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Did you ever think to yourself? These enchiladas are so good, I wish I could drink it? Just me?
Ok, maybe you just want a warm bowl of comfort. Either way, this red enchilada soup with rice is going to hit the mark every single time. And trust me, I’ve made dozens of vegan soup recipes, so I know what it takes to hit the spot every single time.
Want even more enchilada recipes? Try our enchilada stuffed shells or our jackfruit and black bean enchiladas.
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Why You’ll Love this Dish:
- Big Flavor with Simple Ingredients – A few simple and easy to find ingredients make this dish come together.
- Meal Prep – This lasts all week which is always a win, plus it can be frozen for even longer meal prep options!
- Easy – This comes together really easily and all in one pot!
Ingredients for enchilada soup:
Gather your ingredients!
Enchilada Sauce
You can use canned enchilada sauce to make this go faster, or you can use our homemade enchilada sauce recipe.
Substitute: You could swap for green enchilada sauce if you want a different flavor profile that’s still somewhat similar.
Fresh Vegetables and Flavor
These are aromatics that are helping us build our flavor: onions, garlic, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, and limes.
Substitute: With the poblano and jalapeno, you definitely get a kick to this soup. If you need less heat, swap one for a bell pepper or only add half the jalapeno.
Canned Goods
We’re using black beans, pinto beans, corn and fire roasted tomatoes.
Substitute: You can use other types of beans if you want to swap out like kidney beans and use fresh corn off the cob. If you use other types of diced tomatoes, we recommend adding a splash of liquid smoke that you loose from not having the fire roasted variety.
Rice
We’re using a brown basmati rice for this recipe. Rice is added for an additional layer of comfort, thickening, and stretch the meal.
Substitute: If you decide to use other types of rice you’ll want to be mindful of cook times and liquid levels. The amount of vegetable broth we picked was specific to how much the rice would soak up.
Spices
We’re using a combination of spices order to bring flavor to all aspects of this dish and layer the flavors.
More Vegan Soups to Try:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Easy Enchilada Soup with Rice
Ingredients
For the Enchilada Rice Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (30mL)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 large poblano pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced, optional
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste (32g)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (960mL)
- 1 cup water, (240mL) plus more as needed
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce (480mL)
- 14.5 ounces canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with their juices (411g)
- ¾ cup uncooked long-grain white rice, (150g) (like basmati) rinsed and drained
- 15 ounces canned black beans, (425g) drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces canned pinto beans (425g) drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups frozen or drained canned corn (245g)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (30mL)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for serving
For Serving
- Diced avocado
- Crushed tortilla chips or crispy tortilla strips
- Thinly sliced fresh or pickled jalapeños
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Diced tomatoes or pico de gallo
- Vegan sour cream
- Vegan cheddar shreds
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion, poblano, and jalapeño, if using. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown around the edges. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste darkens slightly and the spices smell fragrant.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and water, scraping the bottom of the pot to release any browned bits. Stir in the enchilada sauce, fire-roasted tomatoes, and rice.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally—especially along the bottom of the pot—to prevent the rice from sticking. Stir in the black beans, pinto beans, and corn. Continue simmering, partially covered, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the rice is tender. The exact cooking time will depend on the variety of rice.
- If using : Add vegan cheddar shreds OR stir about ½ cup (120ml) of the jalapeño queso into the soup. Reserve the remaining queso for serving. The soup should be creamy and spoon-coating but still fluid. Add additional broth if it is thicker than desired.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Taste and season with additional sea salt, black pepper, or lime juice as desired.
- Divide the soup among bowls and generously swirl the reserved queso over each serving. Finish with avocado, tortilla chips, cilantro, jalapeños, tomatoes, vegan sour cream, or additional vegan cheese. Serve with lime wedges.
Notes
1 cup (240ml) unsweetened plant-based milk, plus more as needed
⅓ cup (20g) nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño brine
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
½ cup (56g) vegan cheddar shreds, optional Add the cashews, plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, pickled jalapeños, jalapeño brine, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and (If using the) vegan cheddar to a high-speed blender. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. The queso should be thick but pourable. Add more plant-based milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to reach the desired consistency. Set aside.
Video
Nutrition
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Frequently Asked Questions
You can sub the all purpose flour with gluten free 1:1 blend. The coconut milk can be subbed with a thicker non-dairy milk like oat.
This can be stored once cooled in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes, you can freeze the soup up to 3 months once cooled.
Outstanding and easy!
A meal that I brought over to my grandsons home. The boys said it was, “delish”.
I’m calling it a two pot dish only because I didn’t serve it right away but brought it over the next day, the rice had really swelled. Next time I’ll add the cooked rice just before serving.
Thank you! This will definitely be in my rotation.
Awww, thank you! We’re so happy to hear that you and your grandsons enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for giving it a try!
I really loved this enchilada soup! I made it this week and lets say me and my family finished it in a couple of days. Lol!!! It was flavorful, comforting, and so good. I’ve really been enjoying the recipes that are being presented on this website. Keep them coming!
This is awesome!! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try. We’re truly happy to hear that the whole family enjoyed it! Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience here with us!
Freaking awesome! Ridiculously tasty, and easy with basic prep. Local store didn’t have poblanos, so added a bit of extra jalapeno membrane & called it day. Thanks Pamela for the TVP idea! Added a bit for funsies. And thank you so much for this new favorite recipe!!!
Awwww, thank you so much! We’re really happy to hear that you loved the recipe!
Made it. Delicious. Then I had an idea and I added crispy tvp that had been rehydrated in veggie broth. Pan fried till crispy added too soup when serving with avocado. This is heavenly
That sounds sooo gooood! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try. We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it!
This is the sixth thing I’ve tried from your YouTube channel, but the first one I messed up – I bought everything and forgot the enchilada sauce. I debated about making the sauce myself, but decided I was just gonna have a Mexican veggie and bean soup and it was still so good!
Hey! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try, We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed it despite it turning into a veggie bean soup!
Made this tonight to ring in soup season! It was delicious and pretty easy to put together. I found the recipe to be pretty forgiving — I added extra enchilada sauce to use the whole can (it’s what I had on hand) and forgot the cilantro (whoops!) and it was still quite tasty. I should also note that we are not dairy-free (just vegetarian) so I used dairy cheese in this and I was pleased to noted it melted in just like the recipe and YouTube video indicated. I served with extra cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, and diced avocado. Yum!
10/10, will make again! Thanks for an awesome weeknight-friendly recipe!
This is so awesome to hear! We’re really glad you liked the recipe and that you found it to be pretty forgiving. Thank you so much for sharing your experience here with us!
I love this recipe. I substituted a can of white harmony for the canned corn to give it more of that tortilla flavor. Absolutely delicious! Thank you!
That sounds so good! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try, we’re glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
Hominy is what you meant, I think, although harmony in cooking is a wonderful thing too.
Just want to say that I’m so grateful for the work you two do. I watch your videos every day and I’ve made many of your recipes and not a one of them has let me down. most recently, I made the baked beans and like you say, Andrew, “I ain’t goin back” lol. tonight I can’t decide between the enchilada soup or the vegan hamburger helper. Again, thank you both, you’ve made going plant based fun, exciting, nutritious, and def delicious!! Love, Gratitude, Peace, and Good to you!
So glad you’re finding it fun and exciting. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to say such kind words. Both of those next recipes are amazing so you’ll have to let us know which one you pick!