Instant Pot Taco Soup Recipe
Taco Soup is a crowd-pleasing recipe that is very similar to chili but with a taco twist! It’s packed with taco ingredients and full of flavor. This easy recipe is the ultimate comfort food, and is packed with protein thanks to the beans and meat.
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Years (and years and years) ago a lovely friend of mine brought Taco Soup to a neighborhood potluck bonfire. I had never heard of it before and just fell in love with this easy to make comfort food! I’ve made this recipe in a slow cooker and on the stovetop (directions for those below) but today I wanted to share how to easily make Taco Soup in an Instant Pot too!
Why I love this recipe
- No complicated ingredients, just ground beef and some pantry staples.
- It’s very easy in that you simply brown the meat, add the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes then dump all the rest of the ingredients in and cook until the flavors blend perfectly!
- Despite the name, Taco Soup has more of a hearty chili-like consistency, making it perfect for cooler weather. You can eat it with a spoon or scoop it up dip-style with tortilla chips.
- It is a quick dinner recipe the whole family will love, perfect for taco Tuesday or busy weeknights!
Ingredients
You need just a few basic ingredients for this easy dump and go soup.
- beans: pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, and great northern beans
- ground beef
- onion, garlic, and corn
- tomato paste
- ranch dressing mix
- taco seasoning
- water
Step by step
This is one of the easiest soups I’ve shared online, if you can brown ground beef you can make this delicious soup.
- Brown the meat using the sauté mode on the Instant Pot. Drain and return to the pressure cooker.
- Return to sauté mode. Add garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze and release all the flavor of those browned bits.
- Seal the Instant Pot and set to soup mode (high pressure with a 20-minute cooking time).
- Manually quick release the pressure (carefully!) and serve with your favorite toppings.
Tips for best results
- if you use lean ground beef you may not need to drain the meat after browning
- substitute chicken broth, vegetable broth, or beef broth for the water to add even more flavor
- spice it up with chopped jalapeños or diced green chiles
Serving suggestions
There are so many options when it comes to what to serve with taco soup! Some of our favorite toppings are:
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- tortilla strips
- cilantro
- chopped green onions
- chopped red bell pepper
- tortilla chips
- Fritos corn chips
FAQs
You can absolutely substitute ground chicken or ground turkey for the ground beef in this recipe to reduce fat content. You could even use leftover shredded chicken breasts if you like. Whatever meat you use will take up all those Mexican flavors.
Yes! This recipe freezes very well! When you’re ready to eat it, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat as normal.
Slow Cooker & Stovetop Directions
- Make this recipe in the slow cooker by browning ground meat in a large skillet, drain, then return to the skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook for two minutes then add the mixture to a Crock-Pot with remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Make it on the stovetop by cooking meat, onion, and garlic over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven. Add remaining ingredients and stir then cover and simmer 30 minutes before serving.
Storage
This recipe is great for meal prep because it stores, freezes, and reheats well.
Store leftover taco soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freeze soup after cooling and store it in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. You can also freeze individual portions for an easy last-minute meal option.
You might also like these other easy instant pot recipes:
If you’ve tried this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
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Instant Pot Taco Soup Recipe
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Instant Pot Taco Soup is a crowd-pleasing recipe that is very similar to chili, but with a taco twist! It’s packed with taco ingredients and full of flavor. This easy recipe is the ultimate comfort food and packed with protein thanks to the beans and meat.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 150z can black beans
- 15oz can kidney beans
- 15oz can pinto beans
- 15oz can great northern beans
- 6oz can tomato paste
- 15 oz can corn (optional)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix
- tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro or any other desired toppings
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode and brown the beef.
- Turn off and drain the meat, then return to the Instant Pot and resume Sauté mode.
- Add diced onion and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add all beans, tomato paste, corn, water, and seasoning and stir well. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze and release all the flavor of those browned bits.
- Place lid on and lock valve into the Sealed position.
- Set to Soup mode and set the timer to 20 minutes.
- When cooking is finished do a Quick Release of the valve and serve immediately.
Notes
Make this in the slow cooker by browning meat in a large skillet, drain, then return to the skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook for two minutes then add the mixture to a Crock-Pot with remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
Make it on the stovetop by cooking meat, onion, and garlic over medium heat in a large pot. Add remaining ingredients and stir then cover and simmer 30 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 382
- Sugar: 18.6 g
- Sodium: 421.7 mg
- Fat: 3.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 63 g
- Protein: 30.4 g
- Cholesterol: 33.9 mg
I added a can of diced stewed tomatoes and increased the water to 3 cups so it was more soupy 🙂 I also found that it also costs only about $10 for the entire recipe ! Love it , thank you !
My family has been requesting this once a week!
loved it!! Made it for a party and it was a huge hit, multiple people asked for the recipe!