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    Spicy Mexican Soup

    Published: Sep 25, 2018 · Modified: Sep 25, 2018 by Jacqueline Bellefontaine ·

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    This Spicy Mexican Soup is a hearty meal in itself that's easy to prepare and flavoured with fresh chillies and ground spices.

    spicy mexican soup in a bowl with tortillas and cheese in background

    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.

     

    spicy mexican soup served in bowls

    Serve in bowls topped with tortilla chips and grated cheese.

     

    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
    bowl of spciy mexica soup with chilli and spoon by side

    Spicy Mexican Soup

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    A hearty soup with TexMex flavours. This easy economical soup is great to prepare ahead and freeze for later
    Course Soup
    Cuisine fussion
    Keyword main-meal soup, meat soup
    Skill Level very easy
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 50 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Servings 8
    Calories 166
    Author Jacqueline Bellefontaine

    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
    metric - US cups

    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.

    Notes

    Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost fully before reheating. Reheat until piping hot.
    Nutrition information is calculated using online nutrition database - is approximate and is meant as a guideline only. (It does not include seasoning with salt and pepper or the garnishes.) 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 250ml | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 313mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 10.9mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 3.3mg
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment or Mention @recipecrumbs or tag #RecipesMadeEasy

    Spicy Mexican Soup Step by Step

    fried onion and chilli
    Fry the onion and chilli until soft.
    uncooked mince in saucepan
    Add the mince.
    cooked mince in saucepan
    Cook until it changes colour.

    timn tomatoes added to soup
    Add the tomatoes,
    beans added to soup
    followed by the beans, cocoa powder and ground spices.
    stock being added to soup
    Add the stock.

    soup in a saucepan
    Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
    spicy mexican soup served in bowls
    Serve in bowls topped with tortilla chips and grated cheese.

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    I am linking this recipe to #CookBlogShare hosted  this week at Easy Peasy Foodie

    #CookBlogShare Badge

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    About Jacqueline Bellefontaine

    Jacqueline is a member of the Guild of Food Writers and has been a cookery writer and food stylist for over 25 years. She has written over 15 cookery books, in addition to writing for several major magazines. She likes to champion good basic home cooking and as the daughter of a master baker, she is passionate about home baking.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder

      October 03, 2018 at 7:20 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Jacqui Bellefontaine

        October 05, 2018 at 3:13 pm

        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.

        Reply
    2. Eb Gargano|Easy Peasy Foodie

      October 01, 2018 at 7:40 pm

      5 stars
      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

      Reply
      • Jacqui Bellefontaine

        October 01, 2018 at 10:04 pm

        I hadn't thought about it like that but yes it does. I do rather like cheese melting into soups

        Reply
    3. Mandy

      September 27, 2018 at 2:53 pm

      5 stars
      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

      Reply
      • Jacqui Bellefontaine

        October 01, 2018 at 10:33 am

        Yes I thik it would work very well as a veggie version too

        Reply
    4. Cat | Curly's Cooking

      September 25, 2018 at 1:10 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
      • Jacqui Bellefontaine

        September 25, 2018 at 2:55 pm

        Thanks Cat it really is an ideal soup to have in the freezer.

        Reply

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    Jacqueline Bellefontaine.

    Hello I'm Jacqui
    I believe that great tasting home cooking need not be hard work, so I like to write and cook recipes that are as easy as they can be. But I won't compromise on taste!

    This blog is written and photographed by me at home and it's all about my favourite recipes, that I make for family, for friends and for fun. I hope you like them too.

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