Salt & Lavender logo
menu icon
search icon
×

Creamy Taco Soup

Published: / Updated: / 168 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my affiliate disclosure for more details.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This creamy taco soup recipe is loaded with ground beef, flavorful taco spices, corn, beans, and you can dress it up with all your favorite toppings! It's quick and easy to make.

closeup of creamy taco soup with cream cheese

This is easily my favorite taco soup recipe that I've made so far. I just love soup with cream cheese. It adds the perfect amount of tanginess and creaminess! 

This creamy beef taco soup comes together easily, and there isn't too much preparation needed, so it's good for busy weeknights. Everyone can choose their own toppings, so it's sure to be a hit. 🙂 

There's definitely a chill in the air. As much as I'm not excited for colder weather, I am excited for soup season. I love creating new soup recipes for the blog, so stay tuned... many more will be coming! 

Try the chicken version of this soup (Easy Chicken Taco Soup).

creamy beef taco soup in a yellow soup pot

If you like soups with ground beef, you may also like my Easy Hamburger Soup or this Easy Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe.

How to make creamy taco soup

This soup is simple to make. You just brown the beef, drain any fat (I use extra lean ground beef so I don't have much to drain), add everything to the pot except for the cream cheese, bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for around 8 minutes. I then add the cream cheese and let it melt in and then season it with salt & pepper. Easy peasy! 

Some recipe notes:

  • This soup is flavorful rather than spicy if you use mild Rotel tomatoes with green chilies. You can buy the spicy kind or add some cayenne pepper if you want to make this a spicy taco soup. If using regular diced tomatoes, I suggest adding a can of diced green chilies to the soup because they add a lot of flavor (you can buy mild ones if you don't like spice).
  • I suggest taking the cream cheese out of the fridge to let it soften up ASAP. It takes a lot longer for it to incorporate into the soup when it goes in cold.
  • This isn't a soup that freezes great because of the cream cheese (it can get grainy when re-heated), so if you do want to make it ahead and freeze it, I suggest adding the cream cheese after it's thawed.
  • This soup can easily be adapted to be low-carb/keto if you leave the beans out (you will have to play the corn by ear depending on how strict you are). Of course, you'll also have to skip some of the toppings I used. 

taco soup with cream cheese and toppings in two bowls

Creamy taco soup garnish ideas:

  • Shredded cheese (cheddar or use a Tex-Mex blend)
  • Avocado
  • Lime wedges
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Tortilla strips/chips
  • Scallions 

More taco-inspired recipes you may like:

creamy southwest taco soup in two bowls

Will you give this creamy ground beef taco soup a try?

Questions? Ask me in the comments below. 

closeup of creamy taco soup with cream cheese

Creamy Taco Soup

This creamy taco soup recipe is loaded with ground beef, flavorful taco spices, corn, beans, and you can dress it up with all your favorite toppings! 
4.98 from 49 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 370 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
  • 2 (10 fluid ounce) cans Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chilies with juices
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can corn drained
  • 1 (15 fluid ounce) can black beans drained & rinsed
  • 1 (8 ounce) block of cream cheese (I used Philly)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Toppings (optional): grated cheddar, avocado, cilantro, tortilla strips, etc.

Instructions
 

  • Take the cream cheese out of the fridge an hour or more prior to starting the recipe to let it soften up, or microwave it for 20-30 seconds.
  • Add the ground beef to a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef, and if there's excess fat, spoon most of it out.
  • Add all the ingredients to the pot except for the cream cheese and salt & pepper.
  • Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Turn down the heat so it's simmering gently for 8 minutes. While the soup cooks, prep your toppings.
  • Cut the cream cheese into smaller pieces and add it to the soup. Let it melt in (you may have to stir it a fair bit until it's fully dissolved). Season the soup with salt & pepper and serve with toppings as desired.

Notes

  • You can use beef broth instead of chicken broth if you don't mind the soup being a darker color. If you have any concerns with salt, use low-salt broth.
  • If you want to make this soup spicy, add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
  • If you're not using Rotel diced tomatoes, you can use regular ones, but I suggest adding a can or two of diced green chilies as well (the 4 oz. size ones) since it really makes a difference in the way the soup tastes. 
  • Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 370kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 26gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 1131mgPotassium: 933mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 980IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 5mg
Keyword beef taco soup, creamy taco soup
Author Natasha Bull
«
»

Loved this recipe? Share it:

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published.

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. danielle says

    Very very delicious! I’m glad I went with this taco soup recipe! The only two things I did different was:
    1- cooked in slow cooker high for 4 hrs. ( browned beef on stove first)
    2- used a taco seasoning pouch instead of all the other spices listed (because it was faster and I have two young kids running around 😅)

    The cream cheese definitely makes this soup! Yum!

    Reply

  2. Kim says

    5 stars
    This was so delicious! I did add onions when I was browning the beef. Two of us ate the whole serving in two days! We will for sure make this again!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe, it was so easy to make!

    Reply

  4. Christy says

    5 stars
    Wow! Picky husband said it's the best soup I've ever made. Which is saying something. This was fantastic!!! And talk about easy?! Thank you so much!!!

