Tortilla Soup With Roasted Cauliflower 'Rice'

Name: Tortilla Soup With Roasted Cauliflower 'Rice'
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: mexican
Ingredients: 1 small head cauliflower; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; Salt to taste; 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder or medium-hot chili powder; 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon mild or medium-hot chili powder; 2 plump garlic cloves, minced; 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes; 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock, vegetable stock or garlic broth; 6 corn tortillas, cut in strips; 1/4 cup chopped cilantro; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice; 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta; Lime wedges for garnish

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated April 30, 2024

Tortilla Soup With Roasted Cauliflower 'Rice' — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(474)
Notes: Read community notes

This is not exactly authentic, but I wanted to add a vegetable to my tortilla soup, to make it more of a dinner in a bowl, so I decided to shave cauliflower, toss the ricelike pieces with oil and chili powder, and roast it. I loved the addition of the spicy roasted cauliflower to each bowl of soup, along with the tortilla crisps that I toasted in the microwave rather than frying. You can make this soup even more substantial by adding eggs (see the variation that follows the recipe).

Featured in: Easy Vegetable Soups for Cold Winter Nights

Learn: How to Cook Cauliflower

Learn: How to Make Soup

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

1small head cauliflower
3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1teaspoon chipotle chili powder or medium-hot chili powder
½medium onion, finely chopped
1teaspoon mild or medium-hot chili powder
2plump garlic cloves, minced
1(14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1½quarts chicken stock, vegetable stock or garlic broth
6corn tortillas, cut in strips
¼cup chopped cilantro
2tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
¼cup crumbled queso fresco or feta
Lime wedges for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Lay cauliflower on its side and, using a sharp chef’s knife, shave off thin slices of the top of the florets so that the cauliflower falls apart into ricelike bits. Shave enough to acquire 3 cups cauliflower “rice.” The volume will reduce quite a lot after roasting. Place on parchment-covered baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt to taste, and 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or chili powder. Place in oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until cauliflower is thoroughly tender and some bits are lightly colored but not burnt. Remove from oven and set aside.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and chili powder and stir together for a minute, then add garlic and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute, until fragrant. Add tomatoes, stir well to deglaze bottom of pot, and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Add stock or broth, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Step 3
While soup is simmering, toast tortilla strips in batches in microwave. Place in a single layer on a plate and microwave at full power for 1 minute. Turn strips over and microwave for another minute. Repeat if necessary for 30 seconds, or until crisp and light brown. Set aside.
Step 4
Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth. Bring back to a simmer and stir in cilantro. Simmer for 1 minute. Taste and adjust salt. Stir in lime juice.
Step 5
Distribute toasted tortilla strips and cauliflower “rice” among soup bowls and ladle in the soup. Top with crumbled cheese and serve.

Tips

Advance preparation: The soup keeps well for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen. Wait until you are ready to serve to add cilantro for the final simmer. The tortilla strips will keep for several hours.
Variation: For an enriched soup, beat 2 eggs in a bowl. Whisk in a ladleful or two of the hot soup. Stir back into the simmering soup and serve as above.

Ratings

5 out of 5

474 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Karen L Davis6 years ago

Took longer to pull together than indicated. For the vegan in the household, I used vegetable rather than chicken broth. "Borrowed" the suggestion to use smoked paprika -- not because of the potential hotness of chili powder but because I love smoked paprika -- to use 1/2 of each. Nice flavor. Tried with and without and found that the tortilla strips toasted better with a paper towel on the plate to absorb the moisture.

Peg6 years ago

A big hit tonight with my women's circle. Will make again. I agree that recipe took longer to prepare than indicated. Changes? Used chipotles in adobo sauce in the soup. Also toasted tortilla strips in oven with some refined coconut oil. (In my experience, microwave doesn't do a good job.) Will try adding eggs next time. I think it would add richness and more body to the soup.

Leigh6 years ago

Don't bother measuring the cauliflower bits - use the whole head. Added both sweet paprika and a dash of smoked paprika. I used bean cooking liquid for the stock, and it worked well. To crisp the tortilla strips, I tossed them with a little oil and put them in the oven in a preheated cast iron skillet; it took between two and three minutes.

HBN6 years ago

I have a 7 year old who can't eat spicy, so I subbed smoked paprika for the chili powder and it was delicious.

Kate6 years ago

This was soo delicious! I opted to sauté the cauliflower rice (I purchased it already 'riced' from WF) with chili powder and lime zest. I thought it would shrink too much in the oven. I also added some shredded rotisserie chicken after blending to make it more substantial. DO NOT skip the lime at the end (or the cilantro). It basically makes the dish.

Nicole7 months ago

One red one yellow onion 2 small turnip 1 medium parsnip 3 large cloves garlic 28 oz tomato blended with 3 ancho Chiles toasted 1.5 jars broth 1 small cauliflower roasted like directions 1.5-2 cups beans cooked with tomato water

Kathleen1 year ago

Best cauliflower soup I ever made. I did not purée the soup completely, but just enough for the cauliflower to be small pieces. I added a can of diced tomatoes and did not purée these at all. Added cilantro, feta cheeses etc. Super delicious!

Hannah F1 year ago

Didn’t make cauliflower or tortillas

selmasuzanne1 year ago

Made this tonight and will definitely make it again. I wanted something a little heartier, but definitely did not want to add egg. Added a can of pinto beans just before blending. It was perfect.

Liked But...2 years ago

We all know what Tortilla soup is supposed to taste like and while it's nice to head in different direction/experiment that whole cauliflower rice thing is oft tasting..takes over the soup....just doesn't work..Time for Plan B..

john2 years ago

Added 1ts smoked paprika used 2ts adobo sauce Used TJ’s riced cauliflower added 1 jalapeño

Schwartzinello2 years ago

Adding one chipotle in adobo (with about a 1/2 tsp of the sauce) adds plenty of spice and heat for us. Smoked paprika was added to the cauliflower before roasting. Great for the fall or winter!

Karen3 years ago

Made this mostly as written, except I crisped the tortillas in the toaster oven with a little oil and salt, and then put them all into the soup before pureeing it (also included a little cilantro in with the puree). This is a method I've used with my favorite chicken-based tortilla soup from Cook's Illustrated - adds body + flavor. I too added smoked paprika, plus a little ground coriander. Served with avocado, queso fresco, lime, cilantro, and crushed up whole grain tortilla "scoop" chips.

Mary Ann3 years ago

The recipe doesn’t say when to add the roasted cauliflower.

Gabrielle3 years ago

Made as specified, but thought this tasted more like a thin tomato soup with some embellishments. There is another vegetarian tortilla soup recipe by Alison Roman in Cooking NYT that packs much more flavor and is simple to make. I would take the roasted cauliflower from this recipe and add it to that instead.

Tara3 years ago

We followed the recipe exactly but we added chickpeas along with the tomatoes in the soup and it was fantastic.

tony4 years ago

Loved this recipe!! I used the oven at 400 to toast the tortilla strips. Plus, I used more cilantro, because I like it. I also added chicken chunks after I puréed the soup. DELICIOUS! I will make again, this time I will use half heat/smoked paprika. For my friends who don’t like heat.

d'shon4 years ago

This was fabulous. I added some cayenne pepper, and at the end, a can of great northern beans and chopped kale.

Penni Gladstone4 years ago

Added eggs and chicken. Delicious

jenn4 years ago

this was very tasty with a few minor adjustments. i threw in a couple tablespoons of tajin and squeezed some fresh lime juice in toward the end, in addition to all spices called for in the recipe. as noted by some others, toasting the tortillas in the oven definitely nets you a better result.

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