*This soup is dairy free, gluten free, vegan & vegetarian friendly.
Ok, I’d just like to point out the fact that I said I would post something savory today and just look at me delivering and all that. I know. I’m as shocked as you.
I actually don’t know how I haven’t shared this soup with you yet. I originally came across the base recipe over 10 years ago when I was going through culinary school and it’s been the best tortilla soup I’ve found to date.
Of course I’ve modified it slightly, but the reason I love this soup so much is that is a super elegant take on a classic comfort food soup. Is there anything that beats fancied-up comfort food? Not in my world.
The soup itself is super smooth and creamy, studded with a few tomatoes here or there. It gets it’s creaminess from being pureed with corn and corn tortillas, so no dairy is needed. The corn and tortillas also thicken it up so you don’t need a roux. Don’t be fooled by the simple looking soup base, however. It is packed with spices and flavor.
We topped ours with shredded chicken, sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and lime wedges. If you want to keep the soup vegan, use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth and omit the toppings of chicken and sour cream.
By the way, this is a fantastic way to use up leftover chicken meat. We had fajitas a few nights ago and I used the leftover shredded chicken to top this soup. It was AH-MAZING.
TIPS FOR A SILKY PUREED SOUP:
To get the smoothest puree possible, blend your soup for a longer period of time at a high speed. I’ve noticed that a soup base that has less liquid as opposed to more turns into a smooth puree more easily. If you have more liquid in your blender than solids, you may want to remove some of the liquid and set it aside until the soup is well blended, then add it back in and blend again. I try and keep the liquid levels down to just covering the solid ingredients. Also, make sure you are blending your soup for a long enough amount of time. If you use a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix, the soup should turn into a smooth puree relatively quickly, but if you are using a conventional blender you may need to run it for a few minutes.
If your soup is still not as smooth as you would like, run it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
Remember to let the soup cool before blending if your blender lid is not vented. With a Vitamix this is not problem, but with other blenders you may have a soup explosion situation due to the buildup of hot pressure from the soup.
Searching for more SOUP?
I don’t blame you. Its FREEZING outside. Here are a few that I love:
Harvest Butternut Apple Bisque
Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Barley Soup
Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 lb. Corn Kernels (fresh or frozen...thaw if using frozen)
- 4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeds removed, roughly chopped
- 1 large Anaheim Chili, seeds removed, roughly chopped
- 4 Corn tortillas, torn into large pieces
- 2½ tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 28 ounces Diced Tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 8 cups Chicken Stock (use vegetable stock to keep the soup vegan)
- Top with shredded seasoned chicken (omit to keep vegan), salsa, sour cream (omit to keep vegan), Lime wedges, and cilantro.
- Heat the olive oil in a stock pot on medium/high heat.
- Add the corn, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and Anaheim chili to the pot. Saute for 8-10 minutes, or until peppers and onions are soft. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the corn tortillas, ½ of the diced tomatoes, cumin, salt, and 6 cups of the chicken stock to the pot.
- Bring to a simmer and then remove from the heat.
- Working in batches, if needed, pour the soup into a blender and puree until velvety smooth. Depending on your blender this may take more or less time. I use a vitamix and I puree the soup for at least 1 minute at a moderately high speed. If you are using a conventional blender you may need to puree the soup for longer to achieve a perfectly smooth texture.
- Pour the soup back into the stock pot and add the remaining ½ of the tomatoes and the remaining 2 cups of broth. Bring to a simmer. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper, if desired.
- Ladle into bowls and top with salsa, cilantro, lime wedges, shredded chicken, and sour cream (omit the sour cream and chicken to keep vegan).
MMMMmmm! There’s nothing like a delicious bowl of hot soup in January! This one looks divine!