Quick and Easy Taco Soup Recipe is filled with ground beef, beans, corn and taco seasoning. It’s a quick dinner that uses lots of pantry staples!
If you love this cozy soup, you’ll really enjoy my Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup too!
This quick and easy taco soup was one of the very first recipes I made as a married woman. I was actually given this recipe by a friend, and I immediately fell in love.
Quick and Easy Taco Soup Recipe
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
- Canned Kidney Beans
- Black Beans
- Whole Corn
- Diced Tomatoes
- Tomato Sauce
- Taco Seasoning – try my homemade blend!
How To Make Taco Soup
Simply brown some ground beef with a little onion, drain any fat and then add some taco seasoning and all the canned goods!
DO YOU DRAIN THE CANS OF BEANS?
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
I think 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!
We love adding shredded cheese (that’s a must), sour cream (it’s so good when you stir it in the soup), pico de gallo (diced tomatoes work just as well) and sliced avocado!
Don’t forget the lime wedges and corn chips too!
LEFTOVERS
We also use the leftovers to top salads, make tacos or burritos, and it’s also good with an egg on top for a hearty brunch.
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!
You can’t beat a meal that comes together super quick and tastes amazing… PLUS it uses pantry staples! It’s a win-win.
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 dressing mix to give it creamy and herby flavor
- Mix in a small can of diced green chilies for some extra heat
Now I get to pass this recipe on to you. Print it out and share it with a friend, just like my friend did with me, so many years ago!
Quick and Easy Taco Soup
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!
Why do you leave the can of beans and corn undrained?
The liquid from the cans help to create the soup consistency.
Someone was asking about the calories in this. My diet program makes it, based on 6 servings, makes it 392 per serving and 465 Sodium using NSA tomato products and NSA or Low Salt beans and NSA corn
Looks delicious! How many people does this feed?
I would say about 6 people.
I love this soup but wondered what is a serving size. I’m doing macros and am trying to be as precise as possible.
Hi Jen, I would say it feeds about 6 people. Hope this helps!
I love this soup! I’ve made it several times. I was wondering what you call a serving size. I am doing macros and trying to be as precise as possible…This is a great recipe! Easy and delicious!
Looks so good and sounds good so I gotta make this right now. A well stocked pantry really pays off. I have everything I need so this will be dinner tonight.
Hi, I searched recipes for taco soup today. That’s how I found your blog. Made the soup for dinner and it was fabulous. I subscribed to the blog and I am pretty excited about it. Thank you.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! Very simple, quick and easy to make… I used ground chicken instead of the ground beef and served it with corn bread…
So glad you enjoyed it!
Just got done throwing this together. It’s wonderful, and mine hasn’t even warmed up all the way! I sauteed the onion, browned the ground beef and threw it all in my slow cooker on low. Can’t wait for the kids to get home from school!
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
How long did you put it in the slow cooker for?
Sure going to try it.
What is the serving size and nutritional value of recipe?
Wgat us carbs per serving
In general – how many people will this feed?
What a delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing !
This sounds so good can’t wait to make it. Was thinking of adding pasta would I need to do anything different.
Probably more liquid.
Laura, what I do with soups is cook the pasta first and don’t add it to the soup, add it to the bowls when you serve it. It doesn’t soak up all the liquid and it doesn ‘t get all soggy if you have leftovers. I do it with all the soups I make.
Can I freeze this? I want to bring to a friend who just had a baby for a future meal. Not sure if I freeze if I need to tell them to add more liquid once defrosted? Or how long to cook? I’m sure it’s super easy, but I’ve never frozen anything before haha.
I sometimes make a double batch & freeze half. Works great!
BET IT’S BETTER THE NEXT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I use a can of Rotel instead of tomato sauce and only one can of beans. Also have added some Velveta cheese
Thank you so much for this recipe. I had taco soup for the first time at a flea market and it was amazing. I never even thought about making it myself. Now I absolutely will! Thank you for a new recipe to play with! 🙂
If I wanted it to be more soupy and liquides, would it be good to as Beef broth to this?
I meant ADD*
Yes, adding more beef broth would make it soupy!
It possibly would’t matter.
Do you put in a whole packet of taco seasoning or 2 tbsp?
I would use either a whole foil packet or 2 tbsp if you have a bigger jar of seasoning that requires measuring.
East of New Mexico Black Beans are rare in recipes. I sub hominy (truly American ingredient.
The sodium content will be astronomical if you don’t drain and rinse the beans and corn, unless you use the low or no sodium variety. I would also suggest using low or no sodium tomato products. There is plenty of salt in the taco seasoning, and salt can always be added to taste!
You can drain and rinse the canned items if desired, just make sure to add a little more liquid to give it the soup consistency.
I add V-8 to a lot of my soups as it has healthy veggies and not just tomatoes and there is a low sodium variety you can buy. It seems to be thicker than broth and has more flavor, my opinion! The Ro-Tel tomatoes are a good way to spice it up as mentioned. Don’t know if I like black beans so I would use the pinto beans as suggested. And if you like hominy remember that is also corn if starch is a concern as that increases the sugar content. (A diabetic issue.)
Thanks for all your suggestions Holly!
100% agree on the sodium content! I plan to make this but will drain the beans and use a low sodium taco seasoning mix. I’m sure it will be just as good!
CAN’T WAIT TO TRY IT . IT SOUNDS DELICOUS !
if you drain the canned ingredients it makes for a great taco night! so easy, just drain the canned stuff and meat and put it in tortillas. i love it either way!
It should say a whole packet of taco seasoning…
Kudos! I brought this to a friend who had just lost her mother and got very good feedback.
Sorry to hear about your friend’s mother, but I’m glad she was comforted with this soup and a dear friend like you.
I am going to try this tonight and add rice to the side so we can chose to put in the taco soup!
I love this, but I didn’t have enough of some stuff so I substituted. I LOVE my substitutions.
I used one small can of tomato sauce (maybe 4.5 oz?) and a small can of chipotle sauce (same size), one can of diced tomatoes with chiles, one tiny (2 oz maybe?) can of chiles) and the rest was the same, but I didn’t add the taco seasoning because the chipotle would have messed with it. was REALLY good. Thank you for the base recipe!
Do you have a calorie count?? I used ground chicken, used pinto beans instead of kidney beans. I can figure out the calories for the toppings, but would love to see how many calories for the soup. Thanks!!
This soup looks so good! Just one question…..do you drain the beans and the corn before adding them to the soup?
Hi Cheryl, you don’t need to drain the beans or corn for this one! Enjoy!
How much will this feed?
I’ve made this its delicious
I add garlic and a packet of hidden valley ranch dry.
Started following you – This looks so good!! I’d love to have you share it on our Taco Tuesday link up!
http://www.lazygastronome.com/taco-tuesday-2/
What a delicious recipe. Thanks, I’ll do it.
This soup is absolutely delicious and couldn’t be easier! I used ground Turkey and didn’t drain any of the cans. Also used homemade taco seasoning and served it with Fritos and a dollop of sour cream! Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
I love using ground turkey in here too! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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Just made this. I used fire roasted corn. Turned out great. Had made a different taco soup recipe, this is so much better. Will definetly make again.
I love fire roasted corn! Great addition! So glad you loved it! 🙂