Easy 7 Can Taco Soup Recipe is exactly what it sounds like. Seven cans, a pound of ground beef, and two seasoning packets. You open everything, dump it in a pot, and let it simmer while you do something else.
Easy 7 Can Taco Soup Recipe
This is the taco soup I make on the nights when I’ve run out of ideas and energy at the same time. There’s no chopping except half an onion, nothing to measure carefully, and it makes enough to feed my family with leftovers for lunch. The ranch packet is the part people don’t expect, and it’s the reason this tastes better than the version I used to make.
Ingredients & Equipment
Here’s everything that goes into this taco soup:
- Ground beef
- Onion
- Black beans
- Pinto beans
- Sweet corn
- Diced tomatoes
- Green chilis
- Enchilada sauce
- Chicken broth
- Taco seasoning packet
- Ranch seasoning packet
- Garlic powder
- Smoked paprika
- Cumin
Full measurements for each ingredient can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
You’ll also need a few things from your kitchen:
- Large stock pot
- Medium skillet
- Can opener
- Colander
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
Step By Step Directions
This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings. It takes 10 minutes of prep time and 1 hour and 10 minutes of cook time.
Step 1. Drain and rinse the black beans and pinto beans in a colander. Drain the corn, diced tomatoes, and green chilis.
Step 2. Add the ground beef and diced onion to a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook, breaking the meat apart as it goes, until no pink remains. Drain off the grease.
Step 3. Add the cooked beef and onion to a large stock pot along with all the drained cans, the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, taco seasoning, ranch seasoning, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cumin.
Step 4. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Step 5. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Why the Ranch Packet Belongs in Taco Soup
Taco soup with a ranch packet is one of those tricks that sounds wrong and tastes right. The taco seasoning brings the chili powder and cumin, and the ranch packet brings buttermilk, dill, and onion. Together they round out the whole pot in a way that taco seasoning alone doesn’t.
Use a standard 1 ounce packet of dry ranch seasoning, the kind you’d mix with sour cream for dip. Not bottled dressing. If you buy ranch seasoning in a jar instead of packets, use 3 tablespoons.
If someone in your house doesn’t like ranch, leave it out and add an extra teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of onion powder. It’ll still be good, just a little flatter.
Crockpot Taco Soup
This recipe converts to the crock pot with almost no changes, and it’s how I make it when I want dinner waiting for me.
Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet first, since that step can’t be skipped. Drain the grease, then add the beef and every other ingredient to your crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
That’s it. There’s nothing in this soup that needs careful timing, so it’s hard to overcook. If you’re gone longer than 6 hours, it’ll hold on the warm setting for another hour or two without hurting anything.
For a slow cooker version that’s even faster to put together, use a pound of pre-cooked frozen crumbled beef and skip the skillet entirely. It goes in frozen with everything else.
7 Can Chicken Taco Soup
To make chicken taco soup instead, leave out the ground beef and add 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken. A rotisserie chicken is the easiest way to do it, and it takes the prep down to about five minutes since there’s no browning step at all.
You can also cook the chicken right in the soup. Add 2 raw boneless skinless chicken breasts whole to the pot with everything else, simmer for the full hour, then pull them out, shred with two forks, and stir the meat back in.
In the crockpot, add the raw chicken breasts at the start, cook on low for 6 hours, then shred and return. The chicken version comes out a little lighter than the beef version, and it’s what I make when I want the leftovers for lunch.
Variations
- Creamy taco soup. Cube 8 ounces of cream cheese and stir it in during the last 20 minutes until it melts completely. This is the most popular change people make and it turns the whole pot velvety.
- Cheesy taco soup. Stir 2 cups of shredded cheddar in at the end, off the heat.
- 8 can taco soup. Add a can of ranch style beans or a second can of corn. Same method, one more can.
- 5 can taco soup. Cut it down to beans, corn, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and broth, and skip the green chilis and one bean can. Faster and cheaper.
