Easy 30-Minute Taco Soup

Zoup! Specialty Products provided me with product for the purpose of this post, as well as compensation for my time. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Easy 30-Minute Taco Soup — 🌮🙌🎉 Taco lovers are going to love this beef taco soup which is like eating tacos but in soup form! Layers of Mexican-inspired flavors in this comforting and hearty yet healthy soup that will become a family FAVORITE! Fast, easy, one pot, and perfect for busy weeknights!

Quick & Easy Taco Soup Recipe

Calling all taco lovers, this is like eating tacos in soup form! This beef taco soup is easy to make and comes together in less than 30 minutes.

The longest part of the recipe will be chopping the veggies and opening up the various canned goods – summon those kids and kitchen helpers! But once it’s in the pot, it comes together so quickly.

The layers and depth of Mexican-inspired flavors are so wonderful that you’re going to be surprised you made it in less than a half hour.

From the chili powder, cumin, and oregano-scented ground beef to the black beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, and more, taco soup is going to become a family favorite sure to go on rotation, especially during the winter months!

Taco Soup Ingredients

To make this easy taco soup that’s ready before you know it, you’ll need the following commonly found ingredients.

Yes, there are quite a few ingredients, but all of the ingredients have a purpose to provide layers of rich flavor.

So get out the following:

• Olive oil
• Yellow onion
• Ground beef – I use 85% lean ground beef, but you can use any percentage you like best
• Red bell pepper
• Garlic
• Jalapeno pepper, optional – Remove the seeds to reduce the heat
• Canned diced green chiles or fire-roasted green chiles, optional
• Spices (chili powder, cumin, dried oregano; sub homemade taco seasoning or a taco seasoning packet if preferred)
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Zoup! Good, Really Good® Chicken Bone Broth – Feel free to use any flavor of Zoup! you like best or substitute any other homemade or store store-bought chicken broth
• Canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• Tomato paste, optional
• Corn
• Lime juice
• Cilantro
• Kosher salt – If the soup tastes at all flat, boring, dull, or just not quite right, adding more salt is my advice. I started with 2 teaspoons and then 1 more, and 1 more until it was just right
• Granulated sugar, optional
• Black pepper

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make Taco Soup

This is a quick recipe perfect for busy weeknights. Just combine the ingredients, let them simmer on the stove top, and you’ll be ready to eat in minutes! Here’s an overview of the cooking process:

1. Sauté the onion in oil in a large Dutch oven or similar heavy-bottomed large soup pot over medium-high heat. Then, add the meat, and brown the beef, breaking it into pieces and combining it with the onion as it cooks.
2. Add the red pepper, garlic, optional jalapeño, and optional green chiles, and cook until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and oregano.
3. Add the tomatoes, broth, beans, and optional tomato paste. Bring the soup to a boil before adding the corn.
4. Turn off the heat, and add the lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Adjust the seasonings to taste.
5. Portion the soup into bowls, add your favorite toppings, and enjoy warm!

What to Serve with Taco Soup

Honey Cornbread Muffins

Sweet Potato Cornbread

House Salad

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

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4.86 from 7 votes

Easy 30-Minute Taco Soup

By Averie Sunshine

🌮🙌🎉 Taco lovers are going to love this beef taco soup which is like eating tacos but in soup form! Layers of Mexican-inspired flavors in this comforting and hearty yet healthy soup that will become a family FAVORITE! Fast, easy, one pot, and perfect for busy weeknights!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

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Equipment

• 1 Large Dutch Oven or Heavy-Bottomed Pot

Ingredients 

• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
• ▢ 1 pound lean ground beef, I used 85% lean
• ▢ 1 medium red bell pepper, diced small
• ▢ 3 to 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
• ▢ 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced; optional (remove seeds to reduce the heat)
• ▢ 4 ounce can diced green chiles or fire-roasted green chiles, optional
• ▢ 3 tablespoons chili powder*, See Notes
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cumin*
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano or regular dried oregano*
• ▢ 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
• ▢ 32 ounces Zoup! Good, Really Good® Chicken Bone Broth
• ▢ two 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used no salt added)
• ▢ 2 to 4 ounces tomato paste, optional for a thicker soup (more like chili)
• ▢ 1 to 1 ½ cups corn, frozen, canned and drained, or freshly shaved
• ▢ 2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
• ▢ ⅓ cup finely minced fresh cilantro, or to taste; plus more for garnishing if desired
• ▢ 2 to 4 teaspoons Kosher salt, or to taste**
• ▢ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, optional
• ▢ Red onion, optional for garnishing and to taste
• ▢ Avocado, optional for garnishing
• ▢ Cotija, panela, or a shredded Mexican cheese blend, optional for garnishing
• ▢ Sour cream, optional for garnishing
• ▢ Tortilla strips or chips, optional for garnishing or dipping

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Instructions 

• To a large Dutch oven or similar heavy-bottomed pot, add the olive oil yellow onion, and sauté for a few minutes over medium-high heat before adding the ground beef.
• Brown the ground beef with the onion, stirring intermittently to ensure even cooking. Tip (See Notes for more tips) – Work ahead chopping and dicing the remaining veggies while beef is browning.
• Add the red pepper, garlic, optional jalapeno, optional green chiles, stir to combine, and cook for about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.
• Evenly sprinkle the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and stir to combine.
• Add the tomatoes, Zoup! Good, Really Good® Chicken Bone Broth, beans, optional tomato paste (some or all of a small can), stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Allow soup to boil fairly rapidly, uncovered, for about 5 minutes.
• Add the corn, stir to combine, and allow mixture to boil once again for a minute or two.
• Turn the heat off, add the lime juice, cilantro, salt, pepper, stir to combine, and taste the soup. Make sure to add salt to taste, and likely add more if you only started with 2 teaspoons. Also consider adding additional chile powder, cumin, or oregano if you started with lesser quantities than indicated.
• If the soup has a "bite" so to speak, what you’re likely tasting is the acidity from the large quantity of tomatoes and other acidic ingredients. Optionally consider adding the 1/2 teaspoon sugar. It does not make the soup sweet but rather balances the flavor profile similar to how many cooks add a pinch of sugar to spaghetti or pasta sauce.
• Optionally garnish with your favorites and serve. Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days and I find tastes better as time passes as the flavors marry. Soup will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 4 months. I recommend freezing it in individual-sized freezer-safe containers and thawing on the counter and reheating gently in the microwave.

Notes

*If you are sensitive to spices, halve the written amount of chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and at the end, if your soup doesn’t have enough flavor or oomph to it, you can always increase the amounts. As written this is a fairly boldly flavored soup; not spicy, but richly and boldly flavored; always season to your own taste preferences remembering you can always add more later but can’t take it away.

**If the soup tastes at all flat, boring, dull, or just not quite right, add more salt is my advice. I started with 2 teaspoons and then 1 more, and 1 more until it was just right with some generous twists of freshly ground black pepper. Depending on your taste preferences, you may want to add more or less salt and pepper than I did. I also find the pinch of sugar to be instrumental to balance the acidity from the tomatoes and other acidic ingredients.

Tips – This recipe is totally do-able in 30 minutes but it does have a fair amount of ingredients to chop and prep. Always work ahead with your dicing and chopping. For example, when the onion is browning, start dicing the red pepper. When the beef is browning, move on to dicing and seeding the jalapeno or start opening cans and set them aside so everything is ready to add when needed. While the soup is simmering, mince the cilantro, juice your limes, etc. Working ahead is definitely advisable here!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 234kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 640mg, Potassium: 660mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 853IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 62mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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