This taco soup recipe is the kind of cozy, flexible dinner that makes a busy evening easier. It brings seasoned ground beef, beans, tomatoes, broth, and a creamy cheese finish together in one pot, with a pleasantly smoky, gently spicy flavor. The taco soup recipe takes about 40 minutes from prep to bowl, yields 12 cups, and is easy to customize with toppings your family already enjoys.
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What you need to know
Layering the aromatics and spices before adding the liquids gives the soup a fuller flavor than simply stirring everything into a pot at once. The ground beef adds richness, while black beans make each serving hearty. Diced tomatoes with green chilies and red enchilada sauce provide acidity, color, and a mild chile warmth. Finally, sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese soften the edges and make the broth especially comforting.
Ingredients for taco soup recipe
You will need ground beef, a small yellow onion, jalapenos, garlic, butter, taco seasoning, hot sauce, dried oregano, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, red enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes with green chilies, black beans, beef broth, and chicken broth. Set out sour cream and cream cheese so they can warm slightly, and shred the cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese before cooking. That small bit of preparation helps the dairy blend smoothly at the end.
How to make taco soup recipe
Shred the cheeses and set them aside with the sour cream and cream cheese.
Cook and crumble the ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook 3 minutes; drain grease.
Add jalapenos and soften 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
“Packed with flavor and so simple. Exactly what I wanted from this Taco Soup Recipe!”
Melt in the butter, then stir in taco seasoning, hot sauce, oregano, mustard powder, and cayenne.
Add undrained tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and black beans. Stir, then add both broths.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook 15 minutes.
Mix sour cream and cream cheese with 1/4 cup broth, stir into soup, remove from heat, and add shredded cheeses.
Begin by shredding the cheeses and setting them aside with the sour cream and cream cheese. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, cook it for about five minutes, and crumble it as it browns. Add the diced onion and cook for three minutes more, then drain excess grease.
Add the jalapenos and cook until softened, about four to five minutes. Stir in the minced garlic for one minute, then add the butter and let it melt. Sprinkle in the taco seasoning, hot sauce, oregano, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir until the beef and vegetables are coated and fragrant.
Add the undrained tomatoes, using their liquid to loosen any flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the enchilada sauce and black beans. Pour in the beef broth and chicken broth, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The short simmer lets the seasonings settle without overcooking the beans.
How to finish the creamy broth
Reduce the heat to low. Place the sour cream and softened cream cheese in a small bowl, spoon in about one-quarter cup of hot broth, and stir until smooth. This tempering step matters because it warms the dairy gradually and reduces the chance of a lumpy texture. Stir the mixture into the soup, remove the pot from the heat, and add the shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Stir until melted and creamy.
“New family favorite! This Taco Soup Recipe was so flavorful and ridiculously easy. Crowd-pleaser for sure.”
Serving ideas
Ladle the soup into warm bowls and finish with extra cheese, sour cream, sliced jalapeno, chopped green onion, cilantro, or crushed tortilla chips. A squeeze of lime can brighten the rich broth. Serve it with a simple green salad, cornbread, or toasted tortillas. Since the soup already contains beef, beans, and dairy, a small topping bar lets everyone choose the balance of freshness, heat, and crunch they prefer.
Helpful taco soup recipe tips
Drain the beef well if it releases a lot of fat, but do not skip scraping up the browned bits with the tomato liquid. Seed the jalapenos for a milder bowl, or leave some seeds for extra heat. Use low-sodium broth when possible and adjust salt after the cheese has melted. If the finished soup is thicker than you like, add a splash of broth. If it is thinner, simmer it uncovered briefly before adding the dairy.
Storage and reheating
Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate them in a covered container for up to three days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low to medium heat, stirring often, or use short microwave intervals. Avoid a hard boil after the dairy has been added because high heat can make the creamy broth separate. The soup can also be frozen before adding the sour cream, cream cheese, and shredded cheeses; thaw it overnight, reheat gently, and finish it with fresh dairy.
Optional variation
For an optional variation, replace part of the ground beef with extra black beans or pinto beans and use vegetable broth in place of one broth. This changes the texture and flavor, so it is best treated as a separate variation rather than a substitution in the primary taco soup recipe. You can also use bell pepper instead of jalapeno when you want sweetness without much heat.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ
Taco Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese softened
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 jalapenos seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 oz packet taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper or more to taste
- 10 oz red enchilada sauce
- 10 oz diced tomatoes with green chilies undrained
- 15.5 oz black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
Instructions
- Shred the cheeses and set them aside with the sour cream and cream cheese.
- Cook and crumble the ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook 3 minutes; drain grease.
- Add jalapenos and soften 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Melt in the butter, then stir in taco seasoning, hot sauce, oregano, mustard powder, and cayenne.
- Add undrained tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and black beans. Stir, then add both broths.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook 15 minutes.
- Mix sour cream and cream cheese with 1/4 cup broth, stir into soup, remove from heat, and add shredded cheeses.
