Ever had one of those evenings when you come in from work exhausted and have no plan for dinner? We’ve all been there and the “What’s for dinner?” question just makes you cringe! Fortunately, this quick and easy taco soup recipe will have dinner on the table in no time!
I’m a huge advocate of meal planning, but let’s face it…sometimes life gets in the way. When that happens, this taco soup recipe is so quick and easy that no one needs to know you didn’t already have it planned.
Part of what makes this recipe so easy is that you use canned ingredients. You don’t have to make the beans ahead of time and the hardest thing you’re got to do is brown the hamburger meat.
This is also a great recipe for beginner cooks. If you’re teaching a daughter or granddaughter to cook, this is one to add to her repertoire. It’s easy enough for anyone in your household to make…great when you’re living in a multi-generational household and some of your family members may not be experienced cooks.
Quick & Easy Taco Soup Recipe
Quick and Easy Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound hamburger meat
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 pkg taco seasoning mix
- 2 cans corn undrained
- 2 cans Ranch Style Beans undrained
- 2 cans diced tomatoes undrained
- crushed tortilla chips
- shredded cheese
- cilantro optional
- sour cream optional
Instructions
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Cook hamburger and onion in dutch oven or small soup kettle. Drain fat.
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Stir in corn, beans, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
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Serve over crushed tortilla chips and top with shredded cheese. Optional toppings include sour cream, chopped cilantro, black olives, sliced avocados, or hot sauce.
If you’ve got raw hamburger meat already in your refrigerator, you’ll have this meal on the table in under thirty minutes. If you’ve got to that the meat out, you’ll need to add a little prep time. I find that it helps to go to the freezer and pull out a couple of packages of frozen meat to be thawing in the fridge so that I’ve got some options on those nights when my planning didn’t quite gel.
In case you’re wondering if this taco soup recipe can be prepared in the slow cooker the answer is YES!
I’m a huge fan of using a slow cooker…in fact, I LOVE my slow cooker and can’t imagine any kitchen without one.
I’ve made this soup in the slow cooker before and all you need to do to adjust the recipe is to brown the hamburger and then dump the soup ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook till you’re ready to eat. The great thing about a soup is that the flavors mingle for a better flavor the longer it cooks.
For those who don’t love meal planning…
I’m a huge advocate of meal planning. I think it’s one of the best ways to save money at the grocery store because you know what you’re going to cook and you don’t end up buying food that goes to waste.
But let’s be honest…if you know you’re someone who is not going to sit down and plan out your menus, there are other ways to skin this cat. There are subscription services that will let you select the kind of meals you like and will send you the weekly meal plan, recipes, and shopping list.
The last few months I’ve subscribed to Erin Chase’s $5 Meal Plan. It’s been a nice break from having to plan the meals myself and sometimes you’re just in a season of life when your time is short. I figure for $5 a month (or $1.25 a week) having someone else do the planning and send me the grocery list is a time saving luxury I can afford.
So how does it work?
First, you choose your plan. We’re on the gluten-free plan at our house so I marked that one as my choice. Then each week I get an email with a link to download my meal plan for the week.
I download my menu and save it in a file on my computer so that I can come back to it again in the future and use it again. So not only do I have a plan for this week, I’ve got a file of meal plans I can reuse whenever I need to.
It’s truly that easy. And yes, it really is only $5 a month.
I sure wish I could get some other things done for me for only $5 a month!
Ground Turkey Manicotti
I love this time of year and all the amazing soup ideas! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner link up!
Me too, Helen! So many delicious soups, so little time!