Crockpot Taco Soup doesn’t just get it’s robust flavor from our signature homemade seasoning blend or carefully curated ingredient list. Cooking taco soup low and slow after browning ground beef on the stovetop ensures peak flavor. Top it just like your favorite tacos, but slurp it up with a spoon!
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If you’re looking at the photos in this post, you may be thinking “Doesn’t she just mean chili?” I do not. Cause thar be beans and here.
Chili = No Beans or corn. Taco Soup = Beans and corn.
Now, could you let this kid-friendly soup be called chili by your children who have no strong regional ties that would cause them to be ashamed by this statement? Sure, you could. Or, you could make sure you don’t raise heathens. But that’s your call as their parent.
I know it can be confusing because crockpot taco soup isn’t as soupy as chicken taco soup (which could not be confused for chili), but it is the same soupiness as stovetop taco soup, which could be confused with chili. Except it can’t because there’s beans in it! (and corn!)
I promise – it’ll be less confusing once you slurp it up 🙂
Why You Want to Slurp Up Crockpot Taco Soup
Unfortunately, Flavort**n is trademarked, so let’s call this the official Taco Soup of Flavorburg. And much like Flavortonians, us Flavorburgians are also looking to achieve EXTREME FLAVOR. Just with way better hair.
We love crockpot recipes for their ease and simplicity, but also because they remind us that developing flavor is a key component in any successful soup recipe. While you might be tempted to just “dump and go”, there are a few reasons you shouldn’t. We learned a few critical flavor lessons when perfecting ground beef tacos, and those tips translate into creating a extra flavorful taco soup recipe, too:
- Homemade taco seasoning. On the one hand, making your own taco seasoning is cheap, easy, and uses spices you probably already have on hand. It’s also easy to adjust the heat or the salt to suit your needs. But most importantly, homemade taco seasoning is way more flavorful than any seasoning mix you can buy in a store.
- Well seasoned beef. Our method calls for cooking the ground beef and seasoning it with tomato paste and taco seasoning before adding it to the slow cooker.
- A Variety of Veggies. Bell peppers, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, and corn all play a part in the magical melody that is taco soup. Colorful veggies are visually appealing, but each also adds their own little flavor nudge to the finished soup.
- Layered Flavors. Season the soup with lime juice and fresh cilantro after the soup has cooked, just before serving. Lime juice adds acidity, which cuts through the rich tomato sauce for balanced flavor. Cilantro adds a bright, earthy finish to every bite.
Browning and Blooming
If there’s a series of steps we encourage you not to skip in this recipe, it’s this! Browning the ground beef, blooming the spices, and cooking the tomato paste adds so much extra flavor to the ground beef, boosting the flavor profile of the finished soup. Each step adds it’s own unique layer of flavor, resulting in a restaurant-quality soup make in your very own kitchen.
- Flavor Layer #1: Brown the Beef. Brown the beef to take advantage of the maillard action; cook until the beef is well browned and crispy around the edges.
- Flavor Layer #2: Bloom the Spices. Work the taco seasoning into the browned beef and its rendered fat to bloom the spices; blooming spices is a very common practice in South Asian cooking, but works just as well here with ground spices. Most flavor compounds in spices are fat-soluble, so blooming them in the rendered fat will (1) more easily release those compounds and (2) distribute the flavor more efficiently.
- Flavor Layer #3: Cook the Tomato Paste. Work the tomato paste into the ground beef after you’ve bloomed the spices. Cook the tomato paste for just a few minutes to caramelize the sugars (which deepens the flavor) and to remove any tinny, canned taste.
Ingredient Overview
- Ground Beef: 80/20 ground beef works great for keeping flavor from the fat without being too greasy.
- Olive Oil: we always brown ground beef in a splash of olive oil; it adds extra flavor and helps it get extra crispy.
- Homemade Taco Seasoning: it’s so simple, and rewarding, to make your own spice combinations; plus, you can adjust the heat (chili powder) and salt to taste.
- Tomato Paste: tomato paste is more concentrated than canned tomatoes, so the flavor is deeper. But here, we use just a few tablespoons to add body to the broth.
- Onion: use a yellow, white, or sweet (Vidalia) onion; yellow and white onions will remain firmer, while sweet onions tend to break down more after cooking.
- Bell Peppers: we use two colors for a more visually appealing soup and prefer the mellower flavor of yellow and orange bell peppers to keep this soup extra kid-friendly.
- Green Chiles: canned green chiles are milder than jalapeños, but still add a kick.
- Crushed Tomatoes: use fire-roasted tomatoes if available; they’re sweeter and more flavorful than regular crushed tomatoes.
- Canned Black Beans: black beans add plant-based protein and help stretch a single pound of ground beef into a meal with leftovers.
