If you’re a big fan of tortilla soup you will love this Vegan Taco Soup topped with Homemade Baked Tortilla Strips. This flavorful soup is loaded with wholesome, plant-based ingredients including protein-rich beans, fresh vegetables and zesty spices. Vegan Taco Soup is perfect for chilly evenings or anytime you crave a nourishing bowl of flavorful soup….this vegan twist on a classic favorite is ready in just 30 minutes.
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If you’re looking for a simple, healthy, tasty soup…that’s ready in under 30 minutes, I’ve got a winner for you!
Homemade Vegan Taco Soup! All the best flavors of tacos…in an easy to make and super delicious plant based soup! A hearty blend of beans, corn and tomatoes…with tasty taco seasonings, simmered to perfection and topped with baked tortillas. Oh, you’re going to ADORE everything about this recipe, I promise!
My favorite way to serve this simple taco soup is with a toppings bar…(oh hello 5-minute vegan sour cream!)so fun, and everyone can customize to their own tastes. Winner, winner….everyone loves the dinner! Another favorite topping is crispy roasted black beans…dee-lish!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Veggie broth: It’s easy to make homemade vegetable broth, and budget friendly too. If you buy store bought, be sure to read the label and pick one that doesn’t include funky ingredients, added oils or too much sodium.
- Diced tomatoes: If you don’t have a can of diced, use whole peeled tomatoes and chop them up. Even a can of crushed tomatoes will work!
- Tomato paste: Read the label! Make sure tomatoes (and maybe water) are the only ingredients.
- Kidney beans: If you don’t have kidney beans, use whatever kind you do have. Black beans, cannellini beans, pinto beans, even cooked lentils work in this recipe
- Corn: I use frozen corn and don’t even bother to defrost it. If you’re using corn from a can, be sure to rinse and drain it before adding to the pot.
- Onions, garlic, jalapenos: Flavor bombs! If you don’t like a lot of heat in your taco soup, make sure to discard the jalapeno membranes and seeds when you mince them.
- Cilantro: I ADORE cilantro, but I know many don’t. That’s totally OK, just substitute some fresh parsley or oregano.
- Taco seasoning: It’s so easy to make your own…and it lets you control the amount of heat as well as the amount of sodium! Use my no salt taco seasoning recipe.
Why you will love it
- Quick and easy: Comes together in under 30 minutes. All of the delicious flavors of tacos…but WAY easier!
- Budget friendly: Inexpensive pantry staples combine for a satisfying meal.
- Tasty: All the flavor and texture in traditional tortilla soup…with a healthy twist.
- Fun: Those healthy baked tortilla strips….plus throw on some colorful toppings…hey, why not throw a party?
- Kid friendly: Simple flavors kids know and love….and they’ll love customizing their own bowls!
- Healthy: Plant based, heart healthy beans, plus veggies. Dairy-free, Vegan, Gluten-free, Oil-free….just good, wholesome food!
- Meal prep friendly: Make it when it’s convenient for YOU and gently reheat on the stovetop for a quick lunch or dinner.
How to make Baked Tortilla Strips
It takes just 2 minutes to get these healthy tortilla strips into the oven. Perfect, because they’ll get nice and crispy while the soup is simmering on the stovetop.
Healthy baked tortilla strips are easy to make. I like to use Siete Foods Almond Flour Tortillas. Hubby prefers corn tortillas. Whether you use corn or flour tortillas, look for a brand with a minimum of ingredients. You can find tortillas that have just corn, lime and salt.
Gather your ingredients: tortillas, olive oil (for oil-free, you can spritz some water on the tortillas for the spices to stick, instead of drizzling the oil) and taco seasonings (chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, coarse sea salt, cayenne pepper).
Stack tortillas and then cut in half. Stack two sides together and then cut into ¼″ strips. It’s best to use a sharp chef’s knife and push down to cut through, rather than using a sawing motion.
Place tortilla strips on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil (or spritz with water if oil-free), then sprinkle with spices. Toss gently to evenly disperse spices. Bake in preheated 375 oven for 15 minutes, until crunchy and golden.
Set the baked tortilla strips in a bowl to the side. Try not to eat them all before the soup is finished! If you have snackers regularly walking through the kitchen, I advise you to make a double batch. They’re addictively delish!
How to make the soup
Prep your ingredients before you begin. This soup comes together quickly, so you’ll want everything ready to go into the pot.
Dice the onion, mince the jalapeno and the garlic. Measure out the chili powder, cumin, parika, cayenne and salt. Open the can of tomatoes. Rinse and drain the beans. Wash the cilantro and pull of ¼ cup of leaves. Measure out the frozen corn.
- Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Saute the onions and jalapenos until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Mix in the spices and garlic. Stir constantly (so the garlic doesn’t burn)for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Then, add the veggie stock, tomato paste, beans, diced tomatoes plus their juices, kidney beans, lime juice and cilantro.
- Stir well, making sure the tomato paste is fully dissolved in the liquid. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to puree about ½ the soup to thicken it up. Leave some of the chunks of tomatoes and beans.
