It’s another week! That means it’s time to bust out the easy recipes that don’t 1) require turning on an oven and 2) don’t require much time. Quick And Easy Taco Soup, here we come!
I can take little to no credit for this Quick And Easy Taco Soup recipe. In fact, it was handed over to me by my bestie. The week after my aunt gave birth to her daughter, she brought taco soup over as a freezer meal (don’t you love a friend that would do that?).
This taco recipe was such a hit in our house, I asked for the recipe, and she handed over the goods. The funny thing is, she recalled the Quick And Easy Taco Soup recipe from memory, so we aren’t 100% sure it is in its original form. More than two years later, and a few of my own “customizations” later, I still have this easy taco soup on a fairly regular rotation.
Here are a few things I love about this Quick And Easy Taco Soup recipe:
1. It freezes well. I usually cut the cooked batch in half and place half in the freezer for consumption at a later date. Seriously, two meals in one. Easy.
2. It takes less than five — counts them, FIVE — minutes to dump it all in the slow cooker. Easy.
3. It cooks in the slow cooker while you go on about your day. Easy.
4. The only real “prep” ahead is cooking your meat of choice (if you choose to use meat). Even so, I often use precooked meat that I have frozen for things like this. Easy.
5. It doesn’t have anything weird or overly processed in it. Clean and easy.
Here are the key players, all in one little huddle:
If you need a little breakdown, I’ve got that, too. For my Quick And Easy Taco Soup recipe, I use beans that I have previously cooked in the slow cooker and frozen. I always keep cooked, frozen beans on hand for things like this, and my bags contain roughly 1-pound of beans.
I use a bag of whatever is on hand, and this day it was kidney beans, black beans, and cannellini beans. You can use less if you want, but I love beans since they are hearty and filling!
The only canned items I use are crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. I bet this tastes amazing with fresh crushed tomatoes! We have some growing this year, so I’ll be trying it out. The taco seasoning is a homemade recipe that you can find here.
Finally, I use two cups of frozen bone broth (usually made as a result of this). You can use water, beef, chicken, or vegetable stock. I often have bone broth in my freezer, and it is so easy to use for soups and stews. I then add 1-pound of cooked turkey, beef, or chicken and one cup of frozen corn. Then I set the slow cooker to low and let it do its thing for several hours. That’s all there is to it! How easy is that?
Finally, I set the slow cooker to low and let it do its thing for several hours. That’s all there is to it! How easy is that?
When it’s finished, this is where the real fun begins… the part where you add the naughty ingredients. (Sorry, not sorry!) I always top mine with fresh avocado, a little cheese, jalapenos, and a dollop of sour cream. If I’m having a comfort food kind of day, I’m taking the chips in with me!
Hope you enjoy the Quick And Easy Taco Soup recipe, and big thanks to my bestie for sharing!
Quick And Easy Taco Soup
Ingredients
3 cups red kidney beans - pinto, black, cannellini, kidney… you decide- 1 pound cooked meat - ground or shredded turkey, chicken, and beef all work well
2 cups beef stock (beef broth or beef bouillon) - chicken, beef, or vegetable stock will work as well
1 cup corn
28 ounces passata or crushed tomatoes (tomato puree with seeds removed)
8 ounces ketchup (tomato sauce Australia and UK)
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
Instructions
- Place all of your wet ingredients (tomatoes, tomato sauce, bone broth) in a slow cooker and stir in the taco seasoning to combine.
- Add in the remaining ingredients.
- Set your slow cooker to low for 4-6 hours.
- When it has finished, top with your favorite ingredients and enjoy!
