This is a super quick and easy Vegan Taco Soup with the meatiest Vegan Taco Meat ever. If you are craving a simple, delicious taco-flavored soup, make this one in 20 minutes! Serve it hot with tortilla chips, avocado slices, and sour cream.
Do you also love Tex-Mex comfort food? We sure do. Check out the Best Damn Vegan Chili recipe or this Fajita Veggies recipe prepared in one sheet pan or this Vegan Portobello Mushroom Fajitas. How about a creamy Vegan Queso Dip or a Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce both of which are nut-free and soy-free?
Taco Soup vs Tortilla Soup
We love this soup, but I wasn’t sure how to name it at first as I heard people using taco soup and tortilla soup interchangeably. However, there is a huge difference even in ingredients. The main reason why is that Taco Soup is actually a Midwest American / Tex-Mex dish, while Tortilla Soup is a traditional Mexican one. What does that exactly mean?
- Taco soup is actually a liquid version of taco containing ground beef, tomatoes, beans, corn, hot peppers (optionally), onions seasoned with a taco spice mix. It is often served or topped with avocado slices, sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips or nachos. It can be as thick as chili or as thin as soup depending on people’s taste.
- Tortilla soup is a traditional Central Mexican soup recipe using a tomato-based broth with roasted tomatoes, roasted onions, and roasted hot chili peppers topped with fried soft corn tortilla strips. There are different variations where shredded chicken or beans or even pork skins are also added. It supposed to be quite spicy and hot.
Ingredients of our Vegan Taco Soup
So you see now why we call this dish Taco Soup and not Tortilla soup. We do make this recipe having tacos in mind. This a spicy, but not at all hot soup that is family- and budget-friendly with simple ingredients like:
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- vegan ground beef
- canned sweet corn
- canned beans
- chopped tomatoes
- vegetable broth
- olive oil
- onion
- garlic
- vegan taco seasoning (we use this one*)
- lime juice
Best vegan ground beef for vegetarian taco soup
The perfect minced beef substitute for soups is TVP* (textured vegetable protein). What is TVP? It is actually only soy flour, no other ingredients. They add water to it to make a paste, then it is pressure-cooked, then dehydrated. Why is it better than any other vegan ground beef alternatives? I give you 5 reasons:
- Only one ingredient compared to branded ground beef products.
- It has a neutral taste, so it picks up spices and seasoning without altering the taste of the soup.
- The texture is spot on. You can see and taste the crumbles in the soup.
- Compared to mushroom-, cauliflower-, or walnut mince, which is just too small to not get lost in the soup. TVP will not disintegrate in a soup into tiny bits and pieces like them. Not to mention, their unique taste will change the flavor of the whole soup.
- Lentils will be lentils. They look like lentils and taste like lentils. There is a good chance if you add too much, the supposedly vegan taco soup with lentils will turn into a vegan lentil soup.
All in all, the best plant-based alternative by far for soups is TVP. You can read more about TVP in our ingredient guide titled “What is TVP? 10 TVP Recipes You Should Try First“
How to make Vegan Taco Soup
You will see it is the easiest vegan taco soup recipe you can make. Your soup will be ready before you know it. At most, it will take 20 minutes with minimal preparation.
- Take a stockpot or a Dutch oven and bring it to medium heat. Add olive oil, and chopped onion. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is soft and tender.
- Add finely chopped garlic. Stir and cook for another minute.
- Add chopped tomatoes in sauce (we use this one), salt, black pepper, taco seasoning mix*, and nutritional yeast. Stir until combined. Bring it to boil.
- Add vegetable broth and mix well. Bring it to boil.
- Add dry TVP*. No need to soak them. The TVP crumbles will be hydrated in the soup. Cook for 5 minutes until TVP is soft.
- Add canned sweet corn, and canned beans. Bring it to boil. Adjust seasoning as per your taste, and add lime juice. Your taco soup is ready to be served.
What to serve with a meatless taco soup?
We love to add various toppings like vegan sour cream, guacamole, or just chopped avocado, shredded vegan cheese, hot salsa, spring onion, chives, cilantro, or lime. Other popular side dishes are biscuits, cornbread, tortilla chips, or potato fries. Let us know in the comments what is your favorite side dish to east with this easy taco soup!
FAQs and substitutions
Can you use other beans?
Of course, whatever you have on hand. The most popular beans in Tex-Mex recipes are kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans. They all work perfectly in this recipe and others. We add red kidney beans to our Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili, or a mix of red and white kidney beans (also known as cannellini beans) to our Easy Vegan Bean Chili recipe. We use black beans for Chipotle Burrito and Chipotle Veggie Bowl recipes.
Can you use other vegan ground beef?
There are several vegan ground meat substitutes. We love TVP in soups for the reasons I listed in the beginning. However, if you want something soy-free then try adding millet. We use millet as a minced meat alternative in this Easy Vegan Bean Chili recipe and works perfectly. Other plant-based alternatives like mushroom-, cauliflower-, or walnut mince, and even lentils have a unique taste that will change the flavor of the whole soup.
How to store it?
You can store this taco soup in a fridge for 4-5 days without any problem. It is also freezer-friendly. Freeze them per serving so you can thaw as much as you need.
This Taco Soup recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free, and gluten-free diets. It is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you sautee onion and garlic in water or veggie broth.
More vegan soup recipes
You can browse through our Vegan Gluten-free Soup Recipes or check out
- Smoky Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
- Cream of Spinach Soup
- Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Vegetarian Goulash
- Cozy Red Lentil Soup
Vegan Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Onion (medium)
- 3-4 cloves Garlic
- 1 can (14 oz) Chopped tomatoes
- 4 cup Veggie broth
- ½ cup TVP (Soy) -> What is TVP?
- 2 can (14 oz) Cannellini or White beans
- 1 cup Sweet corn (canned)
- 1 Tbsp Lime juice
- 4 tsp Taco seasoning mix
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Take a stockpot or a Dutch oven and bring it to medium heat. Add olive oil, and chopped onion. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is soft and tender.
- Add finely chopped garlic. Stir and cook for another minute.
- Add chopped tomatoes in sauce (we use this one), pinch of salt and black pepper, taco seasoning mix, and nutritional yeast. Stir until combined. Bring it to boil.
- Add vegetable broth and mix well. Bring it to boil.
- Add dry TVP. No need to soak them. The TVP crumbles will be hydrated in the soup. Cook for 5 minutes until TVP is soft.
- Add canned sweet corn, and canned beans. Bring it to boil. Adjust seasoning as per your taste and add lime juice. Your taco soup is ready to be served.
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