There was a local restaurant chain in Columbus that I frequented growing up, that was known for their chicken tortilla soup. I’d tried it before, back when I ate meat, and I liked how spicy it was but I wasn’t crazy about it. It lost a bit of its appeal when we found out that this “delicious” soup, came from a giant frozen bag that was shipped to the store. What a shame. I’d hate to see the ingredients list on there.
But ever since then, I’ve liked the idea of tortilla soup. Any soup that lets me sprinkle some tortilla chips on top is delicious in my book. When I saw an almost empty bag of tortilla chips sitting on the countertop, I knew their destiny should be soup. I scanned Pinterest for some tortilla soup recipes, but sadly, most of them contained chicken. What’s a vegetarian to do? Experiment.
So Alex and I ran to the grocery store, and I picked out some staple ingredients (avocados, peppers, and tomatoes always seem to make their way into my basket) and after church, I did some testing in the kitchen. It came together perfectly!
You can even make your own tortilla strips for the toppings!
Easy Homemade Tortillas Strips
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Just slice two corn tortillas into strips with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
- Spread the tortilla pieces in a single layer on baking sheet and spray or drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake for 2-3 minutes at 350 degrees until they begin to brown!
We made a batch the last time we made this soup and they were delicious.
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PinDescription
This vegan chickpea tortilla soup is packed with flavor and deliciously spicy!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded* and diced (Optional)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 28oz can of tomatoes
- 1 12oz can chickpeas
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 ears of corn (or 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn)
- 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
- 1/2 avocado
- A handful of tortilla chips or make your own tortilla strips
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet for 30 seconds
- Add the diced onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes or until softened.
- Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, and cumin.
- Bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 20 minutes.
- While that’s cooking, “grill” the corn, which for me, was heating up a little oil in a skillet and letting the corn roll around for about 7 minutes over medium heat, or until parts of the ear were brown.
- Let cool, and then use a sharp knife to cut the corn off the cob. Set aside.
- Wash and roughly chop the cilantro.
- Grab the avocado half and slice into thin strips.
- When you’re ready to serve, top with fresh cilantro, corn, avocado, and crushed tortilla chips.
Notes
Note: If you do use a jalapeno (or habanero pepper) wear gloves while you’re cutting it up! Wash your hands immediately after and be careful not to touch your eyes. The first time I cut a jalapeno, I seeded it with my bare hands and my fingers were burning the rest of the night!
Keywords: Vegan Tortilla Soup
The first time I made this, I added an extra habanero pepper to ours, and it was super spicy! If you’re not a huge fan of spice, leave it out. I think we were both sweating by the end of this dinner. Still, it was good, and an easy dinner to make with only one pot to clean!
What’s your favorite kind of soup?
This post was originally published in July 2013, updated October 2017.
Susan @ Culinary Envy
This looks so tasty! I have got to try it this weekend! YUM
Colleen
Yummy! This sounds like a perfect weeknight soup…especially when there also happens to be an almost finished bag of tortilla chips hanging around!
Danica @ It's Progression
This looks fantastic! Just pinned it to try sometime 🙂
Jan @ Sprouts n Squats
That looks so yummy!! I’d make it sans chickpeas as my digestion doesn’t do well on legumes but loving it!!!
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen
My favorite kind of soup is “throw as many vegetables in to a pot as possible’ soup. Does that count?
Tortilla soup is DEFINITELY up there, and I love this variation. It is so hard to find that Mexican-flavored deliciousness without chicken. I also love your trick for ‘grilling’ corn. Did you cook the tortillas directly into the soup? Apparently that is what makes it truly ‘authentic’ but I always thought that was a waste of good bottom-of-the-bag chiplets. 😉
Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli
Ohhh! Girl, this looks fantastic! Love the vegetarian twist! And good note to have on the jalapenos…ugh, I swear ONE DAY I’ll learn my lesson! The last time I used them in a recipe, I washed my hands like twenty times and they were STILL burning…AND I touched my face sometime in between! Oy!
Hmm, favorite soup? That’s a hard one! I guess it depends on the mood I’m in…I like chili and other chunky stews and nothing beats a good tomato soup and grilled cheese! 😀
Kat
omg I looooove soups!! I could eat soups and bread all winter long 🙂 If I HAD to choose a favorite it would either be broccoli cheese or chicken tortilla
Alex@Veggin' Out
I’ve always wanted to try tortilla soup but haven’t had it for the exact reasons you mentioned – no vegetarian option! This look perfect 🙂
And I love how you mentioned less clean up. Clean up is the worst part about cooking in my opinion!
Jenna @ thehoneymoonkitchen
I’m a big fan of putting tortilla chips in soups too! And I have definitely chopped habaneros and had burning fingers before. I like to think I’m tougher than I am! This looks delicious!
Brittany
This soup looks tasty! I love soup but never think about making it in the summer.
And totally agree about wearing clothes when cutting hot peppers. Once time I completely forgot and the peppers were so hot they literally blistered my skin and stung for days. It was bad.