Tortilla Soup
This Tortilla Soup is warm, comforting and delicious!!
If you’re looking for a soup that tastes homemade, this tortilla soup is the answer! It might be a little different from a tortilla soup that you may of had, but I promise this meatless version will amaze you.
What is Tortilla soup?
A classic Tortilla soup is a tomato broth based soup cooked with garlic, onions, peppers and crispy tortilla strips. Sometimes it’s even cooked with chicken. There are so many variations of this tasty soup. I’ve tried it before with chicken and it was delicious!
When I’m looking for some comfort, soup is what I like to make. This soup is perfect for those days when you have a little extra time. Also on those cold and rainy days, when soup just feels right. Soup on a hot day, feels strange. I’d be lying if I said, I’ve never made soup in the summer, because I have. Do you agree it feels a little strange, to make soup when it’s hot outside? I’ll make an exception though, to still make soup on those rainy summer days.
I am a huge fan of making homemade soup.
Maybe you already know this about me? Well, lately I’ve been kinda into it. You know, soup that is completely homemade. The ones with homemade stock and with wholesome, healthy ingredients. The ones that take some time to make. I love creating soups on those days I have a little extra time. To be honest, good soup takes time!
Timing is everything…
For this soup you’ll want to start the veggie stock after lunch, that’s if you plan on eating this soup for dinner. After a couple hours of your stock cooking, you’ll start making your soup. First you’ll be sauteing your onions, garlic, carrots, celery and peppers. Then you’ll add in some tomatoes, beans and corn. If you thought that sounded yummy….just wait. Next you’ll be adding in some crushed up homemade tortilla strips. Talk about yum, huh.
Homemade tortilla strips are not only delicious, but they are easy and fun to make. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how. I’ll explain everything below.
Why Tortilla soup?
Well, we love chili in our house. With limited ingredients these days, we had to make something different. Plus lately, we’ve been wanting to cook more vegetarian meals. This soup is similar to a chili but also different in so many ways. If you’re a chili fan or soup fan in general, this is a must make now kinda recipe. For real…
You may of seen some other tortilla soup recipes that contain chicken, but this one is completely vegetarian. It’s made with homemade veggie stock and beans, but don’t let that fool you. The flavors in this soup are rockin. It must be the peppers? Hmm.
Meals without meat can taste good too! They are not only healthy but can save you money. Can you tell I’m a veggie fan? Wink….
Another reason I love this soup is because of the tortilla chips mixed in. They thicken the soup and also give it an interesting flavor. It’s a flavor I kinda crave. I’ll be making this one again, real soon!
I hope you enjoyed reading this recipe, and hopefully you’ll get to make this soup someday soon! Until next time….I hope you have a soup filled day!
Enjoy,
❤️April
P.s.
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Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- Vegetable stock (Allow 2 hours to cook)
1 Onion- quartered
3 stalks of celery- cut in half
3 carrots- sliced in half
2 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
16 cups of water
- Chili powder seasoning (see instructions below)
1 dried Ancho chili
1 dried Guajillo chili
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- Homemade Tortilla strips (see instructions below)
4 corn tortillas
4 cups of peanut oil
Zest from 1 lime & salt
- Tortilla Soup
1 Onion- Diced
2 Cloves of garlic- minced
2 Stalks of celery- diced
2 Carrots, peeled & diced
Orange bell pepper- diced (1/2 cup needed)
1 jalapeno- seeds removed & diced (fire roasted optional-see instructions)
1/2 cup frozen corn (see instructions)
1 can of pinto beans
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
1 can of whole tomatoes
6 cups of veggie stock
1 bunch of cilantro
1 limes
3 allspice berries (take them out after the soup is done cooking)
Queso fresco (to garnish your soup)
Directions
- First you’ll want to start by making your vegetable stock (allow 2 hours to cook) Grab a stockpot and add 1 onion, 3 quartered carrots, 3 stalks of sliced celery, 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves and 16 cups water of water. Cook on low with a lid on (leave a little gap) for 2 hours. Once your stock is ready, you can start your soup (if your stock cooks for longer than 2 hour no problem)
- Next you’ll want to make your chili powder. You’ll need some dried chili’s for this. 1 Ancho chili and 1 Guajillo chili. You’ll also need 1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds, and a spice grinder. You will be dry roasting these chilis and cumin seeds. Add them to a hot skillet, no oil. Saute them until they are warm thoughout . Next add them to your spice grinder. If you don’t have dried chili’s or whole cumin seeds just use 2 tablespoons of chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin. If you can use the dried chili’s, it’s worth it!
- Next you’ll want to get your jalapeno ready. If you want to fire roast it like we did. Hold the jalapeno over the flame from your stove and use kitchen tongs to slowly turn it. Once it’s blackened, add it to a bowl and put some saran wrap on top to trap the steam in. After a couple mins, lift the saran wrap and remove the jalapeno from the bowl, then peel the skin off. Also make sure to remove the seeds Next dice the jalapeno and add it to your prep plate, and set aside.
- Now it’s time to get your other ingredients prepped. You’ll want to dice the following… 1 onion, 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, 1 orange bell pepper -need 1/2 cup. Then add everything to your prep plate and set aside.
- Next you’ll want to get your corn ready. Add 1/2 cup of corn to a plate and spread it out evenly. Microwave it for approx 2 mins, then take it out and drain off any water. Microwave it again for another 2 mins and remove any water. We used the corn we saved from our garden last year. Notice the corn is a little blackened. We grilled it, then removed it from the cob and froze it.
- Now it’s time to get those yummy homemade tortilla strips ready. Make extra, because you won’t be able to stop eating them!! Seriously! Before you start…grab a plate, line it with a paper towel and sprinkle on some salt and add some lime zest. You’ll need 4 corn tortillas cut in strips. You will also need a pot that will hold at least 4 cups of peanut oil. Add the oil and cook on med to high heat. You’ll know the oil is up to temp when you dip a strip in the oil and it begins to sizzle. Next add the remaining strips and cook until they are brown in color and look like chips. Use a kitchen spider to remove the strips from the oil, shake off any excess oil and add them to the plate. Toss them, making sure they are lighly coated in the lime salt mixture. Now set them aside, and try not to eat any.
- Once your veggie stock is ready, it’s now time to start sauteing your veggies. Add some olive oil to a large pot and set on med to high heat and start adding your onions and season with some salt. Then add in the rest of your veggies. Your garlic, celery, carrots and peppers. Saute for a couple mins and season with some salt. Then mix in your homemade chili powder, and 3 allspice berries. You’ll remove those before you eat.
- The next step is to open a can of whole tomatoes and hand crush each tomato into your soup. Next open the can of pinto beans. You’ll want to run them through a strainer and rinse them before adding them to your soup. Then add in the 1/2 cup of corn. Mix everything together and saute it for a couple mins.
- Now it’s time to add in your veggie stock. Using a ladle, scoop up some veggie stock (avoiding the veggies of course) and ladle the stock into a large measuring cup. You’ll want to add 6 cups of stock. Stir your soup and check it for seasoning. If it needs more salt, add it.
- Next you’ll want to add in your homemade tortilla strips. Just crush them up and sprinkle them in. Leave some to garnish your soup.
- At this point you’ll want to add in the juice of 1/2 a lime and add in some chopped cilantro. Now set your heat on low and let your soup cook for another 20 mins.
- When your soup is done cooking check it for seasoning. Make sure to remove those allspice berries and then it’s time to eat!
- You can garnish your soup with some Queso Fresco and some chopped cilantro and of course those homemade tortilla strips!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use chicken stock instead of veggie stock if you’d like. Even add in some shredded chicken.
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