Vegetarian Tortilla Soup is a comforting and delicious dish that brings together the rich flavors of Mexican cuisine in a gluten free, dairy free and vegan way. This healthy soup can be easily adapted to suit a variety of dietary needs making it a perfect staple meal for any household.
With only 15 minutes of prep time, you’ll have a flavorful and hearty soup on the table in under an hour. This article will show you how to make this delicious and easy vegan tortilla soup, as well as the best way to store and freeze it for an extra easy meal later on.
Keep reading for the full recipe and some of my best serving suggestions to go with it!
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Benefits of this Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
If you like soup, you’ll love this vegetarian tortilla soup. Made with a rich and hearty tomato broth, loaded with savory spices and bold flavors, this soup provides a satisfying and comforting meal.
- Allergen Friendly: This tortilla soup is so easy to customize it can suit nearly any dietary requirements including gluten free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian, and low-calorie.
- One Pot Recipe: The recipe is a one-pot wonder that's packed with flavor but is also vegetarian. Plus, it’s a simple to follow recipe, with ingredients that are easy to find in a local grocery store.
- Healthy: Includes nutritious ingredients like avocados and black beans that are nutrient rich, a good source of fiber, and vitamins.
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Is tortilla soup gluten free and dairy free?
Tortilla soup can be gluten free and dairy free like it is with this recipe. It can also contain gluten if it’s not made carefully with proper gluten free ingredients.
Tortilla soup served at a restaurant is not typically gluten free unless it’s specifically made that way. For example, ingredients like tortilla strips can contain gluten if gluten free tortillas are not used. Popular add-ins like cheese and sour cream also need to be avoided in order to keep it dairy free.
Keeping in mind that cross contamination can occur in restaurants is important too. If you’re ordering tortilla soup at a restaurant be sure to confirm with the restaurant staff that they use gluten free ingredients and have proper protocols in place to avoid cross contact. You can also check out this helpful article for more tips on eating out gluten free.
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Is tortilla soup vegan?
Traditional tortilla soup is made with chicken and is not vegan, but that’s why this is the best vegan tortilla soup recipe! It’s not made with any chicken so it is vegan and it’s full of amazing flavor.
Ingredients for Gluten Free Vegan Tortilla Soup
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it’s made with ingredients that you’ll either already have on hand, or are super easy to find at any grocery store. Whether you shop at Walmart, Target, Amazon, or your local grocery store you’ll quickly find everything you need.
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To make Vegetarian Tortilla Soup you’ll need:
- Corn Tortillas (look for labeled or certified gluten free corn tortillas)
- Oil (avocado is best but any neutral high heat oil will work)
- Diced tomatoes
- Vegetable broth (find everything you need to know about gluten free broth here) <INSERT LINK TO BROTH POST>
- Canned black beans
- Red onion
- Jalapeño (with or without seeds depending on how spicy you like your soup)
- Garlic
- Seasonings (cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and cilantro)
- Lime juice (Juicing 1 lime will result in approximately 2 tablespoon of lime juice
- Avocado
Equipment Needed for Gluten Free Tortilla Soup
To make this soup you’ll need a few tools:
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
- Heavy bottomed pot
- A wooden spoon
- Paper towel lined baking sheet (the baking sheet makes it easier to contain the tortilla strips after frying)
How to Make Vegan Tortilla Soup with Homemade Crispy Tortilla Strips
The recipe for this easy vegan tortilla soup is best broken down into 2 sections. In the first section you’ll learn how to make gluten free crispy tortilla strips and in the second section you’ll find out how to make the soup.
The crispy tortilla strips can even be made ahead of time.
How to Make Gluten Free Crispy Tortilla Strips
To start making the crispy tortilla strips, cut your tortillas into strips about ½” wide. Stacking the tortillas on top of each other will speed up this process.
Add the oil to the pot. Put the pot on the stovetop and turn the heat to medium high.
Once the oil is hot, it’s time to fry the strips. Be sure to separate them into smaller batches so they cook evenly and don’t clump together. Move them around as they cook and flip them halfway through to avoid burning.
