You haven’t had taco soup until you try this CHEESY Taco Soup version!
This 30 minute, ONE POT Cheesy Taco Soup recipe is the ultimate comforting soup packed with all your favorite taco flavors and is SO easy and great for crowds! Say hello to a new family favorite!
I love tacos in every from from my from Taco Spaghetti to Taco Pasta Bake to now this Taco Soup! The first time I tried Taco Soup was as a young teenager at my sisters home. My married sister loved to cook and experiment and the “7 Can Taco Soup” was wildly popular at the time. As I spooned the frito topped soup into my mouth I was enthralled at the idea of eating taco soup! Since then, Taco Soup has continued to be a favorite of mine (and probably the rest of the world), but my Cheesy Taco Soup version is my ultimate favorite.
My Cheesy Taco Soup recipe is based off of my Cheesy Chili Dip. The first time I made this dip, I instantly knew I would make it into a soup one day so we could all shovel it into our mouths even quicker than a dip and call it dinner. And what an easy, dinner it is. It is also a wonderful make ahead meal that you can refrigerate and reheat or keep on the stovetop on low or even add to your slow cooker on the warm setting. You can double or triple it for crowds and it will still only take you 30 minutes!
The almost dump and run soup begins by browning your beef with onions, then adding your spices, garlic, bell peppers and sprinkling with flour to help it thicken and creamify. Then comes the “dumping” of black beans, kidney beans, enchilada sauce, salsa, green chilies, and chicken broth. The addition of enchilada sauce and salsa really elevates and enlivens this fiestalicious Cheesy Taco Soup and of course then there’s the cheese…
Melt in some cream cheese then stir in half cheddar and half pepper Jack cheese for creamy, Cheesy Taco Soup!
Then its topping time! Sour cream is a must for me. And avocados. And chips. Lots of chips. But there is no right or wrong when it comes to toppings – the option to customize your soup with whatever toppings fit your mood is part of the fun! The only wrong thing about this soup is not making it soon. very soon.
Cheesy Taco Soup – a new quick and easy family favorite that your kids and company will beg you to make over and over again!
Looking for More Mexican Soup Recipes?
- Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup
- Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Salsa Verede Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chipotle Mango Chili
- White Chicken Chili
Want to try this Best EVER Cheesy Taco Soup?
Pin it to your Soup, Mexican, or Dinner Board to SAVE for later!
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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com
If you are looking or more EASY, comfort food, you will also love my White Bean Chicken Chili, One Pot Chili Mac, and 30 Minute Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder!
| Prep Time | 8 minutes |
| Cook Time | 22 minutes |
| Servings | servings |
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 1 tsp EACH chili powder, ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp EACH salt, dried oregano, smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 4 oz. can mild diced green chilies
- 1 cup mild salsa
- 1 10 oz. can mild enchilada sauce
- 5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated Pepper Jack cheese
- 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed and softened
- Tortilla chips or fritos
- sour cream
- Tomatoes
- lettuce
- Avocado/guacamole
- Hot sauce to taste
- fresh cilantro
Ingredients
Add later:
Garnish
| Rate this recipe! |
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Brown the meat with onions until meat is cooked. Add all spices/seasonings, red bell pepper and garlic. Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
- Stir in kidney beans, black beans, green chilies, salsa, enchilada sauce and chicken broth. Bring to boil then reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Turn heat to low and stir in cream cheese until melted, followed by pepper jack and cheddar cheese until melted. Add milk to thin to desired consistency if desired. Season with additional salt/pepper/hot sauce to taste.
- Serve with tortilla chips/fritos and additional garnishes as desired.
*If you like spicy, then heat it up with some medium salsa! I use medium Kirkland brand salsa from Costco.
**Once prepared, you can keep soup warm in your slow cooker until ready to serve if desired.
©Carlsbad Cravings Original
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You might also like:
Best Beef, Bean and Cheese Burritos
One Pot Pepper Jack Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup
One Skillet Mexican Chicken and Rice
Layne says
love a good taco soup, already planning on making this soon so this only made me more excited!
Jen says
YAY! There is nothing quite so comforting as a good taco soup – can’t wait for you to try this version!
Madelaine says
I made this taco soup tonight and it’s absolutely delicious
Jen says
Wonderful Madelaine, I am so happy you loved it, thank you!
Dorothy Dunton says
Hi Jen! This is perfect fr the cooler weather we are having! I was thinking about tacos the other day, but you just redirected me to a nice warm bowl of comfort!
Jen says
YAY! I am so happy you are making this soon – it seriously is one of my favorites with so many flavors and textures! I hope you love it and it warms you up on a cold day! xo
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
Yes! Yes! Yes! I am all in. I’ve got my bowl and super large spoon. I hope you have some left. It sounds delicious!! Just in case you don’t have any leftover for me I’m pinning to make this! Thank you, I think. I’m thinking of all I have to do to use up those delicious calories.
Jen says
LOL! a big bowl, big spoon and plenty of chips is the only right way to eat this soup! Seeing as I was the only one home when I made this soup, there were leftovers – but they were gone the next day 🙂 Hope you love the delicious calories – the only way calories should taste 🙂
Malinda @Countryside Cravings says
Mexican food is my comfort food and what makes it more comforting is putting it in soup form!! Love this!!!
Jen says
So true, Mexican food in soup form has to be one of the most comforting foods! Thanks Malinda!
Lisa Marutz says
LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog
Jen says
THANK you so much Lisa!! That means so much to me! xo
Alexis says
Just wanted to share, made the soup last night and LOVED it! It was so amazing. Both my husband and I couldn’t wait to have the leftovers. Thanks for this super simple, yet restaurant quality soup!
