This easy taco soup recipe is full of hearty Mexican flavor! It’s a one-pot meal made on the stovetop, crockpot or Instant Pot with ground beef, corn, beans and seasonings.
Comforting ground beef soup recipes are the best during cooler weather! Try hamburger soup and stuffed pepper soup, too!
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The Best Taco Soup Recipe
This simple taco soup has all the flavors of crowd-pleasing ground beef taco recipe, taco bake or taco salad but in a warm bowl of soup perfect for fall and winter! It’s easy to customize and make in your slow cooker or even Instant Pot taco soup.
Why I Love This Soup Recipe
- Easy to make. Only one pan and this easy taco soup recipe preps is ready in 30 minutes; it will become a favorite one pot meal like my frito pie recipe!
- Customizable. Adapt the simple ingredients for taco soup based on what you have in your fridge and pantry, then make on the stove top, Instant Pot or crockpot!
- Crowd-pleasing comfort. I always have everything on hand for this zesty soup recipe making it perfect for any occasion from football parties to snowy days.
Taco Soup Ingredients
This recipe has all of my favorite taco and chili flavors combined into one bowl! It’s hearty, comforting and has zesty authentic Mexican flavor.
Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
- Lean ground beef: Ground hamburger or turkey will both work.
- Veggies: Chopped onions, bell peppers and corn.
- Beans: Black beans, kidney beans and pinto or white beans.
- Tomatoes: Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Rotel (or an extra can of tomatoes and add diced green chilies) and salsa.
- Spices: Homemade taco seasoning adds great flavor, you can use a packet of taco seasoning instead. Feel free to add in some extra chili powder, ground cumin and garlic powder.
- Toppings: This soup tastes like a taco so any of your favorite ways to load it up work here!
How to Make Taco Soup
Brown hamburger in a large soup pot over medium-heat. Add in the onions, bell peppers and saute for a few minutes. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, salsa, corn and seasonings
Continue to simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.
Top with cilantro, sour cream and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Simple Taco Soup Tips and Variations
- Easy shortcut. Make this taco soup recipe even easier by using frozen cooked taco meat from the freezer. It also works great with leftover Instant Pot Mexican chicken.
- Other protein. Use rotisserie chicken or shredded chicken instead of beef or turkey to make a chicken taco soup instead. You could even skip meat and make this vegetarian.
- Adjust heat. For more spice, add chopped jalapenos with the peppers. For less heat, substitute canned tomatoes for Rotel.
- Consistency. Adjust soup thickness for your liking. For a thinner soup, add in 1/2-1 cup beef broth or chicken broth.
- Let simmer. The longer the soup simmers, the more flavor it will have. If you have the time to let it simmer longer – you won’t regret it!
- Toppings. Garnish with favorites like cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, cilantro, tortilla strips or cornbread croutons and avocado or guacamole.
More winter soup recipes include cabbage soup, broccoli and cheese soup and green enchilada chicken soup!
More Easy Soup Recipes
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Taco Soup Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef , or ground turkey
- 1 medium sweet onion , finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper , chopped
- 1 green bell pepper , chopped (optional)
- 1-2 Tablespoons taco seasoning , to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans , drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans , drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can pinto or white beans , drained and rinsed (optional)
- 1 (15-ounce) can corn
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (10-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1/4-1/2 cup fresh salsa
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- Salt , to taste
- Pepper , to taste
Optional toppings: Sour cream, Shredded cheese, Avocado, Lime, Tortilla strips
Instructions
- Brown beef with veggies. In a large pot, add 1 pound ground beef and cook over medium-heat for a few minutes. Add 1 onions and green and red bell peppers and sauté 3 minutes, or until softened. Drain any grease, then stir in 1-2 Tablespoons taco seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add in beans and tomatoes. Add in 1 can black beans, 1 can kidney beans, 1 can pinto beans, if using, corn, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can Rotel, 1 can diced tomatoes, and 1/2 cup salsa until combined.
- Simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 to 40 minutes, or longer if time allows. Add 1/2 to 1 cup warm water if starts to thicken. Stir in cilantro. Salt and pepper, to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. We love to serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
If you don’t have time to cook this on the stove, you can easily make a crock pot taco soup in the slow cooker! Simply brown the hamburger, onions and bell peppers in a skillet first. Then add all ingredients to the crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. So easy!
Yes! In saute mode, brown hamburger, onions and peppers for about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Secure lid and set timer for 3 minutes. After, natural release for 10 minutes then release remaining pressure.
Taco soup tastes great topped with tortilla chips and a slice of sweet cornbread, cornbread muffins or Mexican cornbread. To serve a crowd add jalapeno poppers recipe on the side and tres leches cake for dessert.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This soup also makes a great freezer meal. Cool completely, then place in a zip top bag or freezer container (leaving room for it to expand) and add a freezer label. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw then reheat by simmering in a pot over low heat.
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, Beef, Beef, Cinco De Mayo, Dairy-Free, Dinner, Freezer-Friendly, Freezer-Friendly, Mexican, One Pot, Reader Favorites, Soups, Stovetop, Stovetop
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I was looking for a good easy taco soup to try, going to make this week!
This looks SO yummy!!!! I am going to try this tonight :)
Your soup oh so so good!!!!
I added more seasoning and the soup was easy and fun to make!
Thank you,
I’d love to try your recipe for taco soup, but I am unable to print it. Can you help me???
Great soup. The new Food on Friday is all about soup. It would be wonderful if you linked this in. Here’s the link . Have a souper duper week!
This looks so delicious! I’m making it tomorrow but I’m curious if you drain and rinse the beans?
I’m going to try this. It’s only slightly different than the one I usually make. Thanks for sharing!
Does anyone know about how many servings this makes? I’m trying to figure out the nutritional info from sparkpeople.com Thanks.
It makes about 6-8 servings. Usually 8 for our family. Hope that helps.
Made it tonight. I did all 3 beans, being that I am a vegetarian and was a little worried at first look. However, after letting it simmer the juices surrounded the vegetables and beans and it was tasty.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’ve never tried it with out the meat, so I will have to next time and see how it is. Thanks for sharing!
We have another Taco Soup Recipe, similar to yours but with white corn and ranch dressing mix. (I’ll have to find a way to share it somewhere someday.) But my point here is that I make ours Vegetarian style. To “look” the role of meat I add lentils, about a cup cooked for each pound of hamburger called for. It looks the role of meat with it’s color and texture. My family loves it this way, and it works for other recipes as well.
I make mine with ranch dressing mix also. And tomato paste instead of sauce. Delicious, and healthy!
Sounds yummy! I love how there are so many different variations of taco soup…such a great recipe!
This looks so delicious. I am going to try it soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I absolutely love taco soup! My husband thinks i make it too much but i don’t think thats possible! i’ve always done it with chicken but ground beef/turkey would be good too, i’ll have to try it!
ok now there is drool all over my keyboard !!! This sounds absolutely YUMMY.
We have taco soup all the time in the cooler months too! Love the stuff!!! I will have to try your recipe next time:-)
It IS the best! Ever since you did the first post, we have made it nearly once a month!!
That is soooo funny! I haven’t been to your website in a while, but I came back today because I wanted to pin your Taco soup recipe on Pintrest in my “Family Favorites” category. We LOVE this soup. I was expecting to have to search for it but there it was right at the top as today’s post! It must be a taco soup kind of day everywhere. :-) And we love to top this soup with diced avocados. Yum!
Wow Jamielyn! This looks so good! Can’t wait to try it out! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Yum. We love taco soup! PINNED>
I have been making Taco Soup for 6 months, My cholesterol has dropped to normal level and hopefully it will stay there. I made up my own recipe for Taco Soup but I will definitely be trying yours. I must tell you that is all I eat for dinner almost every night but it did it’s job.
I make your recipe ALL the time and I’ve tweaked it a few times depending on what I have on hand or what I feel like throwing in! It is delicious! Craig would love if I added the bell peppers! Thanks for sharing Jam!