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I love soups because they're an easy way to get in a lot of vegetables, and they are usually awesome leftover (whether they’ve been in the fridge or freezer). I am a big fan of serving easy dinners on busy weeknights and there is nothing easier than defrosting some soup out of your very own freezer. I especially love this soup because it comes with so many “accessories.” You could certainly eat it plain, but it is amazing how the flavor suddenly changes when you pile avocado, grated cheese, sour cream, and cilantro on top. We even sometimes toast tortillas (to make them crunchy like chips) and throw them in the mix as well.
This is also a great dish to serve this week if you are participating in our third real food mini-pledge. Even though this dish is meatless it would still be great if you wanted to add a little raw chicken when you sauté the veggies (or even some leftover cooked meat at the end). Just like most of the recipes I post this one is super flexible. If you don’t have or like zucchini then use a different vegetable instead. If you randomly find a half container of mushrooms in your fridge…throw them in. Get creative and use what you have on hand to make this dish easy and budget-friendly!
Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 bell peppers (any color)
- 2 hot peppers (optional)
- 1 zucchini
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
- 1 cup frozen corn (or fresh if it is in-season)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 28-oz can stewed tomatoes
- 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
- 2 - 3 cups chicken broth ((depending on how “soupy” you like it))
Optional Garnishes
- avocado
- cheese (grated)
- sour cream
- cilantro
Instructions
- Chop the onion, peppers, and zucchini into ½” pieces. Dice the garlic.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Toss in the onions.
- After a couple of minutes add the peppers and zucchini. Flavor with the spices and stir the veggies until they start to soften.
- Add the frozen corn (no need to defrost) and garlic since these don’t take as long to cook.
- After the corn heats up add the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken stock.
- Bring to a boil then turn down to low. Simmer for a few minutes or until you are ready to eat.
- Ladle into bowls, top with garnishes, and enjoy!
Kim says
This is a Favorite dish! I like to do 2 meatless meals a week and this fits the bill. We eat this with a small cheese and veggie sandwich. Perfect for a quick easy dinner. Thank you.
Sue says
It was such a hit with my family that I doubled the recipe and I still didn't have any leftovers.
Zoe says
I've been staring at this recipe for a long time and I finally got to try it. It was a good start, but I had to increase the spices and herbs a bit because I thought it was bland. I used mild green chili peppers because I like that flavor (Poblano, Pasilla, or Anaheim) but next time I'll use something hotter; I increased the garlic to 4 cloves, the chili powder to 2 teaspoons; used 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper; I removed the 8 ounces of tomato sauce to reduce the acidity; and I added 1/2 pound of shredded chicken and a can of pinto beans. Roasting the corn helped bring out the corn flavor, too.
I'll keep adjusting until I get it just right for our house.
Kari Grimsby says
No tortillas?!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
I always add crushed tortillas. ;)
Heather says
Is this recipe supposed to have chicken in it? It looks like it does in the picture but it's not listed on the ingredients.
Heather says
Oh nevermind. I see at the top you say it is meatless. I think what I am seeing is shredded cheese? I thought maybe it was shredded chicken.
Cherie says
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I never have to be sad about skipping Qdoba again. Thank you! I've been trying lots of your recipes, and they all have been great.
I used the stem of a broccoli instead of zucchini, and added chicken (chic & broth were from slow cooker recipe). We topped with cheese, bean tortilla chips, cilantro, green onion, and sour cream.yummmy!
Krishell says
I'm sorry, I don't understand. There are NO tortillas in this Tortilla Soup. :( I printed the recipe added ingredients to shopping list with a bunch of other recipes, so I wasn't paying attention. Then I'm making this the other night and there are no tortillas in tortilla soup. I will say the soup is delicious. I added shredded chicken and my husband said it's the best soup I've made so far. But seriously, please call it something else. When my kids picked this out for their school lunches they thought they were getting something else. They were quite disappointed.
