Taco Soup with Smashed Tortilla

Taco Soup with Smashed Tortilla

This one is a proper weeknight hero. We make Taco Soup on rotation when we want something that feels indulgent but comes together in 30 minutes flat. It's got all the big bold flavours you love from taco night, smoky, spicy, rich and satisfying, but in a warming bowl of soup with smashed tortilla stirred through for that extra bit of texture. Honestly, the smashed tortilla is the move. It soaks up all the broth and goes slightly soft at the edges but still has a bit of crunch in the middle. Make this tonight, you won't regret it.

Cook: 30 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 180°C
  • Large saucepan
  • Immersion blender
  • Baking tray

Ingredients

  • 1 onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • handful of coriander
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 3 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tsp chipotle paste
  • 1 400g tin of cannellini beans
  • 1 400g tin of black beans
  • 1 400g tin of good quality tomatoes
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½ lime
  • 4 tortilla wraps
  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • sliced avocado
  • coconut yoghurt
  • coriander leaves

Method

1

Prepare the ingredients

  • Peel and roughly chop the onion
  • Deseed and roughly chop the pepper
  • Peel and crush the garlic
  • Pick the coriander leaves from the stems. Finely chop the stems and reserve the leaves for later
2

For the soup

  • Heat the olive oil in the saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and pepper with a big pinch of salt and saute for 7-10 minutes until the onion is translucent and the pepper is soft. Add the garlic and saute for a further minute until fragrant. Next, add the cumin, paprika, coriander, tomato puree and chipotle paste and fry for a moment to release the delicious flavour
  • Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the pot along with the tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock cube and 500ml boiling water. Stir well and bring the soup to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 15 minutes
3

Meanwhile, make the smashed tortillas

  • Preheat the oven to 180*C setting
  • Rub the olive oil on the tortillas and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. The tortillas should be golden brown at this point
  • Remove from the oven and break the tortillas into shards
4

Finish and serve

  • Using the immersion blender, pulse the soup a couple of times to slightly blend
  • Squeeze the lime juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper
  • Divide the soup between bowls. Garnish with the crispy tortillas, slices of avocado, yoghurt and fresh coriander

Tips & Variations

  • Smash the tortillas properly: Don't just break them into big pieces. Really scrunch them up so you get a mix of sizes. The smaller bits almost melt into the soup and the bigger ones stay a bit crispy. It makes every spoonful different.
  • Adjust the heat: We like this with a decent kick but if you're cooking for people who don't love spice, just dial back the chilli and add a pinch of smoked paprika instead to keep that depth.
  • Make it even heartier: Henry always stirs in a tin of black beans or kidney beans in the last few minutes of cooking. It bulks it out nicely and adds a bit more protein without any extra effort.

Why This Works

The trick here is building the base properly. Getting the onion and pepper properly soft before anything else goes in means the whole soup has a natural sweetness underneath all that smokiness. And don't skip the coriander stems, we know most people bin them but they add a fresh, herby depth that the leaves alone just can't give you.