This easy, Cheesy Taco Soup is a completely comforting, full-flavored soup that is made in one pot in under 30 minutes, then garnished with all your favorite taco fixins’!
We love a big ol’ pot of soup when the weather turns cold! Other reader favorites include Zuppa Toscana, The Best Loaded Baked Potato Soup, and this Homemade Tomato Basil Soup.
Cheesy Taco Soup is life changing!
There is nothing like a good bowl of soup to warm you up on chilly days.
This Cheesy Taco Soup recipe is loaded with wonderful flavors and textures that make it a family favorite during the cooler months of the year.
Plus, I can have it ready in less than 30 minutes with minimal fuss, which is a huge help on busy, blustery days.
I have made plenty of taco soup recipes in the past, from fully made-from-scratch versions to the 7-can version, where you basically just dump a bunch of canned stuff into a pot along with a packet of taco seasoning and heat it all up. But none of them hold a candle to this thick and super cheesy easy taco soup recipe that is barely any more work anyway!
And I actually have a favorite chicken enchilada soup that has corn tortillas in it that I will share with you at some point too, so cheesy taco soup it is!
I typically use whatever brand of enchilada sauce I find at the store, and sometimes I can only find the large cans, in which case I use half of it and refrigerate or freeze the other half for future use.
Some of our other favorite recipes are my Potato Corn Chowder, this Homemade Chicken Noodle & Dumplings, and Zuppa Toscana.
Why we love this recipe for Taco Soup
- Make this recipe your own with your favorite taco flavors!
- You can make this soup as from-scratch as you like, or take some quick suggested steps to make it quicker and more simple.
- Ready in just 30 minutes, this easy recipe is perfect for a busy night.
Ingredients for Taco Soup
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Beef – Use lean ground beef for this delicious soup.
- Veggies – Use a medium onion, a red bell pepper, and freshly minced garlic cloves for a deep savory flavor.
- Seasoning – Chili powder, cumin, kosher salt, dried oregano, smoked paprika, and freshly ground black pepper make this a flavorful soup.
- Flour – All-Purpose Flour will work well to thicken the soup and help bind the seasoning with the beef.
- Beans – A combination of kidney beans and black beans will add nutrients and protein to this dish.
- Chilis – Use a can of mild diced green chilies for a fresh, spicy flavor. You can prepare them fresh if you prefer.
- Salsa – Use your favorite kind of tomato salsa for this soup.
- Enchilada Sauce – Use my red enchilada sauce or your favorite kind of red enchilada sauce in this recipe.
- Broth – Use a low-sodium chicken broth or beef broth to add a depth of flavor and allow you to better control the saltiness of this dish.
- Cream Cheese – I used reduced-fat cream cheese. You can use full fat if you prefer, or even plain Greek yogurt or heavy cream, to make this a super creamy soup!
- Cheese – I used freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese and Pepper Jack cheese for this soup for a strong, spicy, cheesy flavor!
- Garnish – Use your favorite toppings for this chili soup. Some great options are sliced or diced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, or chopped red onion, lime wedges, sour cream, Mexican crema, diced tomatoes, tortilla chips, and, of course, more shredded cheese!
Creamy Taco Soup Recipe substitutions and variations
- Use a taco seasoning mix instead of the spice combination in this recipe if you want. Check the measurement to get the right amount of spices.
- You can use ground turkey or ground pork for this recipe for a slightly different flavor.
- Add diced jalapenos, cayenne pepper, hot chili powder, or hot sauce for some added heat!
How to make Taco Soup
- Brown ground beef. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, brown the ground beef with chopped onion until fully cooked.
- Add seasonings. Next, add all of the spices and seasonings, chopped bell pepper, and garlic, and stir to combine.
- Add flour. Sprinkle the flour over the ground beef. Stir mixture to combine, then continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ingredients and cook. Stir in the kidney beans, black beans, green chilies, salsa, enchilada sauce, chicken broth, and 1 cup of water (additional water may be added later to thin the soup to desired consistency). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.
- Mix in cream cheese. Over low heat, stir in the cubed, softened cream cheese until completely melted.
- Stir in cheeses. Remove the soup from the heat, then stir in the cheddar and Pepper Jack cheeses until melted. Add additional water to thin the soup, if desired.
- Serve. The final step of this delicious dish is to choose your favorite garnishes and toppings and serve hot! I almost never skip the diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, which add a great texture and flavor to the soup.
How to thicken Taco Soup
If you find that your taco soup is too thin while you’re making it, you can add a simple cornstarch slurry to it to thicken it up quickly. Use one tablespoon of cornstarch with ½ tablespoon of cold water or broth and add it to the warm soup. Stir as the soup is over heat until it thickens. If you put less water into the slurry, the soup will thicken more quickly.
How to serve Cheesy Taco Soup
To serve this homemade taco soup, put the pot on the dinner table, surrounded by small bowls of all of your family’s favorite taco toppings. Make sure to use freshly grated cheese which melts so much better in the soup. Let people choose their own garnishes and toppings to make a delicious taco soup bar dinner!
What goes best with taco soup?
I love serving my Homemade Cornbread or Corn Muffins or even just yummy chips and salsa with this soup.
Storing this recipe for Taco Soup
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat gradually on the stovetop or in the microwave.
How many days does taco soup last in the fridge?
Keep the soup in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze the soup after it has cooled.
