Why I love this Crock Pot Taco Soup Recipe
Let's start off with something here. This recipe IS called "Slow Cooker Taco Soup", but it can totally be made outside of the slow cooker, straight on the stove in just a few short minutes. The reason I make it in the slow cooker is that I feel the flavors just really meld together so much better once it's had some time to cook. Don't get me wrong, I've made it plenty of times on the stove when I needed to pull a dinner together and haven't made it to the grocery store. I just prefer it from the slow cooker. What's even better? Leftover Slow Cooker Taco Soup. The flavors just seem to melt together more and more as it sits.
This is the first recipe blog post since announcing that we'll be adding nutrition information and WW points to all of our recipes. I thought, what better way than on TACO TUESDAY with a taco themed recipe and one that is a powerhouse punch on nutrition. This little guy, when made with ground turkey is ZERO WW points! When it's made with ground beef, its only 2! The macros aren't bad either. When made with ground beef, it's only 260 calories with 22g of protein. When it's cold, we love to have soups and stews in our house and since it's the time of year for gluttony, I try to reduce the caloric heavy everyday meals so that we can still enjoy the treats without gaining the dreaded holiday weight.
Did you know the average weight gain over the holidays ranges from 2-10lbs?! Just thinking about having to lose an ADDITIONAL 10lbs at the new year because of my inability to stop shoveling candy, sweets, and treats down my throat for 2 months is enough to make me think twice about it. I don't actively try to lose weight during the holiday months, but I do try to at least maintain, which if you've ever been on a weight loss journey and attempted maintenance... it's a beast in and of itself. Prior to some medications I was put on and then pregnancy, regardless of what I ate or how I exercised, the weight still crept on. So, here I am, back on the weight loss journey. I've successfully lost 45lbs, but I'm hoping to get back down to where I feel comfortable and healthy which means about 25 more pounds.
My hope with providing the nutrition information and WW points in my recipes is to not only provide y'all with some delicious, nutritious family meals, but to also hold myself a little accountable here. Being honest, having a food blog and attempting to still lose weight is NOT EASY. BLT's (bites, licks, and tastes) quickly add up and when you make a recipe over and over in testing and keep having to eat it, the calories add up. So hopefully, that means we'll all benefit a little from this new little addition on here.
Anyway, enough about me, calories, and nutrition. Let's get to the real stuff here. THE RECIPE!
Crock Pot Taco Soup Ingredients
- lean ground beef - I prefer to use 95% lean ground beef or ground turkey. You can also use a higher fat content of beef, but you'll need to drain it after browning before proceeding with the remaining recipe.
- crushed tomatoes - canned crushed tomatoes are a key ingredient for this recipe. If you prefer to get the no salt added version, you may need to add a touch of salt to the final recipe.
- roasted green chile - You can use canned or jarred chopped roasted green chile. You can find this in the Mexican food aisle at your local grocery store, often near the canned enchilada sauce.
- Corn - while you can use canned if you like, I find the fresh and frozen have the best overall flavor
- Black beans - you'll want to use canned, undrained. Just pour the whole thing in.
- Kidney beans - this will be the same as the black beans where you'll just dump the whole can in
- yellow onion - chopped yellow onion will give excellent flavor, but feel free to omit or substitute with onion powder if you have picky eaters who don't like onion
- taco seasoning - I love using homemade, but store-bought works great as well
How to make Taco Soup in Crock Pot
- Brown ground turkey or beef in a skillet over medium heat, breaking up into small pieces.
- Once cooked, add ground turkey and remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Mix to combine.
- Add 1 cup of water to slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Serve with your favorite shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla strips!
How to serve Slow Cooker Taco Soup
Slow Cooker Taco Soup can be served on its own as a full meal. It's great served with toppings like sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and avocado.
How to store Crockpot Taco Soup
Allow the soup to cool completely. Place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This soup also freezes well. It will stay fresh in the freezer when stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Taco Soup Recipe Crock Pot FAQs
You can absolutely put raw ground beef into a slow cooker. It will cook through by the time the soup is done, but browning it in a skillet first gives it a much better flavor.
If you'd like a thicker taco soup, you can make a cornstarch slurry using 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Mix until smooth and then add it to the taco soup, stirring frequently.
Each 1 ¼ cup serving of taco soup is 260 calories.
Taco Soup (Slow Cooker Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground turkey or 95% lean ground beef
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes canned
- ½ cup roasted green chile chopped
- 1 cup corn kernels fresh or frozen
- 15 oz black beans canned, undrained
- 15 oz kidney beans canned, undrained
- ½ medium yellow onion chopped
- 4 tablespoon taco seasoning I use McCormick brand with the red lid
Instructions
- Brown ground turkey or beef in a skillet over medium heat, breaking up into small pieces.
- Once cooked, add ground turkey and remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Mix to combine.
- Add 1 cup of water to slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Serve with your favorite shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla strips!
Notes
WW Freestyle Points (with ground beef): 2 ***Nutrition information below is for 95/5 ground beef*** To use as a freezer meal - after browning meat, allow to cool and add to a Ziploc freezer bag with remaining ingredients. Lay flat to freeze. On the day of cooking, put into slow cooker, add 1 cup of water and cook on low 4-6 hours.
Jade Stewart
I love this recipe. I made it in a skillet, and used what tomato cans I had on hand, it came out so good. Most of the kids loved it, some even had seconds. I can imagine this would be really good in the slow cooker, but it is also good on the stove. This is going in the dinner recipe rotation.
kara
I love the idea of making it on the stove! I'll definitely have to try this next time.
Sarah C
Can't wait to try this!