This vegan soup is a wonderful, healthy, low calorie and low fat meal that is a great antidote to holiday indulging. The soup is delicious on its own, but what really takes it to the next level is serving it with a selection of different toppings/ condiments on the side. You can serve this soup year-round; in the summer I take advantage of fresh corn, in the winter I use hominy instead of corn.
If you aren’t familiar with hominy, it is corn that has been soaked in an alkali solution, which causes it to swell to 2-3 times it’s normal size. The flavor of hominy is not as sweet as fresh corn, it tastes more like the corn flavor in a corn tortilla or a tortilla chip: slightly sour and more mineraly than fresh corn. The texture of hominy is it’s best feature, it has a lovely chewy bite.
- 3 TBSP canola oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/2 green pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 yellow, orange or red pepper, finely diced
- 1 jalepeno, serrano, or fresno, seeded and minced (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP of cumin
- 1 tsp oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 1 1/2 TBSP of ancho chile
- 2 tsp chile de arbol (optional)
- 1 20oz can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted tomatoes are great in this)
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 zucchini, finely diced
- 3/4 cup corn (fresh or frozen) or hominy
- 2 TBSP cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 10-12 oz cooked beans (black, pinto, garbanzo, etc.) or 2 oz per serving
- 10-12 oz cooked and shredded chicken or turkey or 1-3 oz per serving
- 10-12 oz cooked and chopped shrimp or 1-3 oz per serving
- 10-12 oz cooked lean ground beef or bison or 1- 2 oz per serving
- crumbled tortilla chips
- minced red onion
- diced avocado
- chopped fresh cilantro
- fried tortilla strips
- diced fresh tomato
- sour cream
- shredded pepper jack or cheddar cheese
- crumbled cotija cheese
- shredded lettuce
- pickled jalepenos
- lime wedges
- Heat oil to medium high heat in large soup pot.
- Add onion, bell peppers, and jalepeno (if using) and sautee for ~5 minutes until vegetables are softened.
- Add garlic, tomato paste, cumin, oregano and ancho and sautee for another 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes (including juice) and broth and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 10 minutes, then add zuchinni, hominy, and black beans and simmer for 10 more minutes.
- Remove soup from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.
- Serve with optional toppings of your choice.
- *To make this soup customizable to multiple diets, I have provided protein measurements for individual servings and for the entire batch, depending on your preference.