- Frozen Corn: frozen corn is way less sweet than canned corn, and of course, it’s available year-round while fresh corn isn’t.
- Beef Broth: use a good quality, reduced sodium broth.
- Lime Juice: this hit of acid, stirred in just before serving, really rounds out the flavor!
- Cilantro: stir in a bit of fresh cilantro just before serving for a bright, earthy finish.
How to Make Crockpot Taco Soup
Crockpot taco soup is a perfect candidate for a lazy low and slow cook that also packed with layered flavor. Start building flavors on the stove by browning the beef, blooming the spices, and cooking the tomato paste; then transfer everything to your slow cooker and let it do the rest of the heavy lifting!
- Make the taco seasoning. Combine the taco seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and mix until well combined.
- Brown the beef. Brown the ground beef in olive oil in a hot skillet until the fat renders and the beef is crispy around the edges. Be sure to stir and crumble with a wood spoon while the beef cooks.
- Bloom the spices and cook the tomato paste. Add the taco seasoning and mix into the browned beef and rendered fat to bloom the spices. Then add the tomato paste, work into the beef mixture, and cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Combine everything in the crockpot. Transfer the ground beef to the crockpot, then add the onion, bell pepper, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, corn, and beef. Give it all a good stir.
- Slow cook. Seal crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Add zing. Just before serving, stir in the lime juice and fresh cilantro. Make sure you taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, lime juice, or cilantro to taste!
- Serve and slurp! Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with your favorite taco toppings (see below for suggestions!).
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Don’t drain the fat! The rendered fat from the ground beef is needed to bloom the spices.
- Make it spicy. Add 2-4 minced jalapeños and/or increase the chili powder in the taco seasoning to two tablespoons.
- Make it leaner. While we prefer 80/20 ground beef, 85/15 and 90/10 will work just fine; be sure to brown the beef in a splash of olive oil so there is residual fat for blooming the spices. Alternatively, use ground turkey and saute in two tablespoons olive oil.
Toppings!
A taco isn’t a taco without toppings, and this holds true for taco soup. Otherwise some might call it chili. Heh. Here are some of our favorite family-friend toppings for crockpot taco soup:
- shredded cheese – cheddar, jack, or your favorite blend
- sour cream
- avocado or guacamole
- chopped cilantro
- diced red onion or sliced green onions
- tortilla strips or Fritos
Storing and Freezing
In the Fridge: store leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Reheat single portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway through. Reheat larger portions in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid bubbles around the edges and the soup is warmed through.
In the Freezer: freeze individual or large batch portions in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat single or large-batch portions as noted above.
Did you make this crockpot taco soup? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Insanely Flavorful Crockpot Taco Soup
Print Recipe Rate this Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef, 80/20 preferred
- ¼ cup taco seasoning, see below
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large yellow onion, diced to ½″
- 2 large bell peppers, diced to ½″
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, fire roasted if available
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
- 1 14-ounce can can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1.5 cups frozen corn
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Taco Seasoning
- 1-2 tablespoons chili powder, depending on preference for heat
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
Toppings
- shredded cheese, cheddar, jack, or your favorite blend
- sour cream
- avocado, or guacamole
- chopped cilantro
- diced red onion, or sliced green onions
- tortilla strips, or Fritos
Instructions
- Combine the taco seasoning ingredients – chili powder, cumin, paprika, kosher salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, coriander and oregano – in a small bowl or lidded jar and stir or shake until well-combined.
- Heat the olive oil in a 10” skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Break the ground beef into large chunks and place into the skillet. As the beef begins to brown in the oil, use a wood spoon to crumble the beef into small pieces. Continue breaking apart the beef and stirring every few minutes until no signs of pink remain, the beef is crispy around the edges, and a thin layer of rendered fat remains in the skillet.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the ground beef, then work the spices evenly into the beef, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes; see Note 1.
- Add the tomato paste and work it into the ground beef mixture until evenly incorporated. Cook 1-2 minutes more, stirring frequently, until the tomato sauce deeps slightly in color; see Note 2.
- Scrape the contents of the skillet into a slow cooker. Then, add the onion, bell peppers, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, corn, and beef broth. Stir the contents until well combined.
- Seal the crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Just before serving, stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Taste for seasoning and adjust the salt, pepper, and/or lime juice until the flavor sings.
- Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
- Note 1. Working spices into hot fat is called “blooming”. Most flavor compounds in spices are fat-soluble, so blooming them in the rendered fat will (1) more easily release those compounds and (2) distribute the flavor more efficiently.
- Note 2. Work the tomato paste evenly into the ground beef and spices before adding it to the soup. Cooking the tomato paste for just a few minutes will caramelize the sugars and remove any tinny, canned flavors.
- Note 3. Nutritional Information does not include toppings.
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