Taco Soup Recipe
As we head into the colder months of the year, some of the things that always bring us coziness and comfort are warm and wholesome foods and soups.
I love cooking chicken and butternut squash soups from scratch to enjoy them on a cold afternoon while binge watching my favorite Netflix shows.
Growing up in Cuba, we didn’t have a lot of Mexican influences or spicy flavors in our cuisine, but once I moved to the US I started incorporating them little by little into my every day cooking. And though I’m still not huge on spicy flavors even today, I found that the Latin American, Caribbean and Southern US cuisines have many common grounds that compliment their differences. We all love beans and meats, we just have our own favorite ways of preparing them.
Hence why I decided to try the popular taco soup, since its main ingredients are also staples of Cuban cuisine: beans, ground beef, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes... I made a few changes here and there to make it even more yummy and add some flavors that I love while substituting others that I found have more health benefits.
We came up with this exact taco recipe just last week, and I’m definitely ready to make it a staple in our kitchen for this upcoming fall and winter and many more years to come!
Note: This recipe is gluten-free. To make it vegan and dairy friendly, switch the ground beef/ turkey for vegan ground beef, or add a variety of beans instead to up the protein. Switch the cottage cheese for vegan sour cream.
TACO SOUP INGREDIENTS:
This Taco Soup recipe is healthy, full of deep and delicious flavors, and very easy to prepare. It’s filling and has tons of protein from the ground meat and the beans, so you’ll find it easy to reach your protein goal. All the ingredients are very easy to find in any of the local supermarkets
Ground Beef/ Ground Turkey : One of the star ingredients of this recipe, ground beef is the most popular choice when making a taco soup. To up my health benefits, I now prepare more dishes using either all ground turkey or half beef/ half turkey if I don't want to compromise the flavor.
Black Beans: another key ingredient, black beans will make the soup thicker and more flavorful. They are the highest protein beans. However, you can swap the black beans for pinto or red beans, or add a combination of all.
Jalapeño/ Green Chili: Most recipes use canned green chili, but I like to avoid canned products as much as possible. So to add an extra kick of spice to the soup on colder nights, I prefer to use fresh jalapeño.
Spices: My go-to dried spices are bay leaves, oregano, cumin, paprika and sea salt.
Bell Peppers: We use all three colors (yellow, red and green).
Corn: There’s nothing tastier than using fresh, non canned corn. You can find my favorite recipe I use to prepare corn here.
Onions
Garlic
Fresh Tomatoes
Olive oil
For toppings I’d recommend:
Grated Cottage cheese: It will add some extra creaminess and will balance out the extra spice and kick from some of the other ingredients
Lime: for a fresh finish!
Fresh coriander or cilantro: for an extra kick of spice
Avocado: because it's tasty, creamy and healthy
Note: You can always add some more spices and topping, but these ingredients blend perfectly to make this taco soup a very healthy and delicious option.
HOW TO MAKE TACO SOUP?
Start by picking through your black beans to remove dried beans and small rocks. Rinse the black beans in a colander with cold water for about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans and put them aside
Chop the onions and warm them in a large dutch oven or in a cast iron casserole dish with olive oil over low heat. Add the ground beef/turkey, sauté the onions, and brown the meat.
Once the ground meat is browned, add minced garlic, the bay leaves, and the chopped jalapeño and the bell peppers along with the dried spices (cumin, oregano, paprika). Sauté all of this together for a minute or two..
Add the black beans, the corn, and the chopped tomatoes next. Add in the water and salt to taste . Mix it all well for around 60 seconds
Cover your pot or casserole dish and bring your soup to a boil over high heat. Remove the lid and let it boil hard for around 10 mins. Reduce the heat to medium/low, cover the pot again, and let your soup simmer for about an hour.
Once the hour has passed, remove the lid and stir the soup to make sure all the ingredients are still well mixed together. Give the beans and the meat a taste to make sure they are ready.
For a thicker, more tender taste, continue simmering for 20 more minutes or until you get your desired consistency.
Once the taco soup is ready, remove the casserole dish from the heat and add your garnish. We normally add lime juice and cilantro before stirring all together. Then we top it with grated cottage cheese and a few slices or small cubes of avocado.
RECIPE NOTES:
TIME: If you don’t have a lot of time to invest in making this recipe from scratch, there are several alternative ways that I recommend to save time and still get great results.
You can use canned beans, chili, tomatoes, corn and pre-made taco seasoning and follow the same instructions. You’ll considerably reduce your cooking time (approximately 30 mins) especially when using canned beans.
Use a pressure cooker for faster results and a slow cooker if you want to leave your taco soup cooking while doing other activities around the house.
INGREDIENTS: I personally love the flavor of black beans and jalapeño more than pinto beans and chili, and I feel it blends better with the rest of the flavors of this taco soup. But you can use any of them in your recipe, its up to you!
For the meat, I like to use half lean ground beef and half ground turkey. It's a healthier, tastier combination than just using all ground beef or all ground turkey.
If you’re using dry beans like we do, regardless of black or pinto, I recommend a few things that will help reduce your cooking time and avoid any hard beans.
Make sure your beans are as fresh as possible.
Soak your beans overnight!
When using black beans, the smaller ones are normally softer and require less soaking and cooking time. We recommend Black Turtle beans.
Consider cooking your beans with non-tap water. Hard water can affect many aspects of our lives, including meals, hair, nails, etc. Learn more about what kind of water there is in your US region here.
FREQUENTLY ASK QUESTIONS:
Is Taco Soup good for you? How many calories are in a bowl of homemade taco soup?
While a bowl of taco soup can have around 250 calories, calories are not always a key factor if you consider that this soup recipe is incredibly healthy! Foods like this will help promote not only your physical health but also your wellness and mindfulness. Black beans are rich in iron, folate, calcium, and vitamin A. It’s also a great source of antioxidants, which can help lower the risk of age-related eye diseases like cataracts and assist with blood sugar regulation. With ingredients like peppers, tomatoes and garlic in the mix, you'll get even more benefits. One of hot peppers’ and bell peppers’ main active ingredients is capsaicin, which helps boost your metabolism while promoting skin health.
How do you thicken taco soup?
Thicken this taco soup by cooking the beans a bit longer or using less water. Adding more ground meat will give you similar results. Other ingredients you can add to thicken this soup are tortillas, potatoes, and a variety of beans, of course!
Can you freeze leftover taco soup?
You can easily prepare this taco soup and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. To freeze your leftover taco soup, I recommend using a glass airtight container and defrosting and enjoying it within 3 months.
I hope you guys love this healthy and easy taco soup as much as we do! We’ll be preparing it several times during the upcoming fall and winter months, and I hope you do as well! It’s a warm and comforting dish, and I love the variety of ingredients.
Comment below what you think about this version of the taco soup, and let us know some of the key ingredients you use when preparing your own. And Pin It so you’ll have it saved in your recipe boards for later.
For all our delicious and wholesome recipes, check our posts below or look in our health section.
For more lifestyle and health tips, head to our wellness page. We have everything from herbal teas to how to make greek yogurt at home and how to prepare your own herbal bath mixes.
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Besitos from the kitchen,
Laura
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