Erin says
Made this last night for dinner and it was great. I combined it with grilled chicken and whole wheat quinoa (my boys complain if it's not "filling"). It was a hit!!
Nina says
OMG this was even more delicious than I expected. SOOOOO yummy! Will definitely be adding this to the family rotation. Thank you so much for this recipe Lisa!!!
Chantelle says
I have a recipe that uses taco seasoning and ranch seasoning mix. I used to use the packets but have switched to making my own taco and ranch mixes. It also calls for black and pinto beans, carrots and chicken.
Melissa k says
Made this tonight and it was VERY good!! Everyone loved it!! Made a few changes because I did not have some of the ingredients. I had no corn or zucchini so I added chicken(from your chicken crockpot recipe), two celery sticks, 1 carrot, and black beans. We topped with avocado, cheese, cilantro, and tortilla chips!
Susan says
Made this for the first time and everyone in the family loved it. It's a great way to have lots of veggies for dinner that my boys won't complain about eating. Even my husband who isn't a big soup lover commented that this is one he could look forward to eating again. I'll be freezing the leftovers for busy school nights.
Melanie says
My 8 year old and I made this together today and the whole family loved it. It is so delicious and easy and we will definitely be making it again! My husband and I loved how many veggies there were.
Bryan says
This soup sounds great. Will have to try it for kids' lunches. How should I freeze leftover soup? Any special containers I should use? Any other ideas of how to best freeze leftover soup?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Bryan. We use freezer safe glass jelly/canning jars. You can freeze individual portions or larger portions. You can find examples here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/08/14/real-food-tips-10-recipes-to-freeze-for-school-lunches-which-makes-packing-a-breeze/. ~Amy
Megan says
By tomato sauce, do you mean pasta sauce? And can you suggest an alternative for poultry seasoning? I live in the Netherlands and can't seem to find that here.
Marie says
If you search "poultry seasoning substitute" you'll find a bunch of recommendations. Here's one: http://www.thekitchn.com/from-the-spice-cupboard-poultr-131895
I'm not sure the exact difference between "tomato sauce" and "pasta sauce". Generally, tomato sauce is a small 8 oz can of sauce. It's very smooth. I generally think of pasta sauce as thicker and more seasonings. I'm sure a basic pasta sauce would work if that's all you have. Here's an example of a tomato sauce commonly avilable in the US: http://www.redgold.com/redpack/redpack-products/product-details?brand_id=2&product_id=1074
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Thank you, Marie! :)
Keri Ford says
I have made this several times and my whole family loves it (including a picky 3 year old). It's also a great meal to double and either freeze the leftovers or share with a friend. We don't care for stewed tomatoes so we just do extra tomato sauce and it is perfect! Adding all the garnishes (sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado & tortilla chips) really completes it! Thanks for the great recipe!
Jenn says
What are hot peppers? Jalepenos? Seranos? Poblanos? lol
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Jenn. That can be your hot pepper of choice. ;) ~Amy
Amber Smith says
My husband and I absolutely loved this. I must emphasize that my meat-loving husband absolutely loved this. Topped with a lot of cilantro (my fav).
Megan says
This is really good! I only gave it 4 stars because I had to add quite a bit more seasoning at the end for our tastes, but after that it was perfect! The only thing I did different is puree the tomatoes and other veggies because my husband has texture issues with veggies - just added the corn after. Topped with shredded cheddar, avocado, and sour cream. Yum!
Megan says
Oh- I forgot! I also added chicken that we had left from our best whole chicken in a crockpot earlier this week. :)
Caitlin says
Hi! Thanks for the inspiration. I made this soup without hot peppers or zucchini, and I added chicken. I found it to be a little bland, so I added a bit of pesto. Amazing! Garnished with avocado was even better-- great idea.
I'm in college, just cooking for myself; I made this batch of soup over two weeks ago, froze half of it, and it has lasted me this long! Still tastes just as good reheated on the stove.
