Easy Crock Pot Taco Soup
A recipe for hearty, chili-like soup with all your favorite taco ingredients, including ground beef, lots of chili peppers and tomatoes, taco seasonings and all the fixins, all cooked up slow in the crockpot. Super easy!
We busted out the slow cooker/crock pot this week and it’s ready to go for the season! It’s all kinds of seasons right now, isn’t it?
We have the fall season, football season, tailgating season, holiday season, pshew! So many seasons all swirled into one. One thing that goes with any of these seasons is slow cooked soups and stews in the crock pot.
As the weather cools, so many of us are looking for warming, hearty dishes that fill our bellies and bones with comfort. We have just the thing for you spicy food lovers – Crock Pot Taco Soup. Yes!
I love my slow cooker because you can just toss everything in and let it go. It really doesn’t get much easier than this when it comes to cooking, unless you order takeout, which isn’t cooking!
So if you want super easy, go for the crock pot. It doesn’t get any better than slow cooker taco soup. Easy!
Ingredients Needed for Our Crock Pot Taco Soup
Gather up the following ingredients:
- 2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey, if preferred)
- Olive oil as needed
- 2 onions chopped
- 4-5 jalapeno peppers chopped
- 2 habanero peppers chopped (you can omit or use milder peppers!)
- 1 bell pepper chopped (use red or orange for a nice color)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 8 tablespoons taco seasoning You can dial it back to your preference
- 2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes – Or use equivalent fresh tomatoes – GO GARDEN!!!
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 12-ounce can red beans
- 2 cups chicken stock or chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lime wedges
- FOR SERVING/OPTIONAL/IDEAS: Chopped green onions Chopped cilantro, Jalapeno slices, Lime wedges, Tortilla chips, Shredded cheddar cheese, Sour cream, avocado – anything you might put on a taco
How to Make Crock Pot Taco Soup – The Recipe Method
In a nutshell, brown up your ground beef (or use ground turkey) and cook with your onions and peppers in a large skillet. I used a mixture of jalapeno, habanero and bell peppers, though feel free to vary that up to your preference.
The habaneros are obviously quite hot and you can omit if they are too hot for you. Don’t leave out the jalapenos, though. Poor little guys. #JalapenoObsession. #MikeLovesJalapenos. Add the garlic and taco seasonings and give it a quick simmer.
Toss all of this into the slow cooker with everything else – diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, diced green chile, pinto beans or black beans, chicken stock or broth (or use beef broth) – and let it sit. All day.
I work from home so I often torture myself with the slow cooker, smelling all those wonderful aromas. They fill the house as I sit in my office, banging away on the keyboard on some screenplay or article, being driven mad with hunger.
The anticipation makes the meal so much better.
I use red beans in this recipe, which gives the result a distinct chili-like feel. Call it a Mexican-style Chili if you’d like. It’s really not that different.
Regardless, it’s DANG good in a bowl. GO NUTS with your fixins. I roasted some jalapeno peppers, sliced up an avocado, added shredded cheese, crema, cilantro and lime juice.
Hot sauce would be AWESOME here. Try crushed tortilla chips for crunch. Go for whatever you’d like with your favorite taco toppings. Diced green onions or chopped green herbs are nice. I hope you enjoy the recipe! Enjoy the start of the “season”!
Make a Creamy Crock Pot Taco Soup
Toss in 8 ounces of cream cheese in the last 20 minutes of the recipe for a creamy, cheesy version of this dish. Call it Creamy Crock Pot Taco Soup. I love it! It really is SUPER creamy this way.
You can also swirl in a cup or more of Mexican crema or sour cream to achieve a similar creaminess. So good!
Ground Beef or Ground Turkey?
The choice is yours if you’d like to use ground beef or ground turkey. Ground beef has more flavor, but ground turkey absorbs all those other wonderful flavors, and you’ll save yourself some calories, too.
Other ground meats that work here are Mexican chorizo (favorite!), ground chicken, or ground pork.
You can also use a combination of ground meats to achieve your preferred balance.
Can I Make This on the Stove Top?
If you do not have a slow cooker, you can absolutely make this slow cooker taco soup recipe on the stove top. Simply follow the instructions, but use a Dutch oven or large pot to cook down the vegetables and the meat.
Add all of the ingredients, bring to a quick boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the whole pot for at least 30 minutes, though an hour would be better to let all of those wonderful flavors mingle and develop.
Recipe Tips from the Cook
- You can either use your favorite store bought taco seasoning mix, or try my Homemade Taco Seasoning recipe. It’s a nice blend.
- Freeze it. I like to make an extra large batch of this soup and freeze it in batches for super quick and easy lunches or dinners.
- Vary up the chili peppers. I’ve used jalapeno and habanero peppers here, which will give you a very good level of heat. To dial back on the heat, skip the habanero peppers and core out the jalapenos. Or, use milder peppers, such as poblano peppers, Anaheim peppers, or even mild bell peppers.
Try Some of My Other Popular Soup Recipes
- Loaded Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Zesty Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Cheesy Guajillo-Potato Soup
If you make this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Please share this recipe with your friends! Thanks! — Mike H.
- 2 pounds ground beef
- Olive oil as needed
- 2 onions chopped
- 4-5 jalapeno peppers chopped
- 2 habanero peppers chopped (you can omit or use milder peppers!)
- 1 bell pepper chopped (use red or orange for a nice color)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 8 tablespoons taco seasoning You can dial it back to your preference
- 2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes – Or use equivalent fresh tomatoes – GO GARDEN!!!
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 12-ounce can red beans
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lime wedges
- Chopped green onions Chopped cilantro, Jalapeno slices, Lime wedges, Tortilla chips, Shredded cheddar cheese, Sour cream, avocado – anything you might put on a taco
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Heat a large pot to medium heat and add a couple tablespoons olive oil. Add ground beef along with onion and peppers. Cook about 8-10 minutes to brown the meat and soften the onion and peppers.
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Add garlic and stir. Cook another minute or so.
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Add taco seasoning and stir to incorporate.
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Add everything to a crock pot/slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
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Serve into bowls and squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top, then swirl itin. Just a bit, about ¼ to ½ a lime.
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Top with your desired ingredients. We used some cilantro, green onions, jalapeno slices, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese and lime wedges. So good!
Makes a HUGE batch!!! Now you have lunch, dinner, and lunch again!
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Hi I am a vegetarian…can u post some vegetarian options…thanks
REPLY: Janki, you can easily omit the meat for this recipe and double or triple up on the beans. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.