My taco soup recipe is the perfect lazy dinner! There’s minimal prep work involved (only 10 minutes!) and SO much flavor, especially if you use my homemade seasoning. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Very little prep work and chopping. This taco soup recipe is so quick and easy to whip up–it makes a great weeknight dinner!
- Packed full of veggies! Like beans, corn, and tomatoes. We love veggie-packed dinners around here (like my chicken pot pie soup!).
- Robust flavor. Thanks to my special blend of spices. I use a homemade, carefully perfected taco seasoning; it tastes so much better than the store-bought stuff!
- Freezes well! If you only need a few servings or simply like to meal prep your food, you’ll want to save this one!
Cozy up your taco Tuesday with this hearty taco soup! This is the perfect cold weather dinner; it’s made with warm spices and plenty of protein. We love topping ours with corn chips, sour cream (Rhett goes extra heavy on the sour cream, I caught him licking the spoon last time I made this 😬), and cheese, but it tastes great plain too!
What You Need
Sure, there are quite a few ingredients in the photo below, but most of them are spices or canned veggies that require absolutely *zero* prep on your end.
- Spices. While you could use store-bought, I prefer to make my own taco seasoning. I’m likely biased, but I truly believe it has the best flavor and I very carefully designed and tweaked it for this very soup! You’ll need chili powder, ancho chili powder (the secret ingredient in my potato soup and my award-winning chili recipe!), cumin, smoked paprika (also used in my chicken and rice soup), onion and garlic powder, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mostly classic taco spices!
- Onion & garlic. These are the only two ingredients you will need to chop, making this recipe perfect for those days when you’re feeling a bit lazy in the kitchen! And I’ll be honest, as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, that’s just about every day for me.
- Ground beef. Use whichever kind you like, I typically use 90-93% lean. You could alternatively use ground chicken or turkey with no other changes needed.
- Veggies. This soup is packed with canned veggies like tomatoes, black and pinto beans, green chiles, and Mexican corn (which has poblano and red peppers in it). Make sure you grab mild chiles if you are sensitive to spice!
- Beef broth. You could also use veggie or chicken broth or even my homemade chicken stock if that’s all you have on hand though.
SAM’S TIP: Despite the cayenne pepper and green chiles, I don’t think this soup is too spicy. If you want to up the spice, you can increase the cayenne pepper and use hot green chiles.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Taco Soup
- Sauté the onions in olive oil until softened, then stir in the garlic.
- Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain any excess grease if needed.
- Stir in the spices and tomato paste and cook until absorbed and deepened in color.
- Add the remaining ingredients, then let the soup come to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
SAM’S TIP: Unlike creamier soups like cream of crab or broccoli cheddar soup, my taco soup actually freezes really well! Just make sure to use a freezer-safe container and leave some room for the soup to expand as it freezes.
Frequently Asked Questions
I much prefer to use my homemade taco seasoning (listed in the recipe) to a store-bought taco seasoning, since I carefully developed the flavors. I really recommend using my mix, but the recipe will “work” with store-bought taco seasoning, I would use one packet.
Absolutely! You can always substitute the ground beef with ground chicken or ground turkey. I also have a chicken tortilla soup, white chicken chili, or turkey chili if that’s your kind of thing!
Toppings wise, we typically use what you’d add to regular tacos! Sour cream, shredded cheese, diced avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, etc.
As far as sides go, cornbread, corn muffins, or jalapeño cornbread, jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread, or even a crusty slice of artisan bread would pair nicely!
Check out my cozy soup recipe series for more satisfying soup recipes!
Enjoy!
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Taco Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Spice blend
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Soup
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil I use avocado
- 1 (200 g) medium onion diced (about 1 cup/200g)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 lb (453 g) ground beef 453g
- Spice blend from above
- 1 ½ Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 15- oz ((2) 425 g) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes undrained (2 425g cans)
- 1 15- oz (425 g) can black beans drained and rinsed (425g)
- 1 15- oz (425 g) can pinto beans drained and rinsed (425g)
- 1 11- oz (311 g) can Mexican style corn drained (or 1 heaping cup frozen corn) (311g)
- 7 oz (198 g) diced green chiles undrained (198g)
- 3 cups (710 ml) beef broth 710ml
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Measure out spices and whisk together. Set aside.1 Tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon oregano, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- Once oil is shimmering, add onion and cook until softened (about 5 minutes).1 (200 g) medium onion
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Add beef and cook, crumbling, until mostly browned. If needed, drain excess grease from the pot.1 lb (453 g) ground beef
- Sprinkle the spice blend over the meat and add tomato paste. Stir until the spices are well incorporated/absorbed and the tomato paste is deepened in color (about 60 seconds).Spice blend, 1 ½ Tablespoons tomato paste
- Add all remaining ingredients (tomatoes, beans, corn, chiles, and beef broth) and stir well.2 15- oz ((2) 425 g) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, 1 15- oz (425 g) can black beans, 1 15- oz (425 g) can pinto beans, 1 11- oz (311 g) can Mexican style corn, 7 oz (198 g) diced green chiles, 3 cups (710 ml) beef broth
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes before serving with favorite toppings (we like crushed corn chips, sour cream, cilantro, avocado, etc.)
Notes
Meat
Feel free to substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the ground beef.Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This soup freezes well, store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Alicia Eakins
I finally had the chance to try this. So easy! It’s so much better than the sum of its parts; I think it’s the ancho that makes the difference. I foolishly mistook a can of kidney beans for black beans in my pantry but the soup was still amazing with the wrong beans. Thank you again for another great recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Alicia! 🙂
Tammy M
This is so tasty! Thank you for sharing with us.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Tammy! 🙂
Shirleen Holmes
So delicious with just enough kick😋
Danielle
Just made this tonight….so delicious! Definitely will be be making this again ❤️
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Danielle! 🙂
Jena
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days
This doesn’t have to be refrigerated?
Sam
Oh gosh, please refrigerate! I have fixed the typo, thank you so much for bringing it to my attention, Jena!
Jena
You’re welcome! I had a feeling it was a typo. I made this a couple nights ago and it was super delicious and easy to make and we had plenty of leftovers overs for dinner last night as well!