Can I freeze cheesy taco soup?
This is a great recipe for making in big batches and freezing. Store in freezer-safe containers or in Ziploc bags in portions so you can reheat individual bowls of soup. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, and reheat until piping hot.
Recipe for Taco Soup FAQs
I am not a dietician and used a nutrition app to calculate the nutritional information below, so I highly recommend doing your own calculations for the most accurate results. But there are about 339 calories per cup of soup. That number can change significantly depending on the amount of toppings you put in each serving of the soup though.
If you’re taco soup is too spicy, you can add something sweet to reduce the spiciness. Adding sugar or honey will help. Also, adding more cream to your soup will help neutralize the heat. You can add more cream cheese or sour cream to help with the heat.
You may have added too much broth or you didn’t drain the beans well enough. You can thicken it by mixing 2-3 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to ¼ cup of the soup broth and adding it back into the soup. Stir well and boil the soup for a minute to help thicken it even more.
No one knows exactly where taco soup came from. Some say the recipe started gaining popularity in the 1950’s in southwestern US. Some get mixed up with tortilla soup, which has similar Southwest or Tex-Mex flavors.
Best Taco Soup Recipe tips for success
- Homemade enchilada sauce isn’t hard to make, and it will taste superior to anything store-bought, but sometimes I don’t want to mess around making an ingredient to go into another recipe. Using store-bought enchilada sauce speeds up the process and lets me get this cheesy taco soup on the table in under 30 minutes, which I love.
- Use freshly grated cheese, rather than the pre-grated stuff that you can buy at the store. Pre-grated cheese is coated with a powder to prevent it from clumping and sticking, and it doesn’t melt into the soup nearly as well as when you grate the cheese off the block.
- Serve with some hot Homemade Cornbread or these Corn Muffins on the side to soak up all the delicious taco juices!
- To serve this homemade taco soup, put the pot on the dinner table, surrounded by small bowls of all of your family’s favorite taco toppings. Let people choose their own garnishes and toppings to make a delicious Taco Soup Bar dinner!
Slow Cooker Instructions
You could also make this in the slow cooker by first browning the meat and onions, then adding them to the slow cooker with all the remaining ingredients except for the cream cheese and the Pepper Jack and cheddar cheeses. Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours, then stir in the cream cheese and other cheeses until melted as described in the recipe above before serving.
More Soup Recipes
- Creamy Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Crock Pot Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Creamy Irish Leek and Potato Soup
- Smoked Salmon Chowder
- San Francisco Cioppino Seafood Stew
- Chicken Avocado Lime Soup
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Recipe for Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 red bell pepper , diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (4-ounce) can mild diced green chilies
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 (10-ounce) can mild enchilada sauce
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1-2 cups water
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed and softened
- 1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated Pepper Jack cheese
Garnishes (optional)
- Avocado, sliced or diced
- Cilantro, chopped
- Green or red onions, chopped
- Lime, cut into wedges
- Sour cream or Mexican crema
- Tomatoes, diced
- Tortilla chips
- Additional shredded cheese
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, brown the meat with the onions until fully cooked.
- Add all of the spices and seasonings, chopped bell pepper, and garlic, and stir well to combine.
- Sprinkle the flour over the ground beef mixture and stir to combine, then continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the kidney beans, black beans, green chilies, salsa, enchilada sauce, chicken broth, and 1 cup of water (additional water may be added later to thin soup to desired consistency). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.
- Over low heat, stir in the cubed, softened cream cheese until completely melted.
- Remove the soup from the heat, then stir in the cheddar and Pepper Jack cheeses until melted. Add additional water to thin the soup, if desired.
- Serve with any or all additional garnishes, although I almost never skip the diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, which add a great texture and flavor to the soup.
Notes
- Slow Cooker: You could also make this in the slow cooker by first browning the meat and onions, then adding them to the slow cooker with all the remaining ingredients except for the cream cheese and the Pepper Jack and cheddar cheeses. Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours, then stir in the cream cheese and other cheeses until melted as described in the recipe above before serving.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat gradually on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Freeze: Store in freezer-safe containers or in Ziploc bags in portions so you can reheat individual bowls of soup. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, and reheat until piping hot.
Whoah, this is my kind of soup! Love cheese, tacos, and soup, so perfect for me! 🙂
Yum! This looks really delicious and flavorful. I love how easy it is too!
I am all about soups right now and this cheesy taco needs to be added to my list! It sounds incredibly tasty! Pinning to make next week, thanks!
My type of comfort food! Perfect for Taco Tuesdays. Thanks for Sharing!
wow this sounds like an incredibly filling soup. It would be a full meal for me and keep me full for hours. Looks great!
This looks so-o-o good. I think I would try to lower the sodium by leaving out the salt and by using low sodium canned beans. With all that cheese, I doubt that the flavor would suffer. Also, did you get the times for slow cooking backwards. Maybe 6-8 hours on low and 3-4 on high.
Oops! Nice catch on the slow cooker times being accidentally flipped! I fixed that in the instructions – thank you! I think your ideas for lowering the sodium sound like really good ones, especially if you plan to use salty tortilla chips in the soup as well as one of your fixings.
I am loving the crap out of this soup! It needs to hurry up and get chilly where I am!
I love taco soups and can’t wait to try yours!
My whole family loved this yummy soup, even my pickiest kid! I made it for the January Soup Season Showdown and it is absolutely delicious!