Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

5 from 5 votes

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With black beans, red lentils and corn, this vegetarian tortilla soup is hearty and filling. It simmers in a slow cooker enhancing the flavors of the spices and ingredients. When the soup is ready, top it with crispy baked tortilla strips, avocados, shredded cheese and more. It’s up to you how you finish each bowl of this healthy soup.

Bowl of tortilla soup topped with avocados, crispy tortilla strips, cheese, radishes and cilantro.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It is a simple vegetarian version of this wonderful Mexican soup. Traditionally, there is both chicken broth and shredded chicken in tortilla soup. Here I stick to veggies, and depending what toppings you use to garnish your bowl of soup, it can be vegan.

This soup is hearty with black beans and lentils. I love red lentils in soup because they break down and lose their shape adding texture to this spicy broth. Beans and lentils give the soup protein and fiber.

You can really go for it when it comes to toppings. It’s easy to bake corn tortilla strips in the oven to give the soup crunch. In addition you can include diced ripe avocados, shredded cheese, sliced radishes and cilantro. Lime wedges are a must. The soup is so good with a squeeze of lime.

The Ingredients

Ingredients including black beans, corn, tomatoes, red lentils, vegetable broth, onions, spices, garlic, adobo sauce and corn tortillas.

This is what you need:

  • Black beans are my preferred bean because they are a similar size to the corn kernels. But you can substitute with pinto beans or kidney beans.
  • Corn: The recipe calls for a 15-ounce can of sweetcorn. Frozen corn will also work, and you don’t need to thaw it before you put it in the slow cooker.
  • Red lentils are gluten-free. You can find them with rice and grains at the grocery. Rinse them in a fine mesh strainer and remove any debris that you see.
  • Onions are the starting point for layering all sorts of flavors into the soup. You can use a white, yellow or red onion.
  • Bell peppers: Diced red peppers give the soup additional crisp bites and a little sweetness.
  • Garlic: The recipe calls for 2 minced garlic cloves.
  • Chipotles en adobo give the soup smoky and spicy flavor. I use 2 tablespoons of the sauce from the can.
  • Spices: The soup is seasoned with cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and black pepper.
  • Crushed tomatoes: For spicy soups and chilis, I always use fire-roasted tomatoes. Of course, standard canned crushed tomatoes are fine too.
  • Vegetable broth: To control the seasonings, especially salt, it’s best to use low-sodium veggie broth. 
  • Corn tortillas: You need them to make your own baked tortilla strips to garnish the bowls of soup. 
  • Olive oil is for sautéing the onions and red peppers and for baking the corn tortilla strips.

Toppings for Tortilla Soup

It’s important to go all in on toppings. That’s what really completes a bowl of tortilla soup.

  • Lime wedges: Fresh lime juice is mandatory. The rest on this list are options.
  • Diced avocados
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Sliced radishes
  • Shredded cheese (cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese or a blend)
  • Sour cream or Greek yogurt, whichever you have in your fridge

How To Make Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and sauté the onions. They will soften in about 5 minutes.

2. Add the red peppers and keep sautéing for 2-3 minutes.

Sauté the onions in a skillet. Add the red peppers and continue sautéing.

3. Stir in the garlic, adobo sauce and spices. Give the onions and peppers 1-2 minutes to be come fragrant.

4. Transfer the onions and peppers to the slow cooker.

Stir the garlic, adobo sauce and spices into the onions and red peppers. Then transfer them to a slow cooker.

5. Add the black beans, corn, lentils, crushed tomatoes and veggie broth. Stir all the ingredients together.

6. Cook the soup high for 4 hours.

Add the black beans, corn, red lentils, crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth to the crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours until the soup has thickened.

7. Toss the corn tortilla strips with olive oil and salt. You can do this right on a baking sheet. Then spread them out. Bake the tortillas while the soup is slow cooking.

8. Bake the tortilla strips until they are crisp, about 10-12 minutes. Toss them on the pan halfway through baking. Divide the soup into bowls and top with crispy tortilla strips and other desired garnishes.

Tortilla strips on a sheet pan before and after they are baked.

Serving

This vegetarian tortilla soup recipe is a great alternative to chili. You can serve it right out of the slow cooker and create a toppings bar where guests can customize their tortilla soup to their tastes. To go with it, you can have buttermilk cornbread or flour or corn tortillas. 

To treat the soup more like a side dish, pair it with sheet pan mushroom quesadillas or chipotle cauliflower tacos for a main dish.

Leftovers & Storage

Let the soup cool to room temperature before you store it in an airtight container. You can keep it in the refrigerator up to 4 days. To save it longer, you can freeze it up to 1 month. Divide it into individual portion sizes to make thawing easier. Also, do not store the soup with the toppings. You need to use fresh garnishes.

