Vegan Lentil Tortilla Soup

This creamy one pot vegan tortilla soup is made with red lentils, black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, corn and lots of fresh spices! It’s incredibly easy to make and the perfect hearty soup for a chilly day.

I don’t love the darkness of winter, but I absolutely love the cozy food! Soup season is my absolute favorite season, and recipes that I can prep in advance are the best.

This vegan tortilla soup tastes just like the classic, but is made with red lentils and black beans to keep it vegetarian! It’s rich and creamy thanks to some cashew cream, but doesn’t make you feel heavy.

With lots of fresh flavor from herbs and spices and homemade cashew cream, this recipe is sure to be a hit with all types of eaters. Serve it with homemade tortilla strips and lots of fresh cilantro for a cozy plant based dinner.

Some recipes use jackfruit to replace the chicken in traditional tortilla soup, but I like to keep it simple with the lentils and beans! Try my butternut squash soup next!

Before we get started!

• Please do not sub the red lentils for any other kind of lentil! The red are key for the best flavor and texture.
• I recommend using low sodium vegetable broth, but if you only have regular, just decrease the added salt by about half.
• This recipe calls for yellow onion, but white or even red will work if that’s what you have.

How to make vegan tortilla soup

In a large pot or dutch oven, add the finely diced onion and olive oil. Saute for about 5 minutes.

Add in the minced garlic, diced bell pepper, and diced jalapeno. If you want less spice, just remove the seeds from the jalapeno or use less.

Add in all remaining ingredients, aside from the lime juice, we’ll add that at the end.

I used 3 cups of veggie broth because I wanted this on the thicker side, if you like it more brothy, use 4. If you’re not sure, start with 3 and add more at the end if you want to thin it out.

Stir everything well to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After about 20 minutes, taste to check to see if the lentils are fully cooked. Let simmer for 5-10 more minutes if they still have a crunch to them.

Once the lentils are done, transfer 2 cups worth of soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer back to the pot and stir to combine. Stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust flavors as desired, and/or add more broth to thin it out if you like.

Garnish with tortilla strips, chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice, avocado and vegan sour cream. Plain yogurt also works well if you don’t like sour cream!

Homemade tortilla strips

I had a hard time finding certified gluten free tortilla strips at the market when I was shopping for this recipe, so I opted to make my own and it was actually SO easy! All you’ll need is a few corn tortillas, oil of your choice (I used avocado) and some salt.

What you want to do is slice the tortillas into thin strips, then slice in the other direction to get about 1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide strips. Add some oil to a pot on the stove (enough to cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/2 inch layer).

Once it’s hot, throw in the strips and let fry for a few minutes on each side until crispy. It helps to do this in small batches so the tortillas aren’t all on top of each other and crowded.

Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Top with a few cracks of salt.

How to store and freeze

Once prepared, this vegan tortilla soup will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. You can reheat it on the stove or microwave. It does thicken up a bit as it sits in the fridge, so you may want to add a splash of veggie broth when you reheat it.

Once the soup is cooked, allow it to cool completely, then transfer it to an air tight and freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

I like to freeze it in smaller containers so I can thaw just what I need at any time!

Serving suggestions

I like to serve this vegan tortilla soup as the main dish since it’s nice and hearty from the beans and lentils.

My favorite toppings include fresh lime juice, avocado, lots of chopped cilantro and sour cream. Ok, I actually don’t like sour cream, so I just use leftover cashew cream and pretend to the people I’m serving it to that it’s sour cream. Oops!

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