- Keto or low carb taco soup. Leave out the beans and corn and add a second pound of ground beef plus a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis. It changes the soup completely but keeps the flavor.
- Healthy taco soup. Use ground turkey or lean ground beef, low sodium broth, and no cheese on top. The beans and vegetables are already doing the heavy lifting.
- Make it spicy. Swap the mild green chilis for hot, use hot enchilada sauce, or add a chopped jalapeño with the onion.
- Add rice. Stir in 2 cups of cooked rice at the end to stretch it further.
- Taco soup with ground turkey. Straight swap for the beef, same amount, same method.
Toppings
This is half the fun of taco soup, and it’s how I get my kids to eat a bowl of beans without complaint. Set the toppings out and let everybody build their own:
- Shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- Sour cream
- Crushed tortilla chips or Fritos
- Sliced avocado or guacamole
- Chopped cilantro
- Sliced green onions
- Diced red onion
- Pickled jalapeños
- A squeeze of lime
Leftovers & Storage
Store leftover taco soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It gets better every day as the seasonings settle in, and it’s one of the few things my family will happily eat three days in a row.
It freezes very well for up to 3 months since there’s no dairy in the base. Freeze it in individual portions for lunches. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove or in the microwave. If you make the creamy version with cream cheese, freeze it before adding the cream cheese and stir that in fresh when you reheat.
Tips & Tricks
- Drain the beans, but not the enchilada sauce. The whole 28 ounce can goes in. That’s what makes the base rich instead of watery.
- Drain the grease off the beef. A pound of beef leaves behind more fat than you want floating on top of the finished soup.
- The seasoning packets have salt in them. Between two packets, the broth, and the enchilada sauce, don’t add salt until you’ve tasted it at the end.
- Simmer with the lid on. This soup is meant to be brothy. An uncovered simmer for an hour will reduce it more than you want.
- Make a double batch. Everything is canned, so doubling costs you nothing in extra prep. Freeze half.
- Buy the cans on sale in the fall. I stock up when they go on sale and keep enough on hand to make this without a grocery run.
- Sub the packets if you make your own. Two tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning replaces the packet if you’d rather skip the additives.
Recipe FAQs
Is this really only 7 cans? Yes. Black beans, pinto beans, corn, diced tomatoes, green chilis, enchilada sauce, and chicken broth. The only things that aren’t canned are the ground beef, half an onion, and the seasonings.
Can I make this in the crockpot? Yes, and it’s a great slow cooker recipe. Brown the beef first, then add everything to the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
Can I use chicken instead of ground beef? Absolutely. Use 3 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken, or simmer 2 raw chicken breasts in the pot for the full hour and shred them at the end.
Do I have to brown the beef first? Yes. Raw ground beef added straight to the pot won’t break apart properly and leaves the fat in the soup. It’s the only real cooking step in this recipe.
Can I use different beans? Any beans work here. Kidney, ranch style, chili beans, or two cans of the same kind. Use what’s in your pantry.
Can I make this in the Instant Pot? Yes. Brown the beef using the sauté function, add everything else, and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes with a quick release.
How spicy is this? Mild as written. The green chilis and taco seasoning give it flavor without much heat, and my kids eat it without complaining. Use hot enchilada sauce or add a jalapeño if you want it warmer.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder
- One Pot Creamy Vegetable Soup
- Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup
- Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup
- Crockpot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ onion diced
- 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 15.5 oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 15.25 oz can sweet corn drained
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes drained
- 4 oz can green chilis drained
- 28 oz can enchilada sauce
- 14.5 oz can chicken broth
- 1 oz packet taco seasoning
- 1 oz packet ranch seasoning
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the black beans and pinto beans in a colander. Drain the corn, diced tomatoes, and green chilis.
- Add the ground beef and diced onion to a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook, breaking the meat apart as it goes, until no pink remains. Drain off the grease.
- Add the cooked beef and onion to a large stock pot along with all the drained cans, the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, taco seasoning, ranch seasoning, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cumin.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
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