Lentil Tortilla Soup
Lentil tortilla soup is easy, filling and so satisfying. This vegan lentil tortilla soup is flavorful, budget friendly and great for meal prep. This soup is a fun twist on a classic Mexican dish.
Love making hearty lentil soup? Try this cauliflower red lentil soup or red pepper and lentil soup.
As someone who used to run a meal prep business for my gym, I know how important it is to have super flavorful, filling meals. Because I know you are probably busy like the women in my gym, I try to create really simple recipes that won’t take too much time to prepare!
Why you will love this recipe
- Easy to make – made in just one pot in under 30 minutes.
- Budget friendly – this recipe is made with pantry staples!
- Great for meal prep – you can easily double the recipe and serve it for lunch or dinner all week long!
Ingredient spotlight
- Canned green chiles – the canned fire roasted green chiles add a depth of flavor and add a little spice to the dish.
- Fire roasted tomatoes – canned fire roasted tomatoes add a smoky flavor to the soup. If you don’t have fire roasted tomatoes, you can just use canned tomatoes.
- Split red lentils – split red lentils are budget friendly and so easy to cook. They cook quickly and help thicken the soup.
- Vegetable broth – vegetable broth is a great way to add so much flavor the soup in a short period of time. You could also use chicken broth, chicken stock or water.
- Tortilla chips – tortilla chips crushed over the top are the perfect way to add texture to the soup.
How to make lentil tortilla soup
Preheat a large pot over medium heat.
Chop the onion and bell peppers.
Once the pot is preheated, spray it with olive oil and add the onions. Cook 3-5 minutes then add the bell peppers and cook and additional 2 minutes.
Add the spices to the pot, stir and cook 1 minute to help the spices bloom.
Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth to the pot and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the green chiles, tomatoes, vegetable broth, rinsed red lentils and black beans and stir well. Cover and cook for 20 minutes (on medium heat).
Once the lentils are cooked, add lime juice and blend half the soup with an immersion blender (or carefully transfer to a high speed blender to blend half the soup to help thicken it).
Serve the soup and top with chopped cilantro and tortilla chips.
Other additions
- Veggies: Poblano peppers, corn (frozen or canned)
- Spice: Add 1-2 chipotle in adobo, cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
- Creaminess: Add cashew cream (1/2 cup cashews, soaked in hot water then blended with 1/3 cup fresh water and 1/2 tsp salt) or 1/2 can coconut milk
- Grain: Add in 1-2 cups cooked rice or quinoa or add 1/2 cup of dry white jasmine rice (rinsed) or 1/2 cup quinoa + 1 extra cup of broth when you add in the lentils.
Topping ideas for vegan tortilla soup
- Jalapeno
- Green onions
- Cheese
- Chopped red onion
- Avocado
- Sour Cream or cashew cream
Common questions
What if you don’t have red lentils?
The red lentils pretty much disappear in the soup, especially after blending.
You can replace the red lentils with green/brown lentils. Bring the soup to a boil before adding them, then turn the soup down to low and cook, covered for 15 minutes.
Do you have to soak lentils in advance?
No, unlike beans, lentils do not need to be soaked in advance. It is helpful to rinse the lentils first though (especially red lentils) as they can have a lot of starch on them
Do you have to rinse the lentils before using them?
You don’t have to rinse the lentils but I recommend taking the time to rinse the lentils before adding them. This ensures that any debris or dirt on the lentils is washed off.
Rinse them a few times until the water starts to run clear. Don’t use super hot water or the lentils will start to stick together.
Lentil Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium bell peppers
- 1.5 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 can green chile peppers
- 28 oz fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 cup split red lentils
- 1 can black beans
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 medium lime, juiced
- 3 tbsp cilantro
- 1 cup tortilla chips, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat a large pot over medium heat.
- Chop the onion and bell peppers. Once the pot is preheated, add the onions and cook 3-5 minutes then add bell peppers and cook 2 minutes.
- After the peppers are soft, add the spices and stir well. Cook 1 minute.
- Add about 1/2 cup of vegetable broth to the pot and scrape the bottom of the pot to get off any of the spices on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the rest of the vegetable broth, rinse split red lentils and black beans to the pot. Put the lid on the pot and cook 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, add lime juice and blend 1/2 the soup with the immersion blender (or carefully transfer to a blender).
- Top with cilantro and tortilla chips and serve hot.
Notes
- Turn on the Saute function and cook the onions (3-4 minutes) and peppers (2-3 minutes) before adding spices and cooking 1 additional minute. Turn off saute function. Add 1/2 cup of broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to ensure there are not any spices or brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except the lime juice, cilantro and tortilla chips.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Let pressure naturally release at least 10 minutes before releasing it manually.
- Add lime juice. Blend 1/2 the soup with an immersion blender or blender.
- Top with cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips.
- Rinse the lentils before adding them to the soup. Red lentils in particular need to be rinsed a few times under cold water to get all the excess starch off the lentils before cooking.
- Blending the soup helps to thicken the soup and give it a creamy, satisfying texture. You can use an immersion blender or a regular blender. Anytime you are adding hot liquids to a regular blender, it’s important to leave the lid vented so that the hot liquids don’t create too much pressure when blending.
- Allow the spices to sauté for 1-2 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. This helps the spices bloom and makes them even more flavorful.
- If you want a thinner soup, add 1 more cup of water or vegetable broth to the soup.
- Wait to add the tortilla chips to the soup until right before serving for the best texture.
- This lentil tortilla soup recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for meal prep or serving to a large group or party.
- Fridge: Store leftover lentil tortillas soup in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: This soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let the soup cool completely before transferring to the freezer in a freezer safe container. To make this easier to reheat, I recommend you freeze it in individual servings using Soupercubes (you can freeze it in 1 cup or 2 cup portions). Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag.
- Stovetop: Heat the soup (from the fridge or freezer) over medium low heat, covered until warmed through.
- Microwave: Microwave on high 3 minutes from the fridge. Microwave in 1:30 intervals from frozen until heated through.
Love this recipe also I tried to buy you a coffee but the site didn’t work
Isn’t this such a great recipe – one of my favorite comfort food meals! Thank you for the thought- I will look into that!
Can you make this in a slow cooker? If so, how?
Hi Angie. Yes you can use the slow cooker. Add all the ingredients except the lime juice, cilantro and tortilla chips to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. If you have extra time, sauté the onion and bell pepper in a skillet before adding them to the slow cooker.
Once done cooking, add lime juice and blend half the soup. Top with tortilla chips and cilantro.