Instant Pot Taco Soup Recipe

This Instant Pot beef taco soup recipe is healthy, hearty, and delicious. Add your favorite toppings and it makes a fantastic meal!

Want to make a similar recipe in the slow cooker? Try my Crockpot taco soup recipe. Or try my creamy taco soup.

Well… it’s finally happened! I bought an Instant Pot. I asked my Instagram audience in a super-scientific poll if they would be interested in some Instant Pot recipes, and I got a resounding “yes”.

I’ve been on the fence for a while re: getting an Instant Pot. I’m often late to trends (and I don’t like my counter cluttered with appliances I don’t use), but I think that the IP will be around for a while.

Pressure cookers have always been around, but their popularity has been surging more and more now that the Instant Pot is here. I decided on an Instant Pot vs. a different kind of pressure cooker for a couple of reasons. 1) From my research it seemed to be very user-friendly. 2) It seemed to be the most popular one out there, so writing recipe instructions based on that particular brand will likely cast the widest net. I bought the third generation Instant Pot Lux model (it’s also a slow cooker), and I am very happy with it so far!

Don’t worry (especially if you’re not a pressure cooker fan), this blog isn’t going to turn into just Instant Pot recipes. People have asked me for them, though! So I am trying.

Why make soup in the Instant Pot?

I think Instant Pots are great for multi-tasking. Not just for things like dinner parties where your stove is monopolized, but for busy life in general. Before I got my Instant Pot, I didn’t realize it took time to get them to pressure or that you had to do a pressure release. So, the actual cooking time on many pressure cooker recipes is lightning-fast, but the pre-and post-cooking adds on time to the total recipe. BUT… this stuff is pretty hands-off. You can just set it and it’ll come up to pressure and release pressure by itself. You’re free to do other stuff while it’s cooking.

For those folks who don’t like standing by the stove, the Instant Pot is pretty handy. It’s sort of like a fast slow cooker if that makes any sense.

This pressure cooker taco soup recipe can definitely be made on the stove top, but I wanted to give it a go in the Instant Pot and it turned out nicely. And pressure cooking is great at preserving nutrients, so that’s a bonus too.

How to make Instant Pot taco soup

It’s easy! Brown your beef and some onions, add some broth, garlic, tomatoes, beans, corn and the taco spices. Let it cook and then top it with your favorite taco toppings.

How to top beef taco soup

You can skip the toppings, go crazy with them, or do something in the middle. I would suggest:

• Tortilla chips (leave off if you want this to be low-carb!)
• Mexican shredded cheese blend (mine had cheddar, queso quesadilla, and Monterey Jack)
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped avocado
• Lime wedges
• Greek yogurt or sour cream

More Instant Pot soup recipes you may like:

• Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup
• Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup (Thick & Creamy)
• Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup

I hope you love this Instant Pot beef taco soup recipe!

Questions? Ask me in the comments below.

5 from 2 votes

Instant Pot Taco Soup

By Natasha Bull

This Instant Pot taco soup recipe is healthy, hearty, and delicious. Add your favorite toppings and it makes a fantastic meal!

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Inactive time: 25 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 6

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 medium onion chopped
• ▢ 1-1.5 pounds extra lean ground beef
• ▢ 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies 
• ▢ 1 (12 ounce) can corn drained
• ▢ 1 (14 ounce) can black beans drained & rinsed
• ▢ 1 (14 ounce) can red kidney beans drained & rinsed
• ▢ 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes including juices
• ▢ 4 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ Salt & pepper to taste

Toppings (optional, to taste):

• ▢ Tortilla chips, Mexican shredded cheese blend, cilantro, lime wedges, sour cream, avocado, etc.

Instructions 

• Add the oil, beef, and onions to your Instant Pot. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Break up the meat with your spoon.
• Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the salt & pepper) to your pressure cooker. Put the lid on and make sure it's set to "sealing". Set your Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes (it'll take about 10-15 minutes for it to get up to pressure since there's a lot of stuff in the pot). 
• Once the pressure cooking has finished, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes and then do a quick release for the rest of the pressure if you're in a rush. 
• Meanwhile, prep toppings. 
• Season with salt & pepper as needed. Serve with toppings as desired. 

Notes

• "Inactive time" in this recipe indicates time needed for the Instant Pot to get up to pressure and to release pressure once cooking has finished. 
• I use this 6-quart Instant Pot.
• Alternate cooking method suggestions: If making this on the stove, I'd follow the same steps (but in a normal pot), and simmer the soup over medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes or so. For a slow cooker, you can choose to brown the meat first if desired, but you don't have to (but make sure you stir/break it up well - don't leave it as a block of meat). Add everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or 3-4 hours on high.
• 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: 372kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 902mg, Potassium: 1044mg, Fiber: 12g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 376IU, Vitamin C: 16mg, Calcium: 89mg, Iron: 7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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