This crock pot taco soup recipe is a hearty, comforting soup with all your favorite taco ingredients, including ground beef, chilies and tomatoes, and taco seasonings, simmered in your slow cooker. Plus, all your favorite fixings! So easy to make!
It's time for Crock Pot Taco Soup, my friends! You've come to the right place. Would you care for a bowl?
Taco soup is a go-to recipe in our kitchen, loaded with seasoned ground meats, lots of chili peppers with tomatoes, garlic and more, all simmered low and slow until we're ready to go.
And, all the toppings! We can never get enough.
Taco soup is an ideal soup for many seasons - fall season, football season, tailgating season, holiday season! 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.
When the weather is cooler, so many of us are looking for warming, hearty dishes that fill our bellies and bones with comfort. This is a spicy food lover's dream - Crock Pot Taco Soup.
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 this.
Let's talk about how to make crock pot taco soup, shall we?
Crock Pot Taco Soup Ingredients
- Ground Beef. You can also make this with ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Olive Oil. As needed.
- Onion.
- Peppers. I'm using bell peppers, jalapenos, and some habanero, but you can use your favorites to your own heat level preference.
- Garlic.
- Taco Seasoning. Try my homemade taco seasoning blend with LOTS of chili powder. It's a great seasoning mix.
- Tomatoes. Canned whole tomatoes are great, or use fresh diced tomatoes.
- Tomato Sauce.
- Beans. Red beans are great, or kidney beans or pinto beans, all drained and rinsed. Try it with black beans, or a combination.
- Chicken Stock. Or use chicken broth.
- Salt and Pepper. To taste.
- 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
Cook the Beef, Onions and Peppers. Heat the oil in a large skillet or pan. Add the ground beef with the onions and peppers. 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.
Garlic. Add the garlic and taco seasonings and give it a quick simmer.
Slow Cooker. Toss all of this into the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Let it cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours.
Serve. Serve the taco soup into bowls and top with all of your favorite toppings!
Boom! Ready to eat! So easy to make, isn't it? And WOW is it delicious. Crockpot taco soup in the house!
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.
I hope your family loves it as much as we do.
Recipe Tips & Notes
The Toppings
GO NUTS with your fixings. I like to roast some jalapeno peppers, slice up an avocado, added shredded cheese, crema, cilantro and lime juice.
Hot sauce is a must. Try tortilla strips 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"!
The Meats
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.
The Chilies
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.
For 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!
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.
See my Taco Soup Recipe for more detailed instructions.
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. Just transfer it to sealable freezer containers. Keeps easily for 6 month.
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.
Crock Pot Taco Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- Olive oil as needed
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped (use red or orange for a nice color)
- 2-3 jalapeno peppers chopped (core them out for milder taco soup)
- 1 habanero pepper chopped (optional, for SPICY taco soup)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 tablespoons taco seasoning (or more to preference - I usually use about 6 tbsps)
- 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
FOR SERVING/OPTIONAL/IDEAS
- Chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, Jalapeno slices, Lime wedges, Tortilla chips, Shredded cheddar cheese, Sour cream, avocado, hot sauce – anything you might put on a taco
Instructions
- 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.
- Add garlic and stir. Cook another minute or so.
- Add taco seasoning and stir to incorporate.
- Add everything to a crock pot/slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- Serve into bowls and squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top, then swirl it in. Just a bit, about ¼ to ½ a lime.
- Top with your desired ingredients. We used some cilantro, green onions, jalapeno slices, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese and lime wedges. So good!
Notes
Nutrition Information
Janki says
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.