This easy taco soup recipe is made with ground beef, beans, corn, and taco seasoning and is ready in just 15 minutes. It’s a one-pot dinner that uses pantry staples and can be made on the stovetop, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.
Perfect for busy weeknights, this taco soup is hearty, customizable, and great for meal prep or freezing.
Taco soup is a hearty Mexican-inspired soup made with ground beef, beans, corn, tomatoes, and taco seasoning.
Why This Taco Soup is the best
✔ Ready in 15 minutes
✔ Uses pantry ingredients
✔ Freezer-friendly
✔ Easily customizable (beef, chicken, turkey)
✔ Works in slow cooker or Instant Pot
One of the main reasons I love this recipe so much is that it uses canned beans, corn, tomatoes and tomato sauce. I always keep a hefty stock of canned beans and tomatoes in my pantry, so it’s an easy dinner to whip up.
Ingredients Needed To Make Taco Soup:
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make this protein-rich soup. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients in the printable recipe card below.
- Ground Beef – you can substitute ground turkey if desired
- Onion – sometimes if I don’t have a fresh onion on hand I’ll just add in extra onion powder.
- Canned Kidney Beans – no need to drain the beans! Just dump it all in.
- Black Beans – no draining needed
- Whole Corn – again, no need to drain the corn.
- Diced Tomatoes – use a petite diced tomato or regular diced tomato from the can.
- Tomato Sauce
- Taco Seasoning – try my homemade blend!
How To Make Taco Soup
To make taco soup, brown beef, add canned ingredients, and simmer for 10–15 minutes. It’s literally that easy!
DO YOU DRAIN THE CANS OF BEANS?
No. For this recipe we are going to use the liquid from the beans and corn to help make up the soup consistency. So no need to drain!
*If you prefer to drain the beans and corn, make sure to add in at least 2 cups of beef broth to the soup.
Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes and VOILA! You’re done!
Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Version
Utilize your slow cooker or instant pot to make this delicious taco soup recipe a breeze.
SLOW COOKER- simply brown the beef and onion in a skillet, then drain any fat. Add the beef and onion to the slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients, stir and set to LOW for 4 to 5 hours.
INSTANT POT – use the sauté mode to brown the beef and onion, drain any fat and then add the remaining ingredients, stir and cover with lid. Set to HIGH pressure for 10 minutes followed by a quick release of pressure.
Taco Soup Toppings Guide
My absolute favorite thing about this soup is that it’s so easy to make AND you get to top it with all your favorite taco toppings!
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- avocado
- tortilla or corn chips
- jalapeños
- cilantro
- lime
- Pico de Gallo – fresh is best!
Freezer friendly
Whenever we have leftover taco soup, I’ll add it on top of salads, make tacos or burritos, and it’s also good with an egg on top for a hearty brunch.
This recipe is perfect for meal prep, freezer meals, or quick weeknight dinners.
How to Store Taco Soup:
- Fridge: 3–4 days
- Freezer: up to 4 months
- Reheat: stovetop or microwave until heated through
My whole family adores this soup. In fact, I served this almost weekly every fall and during the winter months and there are never any leftovers!
Recipe Variations and Tips for Taco Soup
- Swap out the ground beef for ground chicken, turkey or pork
- Use pinto beans rather than kidney beans
- Add in a packet of dry ranch seasoning mix to give it creamy and herby flavor
- Mix in a small can of diced green chilies for some extra heat
If you love this cozy soup, you’ll really enjoy my Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup too!
I can’t wait for you to give this quick and easy taco soup recipe a try! I know you’re going to love it!
Taco Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 15 oz kidney beans
- 15 oz black beans
- 15 oz corn kernels
- 15 oz diced tomatoes
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
Optional Taco Toppings:
- shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- diced tomatoes
- avocado
- corn chips
- lime wedges
- cilantro
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and onion in a large pot, until cooked through and crumbled. Drain any excess fat.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot** and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, letting simmer for about 10 minutes to let flavors blend.
