I am a big fan of Mexican food and making healthy, vegan versions of traditional favorites is super easy to do. I’m always making healthy quesadillas, tacos, salsas, guacamole – the list goes on – and these recipes will appear here eventually don’t worry folks. I can’t wait to share all our family favorites and the new ones I create here.
I thought I would start with this one because who doesn’t love a spicy Mexican soup to warm your spirit. I’ve been dreaming up this healthy soup over the past week to add to my recipe collection. I based this soup on traditional Tortilla Soup which I have had plenty of times at some of my favorite restaurants. I know what I love about it – it’s kind of like the soup version of an enchilada – and I knew exactly what I could do to it to make it even better. In planning this, I knew I did not want to add crisp tortilla strips to the recipe until I purchase my tortilla press so I can make sodium-free fresh tortillas. You can make tortillas without a press and I thought about doing that, but I had a fantastic idea while planning this recipe and decided to go with it.
I added toasted quinoa for the crunch instead of tortilla strips. This was such an exciting and delicious addition to this soup and I like it even better this way. Toasted quinoa adds a wonderful nuttiness that deepens the flavor of this soup, it’s unbelievable.
My husband loves to roast poblano peppers and we use them in several recipes like his homemade salsa, so I knew they were going in this soup. I also added roasted red peppers and caramelized red onions for natural sweetness, flavor and color. This blends incredibly well with the fire-roasted tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and fresh lime juice.
This soup is smoky, spicy, creamy and unbelievably fresh tasting with layers upon layers of flavors. This soup is so delish and is also loaded with healthy nutrients so you can’t go wrong with this one. Try this soup out and you will not be disappointed.
Since this soup might be considered slightly time-consuming, I suggest making a double or triple batch and freezing some – it freezes amazingly well. That way when you crave it again soon after devouring it all – and you will – all you have to do is reheat, roast some peppers and toast some quinoa. Voilà!
Toasted Quinoa Mexican Soup
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
4 cups sodium-free or reduced sodium vegetable stock
1 (28) oz can no or low-sodium fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 poblano pepper, roasted
1 red pepper, roasted
1 jalapeno, ½ of seeds removed and diced (you can remove all the seeds to reduce spice)
1 cup quinoa
1 tbsp paprika
½ tsp chipotle powder, you can substitute Mexican chili powder if you don’t have it. (reduce amount if you want a less spicey soup)
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
2 bay leaves
Pinch ground cinnamon
1 avocado, cut into ½ inch cubes
Lime wedges, for serving
Directions:
1. Roast peppers over a gas flame on your stove, turning with tongs until skin is evenly charred. Transfer to a plastic bag, close and allow to steam until cool to the touch. Peel the charred skin by hand. Once peeled cut away the stems, seeds and veins. (this can be done the day before to save time)
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onions and stir. Keep stirring until the onions start to stick and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable stock. Repeat this step, stirring often for 30 minutes, deglazing pan every so often with a small amount of vegetable stock. Cook onions for 30 minutes or until onions are a dark in color with the desired caramelized flavor.
3. While onions are caramelizing, cook quinoa according to package instructions and set aside. (this can also be done the day before if you want)
4. In a stock pot, add vegetable stock, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, paprika, coriander, cumin, bay leaves, cinnamon, chipotle powder and stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in caramelized onions and continue to cook uncovered for 5 more minutes, remove bay leaves.
5. Add cooked quinoa to non-stick skillet (I love my Cuisinart Green Gourmet Cookware) and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
6. To serve ladle soup into bowls and top with toasted quinoa, diced roasted peppers, diced avocado and fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
It’s nutrient-rich and delish. Enjoy!
19 Responses to Toasted Quinoa Mexican Soup
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About Me
Hello, my name is Jennifer. I am the author and photographer of Virtually Vegan Mama. This site will chronicle my journey creating nutrient-rich, great tasting vegan cuisine. My goal is to make a plant-based diet so easy and delicious to follow that the whole family can incorporate it into their lives. I’m building a family cookbook and sharing it with you.Foodista
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I am so making this today! (sniffle)
Hi Christina,
It will clear the sinuses right up…just ate a bowl for lunch…i'm in love with this soup…let me know how it turns out for you =)
Jen =)
Wow! Your soup sounds so good. Since becoming a vegetarian, I've missed tortilla soup, and this seems like a fine alternative. I'm on a quinoa kick, too!
wow ! that looks good
http://kitchensojourn.blogspot.com
What a fantastic idea! This looks SO delicious! I can't wait to try it!
I am attempting to slowly transition to a vegan lifestyle. Dishes like this make me really think that I can do it! Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting! I'll make it this weekend.
Good luck with your transition to a vegan lifestyle, we are having great success at my house. It definitely helps to take your favorite foods and try and come up with the best vegan versions so you don't miss all that other stuff
Thanks to all! I ate this all week and now it's gone, I'm going to have to make it again I love it so much…enjoy!
I finally made this, and OMG! You nailed the flavor of those tortilla soups that I once loved! The quinoa is a great sub for the tortillas, too. Just what the doctor ordered for my allergy woes, too!
Christina,
I'm so glad you made this and liked it. I LOVE this soup and can't wait until more people try it. I have to make some more because we ate it all over here pretty fast. I'm going to double batch it and freeze some next time.
Wow, I love this recipe too! I am always looking for new ways to prepare quinoa. Yum.
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Okay, when I first started this recipe and realized that all of the roasting and toasting was basically for garnishes, I was going to post a stinging comment about making simple soup so time consuming. I have chastised myself.
While the soup is time consuming to make (I would double the recipe) it is absolutely fabulous in its rich and smokey depth of flavor. I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted diced no salt tomatoes,and smoked paprika. I did add the chipotle powder (Note: recipe directions don’t have this ingredient mentioned)and I added some of the roasted poblano and red bell to directly in the soup. I also added salt and pepper and used lemon instead of lime (limes can be so bitter sometimes). I would bake some corn tortillas strips crisp and add those – heck why not when the oven is roasting blackening the peppers – I have an electric stove
I would rearrange the items in the recipe to mimic the flow of the directions. I usually have a lot going on in the kitchen when I’m cooking and jumping around ingredients to make sure I am including everything can be confusing.
Great recipe Jennifer, my husband and I have recently decided on eating vegan and some soup recipes are so bland I wonder if the creators have palates.
I look forward to your creations both old and new.
Thank you for this wonderful comment. I made some updates to include the chipotle in the directions, I missed that! Thanks for pointing it out, I try my best, but it’s bound to happen here and there and that’s where all you come in. I’m usually writing this with two toddlers running around so it’s difficult to not make mistakes! lol
This soup freezes VERY well and I normally make a double or triple batch so that way the only thing is to reheat, roast peppers and toast quinoa. How long does it take to roast the peppers in an electric oven, that would be another nice update for people who don’t have gas.
Sometimes my recipes do involve a few steps that might be considered time-consuming, but I try nd get as much flavor and heartiness into a recipe so it’s not lacking in flavor and no one notices it’s healthy and vegan!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving this comment…if you want an easy and delish soup to try I suggest my lentil soup with fresh cilantro and lemon…yum!
xoxo,
Jen
Oh,one question, the 1 cup of Quinoa you have as an ingredient, is this the dry measurement or the cooked measurement? I made 1 cup dry and only used 1 cup cooked.
1 cup dry…if there are leftovers it keeps nice in the fridge and is great thrown into a green salad for some protein and crunch =) I love toasted quinoa!
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