Mexican Vegetable Soup

This Mexican Vegetable Soup is a tasty and satisfying soup, jam-packed with veggies and beans. Warming and filling this soup is also vegan and gluten-free.


Soup is hands down one of my favourite things to make, it’s budget-friendly, easy to make, and it doubles up as lunch or supper. This Mexican vegetable soup is warming filling and full of flavour.

Jam-packed with veggies and beans, this soup is warmly spiced so the kids can enjoy it too. It's also vegan and gluten-free. Delicious and nutritious this soup is great for lunch or dinner, just serve with some great bread and you're done.

What You'll Need

• The base - you'll need 1 large brown onion, 1 medium carrot and 1 stalk of celery, garlic and jalapeño pepper.
• Spices and herbs - you will need dried
• Vegetables - courgettes/zucchini, bell peppers, sweet corn and chopped tomatoes. I use canned sweet corn for this but you could use frozen or fresh corn is you wish.
• Beans - I use one can of black beans, you can add other beans in if you like, kidney beans work really well.
• Limes - a couple of fresh limes for juicing and for serving.

How To Make Mexican Vegetable Soup

1. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to 10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.  Then add the carrot and celery and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the garlic and chilli and cook for one minute, then add the spices and the dried herbs.
2. As soon as the spices release their aromas pour in the chopped tomatoes. Fill one of the tins with water give it a little swirl then pour that into the pan. Repeat with the second can, but fill this can to half with water then add that to the pan and stir well.
3. Now add the vegetables, beans and sweetcorn. Finally, add the salt and pepper and lime juice. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Check the seasoning, if you need more salt or pepper, add it now. Stir in the chopped coriander/cilantro and serve immediately. Serve with some lime wedges, coriander/cilantro leaves, and some good crusty bread.

Why This Recipe Works

• Under 200 calories per serving.
• Accidentally vegan and gluten-free.
• Kid-approved, this is an easy family lunch or dinner.
• Totally satisfying and seriously tasty.

Tips For Making The Best Mexican Vegetable Soup

• I used green bell pepper and a sweet orange Romano pepper, but use what you have in your fridge just make sure the veg can hold it's own and doesn't melt into the soup, once thickly cut the courgette will hold it's own.
• Black beans are just the right size bean with all that chunky veg but red kidney beans work well too. Sweetcorn adds a little sweetness here too, I used canned but frozen or fresh is good too.
• I tend to keep the heat slightly subdued for my families tastebuds, but you can easily notch it up a bit if you like. Red chilli flakes are my favourite way of adding heat to this, a good pinch will do the trick. Half a teaspoon of dried chilli will also give you a seriously good kick.

Freezing and Storing

Storing - This soup keeps well in the fridge and is great reheated the following day. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezing - To freeze this soup, slightly undercook it, so the vegetables are al dente. They will cook when you are reheating your soup. Skip adding the fresh coriander and lime juice, add these when you are reheating the soup. Make sure your soup is completely cooled before you freeze it. Use freezer-proof containers or food bags and be careful not to overfill them. Individual portions work best, they are easier to defrost. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating until piping hot. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

How To Serve It

We like to have this with some good crusty bread, however, crispy tortilla strips are great with it too. Extras that work well are some chopped avocado, crumbled feta cheese, a dollop of sour cream if you're not vegan, or some mixed seeds.

Need More Tasty Soup Recipes? Try these: 

• Vegetable Orzo Soup
• Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup
• Spiced Carrot and Coriander Soup
• Spicy Vegetable Soup

Have you made this Mexican Vegetable Soup Recipe? Rate it and leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!

Mexican Vegetable Soup

A chunky, Mexican vegetable soup, packed full with veggies and beans. This soup is guaranteed to keep you warm and full.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 195kcal

Author: Michelle Alston

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 large brown onion (220g) finely chopped
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium carrot (80g) peeled and finely chopped
• ▢ 1 stalk of celery chopped
• ▢ 1 medium red jalapeño pepper seeds and pith removed and finely chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves of garlic minced
• ▢ ½ heaped tbsp dried oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried coriander
• ▢ 1 heaped tsp cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ 2 x 400g cans of chopped/diced tomatoes (2 x 14.5oz cans)
• ▢ 1 small courgette/zucchini (180g) cut in half lengthways then sliced diagonally
• ▢ 1 medium green bell pepper (180g) pith and seeds removed and roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 medium orange sweet pepper (romano pepper) pith and seeds removed and roughly chopped
• ▢ 140 g sweetcorn kernels (¾ cup)
• ▢ 1 x 400g black beans (1 x 15oz can) drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 small handful of fresh coriander/cilantro chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Then add the carrot and celery and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Now add the garlic and chilli,  cook for one minute then add the spices and the dried herbs. Cook for another minute then add the chopped tomatoes. Fill one of the tins with water give it a little swirl then pour into the pan. Repeat, but fill the can to half and add to the pan. Stir well.
• Add the vegetables, beans and sweetcorn. Finally, add the salt and pepper and lime juice. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Check the seasoning, if you need more salt or pepper, add it now.

  Stir in the chopped coriander and serve immediately.
• Serve with some lime wedges, coriander leaves, and some good crusty bread.

Notes

• Vegetables - You can adapt the veggies according to your own taste or what you have in your fridge, however, peppers work really well as does thickly cut courgette/zucchini.
• Beans - I use black beans for this soup, however, red kidney beans or black-eyed beans work really well too.
• Texture - This is quite chunky if you prefer less eating in your soup, chop up the peppers small, but you will need to keep the courgette chunky.
• Storing - This can be kept in the fridge for 2 or 3 days, reheat it on the hob or in the microwave.
• Freezing - This soup is suitable for freezing, I recommend you slightly undercook the soup if you intend to freeze it, this will help reduce the chances of the vegetables becoming overly soggy. 
• Nutritional Information - is approximate, it is calculated using an online nutrition tool and is based on one serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 34.1g | Protein: 9.1g | Fat: 3.5g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 236mg | Potassium: 715mg | Fiber: 7.5g | Sugar: 7g | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3mg

Did you Make this Recipe? Save it Today!Mention me on Instagram at @thelastfoodblog or tag #thelastfoodblog!

*This recipe was first published on September 10, 2018, it has now been updated with nutritional information and expert tips.