EASY Taco Soup Recipe That’s Totally Delicious!

Feb 19, 2020 | Food, Recipes

Warm up on a cold day with this easy taco soup recipe. You can put it together in a snap and you likely have most of the ingredients on hand already!

Easy taco soup recipe in a bowl, from Fun Cheap or Free

Everyone has a go-to meal. It’s one that you can make in a flash and you usually have the ingredients on-hand. (Hello, shelf cooking!) It's quick, easy, cheap, and tastes good. What's yours? Ours is…(drumroll, please)… taco soup!

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It's seriously the easiest thing ever and tastes delish. It’s so filling and is one of the best things to eat on a cold day. The best part about this easy taco soup? It can be made on the stove or in the crockpot. Alright, alright, enough talking! Let’s get to the recipe and mouth-watering pictures…



WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS EASY TACO SOUP RECIPE

Two bowls of taco soup, from Fun Cheap or Free

Taco soup is a very versatile recipe. There are some basic ingredients that you need, but you can really use whatever you have and it’ll still taste as delicious as ever!

  • Ground Meat – We prefer to use cooked ground beef. We usually stock up when it’s on sale, cook it all up, and freeze it in one-pound freezer bags. That way it's already cooked and ready to simply throw in, no cooking needed! You can also use cooked ground turkey or chicken.
  • Onion – We buy the huge bags from Costco and leave them in the fridge. They last for-ev-er! We’ve also used frozen onion and powdered onion for those times that we’ve completely run out of onions.
  • Corn – We tend to stock up on corn when it’s on sale (if you haven’t learned that about us yet). You can use canned, fresh off the cob, or frozen.
  • Beans – We love buying these by the case during case lot sales so we always have lots of them on-hand. We usually use kidney and black beans. Ranch Style Beans are good, too (and you don’t have to drain and rinse them)!
  • Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies – AKA Rotel, but the store brands taste just as good and are cheaper!
  • Tomato Sauce – This helps to give the soup some good flavor. If you have tomato paste, you can make your own tomato sauce by adding water until it reaches the right consistency.
  • Taco Seasoning This is clutch in taco soup. We buy the big containers from Costco. You can also buy the little envelopes when they are on sale or make your own (which is super easy and you probably have all of the ingredients already)!
  • Ranch Dressing – This adds a little extra creaminess and zip to it. You can buy the big containers of ranch dressing mix, or grab the packets when they go on sale. You can also substitute in regular ranch dressing if you don’t have any of the powder on hand.
  • Cilantro – We don't always have this on hand, but if we do, we throw it in the soup.
  • Beef Stock – If you are using fresh or frozen ingredients, then you may need to add a little extra liquid to make it reach your desired soupiness. We add in a little Better Than Bouillon Beef Base with some water when it’s not quite soupy enough. You can also add in regular beef stock or just plain old water. Just taste it to see if it needs any extra seasonings if you’re adding water!

As you can see, most of these ingredients are easily kept in the pantry or freezer, so you should be able to whip this recipe together any time your heart (or stomach) desires.


WHAT GOES WELL WITH TACO SOUP

This easy taco soup is delicious on its own, but you pair it with these extras and it’ll go above and beyond!

  • Crushed tortilla or corn chips
  • Cornbread (Try out our super easy cornbread recipe that’s ready in 20 minutes!)
  • Mexican rice
  • Sour cream
  • Cheese
  • Cilantro
  • Red onions
  • Green onions
  • Jalapeño peppers
  • Sliced avocado

It's so. dang. delicious on it's own, but these take it that extra mile!


HOW TO MAKE IT IN THE SLOW COOKER

Soup with toppings, from Fun Cheap or Free

If you have the time to cook this easy taco soup recipe in the slow cooker, it really is the way to go! It gets plenty of time to simmer and really have all of the flavors come together. Cook your ground meat and onion on the stove and add taco seasoning. Grab your slow cooker and put a liner in it for easy clean up (that makes it totally worth the cost for me!). 

Add your meat and onion mixture, along with all of your other ingredients (minus the cilantro). Rinse and drain your beans before adding them. Add beef stock or water to make it the desired consistency and any extra seasonings to taste. Cook on low for 4-8 hours. Add cilantro the last 30 minutes, if desired.


