Easy Beef Taco Soup

Make this Easy Beef Taco Soup for a quick, healthy dinner for the whole family. This soup can be prepped in under 10 minutes. It's made with ground beef, onion, corn, tomatoes, and beans and is the perfect quick lunch or easy dinner! Top this soup with cheese, avocado or jalapeños.

When I sent out my annual rate or survey to find out what kind of recipes you all wanted, I got tons of responses asking for easy soup recipes.

Then taco soup was chosen from a few that I suggested making.

Easy Beef Taco Soup Recipe

Soup is the ultimate comfort food when it's a bit chilly outside, but truthfully I love this soup all year long.

It's a go-to for us when we need a quick, easy dinner that isn't going to skip out on flavor. 

This soup requires just four ingredients, plus a spice blend that you can customize for a spicier soup!

With little ones in our house, I keep the soup mild and let the adults add extra spice, top it with a splash of green chiles or garnish it with fresh jalapeño slices.

What Is Taco Soup?

It's called taco soup because it contains all of the ingredients we love in tacos, only in soup form! Some people call taco soup "Mexican soup."

If you love beans, meat, tomato flavors and tons of optional toppings like cheese, guac and salsa, then you will love this soup.

If you are watching carb intake, this soup is a great one because you don't have to include any tortillas or taco shells. Chips are optional!

Ingredients

Here is what you'll need to grab from the store to make this easy soup recipe:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 onion
• cumin
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• chili powder
• cayenne pepper
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can corn
• 1 can black beans

And then you'll want to stock up on your favorite garnishes as well. Totally optional!

For mine, I like shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro and crushed tortilla chips. I've got some more ideas for you below.

How to Make Beef Taco Soup

Here's what you'll do to make this easy soup. It comes together in one pot, for super easy cleanup.

1. Brown ground beef and onions together in a large pot . Drain grease if needed.
2. Add in the cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and cayenne pepper.
3. Pour in the cans of diced tomatoes (with liquid), corn (drained), beans (drained) and water.
4. Simmer the soup for 25-30 minutes.
5. Garnish with cheese, avocado, jalapeño and cilantro, as desired. More ideas below!
6. Serve and enjoy. Once cooled, store in airtight containers in the fridge.

How to Customize Easy Taco Soup

Make this easy 30-minute taco soup your own by making substitutions that fit your family's preferences.

Make it with poultry: You don't have to use beef in this recipe! You can easily make it with ground turkey, ground chicken or shredded chicken. Sometimes I will shred up leftover Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs or a rotisserie chicken to use in this soup.

Make it with pork: Feel free to use ground pork sausage to mix up this soup recipe. This Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Pulled Pork would be delicious too.

Make it vegetarian: You can skip the meat altogether or use plant-based, meatless crumbles in this recipe to make it vegetarian if you like. You can also extra beans instead of meat.

Toppings for Taco Soup

Taco soup is great on its own, but it is even better because of the toppings! I love dressing up this soup.

It's a good one for a party, too, because you can set up bowls of toppings and let guests choose how to customize their soup.

• Lime wedges
• Jalapeños, diced or sliced
• Tomatoes, cherry or diced
• Pico de gallo
• Sliced green onions
• Black olives
• Crushed tortilla chips
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Cotija cheese crumbles
• A dollop of sour cream
• Avocado slices or guacamole
• A spoonful of your favorite salsa
• Hot sauce
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Rice or Mexican rice

Tips for Making This Soup Family-Friendly

I've been making this taco soup since before my oldest son was even eating yet. Now that I've made it for the whole family including a toddler and an infant, I've figured out how to adjust the recipe to make it totally family-friendly. 

Toppings make this recipe customizable for everyone, and that goes for the little ones too. I have lots of topping ideas below!

For our infant, I leave off most of the liquid and let him pick up the rest of the soup with his hands after it has cooled in the fridge.

For our toddler, he is able to feed himself with a spoon including the liquid after it has cooled off.

They both love avocado so I am sure to load up their serving with extra! 

Best Beans for Taco Soup

Black beans are the best for this easy taco soup, but you could add a second variety or use a different kind completely, such as:

• Kidney beans
• Red beans
• Navy beans
• Pinto beans
• Cannellini beans

You can even stir in a can of refried beans, but it will make this soup much, much thicker.

How to Thicken Taco Soup

If you would like a thicker soup, you can stir in one can of refried beans. It not only adds more protein, but it makes the broth thicker.

Cooking the soup longer will help to evaporate more of the broth and result in a thicker soup.

Is Taco Soup Spicy?

The base of this soup is not spicy but you can always make it spicier. Use mild chili powder to keep the chili flavor strong without the spice.

Using spicy chili powder, cayenne pepper or a pinch of red pepper flakes will make the base of this soup spicier.

You can also add diced jalapeños, green chiles or a few dashes of hot sauce to the soup. If you love spice, you might consider a few of these options!

Make sure to serve it with sour cream and cheese. The dairy will help to quell the spiciness and yield balanced bites.

Beef Taco Soup in a Slow Cooker

Simply brown the beef, drain grease and place in the slow cooker.

Pour spices directly on top then top with remaining ingredients, add only 2 cups of water instead of three. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

How Do You Freeze Soup?

To freeze soup, let the soup cool to room temperature. Then pour into a plastic freezer bag and lay flat to freeze.

You can also freeze in a glass storage container — using plastic will likely stain the container.

Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating, then warm on the stovetop or in the microwave.

What to Eat with Taco Soup

The best part about soup is it really is a one-pan meal. It is enough to eat all by itself. I always serve some tortilla chips and Five Minute Blender Salsa.

However, you can serve smaller portions as a starter to a bigger meal. You can serve Chicken Enchilada Sliders, your favorite tacos or burritos.

And don't forget about the Orange Lime Margarita!

More Easy Soup Recipes

As much as I may love cooking, these days I need meals that require 5-10 minutes of prep work and can pretty much cook themselves after that.

Soup is absolutely perfect for that kind of easy prep, dump-and-go kind of meal.

I also love this Quick and Easy Minestrone Soup and this Quick Loaded Baked Potato Soup for easy weeknight meals.

This Keto White Chicken Chili is perfect for nights when we want something on the healthy side.