This vegetarian taco soup is a perfect meatless option. Lentils and black bean are combined with lots of veggies for an quick and easy soup.
Because we don’t eat a ton of meat in our house sometimes I have to get creative about what I whip together. Soup Sundays are no exception. While I don’t eat a ton of meat I also don’t buy a lot of meat substitutes either. I am not a huge fan of tofu and even the fake meat products tend to be heavily processed. So I try to stick to as many whole foods as possible. Since I was making something Mexican inspired I got a little creative with this vegetarian taco soup.
No meat, no problem
I was craving something taco like and wanted something vegetarian. Originally I was thinking I would just make an all veggie soup which would have been easy. But I wanted something to be meat like in my soup. Then I remembered – I had lentils in the fridge.
Lentils in the fridge you may ask. Yes! I am not sure when I first discovered Trader Joe’s steamed lentils [4] but since I did I have been a huge fan. Because they are already cooked all you have to do is open the package and break them apart. You can use them warm or cold (cold makes an awesome dip for parties!). Not only are they easy to use they are great from a nutritional standpoint. They are loaded with fiber, high in protein, and have a ton of vitamins and minerals [5]. Besides that – the texture of lentils almost mimics ground meat which is perfect in this taco soup.
Dump it all in a soup pot
This vegetarian taco soup is so easy and takes a LOT of help from store bought ingredients. Besides chopping a few vegetables everything else is virtually dumped into the soup pot and simmered together. So if you can open a can (or a few!) you can most definitely make this soup.
This soup is easy to make thanks to the help of:
- Pre-cooked lentils
- Canned or boxed black beans
- Pre-packaged taco seasoning – look for something low sodium and read your ingredients to avoid MSG, my favorite is from Thrive Market [6] but Frontier [7] is also a good brand I like
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Frozen fire-roasted corn
- Pre-made broth
These ingredients make this soup come together in less than thirty minutes with very little effort.
The next time you are looking for an easy meal or a meatless option try this vegetarian taco soup. And when you do be sure to rate it and leave a comment below and let me know how you like it. Or tag me on Instagram! [8]
Vegetarian Taco Soup
- Total Time: 30M
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
This vegetarian taco soup is a perfect meatless option. Lentils and black bean are combined with lots of veggies for an quick and easy soup.
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, small dice
- 2 bell pepper, small dice
- 1 jalapeño, minced (omit if you don’t like spice)
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cans black beans, drained not rinsed
- 2–2.5 c cooked lentils – French, green or brown work best here (I love the Trader Joe’s lentils but you can also buy cooked canned lentils as well)
- 14 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 oz taco seasoning package or 3 TBS taco seasoning
- 1 TBS cumin
- 4 c broth (veggie or chicken work great)
- 1.5 c frozen corn (fire-roasted if you can find it adds extra flavor!)
- 2 4.5 oz cans diced green chilis
- 1/2 c creme fraiche (if you can’t find it sour cream or Greek yogurt work here)
Additional toppings for the soup:
Scallions, cilantro, cheese (pepper jack for a little spice), jalapeños, tortilla strips, squeeze of fresh lime
Instructions
- In a large soup pot sauté yellow onion, bell peppers, jalapeño and garlic with 1 TBS olive oil over medium to medium low heat for 10 minutes until softened
- Stir in the taco seasoning and cumin and let cook a few minutes with veggies
- Add in all of the other ingredients except the creme fraiche. Turn heat up to medium, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes until everything is warmed thru and corn is no longer frozen.
- Stir in the creme fraiche. Cook 2 more minutes.
- Top with toppings of your choice
Notes
- This soup will be a thicker soup. If it is too thick thin it out with a little more broth.
- For a vegan version omit the creme fraiche and do not top with cheese
- Prep Time: 5M
- Cook Time: 25M
Find it online: https://eatbreathelove.net/vegetarian-taco-soup/ [10]
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