Vegan Taco Soup (with Crispy Tortilla Strips)
Taco soup has got to be one of the most irresistible ways to eat your vegetables. It’s a simple bean and vegetable soup, inspired by one of my favourite Tex-Mex dishes – tacos!
Although it uses simple ingredients, taco soup is packed with flavour, and some crispy tortilla strips on top really add that crunchy taco vibe.
It’s light yet filling, simple yet interesting, healthy yet comforting… and you can’t say all of that about many dishes.
The base of the soup is a nutrient-packed mixture of all my favourite vegetables – basically anything I’d usually put into tacos or fajitas. I added some black beans too, as they make the soup extra hearty with more protein – and you can’t bean a good black bean taco.
To add the taco-like crunch, I topped the soup with some crispy strips of tortilla – they’re like a Mexican version of a crouton! They add a different texture and flavour to the soup, which is really lovely. You could use broken tortilla chips or taco shells if you prefer!
I also added some sliced avocado too, but there are all sorts of other toppings you could go for – read below for some more ideas.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s absolutely packed with good, wholesome ingredients.
- It’s full of flavour!
- You can customise it with whatever vegetables or spices you like.
- The soup makes a great base for all kinds of toppings!
- It feels just as good in the middle of the summer as it does on a cold winter’s day.
🥗 Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
A few ingredient notes:
- vegetables. I used peppers, onion, mushrooms and sweetcorn, but you can switch these up if you like! Use whatever you’d usually put in your favourite vegetarian tacos.
- garlic
- spices. I like to start with my favourite fajita spice blend, to speed things along a bit. This time I also added some extra cumin and smoked paprika.
- tinned tomatoes
- black beans
- veggie stock. I used a stock cube, but liquid stock would be fine too.
- flour tortilla – to make the crispy tortilla strips for topping.
You might also want to prepare some additional toppings, such as:
- sliced avocado
- fresh coriander (cilantro)
- sliced spring onions
- sour cream*
- grated cheese*
*(use vegan versions if needed)
See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
🔄 Ingredient Swaps
To keep with the ‘taco soup’ theme, I used the sorts of vegetables I’d usually use in tacos or fajitas – peppers, mushrooms, onions, sweetcorn… But you can totally use different vegetables instead, if you prefer – just use whatever you have on hand (I love a good fridge-clearer!).
If you change the vegetables too much, your soup might lose the ‘taco’ vibe, but it should still be tasty!
Any vegetable that can be simmered for a while without becoming overly soft or soggy should work just fine.
🔪 Equipment
I love to use a silicone spoon when cooking something with a strong flavour, like this vegan taco soup – you can see my favourite bright pink one in almost all of my recipe photos!
Unlike with a wooden spoon, silicone doesn’t absorb flavours from your cooking, so you can use it for curry one day, and custard the next, without any flavour contamination or staining. Silicone spoons are even dishwasher safe, to help with thorough washing.
My favourite shape is a spoon with slightly square corners, as it makes it so easy to scrape around the corners of a saucepan. You can buy them here on Amazon US / Amazon UK.
📋 Instructions
Here’s how to make this recipe – see below for the printable recipe with detailed ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Sauté the peppers, onion and mushrooms in a large saucepan.
Becca’s Top Tip
This soup can be cooked more quickly if you’re pushed for time, but I think it’s worth taking your time over it. Let the vegetables cook for a little longer, over a slightly lower heat, to really enhance their flavour and make this a seriously tasty soup.
Step 2: Add the garlic and spices, and let them cook for a few minutes until your house smells like a Mexican restaurant.
Step 3: Add the remaining ingredients, and let the soup simmer for a while. The vegetables will soak up the tasty liquid, and become soft and flavourful.
Step 4: While the soup is simmering, cut a large flour tortilla into strips.
Step 5: Fry the tortilla strips in a splash of oil, until they’re browned and crispy.
Becca’s Top Tip
A pair of tongs is, by far, the best tool for making the crispy tortilla strips. The tongs allow you to either stir the strips as a whole, or individually pick up and turn over specific pieces as you notice them browning.
I always use silicone-tipped tongs, like these on Amazon US / Amazon UK.
Step 6: Serve the soup topped with the crispy tortilla strips and any extra toppings you’ve chosen.
💭 Taco Soup FAQs
They are very similar. Tortilla soup is a traditional Mexican soup, whereas taco soup is more of a Tex-Mex version. They have similar ingredients, so to be honest I think it’s valid to use the terms interchangeably – I’d even be happy to call this one ‘fajita soup’ too!
My favourite way to thicken a vegan soup is to add a handful of red lentils when you add the liquid – red lentil soup is just amazing. The lentils cook down nicely, and make the soup thicker and creamier.
This soup is great to make in advance! Once it’s cooled, just store it in a tub in the fridge for up to 3 days, and reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave. Don’t add toppings until you’re ready to serve.
Yes! This sort of soup can easily be frozen in an air-tight tub. Reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave. Prepare toppings just before serving.
Vegan Taco Soup (with Crispy Tortilla Strips)
If you’ve cooked this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
For the vegan taco soup:
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 onion, sliced or diced
- 2 bell peppers, cut into short strips (I used orange and yellow)
- 100 g (~ 3 ½ oz) mushrooms, sliced or diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp fajita spice mix
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 400 g tin black beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
- 400 g tin (~ 1 1/3 cups) chopped tomatoes
- 200 g tin sweetcorn, drained (160g, or ~ 1 cup, when drained)
- 500 ml (~ 2 cups) vegetable stock
For the crispy tortilla strips:
- 1 large flour tortilla
- 2 Tbsp oil
Extra toppings (optional):
- Sliced avocado
- Fresh coriander (cilantro)
- Sliced spring onions
- Grated cheese
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Heat a dash of oil in a large saucepan, and add the sliced onion, peppers and mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until very soft – probably around 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and spices, and cook for a few more minutes, until the spices are fragrant.
- Next add the tin of black beans, canned tomatoes, sweetcorn, and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, and allow to cook until everything is piping hot and the vegetables are totally cooked. It will be ready to eat after only 10 minutes or so of simmering, but for an even tastier soup, leave it for 20 or even 30 minutes to allow the flavours to intensify.
- While the soup is simmering, prepare the crispy tortilla strips. Cut a large tortilla into strips. Heat a good splash of oil in a frying pan, then add the tortilla strips. Cook them over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring and turning them regularly, until they are crispy and nicely browned.
- Serve the taco soup topped with the crispy tortilla strips, and any other toppings you’ve chosen.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
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wow this looks really delicious! I totally want to try it!
Yuum, looks fab as always – I love that you use fresh coriander too – I always think soup tastes much nicer with a big bunch of fresh coriander in it!! Perfect for this awful weather.
Oh what a great idea to use wrappers!
lol um I’m confused, what are wrappers?