This hearty and creamy (nearly) 30-minute taco soup combines rich ground beef, flavorful taco spices, and creamy textures to create a comforting and satisfying meal. Perfect for a cozy night in!
This is by far my favorite taco soup recipe. I love how with just a bunch of very simple and affordable ingredients we can make a hearty bowl of various flavors, colors, and textures.
Plus, it is a major time saver in the kitchen, as all the parts of the soup can be prepped ahead, frozen and just cooked when you need it within 30 minutes. And with all this, this taco soup recipe is also relatively healthy: lots of protein, fewer carbs, and tons of veggies.
Why You Have To Try This Recipe
- Easy dump-and-go flavorful soup for the whole family (makes 6 sumptuous portions). And did I mention using leftovers as dips or snacks?
- It needs 30 minutes to cook! Weeknight dinner? Done! Tangy, creamy, savory dinner.
- A must-try during soup season. Nothing I crave more during cold days than soup! And this one is a combo of the best Mexican flavors, meat, veggies, and spices, and just a delicious hearty soup. What else do we need to call it the comfort food?
- Easy to customize with our favorite taco toppings.
- Can make the soup spicy or not based on your preference.
- Can cook in a large pot or a slow cooker. No need to buy more appliances if you don’t have them. Can adjust the recipe to what you have.
- Nutritious and healthy! Protein, fiber, low carb content.
Taco Soup Ingredients
- Meat. I stick to ground beef, but ground turkey, shredded chicken breasts (or simply ground chicken), and any other meat will work. It is one of the best use for any leftover rotisserie chicken you may have!
- Vegetables: small onion, garlic cloves (minced finely with a garlic press), canned corn (frozen corn will do too), Rotel diced tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, and green chiles. Optional: green and red bell pepper. Can substitute canned tomatoes with fresh chopped tomatoes.
- Beans. I use black beans, drained. Easy substitutions would be pinto beans or kidney beans. A great source of protein and fiber.
- Taco seasoning. Homemade taco seasoning is always best, but not mandatory. Can include smoked paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, or be not spicy at all.
- Broth. I use chicken broth for this recipe. Beef broth or stock, or vegetable stock will work too.
- Regular cream cheese to justify why this is a creamy soup. Full-fat. Can be replaced with heavy cream, half and half, or coconut milk.
- Cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper
- Optional toppings: sour cream, chopped cilantro, sliced jalapeños, tortilla chips. I give more ideas below.
- Optional for spicy flavors: mild green chiles, cayenne pepper,
Kitchen Equipment
- To make this soup you can use a Dutch oven, a slow cooker, an instant pot, or just a large soup pot over the stovetop.
How To Make Creamy Beef Taco Soup In Dutch Oven
- Brown the ground beef in a large Dutch oven or crock pot over medium/medium-high heat until fully cooked. Drain any excess fat.
- Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the pot. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, green chilies, and taco seasoning.
- Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes. The longer you cook it, the better and deeper the flavors.
- Add the room-temperature cream cheese. Stir until completely melted and incorporated. Usually, it takes around a few minutes. Don’t boil to make sure the soup isn’t separating.
- Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted and the soup is creamy.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for an additional 10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
- Serve hot delicious soup with your favorite toppings.
How To Make This Creamy Beef Taco Soup In Slow Cooker
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet for 5-7 with onions and garlic. Drain and discard any excess grease.
- Put all the ingredients and cooked beef in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on medium heat or high heat for 3-4 hours.
- 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, stir in the cheese.
Favorite Taco Soup Toppings
- Shredded cheese (grated cheddar works the best for me!)
- Fresh cilantro
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Green onions or diced red onions
- Sliced jalapenos
- Diced avocado
- Lime juice or lime wedges
- Hot sauce or adobo sauce
- Corn chips or cornbread
- Grilled corn
Storage
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Taco soup ingredients can be easily made ahead: brown a large batch of ground meat, and saute the veggies so you can quickly whip up a hearty filling soup during the week.
Can I Freeze Creamy Taco Soup?
Freezing is also possible but not ideal. Any leftover taco soup can be frozen for up to 2-4 months. Serving is easy too – just let it thaw and reheat it in a slow cooker or pot.
However, cream cheese may become grainy or separated after defrosting. So I suggest you check on your frozen batch after 1 month to see the texture.
Use heavy cream instead of cream cheese OR freeze without the cream cheese and add it during reheating.
Tips To Make The Best Creamy Taco Soup
- This recipe uses ground beef, but you are welcome to swap it with any other ground meat or chunks. Leaner meats are chicken, turkey, venison, and bison.
- Don’t overcook the meat. As it will be slowly simmering with veggies, don’t make it well done at step 1. It will be too tough.
- This low-carb taco soup can also be dairy-free (coconut milk, unsweetened coconut cream, or cashew cream instead of cream cheese) and vegetarian (with Beyond beef, and with veg stock). Without beans, it will be more keto-friendly as well.
- I really urge you to make a jar of homemade taco seasoning. It is stupid-easy and you can use it with any other recipes!
- Olive oil or butter is a good add-on to this recipe. You can brown the beef and saute the vegetables with it to enhance the flavors.
- To use fewer canned products, you can fire-roast tomatoes, the smokiness adds such a good depth to this soup!
- Always use only full-fat dairy to make the best creamy taco soup. Low-fat may be healthier but it is too thin for cooking and the result will be disappointing.
- Softened cubed cream cheese will melt in the soup more easily and incorporate better.
- One of the secret ingredients (optional) for this soup is Velveeta Mexican cheese – a milk-based cheese with jalapenos.
Popular Questions & Answers
Is Creamy Taco Soup Recipe Spicy?
My taco soup is not spicy. It can be mildly hot if you use chili powder in the seasoning or jalapenos for garnish. For really spicy soup, use habaneros, cayenne pepper, or any other peppers you prefer.
Can I Use Chicken For Taco Soup?
You can make delicious white creamy taco soup with chicken, no tomatoes, and white beans instead of black beans. It looks very elegant and completely white!
What Can I Use To Thicken My Taco Soup?
To make a thicker taco soup you can simply use less broth and simmer it longer (1 hour or so).
You can also add thickening agents like flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, or uncooked white rice that will cook together with the soup and bulk it up.
How To Make Taco Soup Creamy Without Dairy?
Coconut milk, cashew cream, and vegan heavy cream will add smooth creaminess to vegan creamy soups and you won’t have to use any dairy products.
If you love this soup recipe, you’re going to love these other comfort food soups too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
More Great Taco-Inspired Recipes
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Creamy Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion diced – small
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 15 oz black beans drained and rinsed (1 can)
- 15 oz corn drained (1 can)
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes undrained (1 can)
- 10 oz Rotel tomatoes and green chilies undrained (1 can)
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz cream cheese softened and cubed
- 1 cup cheddar cheese – shredded
salt and pepper to taste
Optional toppings: sour cream, chopped cilantro, sliced jalapeños, tortilla chips
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat until fully cooked. Drain any excess fat.
- Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the pot. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, Rotel, and taco seasoning.
- Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the cream cheese. Stir until completely melted and incorporated.
- Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted and the soup is creamy.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for an additional 10 minutes to let the flavors come together.
- Serve hot with your choice of optional toppings.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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