup corn (fresh, canned or frozen)
• 1 avocado, chopped

Homemade tortilla chips

• Avocado or vegetable oil (enough to cover a 1/2 inch layer in the pan)
• 6 corn tortillas, cut into strips
• salt

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Prep the soup: Heat the avocado oil in a pan on medium-high heat then add the onion and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, chipotle peppers, cumin, oregano, chilli powder and brown sugar and mix until evenly coated. Let cook for another 2 minutes to caramelize. Add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth and bring the soup to a boil before reducing to low. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes then transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Make the tortilla chips: Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat, then add the tortilla strips in batches letting cook on each side for 1-2 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove and place on some paper towel. Sprinkle with salt. 
3. Putting it all together: Pour some soup into a bowl then add the garnishes. Top with crispy tortilla chips and enjoy! 

---

Notes

I use chipotle peppers in adobo for this recipe. 2 peppers will give you a pretty spicy soup. If you like it less spicy, stick with one. You can also use dried chipotle peppers. 

The brown sugar is essential for that caramelized flavour in this recipe, so don’t leave it out!

The soup broth stores well in the fridge for a week. You can tore any extra tortilla chips in an air-tight Tupperware (if there are any!) 

---

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/6 recipe
• Calories: 350
• Sugar: 7g
• Fat: 14g
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrates: 46g
• Fiber: 13g
• Protein: 15g

If you tried this Vegan Tortilla Soup or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!