Angela says
Delicious recipe. However, I question using canned tomatoes and canned tomato sauce - they are processed foods, correct?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello Angela. Yes, certainly they are processed to varying degrees depending on brand and type. But, you can find those that are minimally processed and have only a few ingredients. Pomi makes strained and chopped tomatoes that come in cardboard boxes if you like to avoid cans all together. They have one ingredient: tomatoes. However, you could also use fresh tomatoes that you prepare yourself. ~Amy
Joslyn says
This was awesome! There were no leftovers we ate the whole pot.thank you for a great recipe!
Marsy says
I made this for dinner this week with the cheese quesadillas. We loved it!Even my husband, which suprised me honestly. I planned on leftovers for my lunch, but there were none. Super yummy.
Marsy says
I used jalapenos and also added brown rice.
Shelley says
This soup was delicious! Just have to say recently I was introduced to the necessity of having ham stock on hand. I used mine to make a soup with some of the left over ham and added the spaghetti from a baked spaghetti squash and it was absolutely Devine. I just had to share this fabulous soup with someone!
Stacy says
I "roasted" my corn before adding it to the garlic. Cook the corn in a hot pan until the natural sugars start to caramelize a bit, set it aside until you need to add it in with the veg mixture. A bit more smokey flavor that gives that extra layer of flavor. Fire roasted tomatoes are a plus too. Thanks for the amazing recipes!
Jess_Boc says
This soup was a big hit in our house! Even in the summer, it was lovely to have for dinner. I left out the hot peppers and added a can of black beans. A delicious vegetarian dinner, and we did serve it with the recommended garnishes and some low-salt tortilla chips (from EarthFare). This recipe is a keeper in our house!
Chris says
Could you make this soup in a crockpot?
100 Days of Real Food says
I don't think a crock pot would be hot enough for the sauteing portion of the recipe.
Sierra says
Made this last night, added black beans, it was so delicious (and easy)! Thanks for the recipe :)
Also to Brooke- my boyfriend also doesn't like stewed tomatoes so I got a can of diced tomatoes and put them in the blender. A different consistency than sauce, and my soup turned out great.
Brooke says
My husband doesn't like stewed tomatoes :( Could I just substitute with more tomato sauce?
100 Days of Real Food says
You could try that...let me know how it turns out!
jill robinson says
Just made this for dinner tonight!!!! WOW! I added mushrooms to the pot. Topped it off with cilantro, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. Even my 6yr old commplimented me on dinner tonight. Husband loved it!!!! And the best part enough leftovers for another meal.
hayleygg says
It's extra good if you add some lime juice. My husband made a variation on this soup last night, and I ate mine over rice -- I tossed some brown rice in the rice cooker with lime juice, cumin, cilantro, and tomato sauce. Super yummy, and it made the soup more filling.
Katelyn says
SO INCREDIBLY GOOD! Amazing flavor! I doubled the recipe, and used just ONE serrano pepper, and it added just enough depth and hotness to not be overbearing (I'm not a big spicy fan). I also added a can of black beans to add a protein and it was perfect! SO glad I made a huge batch!
Michelle says
Yum! I make another taco soup recipe and crumble tortilla chips on top.
Betsy says
I ran across this recipe and it looked so good that I fixed it a half hour later for dinner. Delicious! And so easy and cheap. Thanks!
Sara Suastez says
I took one look at this after I made it and thought that there was no way that I wanted to eat it! But then I did and it was fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!
Wendy says
Tortilla soup without tortillas? Usually you'd tear stale corn tortillas into strips and put them into the bowls before you ladle in the soup. They soften and act like noodles... But this recipe and the garnishes sound wonderful!
Devon says
This was delicious! Love these recipes!
Tricia says
Making this tonight! Thanks for the inspiration!
Aubre Rice says
YUM! I can't wait to try this, the picture looks so good!!