I’ve tried so many tortilla soup recipes on the Internet and although they were all very good, I didn’t feel like they were my forever recipe. I even made the popular chicken tortilla soup recipes, without the chicken of course, but always felt like the chicken was doing the heavy lifting and I wasn’t getting as good of results by not using it. So here we are! This is a version of Mom’s recipe but I make it spicier, I add tortillas to the soup to make it tortilla-ier (yes that’s a word), and I blend it to make it smoother. I’m not going to lie to you, there is a lot of chopping in this recipe. But we’ll blend the soup, so it’ll look perfect in the end no matter how it starts!

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients 

• Kosher salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons of Olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and then diced 
• 2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
• 4 jalapeños, thinly sliced
• 2 Serrano peppers, thinly sliced (omit if you don’t like it spicy)
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced 
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of coriander 
• 1 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes 
• 5 to 6 cups of veggie or not-chick’n stock (see note)
• 8 taco-sized corn tortillas, cut into triangles 
• Freshly squeezed lime juice from 1 lime (use more or less to taste)
• A couple of tablespoons of fresh cilantro, minced 
• 1 15-ounce can of black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained (optional)

Directions

1. Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat and add the Olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and a good pinch of salt, and cook for about 5 minutes until the veggies soften. 
2. Add in the garlic, jalapeños, and Serrano peppers (if using), and cook for two minutes. Now add the red and green bell peppers and another pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes more, until all the veggies are tender. 
3. Add the cumin and coriander and stir so that the spices briefly toast. Now stir in the canned tomatoes, followed by the stock. After a few minutes, I take a potato masher and mash the tomatoes so that the juices release and they cook down. You can also add the corn tortillas at this point. Let the soup simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. You’ll want to stir the soup so that nothing sticks to the bottom. I also like to taste the soup while it’s simmering and will often add more salt as well as freshly ground black pepper. 
4. Once the soup is done, let it cool down before adding it to a high-speed blender (see note) and blending until smooth. 
5. To finish, I like to squeeze in the juice of a whole lime, but use more or less to taste, and finish with the cilantro. You can also stir in the beans (if using) and garnish with cheese, avocado, tortilla strips, sour cream, or anything else you like. 

Notes:

• BROTH: I usually use the Edward & Sons Not-Chick’n bouillon cubes and dissolve them in hot water to make my broth. Use whatever stock you think tastes the best! If you like a thicker soup, use 5 cups of broth. 
• BLENDER: I recommend using a high-speed blender for this. Unfortunately, my immersion blender wasn’t able to fully puree the soup to the consistency we want.