Healthy Taco Soup

This healthy taco soup is a comforting, hearty dish for the fall and winter that’ll leave you satisfied! It can be made on the stove or in a slow cooker. It’s also naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and freezes great.

Today’s recipe is a mix of two family favorites – taco soup and bean soup. And you can load it up with all your favorite toppings to make it especially kid-friendly.

Like the Kid-friendly Chili recipe that I posted recently, this healthy taco soup is mildly spicy. So it’s great for kids.

If you’re already feeling the pumpkin love this year, I’ve also got this vegan Butternut Squash and Black Bean Taco Soup recipe that might interest you. 

This taco bean soup is a great way to feed a crowd while staying on budget and while also filling everyone up. I used to struggle with what to make for parties.

I say used to because I feel like parties will be in my past for a very long time. We are still living life like during lockdown (which includes lots of outdoor time, just not with others). 

Either what I wanted to make for get-togethers was too fussy to prepare while getting ready for a party, or it felt a little too expensive. I’m quite frugal. 😉

This taco soup is an easy, cheap solution! You just dump everything in the pot, stir every now and then, and when it’s ready, everyone can add their own toppings. Or you can really use the hands-off method with a slow cooker!

The most expensive ingredient is ground beef. Nice, right?! Same goes for this great-looking Dairy-free Taco Pasta Salad.

One thing I prefer about this taco soup over actual tacos is that it’s more filling. I could eat never-ending tacos. My stomach is a bottomless pit for cheesy things and chocolaty sweets, like these Bliss Balls.

With the amount of protein and fiber in this taco bean soup, it won’t take that much to fill you up.  

This recipe calls for canned beans and canned corn. I wrote 15-ounce cans but you’ll find that the cans are 14.25 up to around 15.5 ounces, depending on the brand.  

I am insanely exact when it comes to baking but in this recipe, it’s of course not necessary to worry over a difference so small. 🙂 

You can either use a homemade taco seasoning mix (link is in the recipe) or 2 packets of taco seasoning. 

Some spice packets use ingredients I’m sure a lot of us like to avoid. On McCormick’s website, for their Original Taco Seasoning, they just list: Spices (Including Chili Pepper, Paprika, Oregano), Corn Starch, Salt, Onion, and Garlic.

But if you look at the product label, it actually says sugar. That’s not cool that they don’t include that on their webpage.

It looks like all brands have sugar in them, though. Even Simply Organic uses sugar and starch in theirs.

Homemade is definitely cheaper so if you want to avoid sugar, be sure to make your own spice mix! You can make up a large batch to have on hand for when taco cravings hit.

 

Questions about this soup?

Can I use a homemade taco seasoning mix instead of spice packets? Yes, you can use a double batch of the homemade taco mix listed in the notes of the recipe. Or if you want to make a larger portion, you can use 1/4 cup of my Homemade Taco Seasoning.

Can I use different beans? Yes, you can use any beans you want, we used this variety to have a few different flavors and textures present.

Can this soup be frozen? Yes, you can freeze this soup either as one large container or individual containers for up to three months. Remember to leave room for expansion when filling your container(s).

Can I add more heat to this recipe? Yes, you can add hot sauce, chili powder, hot peppers, or whatever you prefer to add spicy flavors.

Is this recipe spicy (hot)? This has mild taco seasoning, but you can add heat by putting in additional ingredients as mentioned above. Or if you want another fun soup that’s not spicy at all, try this Hamburger Soup!

Can I make this soup in a slow cooker? Yes, you can add everything into your slow cooker and set it to low for 3-6 hours. You will want to stir it occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

With the meat already cooked when you add it you don’t have to worry about using higher heat. The longer and slower you cook the more the flavors will fully combine and infuse into the meat and beans, but the beans will also break down a little more over a longer time.

I hope you’ll enjoy this healthy taco soup! For more Tex-Mex favorites, try my Rice and Bean Taco Bake, Whole Wheat Tex-Mex Muffins or Homemade Corn Tortillas and Burrito Sauce.

I think this Taco Casserole also looks really great!