- Stir in the corn. It’s OK if it’s still frozen. Mix well and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes, until corn is heated through.
- Turn off heat and then garnish with fresh cilantro.
- TOPPINGS: you can add toppings to the entire pot, or set up a toppings bar and let everyone garnish their own bowl.
It’s super fun to set up a board full of toppings for this Vegan Taco Soup with Healthy Baked Tortilla Strips. Here are some great ideas of what to include:
- Avocado chunks. Or, make some vegan avocado lime dressing and swirl it into the bowls!
- Jalapenos. Slice fresh jalapenos, remove the seeds if you don’t like a lot of spice. Or, use jarred pickled jalapenos…YUM!
- Olives: I love sliced green or black olive in this soup. Fun and flavorful;.
- Lime: Cut limes into wedges, a little squirt of lime adds a nice zippyness.
- Nutritional Yeast: just a sprinkle gives a cheesy illusion, perfect for dairy-free peeps.
- Fresh Herbs: Chopped cilantro, parsley or oregano are great choices.
- Tomatoes: When in season, chopped tomatoes….plum, cherry, grape…are a great addition.
- Vegan Sour Cream: You’ll love this easy 5-minute recipe for dairy-free sour cream, and it’s perfect on top of this flavorful soup.
MEAL PREP AND STORAGE
- SERVE: Serve warm, topped with sliced olives, jalapenos or avocados. Let the tortilla strips melt into the soup for some texture.
- PREP AHEAD: Soup can be made up to 4 days in advance. Onions, garlic and jalapenos can be chopped and stored in airtight containers in the fridge several days before making the soup. Store the tortilla strips separate from the soup in an airtight container at room temperature.
- STORE: Soup will stay good in jars in the fridge for a 5 days. Frozen, the soup will stay good 3 months.
- FREEZE: Make sure soup is cooled before transferring to glass jars or freezer safe zip top bags. Soup will expand when it freezes so leave an inch of space in the top of the jar, so it doesn’t crack.
- REHEAT: Reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until it gently simmers.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- A dollop of vegan sour cream would be the bomb inside this soup!
- Make a double (or triple) batch of taco seasoning and leave it in a jar in your pantry. It’s the best on roasted sweet potatoes or veggies! Plus you can use it to make Veggie Fajitas in a jiffy.
- Don’t waste the remaining tomato paste from your little can. Scoop one Tablespoon portions onto a piece of parchment paper and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe zip top bag. Super easy to then add to the next recipe.
- The heat in the jalapenos is concentrated in the seeds and membranes, so if you like lots of flavor but not too much spicy, don’t skip the jalapenos, just omit the seeds.
More Vegan Mexican Recipes you will love
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Taco Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 jalapenos seeded and minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cups Veggie Broth
- 1-14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1-15 ounce can red kidney beans
- 1 Tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn
Tortilla Strips
- 4 almond flour tortillas
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning*
Instructions
- MAKE THE TORTILLA STRIPS: Preheat oven to 375. Cut tortillas in half. Stack on top of each other and then cut into ¼" strips. Spread on heavy baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with taco seasoning. Toss and bake for 15 minutes, until crisp and golden.
- Heat a dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Swirl in 1 Tablespoon veggie broth (or water or olive oil), then saute onions and jalapenos until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Mix in spices and garlic, and cooke, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
- Stir in tomato paste, veggie broth, tomato paste, kidney beans, lime juice and cilantro. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to partially puree, to thicken soup up.
- Add the corn and continue to cook for 3 minutes, until heated through.
- GARNISH: chopped avocado, fresh cilantro, tortilla strips, sliced jalapeno, nutritional yeast, sliced olives, cashew cream…whatever you love!
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Andrea White
loveee the flavor of this soup! It’s so flavorful and delicious!
Megan
Great tasticting soup
Luke Ratford
A fantastic winter warmer soup recipe and its vegan , bonus 🙂
Marcellina
What a delicious soup! My family adored the spice combination. A bit spicy but super tasty!
Linda
This soup is so comforting and flavorful!
Jerika
Thanks for this I added it as one of my comfort foods!:) This Vegan Taco soup makes my day.:)
Emily Flint
We loved this soup!
Lilly
This soup is so flavorful! And I love the crunch from the tortilla strips
Pam
My daughter is vegan loves this soup!
Jamie
So satisfying and delicious!
Melinda
This is a delicious new recipe for my family on our “taco Tuesdays!” Thanks for sharing. Love the spices!!
Kyleigh
The flavor is amazing and so easy to make!
Leslie
Love this Vegan Taco Soup recipe!
Julia
This was delicious and great for no meat Tuesdays!
Ellie
Thank you for this recipe – it is delicious! I loved the combination of spices. Will definitely be making this again.
Debra Klein
You’re welcome, so happy you love it!
Suzi Kaitz
This
This taco soup is my family’s all-time favorite comfort food. I often add chopped zucchini, yellow squash and green beans to create an even heartier meal.
Debra Klein
Love those additions!