Vegetarian Tortilla Soup with black beans and rice and other hearty vegetables. In a rich and flavorful broth made from dried chiles and spices.

If you’re craving a hot bowl of something else filling and veggie-based, you should check out the Hearty Vegetable Stew and the Thai Red Veggie Curry.

I’m always here for quick, easy, and delicious meals. The Vegetarian Tortilla Soup is made from scratch but takes less than an hour to prep and cook. As we step into fall, you’ll want a bowl of this fresh and flavorful soup, packed with proteins and fiber.

I love how easy it is to modify this recipe for even the pickiest of eaters. More importantly, this homemade version isn’t nearly as salty as the chain restaurant variety.

The Vegetarian Tortilla Soup with black beans and rice is a nutritious meal that the whole family will enjoy. Let’s get those spicy aromas going in the kitchen!

vegetarian tortilla soup w/ black beans and rice

Ingredients Needed for the Vegetarian Tortilla Soup with Black Beans and Rice:

To start, gather all your veggies. I suggest Chayote squash, corn, and carrots. Chayote is similar to zucchini but keeps its texture in the soup, without getting too mushy. If you don’t have this, zucchini or yellow squash will do.

For the beans and rice, you’ll need one can of drained and rinsed black beans and cooked white rice. Brown rice or even quinoa can be substituted for the white rice. Get creative and add what you have on hand, or your fave veggies and starches!

When building your soup base, make sure you have Guajillo chiles, Arbol chiles (optional), Roma tomatoes, garlic cloves, bay leaves, oregano, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, salt and limes.

You’ll need diced onions, chopped cilantro and tortilla chips or strips, for garnish.

Cooking the Vegetables:

First, bring the water and vegetables to a boil over medium heat in a large stock pot. Observe the water level because you don't want it to evaporate too much. Then add water one cup at a time, as needed.

How to Make the Soup Base:

Cut or tear the guallijo and arbol peppers down the middle to remove and discard the seeds and stems. (Fun tip: If you have time and want to be resourceful, you can save the parts you don’t need to make a homemade hot sauce later.)

Next, place the chiles, tomatoes, cloves, bay leaves, and all of the other seasonings and spices into a separate stockpot and cover with about 3-4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil for 10 minutes. After that, remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully remove the bay leaves (reserve the water to use later). Next, add the peppers (and tomatoes if they didn’t dissolve), into a blender with about 1 cup of the cooking water.

The mixture should be blended on high for 1-2 minutes, until it's completely pulverized. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the chile mixture into the stockpot with the vegetables by pushing it around the strainer with a spoon. Gradually add it to the pot, until all of the chile mixture is used.

Add the cooking water (and 3-4 cups additional water) to the fine mesh strainer and continue pushing it through with a spoon. Do this is to ensure all of the flavors are extracted from the chile mixture.

As a result, your chile mixture will appear to be dry. Don't worry! It should look this way once the flavor is extracted from the straining.

Now squeeze the juice of the limes into the soup. Then add the rice and the black beans as well. Continue to heat over medium on the stove top for about 5-7 minutes.

Finally, top with tortilla strips, cilantro, onion, and sour cream, as desired.

What else can I serve with Vegetarian Tortilla Soup?

Salad pairs well with tortilla soup. A nice crusty bread, or just tortilla chips are other great options to soak up the delicious broth.

If you'd like to add a meat, rotisserie chicken would be an awesome solution to add to the soup. You can also serve it with enchiladas or quesadillas. These can be meatless... or not. I’d recommend these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.

How can I store my leftover soup?

You can freeze the leftovers. This is especially easy because the soup is dairy-free. Store it in freezer gallon size Ziploc bags, and freeze up to one month. Remove the bags from the freezer and reheat in a stockpot with a lid over medium heat.

Tortilla soup can also be refrigerated up to one week. Place in a container with an airtight lid.

📖 Recipe

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup with Black Beans and Rice

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup with black beans and rice and other hearty vegetables. In a rich and flavorful broth made from dried chiles and spices.

Print Recipe Save Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 40

Course: Mexican Inspired

Cuisine: American

Keyword: soup, vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Calories: 241kcal

Author: Tamara J.

Ingredients

2 Chayote squash diced
1 cup Corn
1 can Black beans drained and rinsed
1 cup White rice cooked
½ cup Carrots roughly chopped
4 cups Water to boil veggies beans and rice

Tortilla Soup Base

5 dried Guajillo chiles
2 dried Arbol chiles (optional)
3 Roma tomatoes
2 cloves Garlic
2 Bay leaves
½ tablespoon Oregano
½ tablespoon Ground cumin
½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons Salt adjust to taste
2 Limes juiced
1 cup Onions diced (to garnish)
1 cup Cilantro chopped (to garnish)
Tortilla chips or strips to garnish

Instructions

Vegetables: Using a large stock pot, add the water and vegetables and bring to a boil over medium heat (do not add the rice and beans yet). Keep and eye on the water level to ensure it does not evaporate too much (add water one cup at a time as needed)
Soup Base: Cut or tear the guallijo and arbol peppers down the middle to remove and discard the seeds and stems.
Place the chiles, tomatoes, cloves, bay leaves, and all of the other seasonings and spices into a separate stockpot and cover with about 3-4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully remove the bay leaves (reserve the water to use later). Add the peppers (and tomatoes if they didn’t dissolve), into a blender with about 1 cup of the cooking water.
Blend on high for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is completely pulverized. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the chile mixture into the stockpot with the vegetables by pushing it around the strainer with a spoon. Add a little bit at a time, until all of the chile mixture is used.
Add the cooking water (and 3-4 cups additional water) to the fine mesh strainer and continue pushing it through with a spoon. This is to ensure all of the flavors are extracted from the chile mixture. The chile mixture will look really dried-up once the flavor is extracted from the straining.
Squeeze the juice of the limes into the soup. Now add the rice and the black beans as well. Continue to heat over medium on the stove top for about 5-7 minutes.
Top with tortilla strips, cilantro, onion, and sour cream if desired.