I first enjoyed tortilla soup at a friend’s house, and it was amazing! (Everything was amazing at her house!) 🙂 She and I both managed to lose the recipe, and I’ve been searching for a good one ever since. What I’m sharing here is a vegetarian version of the soup, but you can easily add chicken if you’re so inclined.
What I especially like about this recipe is all of the options for serving. Make a soup bar and let everyone doctor up their bowl according to their preferences. Perfect for entertaining!
Jump to RecipeTortilla soup ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- medium yellow onion, chopped
- red bell pepper, chopped
- small zucchini, chopped
- jalapeño or Fresno pepper, chopped (optional)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 5 medium tomatoes, chopped
- pint of your favorite salsa
- 1 can whole-kernel corn (I bought a can with no salt added, and I didn’t drain it.)
- 1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
- 1 can of your favorite beans, drained and rinsed
Serve with tortilla chips, chopped avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, chopped fresh hot peppers, sour cream, or a lime wedge. Choose whatever you like!






Tortilla soup instructions:
Cook and stir the onion, zucchini, and peppers in the oil with the seasonings for several minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes, salsa, corn, lentils, and beans. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top as desired with tortilla chips, chopped avocado, fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, hot peppers, and sour cream.
Recipe variations
You can make this as spicy as you want. You control the heat of the salsa, as well as the type and quantity of hot peppers. Feel free to turn up the heat.
This is wonderful with chicken added. I would add a cup of chopped cooked chicken, and if you want more than that you might just replace the lentils with the chicken. Alternatively, have a bowl of chopped cooked chicken available for guests to add. That way some could stick with the vegetarian option if they prefer.
Use whatever type of shredded cheese you prefer. Sharp cheddar, pepper jack, or a Mexican blend would all work well.

tortilla soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 jalapeño or Fresno pepper (optional)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 5 medium tomatoes
- 1 pint your favorite salsa
- 15 ounces canned whole-kernel corn
- 15 ounces your favorite canned beans
- 1 cup dry red lentils
Garnish with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, diced avocado, diced tomato, fresh cilantro, sour cream, a lime wedge, and additional hot peppers.
Instructions
- Clean and chop the onion, peppers, and zucchini. Add to a large soup pot with the olive oil and seasonings. Cook and stir over medium heat until the onion begins to soften, about five minutes.
- Clean and chop the tomatoes. Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the soup pot along with the broth, corn, and salsa. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish as desired with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, diced avocado, diced tomato, fresh cilantro, sour cream, and additional hot peppers.
Notes
- Turn up the heat if you like. Adjust the type and quantity of hot peppers to your preferences.
- I used corn with no salt added, so I did not drain it.
- Add cooked shredded chicken if you like. For a group, you can always offer it separately in case there are vegetarians.
Let me know what you think of this lentil tortilla soup!
I enjoy soup any time of year, but I prefer it when it’s cold outside. My dad always teased my mom for mentioning “soup weather,” but I understand what she means. 🙂
Other posts you may like:
- book review: Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
- prayer walk on a college campus: a complete guide
- The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith: survival, sacrifice, and secrets
- homemade chai: spicy indulgence
- word of the year
Fondly,
Crysti

This tasty tortilla soup is perfect today where it’s -20degrees Celsius! And perfect because I am trying to have a mostly plant based diet. I will be making this for sure!
That’s awesome, Kathy! I hope you like it.
Thank you for this tasty tortilla soup recipe! I love that there are so many ways to customize it when serving. I just started cooking with avocado oil, and I think it would be great to try in this recipe when cooking the vegetables as an alternative to olive oil. Thanks for the inspiration!
Agreed, Lisa–avocado oil would be fantastic!
This tortilla soup is a great recipe and the fact that it’s vegetarian means it can be catered to everyone. A must try. Thanks for sharing,
Thanks so much! I love versatile recipes. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this tasty tortilla soup recipe! Sounds so easy to make and delicious. I am eager to try it.
Wonderful, Hadassah, thank you!
Yum! This tasty tortilla soup sounds perfect on a cold, winter day! I love the idea to make a soup bar for a party and let everyone enjoy their own bowl of goodness!
Thanks, Debbie–What a great turn of phrase, “bowl of goodness”!
Thanks a lot for this tasty tortilla soup recipe. Love its overall texture and flavor!
Thanks, Hari! I’m glad you like it.