HOW TO FREEZE TACO SOUP

This is a great recipe to double when you make it because it freezes so well! Make it like normal, then put it in a freezer container and label it with the date on a sticky note. Since it will likely still be warm, put it in the refrigerator until it completely cools. Once it reaches that point, you can stick in in the freezer and voila! You have a quick, easy and delicious meal for those busy nights.


HOW TO THAW AND REHEAT

When you're making your meal plan for the week, mark which day you'll need to stick your taco soup in the refrigerator to start thawing. Depending on how much you froze in the container, you may need to stick it in there two days before you're wanting to eat to give it plenty of time to thaw.

To reheat the whole batch, dump it in a pan and heat it until it's warmed all the way through. If you're not going to be able to eat it all at once, then put a serving in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it in 30-second increments until it's warmed all the way through. Top it off how you like and enjoy! 🙂


EASY TACO SOUP RECIPE

Easy taco soup with chips, from Fun Cheap or Free

You really couldn’t ask for an easier recipe to make on a cold day! You can whip this up on the stove in no time. However, the longer it sits and simmers, the more flavor you’ll get!

Easy Taco Soup Recipe

This easy taco soup recipe is so delicious and you likely have a lot of the ingredients on hand!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 can whole kernel corn, not drained
  • 2 cans beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, not drained
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 pkt taco seasoning
  • 1 pkt ranch dressing mix
  • Cilantro, to taste
  • Beef stock (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Brown ground beef and onion until cooked all the way through. Drain, if needed.
  • Add in all other ingredients. Add beef stock to reach desired consistency.
  • Bring to a boil, then simmer until ready to eat.
  • Serve with desired toppings. Enjoy!

Notes

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
This also freezes really well! Add leftovers to a freezer container and label it with the date on a sticky note. Stick it in the refrigerator until it completely cools. Once it reaches that point, add it to the freezer. Thaw it in the fridge the night before. Either reheat on the stove, or heat single servings in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments until heated all the way through.
Keyword easy, feed a crowd

Told you it was super easy!

We absolutely love eating it for leftovers and it freezes really well, too. Feel free to double it if you plan on feeding a lot of people or are wanting to freeze it for later!


Are you seeing why this is the easiest and most delicious taco soup recipe, ever?! We're curious, what are your favorite things to pair with your taco soup? Let us know in the comments!

Easy taco soup recipe Pinterest picture from Fun Cheap or Free

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Enjoy!

10 Comments

  1. melissa

    Taco soup is one of our favorites – not only is it easy it is SERIOUSLY yummy!

    Reply
  2. funcheaporfree

    I know, right?! Do you do anything different to yours? How do you prefer to make it?

    Reply
  3. Becky Crockett

    girl! oh my goodness i have been loving our #shelftember challenge. Last week it was a family friday night and i had no idea what to do. you mentioned Taco soup in your instastory so i found your recipe here and made it up! um yes!!! Yum in my tum, Jordan i serioulsy cried. it was so easy, so yummy and my whole family (hubby and three little girls) loved it. You saved me from going to Little Cesaers! you rock!!! Thanks girl!

    Reply
  4. Sarah

    Hi Jordan, I’m going to make this soup but I need to know the ounce / gram size of the ranch mix? We don’t have that product in Australia so I’ve made my own mix but need to know the quantity please!
    Thanks x

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      It’s one ounce. Way to go, making your own!!! Enjoy that all the way over in Australia! 🙂

      Reply
      • Sarah

        Thank you! X

        Reply
  5. KAREN

    Hey Jordan! This looks delish and my fam is BIG on anything Tex-Mex. I’m going to be adding this to my meal ideas, but I’m curious – just how much does your recipe make? Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      It is the best!!! It makes a really big pot, probably close to 6 adult servings. We always pair ours with cornbread and try to have fruit along with it, so we can easily make it feed our whole family and oftentimes we’ll have some leftovers. If you’re afraid of it not feeding your whole family, feel free to add in more beans that will help to stretch it further without having to put in more expensive ground beef!

      Reply
  6. Jamie

    What size can of tomato sauce? 8 oz or 15 oz?

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Either size will work! We usually use the 15 oz, but 8 oz would be plenty if that’s all you have. Enjoy! 🙂

      Reply

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