Three bowls of tortilla soup.

Recipe Tips

It’s handy to have a slow cooker where you can put the cooking pot on the stove. A good crockpot recipe starts with sautéing ingredients before slow cooking. This is the only way you will get any browning or caramelization. Otherwise you are just simmering everything in liquid. Also, it will save you cleanup if the pot insert in your slow cooker can be put on a burner on the stove. Then you don’t have to do this part of the recipe in a skillet.

You can use store-bought tortilla chips broken into smaller pieces instead of homemade baked tortilla strips. I wouldn’t exactly call this a shortcut since you have so much time when the soup is in the slow cooker, but this will reduce the number of steps in the recipe.

Recipe FAQs

Can you make this chicken tortilla soup?

You can use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth in this recipe. Then stir in shredded cooked chicken once the soup has finished simmering in the slow cooker. If you have both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, stick with veggie broth and then add chicken to individual bowls of soup.

How can you make the soup vegan?

The soup recipe, minus the toppings, is vegan. Just omit or use plant-based versions of cheese and sour cream for the toppings.

How do you make the soup thicker like a stew?

You can use up to 1 cup red lentils. The more you add the thicker the soup will turn out.

Do you have to use a slow cooker for this recipe?

I like using a crockpot because it gives the flavors a chance to really develop, but you can cook it on the stovetop. Start the recipe as written, but do it in a dutch oven or large saucepan. Then once you add the black beans, corn, lentils, crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth, bring it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the lentils are tender and the soup has thickened slightly.

More Chili & Bean Soup Recipes

Black Bean Chili
Pumpkin Chili
Chile Verde with White Beans and Corn
Vegan Poblano White Bean Chili
Slow Cooker Lentil Tortilla Soup
One Pot Quinoa Chili
White Bean Sweet Potato Tomato Kale Soup
Black Bean Soup

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Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

5 from 5 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6
With black beans, red lentils and corn, this vegetarian tortilla soup is hearty. Top it with baked tortilla strips, avocados, shredded cheese and more.

Ingredients 

For soup

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from can of chipotles en adobo
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15-ounce can sweet corn, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup red lentils
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

For baked tortilla strips

  • 6 corn tortillas, cut into strips about 1/4-inch x 2-inches
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For serving

  • Lime wedges
  • Diced avocados
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Sliced radishes
  • Shredded cheese (cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese or a blend)
  • Sour cream or Greek yogurt

Instructions 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the onions until they soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the red peppers and continue sautéing for 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir in the garlic, adobo sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper. After 1-2 minutes, the onions and peppers will become fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat.
  • Transfer the onions and red peppers to a slow-cooker. Add the black beans, corn, lentils, crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth. Stir everything together.
  • Cook on high for 4 hours.
  • While the soup is cooking, make the tortilla strips. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • On a sheet pan, toss the corn tortillas with olive oil and salt and spread them out. Bake for 10-12 minutes until crisp, tossing halfway through baking.
  • Divide the soup into bowls. Garnish with desired toppings before serving.

Video

Notes

Before storing, let the soup cool to room temperature. Put leftovers in an airtight container. They can be stored in the fridge up to 4 days and in the freezer up to 1 month. If you are freezing it, divide the soup into individual portion sizes to make thawing easier. Remember that you cannot freeze the baked tortilla strips or other toppings. Make fresh ones when you serve the soup again.
Stovetop Instructions: Start the recipe as written, but do it in a dutch oven or large saucepan. Then once you add the black beans, corn, lentils, crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth, bring it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the lentils are tender and the soup has thickened slightly.
To make chicken tortilla soup: Use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. Also, stir in shredded cooked chicken when the soup has finished cooking. If you have both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, use veggie broth and then add cooked chicken to individual bowls of soup.
Nutritional information does not include toppings.

Nutrition

Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 2122mg | Potassium: 987mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 993IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex
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Hi, I'm Paige.

Welcome to Last Ingredient where you will find simple seasonal recipes with plenty of fruits and vegetables, all for the home cook.

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7 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this a few weeks ago for lunches for the week, but I let my 11-year-old son try it and he loved it and ate most of it! So flavorful and easy! I’ve made it twice since—it makes a great meal-prep lunch!

  2. Hi Paige!! I’m trying to find the Tortilla Soup recipe (with black beans, corn, and adobo) but it keeps defaulting to this slow cooker version with lentils. Can you direct me to the right recipe for the Tortilla Soup?

    Thank you!!

  3. Really looking forward to trying this tonight. Quick question. How many red bell peppers? It’s not listed under ingredients, only instructions