Crock Pot Taco Soup

Name: Crock Pot Taco Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 pounds lean ground beef, chicken, or other meat of your choice; 2 cups chopped white onion, in approximately 1/2-inch pieces; Kosher salt to taste; Freshly ground black pepper to taste; 2 (15-ounce) cans low-sodium pinto beans; 1 (15-ounce) can low sodium red kidney beans; 1 (15-ounce) can sweet whole-kernel corn; 1 (15-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes; 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes; 2 (5-ounce) cans diced green chilies; 1 (5-ounce) can pitted black olives, drained; 1 package taco seasoning; 1 1-ounce package ranch dip mix; Sour cream; Shredded cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese; Sliced green onions; Sliced fresh or pickled jalapeño peppers; Corn chips, optional

Soup Southwestern Slow Cooking Ground Beef Easy

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8 servings Easy

(3) Total: 4 hrs Active: 5 mins

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Ingredients (22)

For the soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds lean ground beef, chicken, or other meat of your choice
2 cups chopped white onion, in approximately 1/2-inch pieces
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 (15-ounce) cans low-sodium pinto beans
1 (15-ounce) can low sodium red kidney beans
1 (15-ounce) can sweet whole-kernel corn
1 (15-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (5-ounce) cans diced green chilies
1 (5-ounce) can pitted black olives, drained
1 package taco seasoning
1 1-ounce package ranch dip mix

For garnishing

Sour cream
Shredded cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese
Sliced green onions
Sliced fresh or pickled jalapeño peppers
Corn chips, optional

Tip

How to Pick Ground Beef

The possibilities with ground beef are seemingly endless, though you’ll probably want to pay the most attention to cost and fat content. Naturally, the lower the fat content, the higher the price. A leaner meat; however, may not taste as moist and flavorful, so keep that in mind if you’re making a meal that’s prone to dryness (like meatloaf or hamburgers). Sometimes the extra fat can make or break a dish.

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Next: How to Thaw Ground Beef

Tip

How to Thaw Ground Beef

Like other meats, the best way to thaw ground beef is to leave it in the refrigerator. If you’re in a pinch, take out your frozen meat and place it on a plate under running cold water. A microwave may also work, but it is likely to start cooking your meat, which you’ll want to avoid.

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Next: How to Pick Ground Beef

Tex-Mex taco soup deserves its own meme—the mix of ground beef, beans, tomatoes, and green chilies shows up in countless soup and casserole recipes. Here, we’ve calibrated it for the slow cooker, definitely the easiest (and arguably the most satisfying) version yet. All you do is sauté onion and ground beef, then transfer them to the crock of your cooker along with canned pinto and red kidney beans, Mexican-style and diced canned tomatoes, corn, green chilies, black olives, and seasonings. Four hours later, you have a nourishing, comforting soup, ready to be garnished with sour cream, cheese, scallions, and fresh or pickled jalapeños.

For more, check out our Slow Cooker Chicken Soup, Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup, and Slow Cooker Pork Ramen.

by Coreen Carroll

What to buy

Crock-Pot 6-Quart Programmable Cook and Carry Oval Slow Cooker

This top-rated Crock-Pot Cook & Carry Programmable Slow Cooker is perfect for the cook with a busy lifestyle and offers customizable cooking times and temperatures.
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Instructions

1Set a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat and warm the oil. Add the onion and cook until soft and transparent, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2Add the ground beef to sauté pan and cook until the meat well done, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the pieces. Add back the onions and mix well. Season with salt and black pepper. Drain any remaining fat from pan and add the mixture to the crock of your slow cooker.
3Add the can of pinto beans, red kidney beans, corn, both kinds of tomatoes, green chilies, olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dip mix. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4 hours.
4To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish each with a dollop of sour cream, cheese, green onion, and jalapeño. Serve the optional corn chips on the side for scooping, or crumble on top.