Move over tortilla soup, there's a new guy in town! Both healthy and flavorful, this vegan tequila lime chickpea soup will be your new Mexican favorite!
Preheat oven to 300°f (190°C) if using a Dutch oven.
Saute peppers, onions and garlic over medium heat until just soft with only ½ teaspoon of the salt and using broth to sauté (or oil if using oil) until they just begin to get soft.
Add tequila, lime juice and cilantro. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, it took me about 7-10 minutes.
Add spices, the rest of the salt, and the pre-soaked chickpeas and mix for about a minute. Then add the broth.
Bring it to a simmer, then if using the dutch oven, cover it and put it in the pre-heated oven and allow it to slowly cook for 45-60 minutes. Check at 45 minutes and if the chickpeas aren’t soft yet allow it to cook longer. You can leave it up to 60 minutes to allow it to gain more flavor.
If you are using a regular soup pot, then once the soup starts simmering, turn heat to low and allow it to slowly cook, covered, for 30-60 minutes. Start checking at 30 to make sure you don’t overcook the chickpeas. You can cook it up to 60 minutes as long as your chickpeas don’t get too soft.
Once the soup is done, put tortilla strips in a bowl then pour soup over the top so they can soak and get soft.
Top with fresh toppings of choice and enjoy! You can also puree it using an immersion blender (or regular blender once cooled) for younger kids or if you have leftovers to make it a little different the next day. It was delicious whole and in pureed form!
Notes
The chipotle powder adds a nice flavor to this soup, but feel free to omit or only put a dash if you don’t like spice. Or if you do, feel free to add more.
Depending on the type of broth you use, you may need more or less salt. You can sub some of the broth with water, but remember this may not make your soup as flavorful.
If you forget to soak the chickpeas (like I often do) you can also boil them for 20 minutes before using. This soup is designed to cook over a long period of time in order for the flavors to marinate and develop, so the chickpeas will have plenty of time to cook. If you find that they need more time, then cook the soup longer.
Tips to prep ahead: Soak chickpeas, chop/dice ingredients.
Baby/kid food idea: Puree the soup for kids of all ages to enjoy. Make sure to leave out the spice for the younger kids.