When life gives you failed vegan jalapeño popper filling, you make tortilla soup!

(or at least that is what happened to me!)

But that is okay. Because we now have this delicious vegan tortilla soup, which got rave reviews from both me and my husband!

Southwest Flavor Explosion

Yes! It was that exactly. But I know you want the story on the failure, because well who doesn’t like those type of stories?

I was brainstorming how to use the leftover vegan cream cheese from our Chocolate Dipped Snickerdoodle Cookies and had a few ideas going around in my brain…I threw out an idea that sounded delicious but complicated…and then because I had quite a few jalapeños in my veggie drawer settled on making some type of black bean jalapeño filling. BUT I made a huge mistake and melted my cream cheese…which made the filling way too runny to use for a stuffed jalapeño.

So I was standing at my stove, looking at the failed popper filling, thinking what is a gal to do?

Then I took stock of what was on my counter. Green pepper, check. Onion, check.

I looked in the pantry. Diced tomatoes, check. And I knew the freezer had corn…

SO an idea was born. Tortilla soup with loads of southwest flavor, my failed jalapeño popper filling, green pepper, onion, corn and more!

Some Like It Hot

And yes I like a little heat. But if you want to have less heat, omit or reduce the cayenne pepper, it is that easy!

Other spices to have on hand are smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, chili powder and oregano.

These flavors go so well together!

Let’s Make Tortilla Soup!

This recipe turned out so good. I served it topped cilantro, vegan sour cream and avocado!

We also threw some cooked, diced sweet potato into it. Note, I did not include potato in the recipe as I wanted the leftover soup to go in the freezer and potatoes do not freeze well. (they get very mushy!).

So that being said, you can customize this to your particular tastes or needs. It’s that easy!

If you make this soup, tag @badtothebowl – we would love to see it!

Tortilla Soup (V, GF, DF)

Recipe by SarahCourse: Soups

Bursting with flavor this soup is perfect for nights when you need both comfort and warmth!

Ingredients

1 & 1/2 cup no salt added cooked black beans*
1 – 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis
2 – 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
1 – 4 oz can diced green chilis
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tub vegan cream cheese
1 jalapeño diced
1 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup white onion, diced
1 cup frozen corn
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper**
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
2 corn tortillas

Directions

In large stock pot, water sauté jalapeño, green pepper, onion and garlic cloves. Add cream cheese, diced tomatoes with green chilis, green chilis and petite diced tomatoes. Stir until cream cheese is melted.
Add vegetable broth, black beans and all spices. Stir well.
Bring to a boil. And simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove 1 – 1/2 cups of mixture and place in a blender. Blend with your two tortillas until pureéd consistency.
Add purée back to stock pot with corn. Bring to a boil.
Simmer for another 20-30 minutes until all vegetables are soft.
Served topped with tortilla strips, vegan sour cream and cilantro! A splash of lime, sliced avocado or guacamole may also be nice additions.

Notes

We also threw some cooked, diced sweet potato into it. Note, I did not include potato in the recipe as I wanted the leftover soup to go in the freezer and potatoes do not freeze well. (they get very mushy!).
*You could alternately use 2 – 15 oz cans of no salt added black beans, you may want to add another 1/2 cup of vegetable broth if you do this!
**adjust to your level of spiciness