This tortilla soup is a flavor explosion! In an effort to finish up all my pantry essentials that I’ve collected during self-isolation I have stumbled across this delicious soup. This smoky, rich soup is made quickly in the Instant Pot with dried pinto beans, onion, garlic, cumin, jalapeño, fire roasted tomatoes and spices. Crumble in some tortilla strips and blend until creamy. Top it with some corn, lime avocado, cilantro and some more tortilla chips for a spicy, Mexican-inspired dish! It’s a flavorful, protein packed and filling vegan meal!
Tortilla soup gets its name because there’s literally tortillas crumbled/mixed into the soup! In my case I used tortilla chips, but you can feel free to use corn tortillas. This, combined with the pinto beans makes this soup a high fiber, high protein meal that will keep you full for quite a while.
I’ve made a similar recipe here in the past, my Pinto Bean Poblano Soup, but this was the first time I experimented with using dried beans vs. canned. I posted my experiment on my Instagram stories and it turned out to be a huge success!
Pantry Essentials
The pantry essentials I used up in this recipe are:
- Dried Pinto beans (only $1 for a 2 LB bag)
- Muir Glen Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- Frozen corn, defrosted
- Better than Bullion (a quick vegetable broth alternative that keeps well in the refrigerator)
- Onions (which keep well in the refrigerator for weeks, if not months!)
An Easy Meal to Prepare!
Using the Instant Pot has saved me so much time over the years. All the ingredients go in and cook quickly, without any risk of burning. The pinto beans are soaked overnight and with just 6 minutes on manual with the pressure valve in the sealing position and a 15 minutes slow release, the soup is almost ready. Just add in some corn tortillas or tortilla chips and blend using an Immersion Blender. Top with some corn, crumbled tortilla crips and avocado!
Optional Toppings
- Scallions
- Crumbled Tortilla Chips
- Cilantro
- Red Onion
- Vegan Yogurt
- Lime Juice
- Hot Sauce!
Note: You absolutely can make this dish with unsoaked beans, but keep in mind that it will take much longer to cook in the instant pot and may not have the desired consistency. Around 15-20 minutes instead of 6.
Instant Pot Pinto Bean Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried pinto beans soaked for 8 hours
- 1 can muir glen diced fire roasted tomatoes or diced tomatoes of choice
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped finely
- 1 jalapeno chopped
- 1 tsp Better than Bullion or 1 can vegetable broth
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 1 cup frozen corn defrosted
- 2 handfuls tortilla chips crumbled
Spices
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
Optional Toppings
- tortilla chips crumbled
- avocado cubes
- diced scallions
- vegan yogurt
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to saute setting and add 1 tsp cumin seeds.
- Once cumin seeds sputter, add onions and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add 1 chopped jalapeno pepper and 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp cumin powder and stir to combine. Allow the spices to blend for 1 minute.
- Add 1 can fire roasted tomatoes and let them cook down for 1-2 minutes until they become a little bit less "tomatoey." Add 1 tsp salt.
- Add in the dried beans, 2 cups of water and 1 tsp better than bullion.
- Cover and cook on manual for 6 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position. Allow a 15 minute slow release for the pressure to release naturally.
- Once you open the instant pot, the pinto beans should be fully cooked. Crumble in some tortilla chips and blend carefully using an immersion blender.
- Mix in 1 cup of defrosted corn for texture and the juice of half a lime. Adjust salt to taste. Add water if needed to reach your desired consistency. I like my soup slightly on the thicker side. At this point you may add 1 tsp cayenne if you would like the soup to be spicer.
- Serve, topped with some more crumbled tortilla chips, chopped cilantro and some avocado, or any of the optional toppings listed above!
Notes
IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE, PLEASE BE SURE TO TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR CREATIONS AND TAG @IAMSTUFFT ON INSTAGRAM!
