Creamy Beef Taco Soup made in the slow cooker is made with ground beef, black, beans, corn, taco seasoning, and cream cheese! Add your favorite taco toppings to the top and everyone will be happy!
This recipe takes about 15 minutes to put together, then let the CrockPot do its thing! It’s such a quick and easy meal!
My whole family LOVES tacos! This beef taco soup recipe is our favorite way to enjoy everything we love about tacos on those cold days! It’s perfect for soup season!
Years ago a friend shared her delicious taco soup recipe with me! It’s already amazing, but I decided to take her recipe and add cream cheese! Now this is our favorite taco soup recipe and I think it will quickly become yours too!
Making this hearty soup creamy takes it to a whole new level!
For more fun Mexican food recipes be sure to check out my Chicken Taco Pizza, 3 Ingredient Chili Cheese Dip, Cream Cheese Salsa Dip, and Ground Beef Burrito Bowls.
Table of contents
Why you’ll love it
- Quick and easy! Brown the ground beef, throw everything in the crock pot, and let it go! Dinner will be ready when you come home! It literally takes about 15 minutes of prep time!
- Tates amazing! This creamy taco soup has all the spicy flavors of tacos plus it’s creamy and decadent! Adding cream cheese makes it tangy and creamy all at the same time!
- Customizable! Make this taco soup recipe exactly the way you like it. It’s easy to swap chicken for beef or add extra veggies. Everyone gets to choose what they want to top it with. Anything that goes on top of tacos works well with taco soup!
Ingredients
- Ground Beef: Use lean ground beef
- Onion: Optional. I like the extra flavor, but my boys prefer leaving it out
- Tomato Sauce:
- Diced Tomatoes: I use homemade canned tomatoes. You can also buy diced tomatoes, or use Rotel with mild green chilies.
- Green Chiles: I use mild green chiles. Use medium, or spicy for more heat.
- Corn: Canned corn or freezer corn
- Kidney Beans and Black Beans: These are the traditional varieties of beans used in taco soup, you can use other beans such as red beans, pinto beans, or white beans
- Taco Seasoning: If you don’t have taco seasoning you can make your own homemade taco seasoning, or add 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 Tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
- Ranch Seasoning: Optional. I love the added flavor
- Chicken or Beef Broth: Adjust the amount depending on how thick or thin you want your soup to be. Chicken broth makes the soup lighter, and beef broth makes it darker.
- Cream Cheese: I recommend using regular cream cheese because it is creamier than low-fat cream cheese. Use room-temperature cream cheese.
Taco soup toppings
Feel free to get creative, or keep it as simple, as you want! Here are a few of our favorite toppings!
- Sour Cream
- Grated Cheddar Cheese, Pepper Jack, Colby Jack, or Tex-Mex blend
- Corn chips, tortilla chips, or tortilla strips
- Diced tomatoes or salsa
- Diced avocados or guacamole
- Sliced olives
- Green Onions or scallions
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh lime juice
Instructions
You are absolutely going to fall in love with how easy creamy beef taco soup is to make!
The full recipe and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Let’s talk about the steps!
Step 1: Brown the ground beef and diced onions over medium-high heat.
Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients (except cream cheese) to the slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours, or high heat for 3-4 hours.
Step 3: Add the cream cheese, without stirring, to the soup 20 minutes before serving.
Step 4: Put the lid back on. Just before serving stir the soup to incorporate the melted cream cheese.
Tips for success
This is a very flavorful soup. To add a kick of spice add a dash of cayenne pepper or hot sauce. The heat goes really well with the creamy soup.
To make the soup extra creamy add a splash of heavy cream just before serving.
Stove Top Instructions (30 minute meal)
It’s easy to make this recipe on the stovetop, although I like it better in the slow cooker.
- Brown the ground beef in a large soup pot, or Dutch oven.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except cream cheese. Simmer over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese. Stir.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. I almost like this soup better the next day. The flavorful taco spices have a chance to marry!
Reheat individual bowls of soup in the microwave.
Freeze the cooled soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw soup overnight in the fridge. Then reheat on the stovetop or microwave in individual bowls.
What to serve with creamy taco soup
Since this easy creamy taco soup recipe is basically a taco in a warm bowl of soup you don’t really need anything else. I do like to serve it with bread.
Other easy soup recipes
You need as many easy soup recipes as you can!
- Jalapeno Popper Soup
- Southwest Chicken Soup with Cream Cheese
- Cheesy Chicken Potato Soup (Instant Pot)
Slow Cooker Creamy Beef Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 10 ounce cans diced tomatoes or Ro-tel
- 1 4 ounce diced green chilis
- 1 15.25 ounce can corn
- 1 15.5 ounce can kidney beans
- 1 14 ounce can black beans
- 1 ounce taco seasoning (1 packet)
- 1.5 ounces ranch seasoning (1 packet)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
Optional Toppings
- olives
- diced tomatoes
- diced avocados
- chopped cilantro
- corn chips
- sour cream
Instructions
- Dice onion. Brown ground beef and onions over medium-high heat until browned.
