This naturally gluten free vegetarian taco soup recipe is full of satisfying flavor, and jam packed with veggies.
The other day I was thinking about just how good a big bowl of taco soup would taste for dinner, but didn’t have any ground beef thawed. Then it came to me like an epiphany: I did need to use up a head of cauliflower that was starting to get a little bit past its prime. Well, why not: Vegetarian Chipotle Taco Soup with Cauliflower, then?
This vegetarian taco soup recipe riffs off my favorite easy chipotle taco soup recipe, but I upped the seasonings a bit to balance out the cauliflower — and also threw in some mushrooms and a splash of lime juice, to help make up for the loss of the umami flavor you’d otherwise pick up from the ground beef in the original.
Oh, and isn’t this just the prettiest little spiral bowl? I just love it. I found it at Goodwill a while back, but it’s originally from Crate & Barrel.
You’ll definitely want to top this soup with cheese, and possibly also with something crunchy to balance out the soft, crumbly cauliflower. I topped mine with a few crispy sea salt & lime poblanos from ALDI (which have a few more ingredients than I normally like to see, but they only roll around a couple times a year and are sooo satisfyingly lime-y and crunchy!). Tortilla chips would also be great.
Vegetarian Chipotle Taco Soup with Cauliflower
Ingredients
1 medium-to-large head of cauliflower, crumbled
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 a medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about six cloves)
3 tsp chili powder, divided
2 tsp smoked paprika, divided
32 oz vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
8 oz can tomato sauce
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can corn, drained
2 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotles in adobo, chopped
1 Tbsp sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo
Juice of 1/4 of a small lime
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
Sea salt, to taste
Directions
First, prepare your veggies: Chop the cauliflower into large florets, then pulse in batches in a food processor until crumbled. Pulse the mushrooms in the food processor until chopped. Chop the onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and chipotle pepper.
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil for one minute in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper and cook for four minutes, until they begin to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the cauliflower and mushrooms.
Season the veggies with 1 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp smoked paprika. Continue to cook over medium-high heat for another 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, open all of the cans, drain and rinse the black beans, and drain the corn.
After sauteing the cauliflower and mushrooms for 7 minutes, stir in all of the other ingredients, including the rest of the chili powder and smoked paprika. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
Serve the taco soup hot, topped with shredded cheese. (I also threw some crunchy sea salt & lime poblanos onto mine.)
Note: Cauliflower has a better texture roasted, but since it’s summertime, I decided to do this soup entirely on the stove top today. You can also leave the florets a little bigger instead of crumbling them as I did here; it’s all a matter of textural preference.
Such an easy, veggie packed, Vegetarian Taco Soup recipe
This vegetarian taco soup experiment turned out pretty darn well and pretty darn satisfying, although it’s not an inherently pretty soup — it’s actually fairly monochrome before adding the toppings. 🙂 The taco soup flavor is spot on, but you do get the crumbled cauliflower in every bite; if that texture doesn’t appeal to you, chop the florets a bit larger and perhaps saute them a bit longer.
Vegetarian chipotle taco soup is a savory & naturally gluten free choice for your next Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday. Looking for more vegetarian recipe ideas? Take a few minutes to browse through the Meatless Monday category for a variety of dinner options.
Vegetarian Chipotle Taco Soup with Cauliflower, printable recipe
Vegetarian Chipotle Taco Soup with Cauliflower
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium-to-large head of cauliflower crumbled
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 3 tsp chili powder divided
- 2 tsp smoked paprika divided
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1 can corn drained
- 2 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotles in adobo chopped
- 1 Tbsp sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo
- 1/4 small lime juice of
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- First, prepare your veggies: Chop the cauliflower into large florets, then pulse in batches in a food processor until crumbled. Pulse the mushrooms in the food processor until chopped. Chop the onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and chipotle pepper.
- Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil for one minute in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper and cook for four minutes, until they begin to soften.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the cauliflower and mushrooms.
- Season the veggies with 1 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp smoked paprika. Continue to cook over medium-high heat for another 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, open all of the cans, drain and rinse the black beans, and drain the corn.
- After sauteing the cauliflower and mushrooms for 7 minutes, stir in all of the other ingredients, including the rest of the chili powder and smoked paprika.
- Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Serve the taco soup hot, topped with shredded cheese. (I also threw some crunchy sea salt & lime poblanos onto mine.)
Notes
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