The fall tortilla soup of your dreams- with pumpkin! This incredible soup takes on a creamy aspect with the tortillas cooked slowly in the broth and the yummy pumpkin when it’s all blended together. It is absolutely heaven
I begin by roasting the pumpkin in the oven, and while thats going I make an amazing broth with garlic, onions, seasonings, tortillas, and vegetable broth. At the end, everything is blended together to make a beautiful pumpkin tortilla soup bisque, and is filled with charred corn, bell pepper, jalapenos, and black beans.
The really fun thing about this soup is that you can top it with a bunch of fun items, like crispy corn tortilla strips, raw onion, cilantro, vegan cheese, and avocado. Let your pumpkin tortilla soup dreams run wild with toppings!
One thing to mention, is that I use nutritional yeast in this recipe. It adds a great nutty and cheesy flavor. If you want to find out more about nutritional yeast, check out my Vegan Essentials Guide.
This soup is rich, savory, a touch spicy, and fairly healthy! I hope that soup becomes a new fall staple for you! It has certainly become a staple in my home.
I’ll first give you the recipe for the Pumpkin Tortilla Soup, and then I’ll give you a quick recipe for crispy corn tortilla strips for topping. You can also use some regular tortilla chips, but these are fun and easy to make, and make your dinner that much fancier! 🙂
Pumpkin Tortilla Soup Ingredients:
- 1 Pie pumpkin
- 4 Corn Tortillas (8 inches)
- 4 Cups of Vegetable Broth (I like a “No Chicken Broth”)
- 2 cans of black beans (strained and rinsed)
- 2 cups of filtered water
- 3 Tbs. Nutritional Yeast
- 3 Tbs. of Olive oil (divided)
- 10 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)
- 1 Large Yellow Onion (chopped)
- 1 Large Green Bell Pepper (finely chopped)
- 2 Large Jalapenos (seeded and finely chopped)
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- 2 Tbs. tomato paste
- 3 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. garlic
- 1 1/2-2 tsp salt (divided and to taste)
Pumpkin Tortilla Soup Method:
- First begin by preheating your oven to 425º F. Cut your pumpkin in half vertically from the top of the pumpkin’s stem to the base of the pumpkin. Remove all of the seeds and inner “gunk,” and rub it generously with olive oil- about one to two Tablespoons.
- Next, season the pumpkins with 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper, and 1 tsp. of cumin. Place the pumpkins flat side/flesh side down on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. You want them to be pretty tender because they will be getting blended later on.
- While the pumpkin is in the oven baking, prepare your veggie tortilla broth. Heat about 1 Tbs. of olive oil in a large stock pot and add in your chopped onions and garlic. Sauté over medium/high heat for about four minutes until the onions and garlic begin to get a little browned on the sides.
- Add in your tomato paste and cook that for a couple of minutes until that becomes a brown color and is beginning to stick to the bottom a bit.
- Now you will add in your four cups of vegetable broth, and scrape up any bits that are sticking to the bottom.
- Keep your broth on medium/high heat until it comes to a boil. In the meantime, roughly tear up your four corn tortillas and drop them into the broth. Season the broth with the 3 tsp. of chili powder, 1 tsp. of garlic powder, and 1 tsp. of salt. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot and lower the heat to a low simmer. Let it simmer while the pumpkin finishes baking.
- This is an opportune time to char the veggies for your soup. In a large dry cast iron skillet (or other non-stick skillet) place your finely chopped green bell pepper and your seeded and finely chopped jalapenos over medium/high heat. Let these cook and get a bit charred for about 8-10 minutes. When they have a nice char, add in the frozen corn and let that cook for another 3-4 minutes, and set aside. You will add in this veggie mix to the soup at the end.
- When the pumpkin is baked nice and tender, take it out of the oven and set aside to cool a bit to handle.
- While the pumpkin is cooling, place the entire pot of the veggie tortilla broth into a blender and blend until smooth. Place the blended broth back in the large stock pot.
- Next, carefully remove the pumpkin stem and skins from the baked pumpkin. Roughly chop the pumpkin, and place it into a blender with the two cups of water, nutritional yeast, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Blend until smooth and add it to the large pot of veggie tortilla broth.
- Mix together the two blended concoctions well. Then, add in the charred veggies. Strain and rinse two cans of black beans and add those into the soup also. Mix well, bring everything back to a boil, and serve! Make sure that you taste and add extra salt if you think it needs it!
- Top with crispy tortilla strips, avocado, cilantro, vegan cheese, fresh onion, and hot sauce! Again, let your dreams run wild! This is your soup after all! Enjoy! Recipe for Crispy Corn Tortilla Strips below.
Crispy Corn Tortilla Strips:
- 6 8 inch corn tortillas cut into small strips
- Avocado oil- enough to coat the bottom of a pan
- Salt- to taste or about 1/2 tsp.
Crispy Corn Tortilla Strips Method:
- Slice your corn tortillas into thin strips- about 1/4 of an inch by 1 – 1 1/2 inches.
- Pour avocado oil into a medium skillet until it thoroughly covers the bottom.. I use avocado oil because it has a high smoke point. You could also use peanut oil or canola oil. Heat it to medium/high heat.
- Place and end of one of the corn tortilla strips into the hot oil. If it bubbles, it is ready to fry.
- In batches, fry the tortilla strips for one to two minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Drain on a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with salt, and enjoy!
If you’d like to check out another cozy recipe for fall, think about my Absolute Best Vegan Chili recipe.