Warmly spiced and satisfying, this Paula Deen Taco Soup comes together with no fuss in slow cooker, so simple! Just set it and forget it.
Along with chicken tortilla soup, this taco soup is our favorite cozy soup!
About This Taco Soup
This dish was inspired by Paula Deen taco soup recipe, however, I omitted the olives and played around with the ingredients.
Just my personal preference and in Mexican soups olives are just not a thing anyway. I’d also call this soup ‘’Mexican-style’’ rather than authentic.
What I really love about this soup is the amount of fulfilling protein ingredients, veggies and grounding spices.
Most of the ingredients are simple and affordable, spices, beans, your favorite ground meat or poultry.
Combine everything in a crock pot and, set the timer and forget! Come back after work to a delicious and warming dinner.
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Instructions
Paula Deen Taco Soup is a type of dish that is loaded with protein and hearty ingredients without being too heavy. A healthy taco soup you'll want to make again and again.
Here's how to make it FROM SCRATCH! It's very easy, I promise!
In a skillet over medium-high heat brown the meat and onion with a little bit of cooking oil.
Drain excess fat (For less fat use lean beef).
What I like here is that you can make it lighter by using ground turkey or ground chicken, all of these options work equally well!
Transfer the browned beef to a crock pot. (I used 4.5 quart Crock Pot).
Top with spices, salt, black pepper, and the rest of the ingredients.
Close the lid and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. I usually go for 3 hours on HIGH.
Taste for seasoning. Add more broth to thin it out if desired.
Squeeze in half of the lime juice before serving. A must!
Serve with corn tortilla chips, avocado, or a quick Guacamole, jalapeno, sour cream, and more toppings.
Looking for more Mexican-style recipes or craving for more beans? Try these next: Crock Pot Chicken Chili, Beans and Cornbread, Beef Enchilada Casserole, Vegetarian Enchiladas, Easy Vegan Chili.
Tips
- Spicy or mild - Essentially Taco soup is kinda spicy but the beauty of a homemade soup is that you can control how much spicy ingredients you use. A good rule of thumb (in making any spicy food) is to add spicy ingredients gradually, less is more and if anything, extra heat can be added later to the pot or to individual serving bowls.
- Also, taco soup will become more flavorful and possibly spicier after day 1. If it's your first time making taco soup, you can only add a little bit of chipotle powder and use fire-roasted tomatoes (for that all-day-simmering flavor instead of Rotel tomatoes (and I actually used ''mild'' not with habaneros) that come with chilies. My version is mildly spicy, for a proper heat level add mild or spicy fresh chili (seeds removed and diced).
- Rinse and drain the beans - despite the fact that some chefs prefer to use cooking that thick liquid from the can the beans came from, it is not the best idea in my opinion. It has a lot of starch and is usually full of sodium. When purchasing beans, look for a healthier option with a low sodium label.
- Mix things up! A trio of beans. You can use one or more types of beans here. Black beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, pinto beans. If you have only a little bit of beans, you can easily substitute the rest with green, black, or red lentils. These can be cooked separately, except red lentils which will cook very fast and therefore can be added to the pot towards the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time, before adding cream cheese.
- Chipotle powder - if you have fresh or dried chipotle peppers, even better! I prefer chipotle over chili powder as it adds unbelievable depth of flavor, and smokiness to any Mexican-Style dish. If you can't find it, cayenne or chili powder are great options but they are simply not the same still.
- Beef - I used 8-10 oz of meat here only. The soup was thick and very much fulfilling. It perfectly served 4-5 people, a decent bowl of soup with toppings and corn chips!
- To thicken soup - you can add a cornstarch slurry (1:1 ratio) if you want it to be very thick. Or you can also add 1 cup more beans to the soup, take some of them out after cooking and mash or blend them until chunky. Return back to the pot.
- The main things in this taco soup is to use at least 1 type of beans, meat (or omit completely if going for a vegetarian option, very yummy too!), chiles, spices, and tomatoes. Other veggies can be added according to what’s left in your fridge (think carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, even squash)
Serving Suggestions
What to serve with taco soup? Well, anything Mexican or Mexican-style foods!
Essentially what you’d be serving with tacos and chilis would be delicious with this Paula deen taco soup too!
Tortilla chips and dips such as Guacamole, Pico De Gallo or any other fresh salsa. Also this Marinated cucumber tomato onion salad will be 100% a winner here!
Here's my top 10 recipes to serve with taco soup:
- Spanish or Mexican rice or Lime Cilantro rice
- Cornbread
- Mexican corn
- Grilled cheese sandwiches
- Crackers
- Refried beans tostadas
- Tacos
- Stuffed potatoes, sweet potatoes, french fries
- Grilled or steamed vegetables - Asparagus
And hey, why not start your dinner with a flavorful Skinny Watermelon Margaritas ? 🙂
Freezing And Storing Instructions
To Store. Store leftover taco soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To Freeze. Although I am not a fan of freezing food, but this taco soup is still a great freezer meal! I found this soup freezes beautifully and holds up the great flavor after thawing. True comfort food at its finest!
Place the soup in an airtight freezer-safe storage container and freeze for up to 2 months. Don't use glass as the soup will thicken and may rupture the glass when frozen. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. To reheat add a little bit of warm broth or water.
Easy Mexican Dinner Recipes
ALL DINNER recipes.
- Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Mango Salsa
- Cajun Corn On The Cob
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada
- Chicken Enchiladas With White Sauce
Thank you for reading,
Love,
Julia
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Recipe
Paula Deen Taco Soup (Slow Cooker)
INGREDIENTS
- 1-2 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 5 tablespoon canned green chilies, or more depending on how spicy you’d like
- 1 15 oz crushed tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes is preferred
- 1 15 oz rotel tomatoes, with chilies
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste, (optional for more flavor)
- 2 cups vegetable broth, or meat, low sodium
- 1 8 oz can kernel, rinsed, drained
- 1 15 oz kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
- 10 oz ground lean beef, turkey or chicken
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon chili powder or chipotle
- 1 ½ tablespoon dry ranch seasoning
- cooking oil
- salt to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Toppings
- Avocado
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Cheese
- Jalapeno
- Corn chips
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a skillet over medium high heat brown the meat and onion with a little bit of cooking oil. Drain excess fat (For less fat use lean beef).
- Transfer to a crock pot. I used a 4.5 quart crock pot. Top with spices, salt, black pepper and the rest of the ingredients. Close the lid and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours. Taste for seasoning. Add more broth to thin it out if desired.
- Squeeze in half of lime juice before serving.
- Serve with corn tortilla chips, avocado, jalapeno, sour cream and more toppings.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Easy taco soup recipe that requires almost zero effort as it is all cooked in a slow cooker. Juts set it and forget it!