- Serve with optional taco toppings. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
DON’T FORGET TO PIN THE RECIPE TO SAVE IT!
I figured that 1 serving of this soup would have carb count of approx. 25 carbs – not using the Corn – could add onion, celery, etc. – you you agree?
someone questioned the nurtitional values – which is 39 carbs- I thing I saw this was 1 1/2 cups???? n want to make tis recipe for grandson who is diabetic – plan to leave out the corn and do ancarb count
Look8ng forward to preparing this Taco Soup
Absolutely delicious!
Followed your recipe, except I used half ground beef and half ground sweet sausage and fresh corn. I also used your taco seasoning…it’s so good! Ooolala.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
HI! I have made this a few times and my family and I LOVE it! You might as well say that it is a staple in our house. My kids are teens, so super picky, but they love this! I have to double recipe and there is still none for the next day!!! And mexican cornbread bread with this amazing! Thanks so sharing this recipe!Michelle
That’s so wonderful to hear Michelle. Thank you for your comment!
Hi! I am just wondering if this can be made in a crockpot?
I make this all the time in a crockpot! I dump everything in, then cook on low about 4-5 hours, but you could probably leave it for longer. All the ingredients in this are pretty hardy, so I don’t think a longer cooking time would hurt it.
Love this recipe I use organic everything, and Organic black soy beans instead of blackbeans. LOVE IT!
I made this several times. Soo is easy and yummy. FYI if you use Trader Joe’s taco seasoning packets they are bigger than all other brands, use the 2 tablespoons!! …and even that is pretty spicy. Also, if you happen to accidentally drain all of your veggies like I did the first time I made it as I didn’t read through all the comments, just add chicken broth for the liquid.
Can you freeze it
Made this again, made large batch last time n Canned several pints n now doing it again. Love it Thanks for sharing. When I dish it up I use a plop of sour cream, green onions n crushed taco chips. Sometimes grated cheese. Delicious!
Fantastic! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipe!
This is not “Mexican” cuisine either. It’s American cuisine. Taco soup doesn’t exist in Mexico. It only exists in the USA.
Who cares? Should she have called it Tex-Mex? Maybe Taco Soup ‘should’ exist in Mexico. It’s prob delish. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Do you need a broth to make it more “soupy”?
No, you are going to not drain any of the canned items and that will make the soup base. If you wanted to make it more soupy, you can add extra beef broth. But it’s not needed.
Your soup recipe was so easy to make. It was delicious!! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Maria!
There is no way this soup only has 1 carb and 1 fiber for 150 calories of soup unless it is per teaspoon, even 1/4 cup would have more carbs. Except for the ground beef everything is High Carb items. I am not sure who figured your nutritional info but they did a terrible job. You say it is 8 servings it would have been nice if you included the actual serving size in cups or ounces at least. The soup sounds very good, it is only the nutritional info I have a problem with. I track macros since I do keto is why I know these numbers are incorrect.
The recipe doesn’t include any broth? How do you get any “soup”? It looks like hot dish?
you don’t drain any of the veg/beans you put in the soup and that makes the broth. The first time I made it I drained everything without reading through the recipe and just added chicken broth .
I added a cup of chicken broth and a cube of cream cheese. It turned out perfect!
Hi! Love that this is so easy! Do you drain the beans?
Love your recipes!
My family loves this soup. I’m making it tomorrow for taco Tuesday. May add some elbow macaroni.
Sounds like a great idea!
It has been really cold today, so I thought I would make something to warm our insides. I came across this recipe & read the reviews & thought I would give it a try. This soup is so good!!! My family loved it! We put Fritos on top with cheese & sour cream!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Crystal!
I fix this in my insta pot. I just brown the ground beef and add everything in and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Everyone loves it.
Awesome recipe. Making it soon to share with a family going through a rough patch.