When the strips are crispy and just starting to brown, remove them from the pot and spread them out on the paper towel lined baking sheet.
Set the strips aside, saving a small amount of oil in the pot for the next part of the recipe.
How to Make Gluten Free Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Using the same pot you used to fry the crispy tortilla strips, discard all but a splash of oil.
To prepare the vegetables for the soup, dice the onion and mince the garlic and jalapeño.
The seeds of the jalapeño are what create the spice - the more seeds the spicier the soup. Adjust the amount of seeds you add to suit your preferences.
Return the pot to the stovetop on medium heat. Cook the vegetables in the oil for a few minutes.
Add all of the spices (except the salt) as well as the broth, beans and tomatoes.
Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about half an hour.
Cut the avocados into long thin strips and prepare the cilantro and limes.
Just before serving, add the salt, crispy tortilla strips and cilantro to the soup. Stir for 1 minute then serve immediately with avocado and a squeeze of lime juice.
Serving Suggestions for Gluten Free Tortilla Soup
If you like to dress up the presentation of your soup, save some of the tortilla strips and cilantro to add on top.
To increase the amount of protein in the soup and make it more of a full meal, tofu is a popular add-in. Vegan cheese and sour cream are also popular toppings for this gluten free soup.
Tortilla soup pairs well with other dishes as well. Some of my favorites are tortilla chips and salsa, or this Southwestern Quinoa Salad.
How to Store Leftover Tortilla Soup
Tortilla soup stores well in the fridge for 3-5 days and can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you’re storing your soup, be sure to store the crispy tortilla stripsand cilantro separately and add them just before serving so they don’t disintegrate into the soup.
These Souper cubes are amazing for freezing soup. I love that the different color options make it easy to avoid cross contact in the kitchen by keeping the gluten free trays separate from the ones that are used for gluten containing foods. Plus they’re super cute!
Ensuring you meet your nutritional needs isn’t always easy when you have dietary restrictions which is why healthy recipes like this vegetarian tortilla soup are so great.
This tortilla soup recipe is healthy, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and most importantly, delicious!
Did you love this gluten free and dairy free soup Recipe?
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More Gluten Free Mexican Recipes to Try
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Equipment
- Kitchen knife
- cutting board
- Heavy bottomed pot
- wooden spoon
- baking sheet lined with paper towel
Ingredients
- 8 medium corn tortillas gluten free
- 6 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral, high heat oil
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes drained
- 4 cup vegetable broth or water + boullion
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 large red onion diced
- 1 large Jalapeño minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves washed and chopped
To serve:
- Fresh lime juice
- 2 medium avocados
Instructions
Prepare the Crunchy Tortilla Strips
- Slice the tortillas in ½" strips.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot on medium high.
- Working in batches, fry the tortilla strips until crispy and just starting to brown. As they cook, keep them moving and flip midway through. Scoop out and drain on paper towels. Once all of them are cooked, set aside.
- Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the oil.
Prepare the Soup
- Prepare the vegetables by dicing the onion into ½"-¾" cubes, mincing the garlic, and removing the stem, veins, and seeds of the jalapeño before mincing it finely.
- Return the pot to medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook for 2-4 minutes until there's a bit of color on the onions.
- Add the spices (except the salt), beans, tomatoes, and broth.
- Cook over medium low for 25-30 minutes until everything is slightly soft and fragrant.
- Cup the avocados in half and slice thinly lengthwise. Prep the cilantro and cut up the limes.
- To the soup, add the cilantro, fried tortilla strips, and salt. Stir and allow to blend flavors for 1 minute. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Serve immediately with several slices of avocado and a squeeze of lime juice.
Notes
- ingredient and equipment suggestions & substitutions,
- tips for modifying the recipe, and
- frequently asked questions
Jake
Absolutely love Tortilla soup and have been craving it ever since our trip to Mexico. Love this healthy version of it so much! After how good it came out, i'll definitely be using more of your recipes soon. Thanks!!
Sharon McCaskill
SO happy you enjoyed it!