Spicy & Hearty: Pioneer Woman Taco Soup Recipe

If you’d like your taco more like a hearty stew, you’re going to love this Pioneer Woman taco soup recipe. Chopped vegetables, beans, some taco seasoning, and ground beef all come together to make one of the best comfort foods you’ll ever taste.

What’s even better is that this Pioneer Woman taco soup recipe allows you to customize the ingredients and adjust the seasonings, and that’s especially true when it comes to toppings and serving.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Serving
• Equipment
• Storage
• Tips
• Pioneer Woman Taco Soup Recipe
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Comments

Ingredients

• Ground beef — 1 ½ pounds.
• Onion — 1 pc., chopped.
• Garlic — 3 cloves, minced.
• Chicken broth — 4 cups.
• Jalapeno — 1 pc., chopped.
• Canned tomatoes — 2 cans.
• Taco seasoning — 1 package.
• Pinto beans — 1 can, drained and rinsed.
• Black beans — 1 can, drained and rinsed.
• Canned corn — 1 can, drained.
• Green chiles — 1 can.
• Salt and pepper — to taste.

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven pan, add the ground beef and cook until browned. Break the meat into small pieces while cooking.

2. Add the onion to the beef.

3. Once the beef is browned and the onion is translucent, add the garlic and jalapeno. Stir for a few minutes.

4. Then, add the tomatoes, taco seasoning, black beans, chicken broth, corn, pinto beans, and green chiles. Bring the mixture to a boil.

5. Reduce the heat, add salt and pepper, and cook for another half an hour.

Substitutions

• Ground beef — The original taco soup recipe calls for ground beef, and it’s simply the best one. If you need something leaner, go with other alternatives like ground turkey and ground chicken. Tofu is another great substitute for ground beef, especially if you’re searching for a vegan alternative.

• Beans — Pioneer Woman taco soup recipe calls for both black beans and pinto beans with sweet and earthy flavors, kidney beans and cannellini are great additions to this recipe. If you don’t want to use any beans, try using chickpeas.

• Green chiles — Green chiles like Anaheim or poblano provide a slightly spicy flavor to your taco soup. But this recipe already calls for jalapeno, so using both might be too much for some. If you’re not a fan of spice, you could omit green chiles completely. If, on the contrary, you’d like to increase the heat, we’d recommend opting for serrano peppers, which pack even more heat.

• Taco seasoning — A spice blend, taco seasoning is both the heart and soul of the Pioneer Woman taco soup recipe. Spicy, pungent, and savory; it consists of multiple spices like cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and many more. But the problem with taco seasoning is that it tends to be dominant and usually overpowers any dish it is added to. To solve that problem, you could opt for using the spices individually; adjusting the ingredients and their amounts. You could simply use chili powder, maybe with some added cumin, or, you could just go with garlic powder.

Serving

This is the fun part. The Pioneer Woman taco soup recipe is simply not complete without a proper serving, and the good news is that it’s completely up to you. Toppings like melted cheese, sour cream, and some fresh herbs come to mind. They’d all do well, so don’t be afraid to use any, or all, for that matter.

Side dishes like cornbread, tortilla chips, and rolls simply elevate taco soup, as they all complement the main dish well.

Equipment

• Measuring cups.

• Dutch oven pan.

Storage

• Once your taco soup has cooled completely and is at room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container. It can be stored in your fridge for 4-5 days.

• If you’d like to enjoy your dish for a longer period, you can freeze it for a few months.

Tips

• The consistency — Adding more beans and vegetables means that your taco soup will have a much thicker consistency. If you prefer a thinner, softer soup, feel free to decrease that amount.

• The beans — Don’t get distracted and let the beans overcook. Overcooking the beans will result in a loss of both flavor and nutrition.

Frequently Asked Questions