Creamy Taco Soup: Get ready to add this comforting fall and winter soup to your weekly dinner menu! It’s easy to make, ready in under an hour, kid-friendly, and uses just a few ingredients! It’s definitely one of our favorite go-to soup recipes to make at home.
Taco recipes, like this taco chicken casserole and these crispy chicken tacos, are another way to enjoy tacos for dinner, by using chicken if you have that on hand as well!
Recipe originally published in 2018, and recipe completely renovated and updated in 2023.
Soup recipes like this classic chili, white chicken chili, and lasagna soup, are amazing during the cooler months. However, taco recipes are delicious all year long, so having tacos in soup form, during the fall and winter is a wonderful bonus.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It uses a few ingredients: Yes! Only a few ingredients are needed for this creamy taco soup, and you probably even have most, if not all of these ingredients on hand.
- Make-ahead recipe: Sometimes making soups in advance is a great way to meal prep but soups can sometimes marry together even better when made early, and they sit together to blend.
- Ready in under an hour: Talk about a quick and easy dinner idea! This recipe, from start to finish, is the perfect option for a busy night for dinner.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
As you can see below, the ingredients are pretty basic and they’re great to keep on hand for a last-minute dinner idea.
📖 Substitutions
If you find that substitutions are needed, such as you’re missing an ingredient or you prefer to leave something out, that’s perfectly fine! Here are some suggestions that can help:
- Ground beef – Ground chicken, ground pork, ground venison or even tofu can be used in this taco soup recipe. Or, you can also leave the meat out if you prefer, and save it for this fun walking taco casserole!
- Broth – Vegetable broth, chicken broth, or a low-sodium broth can be used instead.
- Taco seasoning – We love making our own chicken taco seasoning and that can also be used in this recipe, instead of the packet.
- Rotel – There are versions of “hot” diced green chilies and tomatoes that you can use also, to add more heat.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make Creamy Taco Soup
Would you believe there are only two parts to making this soup? Cooking the ground beef, and then combining that with the rest of the ingredients, allowing it to simmer and cook together. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Cook the ground beef. In a stockpot, brown ground beef until fully cooked. Drain excess grease (Image 1).
STEPS 2 & 3. Add the remaining ingredients to cooked ground beef (Images 2&3).
STEP 4. Cook and simmer. Cook on medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until cream cheese has melted and blended in, stirring occasionally. Note: Sometimes using a whisk at the end of the cooking time, speeds this up. (Image 4.)
Serve warm, and as is, or top with your favorite toppings! See ideas below:
Taco Soup Topping Ideas – If you prefer to add some toppings to your soup, here are some great ideas:
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- tortilla chips
- wonton strips
- corn chips
- green onions
- taco sauce
- hot sauce
- guacamole
- homemade croutons
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Allow soup to simmer. If you have time, allowing a soup to simmer for an hour can make the flavors blend together even more!
- Slow Cooker Creamy Taco Soup. Love Crock Pot recipes? Brown your ground beef and then place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and allow the soup to cook together, and the cream cheese to melt, on low for at least 3 hours.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Cream cheese is added to soup to make it more creamy. Heavy cream, sour cream, and other thickening items can make soup more creamy.
If the corn wasn’t drained, this could make your taco soup more watery or perhaps water was added when it wasn’t supposed to be.
The best way to eat taco soup is warm. Serving with your favorite taco toppings and side dishes is also a great way to eat taco soup.
🍽 What to Serve with this Soup
Taco side dishes can go great with this taco soup, such as hot taco dip, guacamole or even a crusty Italian bread for dipping. Or, go all out for taco night and make this fried taco recipe to serve with the soup.
However, easy sandwiches such as this peanut butter and syrup sandwich offers a sweet combo with the salty soup.
❄️ Storage
Leftovers: If you have leftover creamy taco soup, once it has cooled, you can store it in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Freeze: If you prefer to freeze the leftovers, or saving for meal planning freezer meals, this soup freezes really well. Once it has cooled, place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw: To thaw this soup, place in the refrigerator to thaw, or place frozen soup in a stock post and reheat/melt over low heat, slowly.
🍲 More Recipes You’ll Love
If you love easy soup recipes, that feature similar ingredients, then you’re also going to love this easy ham and beans recipe too! Or if you find that you like using ground beef for a lot of your dinners, then you’ll love this list of ground beef dinner ideas.
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 oz. pack of taco seasoning
- 8 ounces cream cheese cut in to small blocks
- 4 cups beef broth
- 10 ounce can Rotel
- 15.25 ounce can corn drained
- 15.5 ounce can chili beans
Optional Toppings:
- tortilla chips
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- jalapenos
- avocado
Instructions
- In a stockpot, brown ground beef until fully cooked.
- Add remaining ingredients in to cooked ground beef.
- Cook on medium heat for 25-30 minutes, or until cream cheese has melted, and blended in, stirring occasionally. (Sometimes using a whisk at the end of the cook time, speeds this up.)
- Serve alone or with optional toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Felicia says
I have a friend that used 3 packs of Taco Seasoning. Have you ever tried that? Do you think that’s too much?
Jessica says
Hi Felicia! You know, I’ve never tried three… but here’s how I look at it. You can always add more, but can’t take it away. 🙂 So maybe do the two, give it a taste, and then add in the third if you think it could use more!