Southwest Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Cold winter weather calls for hearty, hot dishes. Here's a recipe of mine that I've played with over the last year or so and finally feel like it's ready for all of you. It's freakin' delicious. Oh baby, is this soup gooooood. The recipe makes a LOT (I'm estimating about 10 servings), so it's a great one to feed a big crowd or to use half of and freeze the other half for a night when you're in a rush.

​Here's my 6 quart Dutch Oven so you can see how much this recipe makes...

It's tasty, healthy, and easy easy easy. Don't let the ingredients list throw you off because it's so long. The most time consuming part of this recipe is getting all of the groceries for it. This soup ends up having more of a consistency of a stew or even a chili by the time you add a little cheese, avocado, and crumble some tortilla chips at the end. It's thick. I don't like wimpy vegetarian dishes, so rest assured this one is hearty. 

Ways To Adjust This Recipe:
It's thick because there are a lot of ingredients in it, and you can play with this. For example, I add 2 cans of black beans and 1 can of whole kernel corn. Feel free to change up the ratio or add more or less of anything, really.

If you want this soupy-er (is that a word?), then take out a can or two of my ingredients.

I make this for Meatless Monday (here's another vegetarian favorite of mine that is also delicious and easy), but of course, you're welcome to add chicken if you don't want a vegetarian dish. You could also skip the cheese and sour cream at the end and make it vegan. 

Lastly, adjust accordingly for heat, too... this soup ends up being mild to slightly medium. If you know you don't like spicy stuff, omit or reduce the cayenne. You can always taste it at the end and add a little more if you want to. Another way to reduce heat: use all bell peppers instead of jalapeños and poblanos. 

Have fun, make it your own. Do what I do: get a glass of wine, start some fun music and play in the kitchen. :)

Here we go...  


RECIPE:
Servings: 10-ish 
Time: About an hour start to finish (but 30 Minutes of this is passive time while the soup is simmering)

Ridiculously Long Ingredient List:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Approximately 1 lb of peppers and onions. I use:
*1 medium white onion (diced chunky)
*1 large bell pepper (diced chunky or in strips)
*1 poblano (diced)
*2 jalapeños (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 large cartons vegetable broth (the 32 oz size) 
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cans black beans, drained
• 1 pack Uncle Ben's Ready Rice- Spanish Style (this is the microwave rice pouch. If you'd rather, you can use 2 cups cooked Spanish Style rice)

Toppings:
• 1 avocado (peeled, pitted, and diced)
• fresh cilantro for topping
• cheddar cheese (shredded)
• sour cream
• tortilla chips


​
Directions:
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. (Here's one similar to mine.)
• Add all of the peppers, onions, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. 

• Add the ground cumin and (optional) ground cayenne. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring often.
• Add the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth and a little salt and pepper. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat to low to simmer gently for 30 minutes.

• After 30 minutes, add the corn and black beans. Follow the easy directions on the microwave rice pack to cook the rice, then add it to the soup as well. Simmer the soup for about 5 more minutes.
• Serve in bowls and top with any or all of the following: avocado, cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips and cilantro.
​• EAT!

​Love & Light.

Thank you for reading! ​Sign up for my Monthly Newsletter here. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube here: