Paula Deen Ground Beef Taco Soup

Paula Deen Ground Beef Taco Soup is a dump recipe with ground beef, pinto beans, kidney beans, corn, and three kinds of canned tomatoes. It feeds five in about an hour on the stovetop or all day in a slow cooker. This is football Sunday food, the kind of big pot you set out and let everybody help themselves.

The ranch dressing mix is what separates this from every other taco soup. Mixed with the taco seasoning, it gives the broth a creamy, tangy kick that you cannot get from chili powder alone. Leave it out and the soup tastes one-note. That one packet is doing most of the work.

Brown the beef until it is no longer pink and drain the fat, or the whole pot turns greasy. After that, everything goes straight from the can into the cooker. It reheats well and tastes even better the next day once the beans have soaked up the broth.

Paula Deen Ground Beef Taco Soup

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: SoupCuisine: American, SouthernDifficulty: Easy

Servings

5

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Calories

550

kcal

A thick, chunky dump soup made by browning ground beef with onions and simmering everything with canned beans, corn, tomatoes, and a ranch-taco seasoning blend. Serve over corn chips and top with sour cream, grated cheese, and jalapenos.

Ingredients

• 1 (1 oz) package ranch salad dressing mix
  

• 1 (1 1/4 oz) package taco seasoning mix
  

• 1/2 cup (optional) sliced green olives
  

• 1 small can (optional) drained and sliced black olives
  

• 2 (4 1/2 oz) cans diced green chilies
  

• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes with chilies
  

• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
  

• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can Mexican tomatoes
  

• 1 (15 1/4 oz) can drained whole kernel corn
  

• 1 (15 1/4 oz) cans pink kidney beans
  

• 2 (15 1/4 oz) cans pinto beans
  

• 2 cups diced onions
  

• 2 lbs ground beef
  

• jalapeños
  

• chopped green onions
  

• grated cheese
  

• Sour cream
  

• corn chips

Directions

• Brown and simmer: Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, green onions, tomatoes, chilies, olives and seasonings, and cook on low setting all day (6 to 8 hours) if using a slow cooker, or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a stockpot on the stove.

Tools for this recipe

• Kirecoo 12-quart stainless steel stock pot, Lodge 12-inch cast iron skillet, Crock-Pot 7-quart manual slow cooker. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I use ground turkey instead of ground beef?

Ground turkey works, but drain it well because it releases more liquid than beef. The flavor will be lighter, so add an extra half tablespoon of taco seasoning to keep the broth from tasting thin.

How long does this taco soup keep in the fridge?

It lasts 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. The beans soak up broth overnight, so add a splash of water when you reheat it. It freezes well for up to 3 months.

Can I make this taco soup the day before?

It reheats even better than it tastes fresh. Brown the beef the night before, then dump everything into the slow cooker in the morning. Paula serves it by placing corn chips in each bowl and ladling the soup over them, topped with sour cream, cheese, and jalapenos.

Why is my taco soup coming out watery?

The most common reason is not draining the ground beef well enough after browning. If the soup is still thin after simmering, take the lid off for the last 15 minutes and let it reduce.

What does the ranch dressing mix do in this soup?

It adds a tangy, creamy depth to the broth that taco seasoning alone cannot match. Paula uses it to give the soup a richer, more rounded flavor. Skip it and you end up with a basic chili that tastes like everything else.