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Vegetarian taco soup is creamy and hearty, with southwest spices and bold Tex-Mex flavor. Make this 15-minute soup recipe for an easy dinner!
Do you own a Blendtecor Vitamix blender? I love mine, and we use it to make smoothies all the time. But, you can also use them to make soup!
This blender soup recipe is very similar to the one found in one of the blender cookbooks. It’s one that they usually make at the in-store demos.
If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can still make the soup. I will give directions for both, I promise. And for an extra special treat, try making your own taco seasoning.
Nothing beats a bowl of hot, homemade soup on a cold or wet and rainy day.
This vegetarian and gluten free soup comes together very quickly, in just 15 minutes! I like to serve it with a side of warm southwestern cheese breadsticks.
Vegetarian Taco Soup
You just need a few simple ingredients to make the recipe. Don’t have everything on hand? No worries, the recipe is very adaptable and easy to customize.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Water or vegetable broth or stock
- Tomatoes – Use a variety like plum, which have fewer seeds than larger tomatoes.
- Carrots – I use baby carrots because they cook more quickly. Also, if they’re small enough, you don’t even have to dice them.
- Onion – White, red, or yellow onion will all work well with this recipe.
- Avocado – If you can’t find any ripe avocado, you can substitute with guacamole. After all, you will be pureeing it into the soup anyway!
- Canned black beans – Be sure to drain the liquid and rinse the beans before using them. Also, be sure to set some aside if you would like to use some as garnish on top of the soup.
- Taco seasoning – I like to use homemade taco seasoning, but you can buy a packet of seasoning if you prefer.
- Shredded cheese – Cheddar is fine, but for extra Tex-Mex flavor, I like to use a Mexican blend.
- Cilantro – If you need a substitute, you can use flat leaf parsley.
- Corn tortilla chips – Blending chips into the soup is what makes it so thick and creamy! I suggest saving some chips to serve with the soup and also to use as a garnish.
Southwest Chicken Tortilla Soup
MEAT OPTION
If you want to add some additional protein to the soup, it can definitely be done! Just cook a protein of your choice and stir it into the soup at the end of the cooking time.
Often, I will add shredded rotisserie chicken to it. When I serve it this way, I call it southwest chicken tortilla soup.
Step by step instructions
The full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. In addition to the blender soup recipe, there are also instructions for making it in a pot on your stove top.
1. Add vegetables and water (or stock) to the pot. You’ll bring everything to a boil and cook for a minute or two.
Because they will start to cook as the water comes to a boil., you really don’t need to cook them for long after that.
2. Blend the soup. You can use a high speed blender or an immersion blender (also known as a stick blender).
3. Garnish and serve. Before serving, feel free to add any or all of the following garnishes on top of the soup:
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Black beans
- Avocado slices
- Chopped cilantro
- Pico de gallo
Tools for making this recipe:
- stock pot
- immersion blender or high speed blender
Vegetarian Taco Soup
This easy tortilla soup recipe is perfect for a chilly night. If you don't have a Vitamix or other high speed blender, you can make it on the stove top instead.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese blend
- 3 baby carrots
- 4 sprigs cilantro
- 2 large ripe tomatoes (or 3 roma tomatoes)
- 1/2 avocado (peeled)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 small onion
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups hot water (plus more if needed)
- 1/2 can black beans
- 2 handfuls tortilla chips, slightly crushed
- cooked shredded chicken, optional
Instructions
Place first 10 ingredients a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree ingredients. Add additional water if needed to thin soup.
Add in black beans and crushed tortilla chips. Gently puree on low speed for about 20-30 seconds.
Serve hot with additional shredded cheese and chips and sour cream. Stir in cooked, shredded chicken if desired.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 359Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 607mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 9gSugar: 4gProtein: 19g
This nutritional information is an estimate may vary, depending on brand and type of ingredients used. It is not intended to replace the advice of a licensed dietician or physician.
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Originally published: 12/27/11 Updated: 8/2020
Marlena Curley says
I love those taco twists! What a great idea to go with the soup. I’m definately pinning this one for later 🙂
Toni says
Oooh Kidlet is so gonna love the twists. Got creative juices flowing…garlic/parm, curry/parm, season salt/pizza cheese, pizza seasoning/cheese, lemon pepper/provalone, garlic powder/swiss…
Cara says
Brilliant! Soup in the blender…easy, quick and delicious! Rsvp twists sound good too! 🙂
Linda B. says
Well now I know I will definitely be making taco twists the next time we have tortilla soup! They sound awesome and I will make my own taco seasoning too. It has to be so much better than the commercially made pkgs.
Adelina Priddis says
I seriously need to buy a new blender so I can make this now! My last one chewed itself up 🙁
Kristie @ Family, Scrapbooks & Coffee says
Awesome! I can even entice my non-soup eaters with those taco twists!
Darlene says
I really love the tortilla soup! It sounds very delicious. Great idea recipe! Thank you for sharing your recipe! I must try it for me to taste it!
Tracy says
Those taco twists look great! I usually make something similar with tortilla shells, but that looks tastier. Thanks for the tip!
Susan says
Love tortilla soup! This looks good…I’ll be trying it one of these cold winter days.
Karen Greenberg says
I had tortilla soup for the first time yesterday. Yum!
marla says
Love the tortilla soup & the idea of the twists!
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
Sounds yummy! I wish I could get my family to like Mexican food. The taco twists remind me of the treats sold at Costco though theirs are covered in cinnamon sugar.
Wendy says
I love the churros at Costco! We always get one (alright we get 2).
Elpiniki says
This looks amazing! Great presentation!
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