    Reply

  5. D.Mayfield says

    5 stars
    Well, it was delicious! My family likes a lot of liquid in our soups, so I pretty near doubled the liquids and the spices. We added the cream cheese to the whole thing as we knew that we would be eating it all in a few day, which we did. It was sad to see the empty pot.....Thanks for sharing another great recipe! And I am making your Chicken Chili recipe that you just posted on Facebook. It is sure to be another winner!

    Reply

  10. Susan Bisterfeldt says

    This soup was amazing! Adding cilantro, co-jack, avocado and tortilla strips took it over the top. Can't wait to eat it for lunch tomorrow!

    Reply

  11. Z says

    Is it okay to swap out the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and onion powder for an envelope of taco seasoning?

    Reply

    • Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says

      We haven't tested it, but you're welcome to try! It might be a different flavor profile depending what seasonings are in the package. Just note that packaged seasoning probably already contains salt. Enjoy 🙂

      Reply

      • Z says

        5 stars
        Thank you so much for responding. I decided to nix the taco seasoning based on your response, and follow the recipe as listed above and it was the best taco soup I have ever made!! I have tried several other taco soup variations and recipes and this one is by far the most flavorful and fabulous. I have a feeling that this will be a fan favorite among my five children. The addition of cream cheese just takes it a notch above the rest. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe 😊

        Reply

        • Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says

          You're very welcome. That's so wonderful to hear!! Thank you for the kind review, and we're so happy you enjoyed it 🙂

          Reply

  12. sharon meinert says

    5 stars
    This has become my go to Creamy Taco Soup Recipe! We absolutely love. For health reasons I have swapped out ground beef and use ground turkey. It is delicious! so glad I found this recipe!

    Reply

  14. Laura says

    I made this tonight and served it with some warm tortilla chips. My family is loving it!! Thanks for the recipe♥️

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Dina! It's 1/6 of the recipe. I know this isn't exactly precise, but it's the best that my recipe card's built-in nutrition calculator will do (I am not a trained nutritionist and do not feel comfortable doing any calculations beyond that). It's just meant to give you a rough idea, so you can decide whether to make the recipe or not, and if you need more precise figures, it's best to weight the ingredients yourself. Hope you enjoy the recipe if you decide to try it! 🙂

      Reply

  18. Kenya says

    I made a vegetarian version of this. Swapped out the beef for extra firm tofu and the cream cheese for homemade cashew cream. It was absolutely delicious!

    Reply

  19. Sarah says

    5 stars
    Delish. I just made this and am eating it right now. It’s so good! The only thing I was confused about was the draining of the meat. I ended up needing to put oil in the pan for the beef but didn’t have anything to drain (maybe cause I got 15% fat? I dont know?)but it tastes good that way.
    I maybe should have waited a bit before adding the cheese in, I think there’s ways to have it melt in more gradually to avoid the tiny clumps.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Sarah!! I'm so glad you liked it. I'll update the recipe instructions to be more clear re: draining the beef. Yes, if the beef was lean enough, you don't have to drain it. Your cream cheese may have been a bit cold, so that can make it take a bit longer to dissolve in.

      Reply

  20. Rosemary says

    This looks amazing! I found your recipe from Julia Pacheco’s YouTube channel. I was wondering if I can season the beef with a packet of taco seasoning. I have a lot of those lying around! Thank you!

    Reply

  23. Tammy says

    I love making taco soup! I use roasted tomatoes and roasted corn to pop the flavor. Instead of cream cheese, I use a can of nacho cheese, or jar of queso cheese. Yum!!!!

    Reply

  24. Leah says

    5 stars
    Excellent soup and very easy to throw together!! I dont eat dairy so I used Kite Hill dairy free cream cheese and it worked great! Thanks for the yummy recipe.

    Reply

  25. Star says

    Looking forward to making this recipe tomorrow. Are the nutritional facts at the end of the recipe for all 6 servings or is that per serving?

    Reply

  27. Nathaniel says

    5 stars
    Made this recipe with ground venison w/ 20% bacon fat instead of the ground beef. Also added the 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne for extra kick. Ended up pressure canning it into pint jars for quick and easy single serve lunches. Let me tell ya. DELICIOUS. Will be using this recipe for canning taco soup in the future.

    Reply

    • Nathaniel says

      I pressure canned this recipe and it yielded exactly 6 pints. So, if the recipe says 6 servings, then each serving would be 1 pint.

      Reply

  30. Lee Ann Smith says

    This was so good! I made as written and added 1/2 of a zucchini chopped up that I needed to use. It was a good addition I think and would do that again. However, with or without my added zucchini this will be my new taco soup recipe! Well done.

    Reply

  31. Cindy says

    5 stars
    Really enjoyed this! I added extra liquid beforehand, knowing that often times these cream cheese things end up pasty and thick. Avoid that temptation. 🙂 There is NO need to add extra liquid, it would cook up perfectly as written. Appreciated that it's a stove top recipe. A keeper. Thank you!

    Reply