Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

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

5 from 5 votes

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

With black beans, red lentils and corn, this vegetarian tortilla soup is hearty. Top it with baked tortilla strips, avocados, shredded cheese and more.

Prep Time10

Cook Time4

Total Time4 10

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex

Servings:

Author: Paige Adams

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