A hearty homemade cheesy taco soup made with ground beef, beans, sautéed vegetables, Rotel and cheese. Taco soup but make it cheesy!
You may relate to this, you like soup season, but someone in your family feels like soup is not a “real meal”. Adding some cheese to this Tex-Mex inspired dish helps to make this a heartier meal even for those with the biggest appetites. This cozy soup got a big thumbs up all around from my crew.
This homemade cheesy taco soup contains all the things you would expect to find in taco soup - lean ground beef, vegetables, tomatoes, beans, corn, and Mexican spices. A creamy soup base is made by starting with a roux for extra flavor and thickening, a combination of broth and milk and finally cheese is stirred in. It makes a delicious cheesy soup.
Recipe highlights include:
- Takes less than one hour to cook making it an easy weeknight dinner option!
- Leftovers taste even better the next day.
- Budget-friendly one-pot meal.
- Easy to customize with what you have at home.
- Family-approved recipe.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef: I typically use lean ground beef. But feel free to substitute with ground venison or turkey.
- Onion: One yellow or white onion.
- Bell pepper: One green or red bell pepper.
- Butter
- All-Purpose Flour: For making a roux, to thicken the soup.
- Chicken Broth: May use water, beef or vegetable broth.
- Milk: To give the soup a richer consistency. I’d recommend using at least 2% milk for creaminess.
- Taco Seasoning: For ease, I recommend one package of taco seasoning. I like Mateo’s Taco Seasoning in medium ancho chile that I found at Wal-Mart. Of course, you are welcome to use your own taco seasoning.
- Rotel: One can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. Pick your heat preference.
- Corn: One can of corn. Frozen corn may be substituted.
- White beans and pinto beans: A can of each. Can adjust beans with what you have at home.
- Cheese: I used a block of American cheese but have also tested with medium cheddar.
How to make
This is a brief overview of how to make this soup. Please see recipe card at bottom of the page for full instructions and ingredients.
- Brown ground meat. Sautée onion and bell peppers. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Make a quick roux in dutch oven. Stir in broth, milk and taco seasoning. Add meat mixture back.
- Stir in cheese until melted. Remove from heat and adjust seasoning to taste.
- Serve with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Variations
- Can use a variety of beans such as black or kidney.
- Add fresh jalapeño for more heat.
- Increase the amount of cheese to make it extra cheesy.
- You may use Velveeta in place of the American cheese.
Serving and Storage
Topping ideas for this cheesy taco soup include avocado slices, tortilla strips, cilantro, jalapeños and sour cream.
Serving: Serve this taco soup hot with assorted toppings. A side of fresh baked cornbread, flour tortillas and even a simple side salad pair well with this creamy taco soup.
Storage: Makes delicious leftovers! Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge. Best if used within 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 cup onion diced (white or yellow)
- 1 cup green or red bell pepper diced
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ c. water or chicken broth
- 2 ½ c. milk
- 1 - 1 oz. package taco seasoning*
- 1 – 10 oz. can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 – 15 oz. can corn drained
- 1 – 15 oz. can pinto beans drained
- 1 – 15 oz. can white beans drained
- 8 oz. American Cheese shredded
Instructions
- In a dutch oven, brown ground beef over medium high heat. Half-way through cooking ground beef, add onion and bell pepper to pot. Continue to cook until meat is no longer pink, and onions are translucent. Remove cooked meat mixture from dutch oven, place in bowl and set aside.
- Melt butter in dutch oven, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in water or broth, milk and taco seasoning. Cook whisking frequently over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add meat mixture back to dutch oven. Stir in rotel, corn, and beans. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. During last 5 minutes, stir in American cheese until melted. Remove from heat and adjust seasoning to taste.
Notes
Most taco soups seem to contain black beans. While working on this recipe, my family took a day trip to a Texas historical site where they had an interactive exhibit of the Black Bean Episode. All of us “drew” a white bean out of the jar. That day it just felt wrong to use any black beans, so I opted to put a can of white beans in this soup.
As always thank you for stopping by my little corner of the internet. I hope your family enjoys the recipe!
Alaine
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