This Spicy Mexican Soup is a hearty meal in itself that's easy to prepare and flavoured with fresh chillies and ground spices.
When the weather is a little cool I often serve soup for lunch or dinner. Filling, warming, and economical its a good standby. This recipe for Spicy Mexican Soup is an updated version of a recipe I wrote when I was at Woman's Realm magazine many years ago. I will be honest - it is Mexican in name only. I'm quite sure it doesn't remotely resemble anything a Mexican would recognise as Mexican food. I could have called it chilli con carne soup or spicy meat soup but that just doesn't have the same ring to it, so I am sticking with the original name.
In essence, it is a soup version of chilli con carne and, as with any soup, it benefits from a few garnishes to lift it out of the ordinary and make it oh so much more tasty and appetising. So I have topped the soup with grated cheese and some tortilla chips. Tortilla chips make rather scrummy instant croutons. If you like your spicy food spicy hot, you could add some jalapenos to the garnish too and I guess a dollop of soured cream would also go down a treat.
Its no secret I'm a chilli wimp so I made mine with just one red chilli but I have suggested 2 in the recipe since I called it spicy. If you like your spicy food hot you can also ramp up the heat a bit by including some of the seeds. I'll leave you to decide how hot you want it to be. As this quantity is quite large you may want to freeze some for later. Remember chilli flavour will intensify over time in the freezer so maybe make it a little milder if you are planning to freeze it.
- Cheap and cheerful
- Easy
- Family Favourite
- Spicy
- Freezer Friendly
- Comfort Food
- Batch Cooking
- Low Cal
- Low Carb
Spicy Mexican Soup Step by Step
Spicy Mexican Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil
- 2 red or green chilli peppers seeded and chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 500 g lean minced beef
- 2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 1 x 400g can red kidney beans
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon hot chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 litre beef stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Garnish
- tortilla chips
- cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion and chilli until beginning to soften.
- Add the beef and cook until the meat changes colour, breaking up with the side of the spoon as it cooks.
- Stir in the tomatoes and beans. Then add the cocoa powder and ground spices.
- Add the stock and bring the mixture to the boil. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with some tortilla chips and cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.
Esmerelda Griffith says
I’ve just made this yummy hearty chilli soup on a rainy afternoon in London and it’s so delicious and makes you feel very cosy! I had a few garlic cloves to use up and so added them finely diced once the onions and chillies had softened - yum yum yum. Thank you for this recipe! X
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Glad you liked it. You are right its perfect for a rainy London afternoon.
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
Such a clever idea making chilli con carne into a soup. I could easily devour a bowl full with all the delicious garnishes! Perfect one for the freezer too.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Absolutely perfect for the freezer, in a way I'm not sure why we don't see it soup style more, it so works! Maybe it will become a thing and then i will be able to say I wrote a recipe for that twenty (coughcough) something years ago.
Eb Gargano|Easy Peasy Foodie says
Yum! I love Chilli con carne, but never thought to make it in soup form. I love how you've topped it off with tortillas and cheese, reminds me of a kind of mexican twist on french onion soup topped with french bread and cheese. Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
I hadn't thought about it like that but yes it does. I do rather like cheese melting into soups
Mandy says
This looks excellent Jacqui. I'd have to make a veggie version but I think that would be easy to do and would make a delicious meal. #cookblogshare
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Yes I thik it would work very well as a veggie version too
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
This is my kind of recipe! I love Mexican flavours. It's definitely coming in to soup weather now and I like to have a stash in my freezer so I'll have to give this one a go!
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Thanks Cat it really is an ideal soup to have in the freezer.