- Drain and rinse beans and corn. Add cooked ground beef and all the remaining ingredients, except the cream cheese, to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.
- About 20 minutes before serving, add room temperature cream cheese to the soup. Replace the lid and let rest. Just before serving stir until the cream cheese is melted.
- Serve with desired toppings.
Notes
- Add a few dashes of cayenne pepper or hot sauce for extra heat.
- Add a splash of heavy cream to make it even more decadent.
- Use Ro-tel instead of diced tomatoes and green chilis.
Kellye Grove says
Hi, are there any alternatives to use for the chili con carne?
Amy Engberson says
You could use chili without meat. Or, you can use a can of red beans and a can of tomato sauce. I haven’t tried it before, but I think it would work great. Let me know how it goes! You might also like my Southwest Chicken Soup
Margret says
What are the nutrition facts for this recipe? How many calories in a serving and what is the serving size. How many grams of protein is in this recipe? Thanks
Amy Engberson says
I just edited the recipe to include nutritional information! I hope that helps. It’s snowy here today and now I want a big bowl of this soup!
Sara Johnson says
I’m making this today! It’s a rainy fall afternoon in Tennessee. I used some southwest chicken breasts I had from Aldi instead of ground beef, just took them out of the pot to shred and dumped them back in. I’m definitely adding the cream cheese in a few hours. My heart is already happy!
Amy Engberson says
This soup is the perfect rainy day dinner! I love the idea of adding chicken breasts and then pulling them out to shred. That sounds so easy and delicious! Let me know how it turns out and I’d love you to leave this recipe a rating!
Keisha Taylor says
Made this tonight. Best creamy taco soup I’ve ever made! Thanks for the recipe.
Amy Engberson says
Taco soup is so much better when it’s creamy! Glad you enjoyed it!
Miranda says
Hello, I have a quick question on this recipe! For the ranch seasoning and taco seasons should I season the ground beef before I cook it with the taco seasoning before adding to the crockpot..or should I just add the ranch and taco seasoning into the pot with all the ingredients thanks!
Amy Engberson says
Go ahead and add the seasonings, browned meat, and the rest of the ingredients (except cream cheese) to the crockpot at once! This is a perfect winter day soup recipe! Enjoy!
Jayni says
This looks VERY good. One QUESTION, however:
Is it possible that the ingredient that reads “8-oz can of tomato SOUP”:SHOULD read “8-oz can of tomato SAUCE”?
I’ve never seen tomato SOUP in that size can, but 8 ounces is a VERY COMMON size of tomato SAUCE.
Thank you!
Amy Engberson says
Hi Jayni! Thanks for catching that. It should read tomato sauce, I just edited the post so it should be correct now! Enjoy!
Denise says
I have this in the crockpot right now!!
Amy Engberson says
I hope you love it as much as we do! And really you just can’t go wrong with cream cheese right?
Denise says
I have a heated mattress pad too! How the heck did we both get stuck in Eastern Idaho?
Amy Engberson says
Haha! I have a heated mattress pad and a heated blanket on my bed! There’s nothing like being sandwiched right in the middle of the warmth! And I’m consantly campaigning for a move!
Diane Wilkins says
I’m a big fan of taco soup, but have never tried creamy version. I bet it will be super tasty. I’m adding this to my list this week. Thanks for the inspiration.
Amy Engberson says
If you love taco soup you are going to go crazy for this creamy version! It’s a tasty switch on an old classic! We love it!
Krista says
Yum! I love the cream cheese addition!
Amy Engberson says
Thanks! It adds just the right amount of creamy to all that spicy!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
I wish I had a big bowl of this soup right now! So creamy and delicious!
Amy Engberson says
It’s a staple during the cold winter months around here!
Michelle says
I hear you about the cold! I have to say I’m not much of a fan of it myself. I like to snowshoe but that’s about it. This looks like the perfect soup to warm you up once those chilly nights hit.
Amy Engberson says
Haha! We could sit by the fire together and warm up with a bowl of soup!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
Ugh! I hate being cold! And I love warming up with a delicious soup like this! Love the extra toppings, too!
Paula - bell'alimento says
Love a good taco soup! Perfect to dive into for this cold weekend coming up.
Amy Engberson says
Don’t you just love easy recipes for the weekend? I’d warm up to this pretty much anytime!
Dee says
This is my kind of comfort food, right here. Looks delicious!