By Marissa Bradley from Flower Mound, Texas
Wanting something warm to eat? Too cold outside? I have the recipe for you! From the variety of beans to the spices to the protein, this taco soup recipe will surely warm you up on a cold evening.Following the instructions contains about ten to twelve servings. If you have it at hand, you can also have cornbread on the side. I have always loved cornbread from the time I was a child and love it with this coup in particular. I recommend Jiffy cornbread, but any will do.
To make this taco soup, you will need a very large stockpot or two smaller stock pots. You will have to be careful, however, when combining the protein. In a separate pan, you will cook a pound of lean ground beef. If you don’t want ground beef, you can use ground or shredded chicken. In the stock pot, you will need to place a small, diced onion at the bottom. The onion will remain at the bottom of the pot for the duration of the cooking process. If you don’t have an onion at hand, you can use onion powder and sprinkle it onto the cooked meat instead.
In the stock pot, pour one can of fiesta corn, followed by a can of rotel (diced tomatoes and green chili). Next, add a can of tomato sauce and three cans of Mexican chili beans. If you want this dish to be more diet friendly, there are low-fat and low-sodium options of these ingredients. After pouring all the beans into the pot, add a package of taco seasoning and a package of ranch dressing mix. If you don’t want to use the entire contents of both mixes, you can pour just half.
Add a cup and a half of water to the stock pot, then add the cooked ground beef (or chicken), into the stock pot. As stated above, if you don’t have a pot as large as a stock pot, you can divide the soup into two different pots. You will let the soup simmer until heated through.
After the soup is heated through, it’s ready to serve with your choice of toppings! Cheese and sour cream are great additions. My parents love adding cilantro, but personally I love just adding a spoonful of sour cream. Mixing the sour cream with the spice hones in the flavors. From a rainy dreary afternoon to a cold, unusual snowy day in Texas, this soup will make you feel warm inside. I hope you enjoy this wonderful recipe!
Taco Soup Recipe in full
1 lb lean group beef
1 small onion diced
1 can fiesta corn
1 can rotel
1 can tomato sauce
3 cans mexican chili beans
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 ½ cps water
Brown beef & onion – add the rest of the ingredients with juices, simmer until heated through
Optional: put a little 2% cheese on top with a little sour cream…Yum!