This taco soup recipe is chunky and easy to make with lots of tomatoes, ground beef, beans, chilies, and taco seasonings, loaded with real taco flavor.
You'll also love my Classic Chili Recipe or my Chicken Tortilla Soup!
Easy Taco Soup Recipe
Looking for the best Taco Soup ever? Here you go, my friends! This recipe takes all of your favorite taco ingredients and turns them into a delicious soup you'll want to make over and over again.
This is a simple taco soup recipe, very easy to make with little prep. Most of the work is done fast, then all you need to do is let it simmer and develop all that amazing flavor.
Only issue is it will fill up your entire kitchen with all those wonderful smells. It will drive everyone crazy with hunger.
Let's talk about how to make taco soup, shall we?
Taco Soup Ingredients
- Ground Beef. Or use ground turkey for a healthier, lower calorie option. Ground chicken or pork are great, too.
- Olive Oil. As needed
- Vegetables. Onion, chilies (use jalapeno or serrano peppers, bell pepper, or you can also use a can of diced green chilies), garlic, corn (frozen corn works great here). You can use garlic powder instead.
- Taco Seasoning. Try my homemade taco seasoning recipe. Much better flavor than store bought.
- Tomatoes. Whole canned or diced tomatoes - I love fire roasted tomatoes, too.
- Tomato Sauce.
- Beans. I'm using black beans and pinto beans. Try kidney beans as well.
- Chicken Stock or Broth. Beef broth is good, too.
- Salt and Pepper. To taste.
- FOR SERVING/OPTIONAL/IDEAS
- Lime wedges, chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, jalapeno slices, lime wedges, tortilla chips, shredded cheese or crumbly white cheese, sour cream, avocado - anything you might put on a taco. Choose your favorites! Don't forget the hot sauce!
How to Make Taco Soup - the Recipe Method
Cook down the ground beef, onion, and peppers in a bit of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, 8 to 10 minutes or so to brown the beef and soften the vegetables.
Add the garlic and cook a minute, then stir in the taco seasonings. Cook for a minute, stirring, to bloom the spices, then stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, corn, and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes to develop the flavor. You can simmer longer if you'd like.
The soup will thicken up a bit, but it's nice and chunky and delicious.
Serve into bowls with a few squeezes of lime juice (important) then add all of your favorite toppings. The toppings are the fun part.
Boom! Done! Looks wonderful, doesn't it? I hope you enjoy your tacos soup, my friends. It doesn't get any better than this.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Ground Meat Options. Make taco soup with ground beef, ground turkey, chicken, pork, or a mix. Or, use chopped chicken breast or thighs for chicken taco soup.
- Use Your Favorite Taco Toppings. The soup alone is brimming with flavor, but half the fun is in the fixings. If I had an avocado in the house, I would have topped each bowl with some of it. Curse me for not having avocados! Still, some lime, jalapeno slices or other green chiles, chips and cheese will go a long way, but consider anything you'd put on a taco, like crema/sour cream, crumbly white cheese, extra hot sauce, you name it!
Storage & Leftovers
Leftover taco soup will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a sealed container. You can simply reheat it in a small pot on the stove top or gently in the microwave to enjoy again.
You can also freeze it for 2-3 months in freezer safe containers.
That's it, my friends! Such a quick and easy taco soup recipe! Taco night will never be the same. It's also super easy to make in a crock pot or slow cooker - Try my Crock Pot Taco Soup Recipe!
Try Some of My Other Popular Soup Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy my recipe for taco soup, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Taco Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef use ground turkey for a healthier, lower calorie option
- Olive oil as needed
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped (use serrano pepper for spicier)
- 1 bell pepper chopped (or use a 4-ounce can diced green chilies)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup corn (frozen works great here)
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning (or more to taste)
- 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 can black beans (12 ounces) drained
- 1 can pinto beans (12 ounces) drained (or use kidney beans or more black beans)
- 1 cup 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 – 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 or turkey 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 whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, corn and chicken stock. Stir. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a quick boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 20-30 minutes. The flavors will develop more the longer you leave it. It will smell so good in the house!
- 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!
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 12/30/24 to include new photos and information. It was originally published on 1/15/16.
Margarita says
Making this soup today, we are cold in the desert right now, this will be the perfect Sunday dinner with your Mexican Cornbread. As always, your recipes keep my family healthy and happy and save my day!!
Mike H. says
I am very pleased to hear it, Margarita. Thank you!
Angela says
makin' mine a bit hotter !! ! Enjoying the taste as well as the look! Thank you for sharing both!! (no corn on-hand, but that little pop of color would add a nice touch)
Mike Hultquist says
Oh yeah! Spice it up, Angela! I love it!!
JoyceK says
Delicious and easy!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Joyce! I appreciate it!!
Karen says
We made this soup for a quick dinner and it was really good. It reminded us of chili for sure. I like that corn was an ingredient and I'm not really a corn fan but it was perfect in this recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
I'm glad you enjoyed it overall, Karen. Cheers.