Vegan Chickpea Tortilla Soup
This vegan chickpea tortilla soup is simple to make but full of flavor! Fire-roasted tomatoes, hearty chickpeas, and plenty of vegetables create a colorful, flavorful meal in minutes!
Why I Love This Soup
This Chickpea Tortilla Soup is a favorite because it only requires a handful of pantry staples ingredients but it’s so full of flavor! Plus, it only takes a few steps to get this simmering on the stovetop, so it’s quick and easy with minimal prep! It’s also a flexible recipe, so it’s easy to make substitutions as needed. And it’s packed with plant-based protein and fiber, so it will really fill you up!
Chickpea Tortilla Soup Ingredients
- Onion– This adds a nice flavor to the base of the soup. You can substitute with shallots, if you prefer.
- Bell Pepper– I used a combination of small red, yellow, and orange peppers but any color will do.
- Jalapeño– If you like things spicy, add a whole jalapeño! If you want to keep this soup mild, feel free to skip it.
- Cumin– This adds an earthy, rich flavor to the soup.
- Vegetable Broth– I like using “Not-Chicken” style broth, which has a chicken flavor but is vegetarian.
- Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes– These add a nice smoky flavor to the soup, but you can add regular diced tomatoes if that’s what you have on hand.
- Corn– I love the sweetness the corn adds to this spicy soup!
- Chickpeas– Obviously, we need chickpeas for chickpea tortilla soup! This adds lots of protein for a filling soup.
- Crispy Tortilla Strips– I like toasting corn tortillas in the oven but you can use storebought tortilla strips if you want to save time.
- Additional Toppings– I’ve included a list of some of my favorite toppings below!
The Best Chickpea Tortilla Soup Toppings
I love adding tons of toppings to this soup! Here are some of my favorites:
- Tortilla strips– Obviously, tortilla soup needs torillas on top! I like making my own by baking corn tortilla strips until crispy but you can also find crispy tortilla strips at the store. You can also substitute with tortilla chips.
- Avocado– Diced avocado adds a rich, creamy flavor, while still keeping this soup completely vegan.
- Cilantro– I love the flavor of fresh cilantro! Try a generous pinch of chopped cilantro top of your soup.
- Cheese– A little shredded cheddar or crumbled feta can be delicious on this soup!
- Sour cream– Sour cream or greek yogurt can be a great way to add creaminess to this soup and balance out the heat.
Easy Homemade Tortilla Strips
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Stack two corn tortillas on top of each other and use a sharp knife to cut into thin strips.
- Spread the tortilla pieces in a single layer on baking sheet and spray or drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with salt.
- Bake for 2-3 minutes at 350 degrees until they begin to brown!
How to Make Chickpea Tortilla Soup
Sauté the onion and bell pepper until softened.
Add the garlic and cumin and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, chickpeas, and corn and simmer for 15 minutes. It’s that simple!
Add the vegetable broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, and corn, then simmer the soup for 20 minutes or until the chickpeas are softened.
How to Store Leftovers
If you have leftover soup, let it cool then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 2 months. Do not freeze the toppings. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
PrintVegan Chickpea Tortilla Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3 bowls 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
This vegan chickpea tortilla soup is simple to make but full of flavor! Fire-roasted tomatoes, hearty chickpeas, and plenty of vegetables create a colorful, flavorful meal in minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded* and diced (Optional)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 28oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 15oz can sweet corn (or 1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn)
- Salt to taste
For the Crispy Tortilla Strips
- 3 corn tortillas
- Olive oil spray
- Salt
Instructions
To make the soup:
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet for 30 seconds.
- Add the diced onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño 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, corn, and cumin.
- Bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 15 minutes.
- When you’re ready to serve, top with fresh cilantro, corn, avocado, and crushed tortilla chips.
To make the tortilla strips:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Stack two corn tortillas on top of each other and use a sharp knife to cut them into thin strips.
- Spread the tortilla pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet and spray or drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with salt.
- Bake for 2-3 minutes at 350 degrees until they begin to brown.
Notes
Note: If you’re using a jalapeño or other hot peppers, wash your hands immediately after and be careful not to touch your eyes.
We made a batch the last time we made this soup and they were delicious.
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!
Looking for a cheesy option? Try this cheesy tortilla soup!
What’s your favorite kind of soup?
This post was originally published in July 2013, updated September 2021.
This looks so tasty! I have got to try it this weekend! YUM
Yummy! This sounds like a perfect weeknight soup…especially when there also happens to be an almost finished bag of tortilla chips hanging around!
This looks fantastic! Just pinned it to try sometime 🙂
That looks so yummy!! I’d make it sans chickpeas as my digestion doesn’t do well on legumes but loving it!!!
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. 😉
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! 😀
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
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!
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!
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.