Jen says
You are so welcome Alexis, thank you so much for your comment! I am thrilled you both loved it so much and found it simple too – the best kind of recipe! I hope you got the leftovers 🙂
Dana B says
We had this last night for supper – incredible! The only change I made – because I was lazy and didn’t want to go to the grocery store for one item – was that I used a 28 ounce can of enchilada sauce that was in my pantry instead of the called-for 10 ounce size. Umm, yeah, it didn’t hurt the end result one bit!! THIS is a keeper! YUM!
Jen says
Hi Dana, I am so happy this was such a hit and a “keeper!” Its always so nice to find a new recipe that everyone loves! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Mgan says
This soup is a little more high maintenance than a lot of taco soup recipes where you just dump in a bunch of cans, but it’s SO worth it. This soup is tremendous! I like my soups a little more chunky, so next time I would add another can of beans and maybe some corn, but that’s just my personal preference! Best taco soup ever!
Jen says
Hi Megan, I am thrilled this is the “best taco soup ever” in your book – thank you so much! Sometimes just a couple more minutes makes all the difference!
Debbie says
Was just wanting to know, does this soup freeze well? I like to make soup ahead of time and use it when we are busy. Was hoping this one was a good one to do that with.
Jen says
Hi Debbie, yes this soup freezes very well – yay! Hope you love it!
Melanie @ Gather for Bread says
Oh my goodness! You make everything look irresistible. Love that cheese!
I make soup every week and this one definitely needs to go on the menu plan.
Jen says
Thank you so much Melanie- I don’t know if its me making it look irresistible or all that cheese 🙂 Cheese makes everything better 🙂 I’m excited for you to try this one, hope your family loves it!
Amy says
Hi I am making this for our family Christmas dinner and will triple the recipe. I’m not a cooker at all and was wondering if you drain the meat? Thank you
Jen says
Hi Amy, yes, I would drain the grease from the meat after you cook it. Enjoy! Merry Christmas!
Cheryl Howard says
Oh my goodness- found this recipe on Pinterest tonight as I was tired of the same old dinners and let me tell you, my family said it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made!! Substituted ground turkey for ground beef and also added a can of Rotel- so delicious!! Thanks so much for the inspiration- my family and I (husband and two teens) absolutely LOVED this!!
Jen says
Hi Cheryl, I am so happy you stumbled upon my blog and that your whole family loved this recipe! YAY! I hope you find more new dinners to love here!
Cameron says
My husband just made this after church since we had a cold front that just came in. It is awesome and quite the hit with the kids. This is definitely our new go to taco soup recipe! So yummy!
Jen says
So sorry for my delayed response Cameron, I have been super behind with all the holidays but THANK YOU so much for your awesome comment! I am thrilled this was such a hit and your new go-to Taco Soup recipe! Happy New Year!
Mark McFarland says
Thanks for the recipe, it looks fantastic! Are you using red or green enchilada sauce? I wasn’t sure if it was ok to mix red sauce with green chilies. I have some Hatch red chile sauce and was thinking of using that. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
Jen says
Hi Mark! That is a great question! I am using red enchilada sauce – so what you have on hand is perfect!
Rachel says
Finally got around to making this soup tonight and now wondering why I waited so long. Soooo good and pretty straightforward to make. Like your corn chowder recipe (which I also loved), this totally tastes like something you would get in a restaurant but doesn’t have any those weird, highly processed ingredients that I often see in taco soup recipes. I highly recommend.
Jen says
Awesome Rachel, I am thrilled you loved this Taco Soup as much as the Chicken Corn Chowder and found it “restaurant” delicious! Thank you! And thank you for trying my recipes and commenting!
Kelly says
Delicious and super easy to make!
I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes and also some sweet corn.
My daughter asked for the recipe after one bite!
Jen says
I’m so happy you loved it Kelly and your additions sound delicious! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Shelley says
Hi been looking and looking at your recipe and wondering if I can make this in a crockpot as my stove for some reason you can not cook on low so a lot of sticking happens so I use the crockpot a lot ..wanna make this this weekend thanks for letting me know in advance
Jen says
Hi Shelley! I would still do step 1 on the stove then add everything to the crockpot. I would stir in the cream cheese at the end (it will take about 30 minutes to melt on LOW) and then the other cheeses until melted. If you don’t want to do anything more on the stove than brown your meat, then I would do that and the you can whisk the flour with some of the enchilada sauce before adding to the crockpot. I hope that helps!
Susan says
Just made this last night for my family and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks for an awesome recipe, its definitely going in the rotation.
Jen says
YAY! I’m so happy your family loved it so much! It’s always exciting to find a new recipe everyone loves! Thanks Susan!
Terri says
What could you use in place of cream cheese
Jen says
Hi Terri, you could leave it out all together but the soup won’t be as creamy or use more of either of the other two cheeses.
Susan says
This was another hit! Although I’ve yet to find a recipe of yours that hasn’t been a success. Thank you!
Jen says
Thanks so much Susan! Nice to hear there hasn’t been a flop yet 🙂
Kristin says
I made this a few days ago, but I wanted to let you know how much my husband and I are enjoying this soup! I love the creaminess. The flavor of the soup is so good! You really do a great job mixing all those herbs and spices together. The only thing I did differently was make a homemade enchilada sauce, but other than that, I followed the recipe. This is very delicious and definitely one we’ll remake. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes! I appreciate what you do.
Jen says
Thank you so much for taking the time to make my day! I’m so happy you both are loving this soup and I’m sure your homemade enchilada sauce made it that much more delicious!
Jequila says
Made this soup tonight and it was a hit. The kids loved it and even the husband went back fur 2nds. I will be adding this to my list of recipes!
Jen says
yesssss! I’m so happy it was a hit with everyone, thanks so much Jequila!