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Skinny Taco Soup is jam packed with flavor and texture and is a comforting hearty meal your whole family will love!  The meat and beans are super filling and the spices from the seasonings make your taste buds smile.

It’s the perfect complete meal all in one bowl! If you are like me and you love soup that you can throw together quickly any night of the week.. 8 can chicken taco soup recipe, taco soup or easy cheesy taco soup

Skinny taco soup in a white bowl garnished with chips and cheese.

Skinny Taco Soup

Skinny Taco Soup has been a favorite of mine for years.   A friend shared the recipe with me once when I was first living on my own and had to figure out how to feed myself.  It was a great way to start off because it is so simple and I was so happy I was able to make such a delicious meal without burning anything!  The flavors were so comforting to me with the tomato base and hearty meat and beans with a hint of sweetness from the corn.  It makes enough to feed a crowd and it is also great leftover!
Flash forward to years later, and now Skinny Taco Soup is our family’s go-to taco soup recipe. I know there are a lot of taco soup recipes out there that claim they are the world’s best and so life-changing, but I think this is the only one you need. It makes a lot and they are always asking me to bring it to family events. Even in the summer time. I have never tried a better taco soup recipe and I don’t think I ever will. It is so easy, hearty, and delicious. The best part is that it is good for you! I can eat an entire cup for 265 calories (I added up every ingredient)! And it fills me up! I crave this soup. Definitely my favorite soup ever!

Ingredients to Make Taco Soup:

  • Ground lean turkey meat: I love when I find a recipe that I can use ground turkey meat! It is so low calorie and low fat while still high protein!!
  • Diced tomatoes: I used the fire roasted
  • Taco seasoning: For more flavor I like to add 2 packets!
  • Tomato soup: The comforting tomato flavors give a creamy base to this taco soup.
  • Dark kidney beans: An excellent plant-based source of protein that some say may aid in weight loss. Yes please!
  • Diced olives: These salty and tangy olives add flavor, but if you don’t love them you can definitely leave them out!
  • Corn: The corn gives this turkey soup a hint of sweetness.

Optional Ingredients:

  • Jalapeno – if you want to make it mild I’ve also made it with 1/3 cup chopped bell pepper instead.
  • Green chilies – Similar flavors to jalapeno, but more mild.
  • Dry ranch dressing mix – Most dry ranch packets include flavors from onion powder, onion flakes, dill, parsley, garlic powder, salt, pepper and dried chives. So, it will add a lot of flavor to your soup if you choose to add it.
  • Canned black beans and pinto beans – When I don’t have pinto beans I use great northern beans. Or you could just use 2 cans of black beans.

Let’s Heat Some Soup

  1. Brown the ground turkey meat: I love to cook mine in this skillet.
  2. Add all of the cans: Simply dump all the ingredients into the pot. It doesn’t get easier than that!
  3. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes.
  4. Serve: Its more than enough to share so dish it out and enjoy!

The Recipe Critic Pro Tip:

  • Add an extra packet of taco seasoning to make it extra taco-y!
  • Do not add the water from the tomato soup can if you are like me and enjoy your soup a little thicker. If you want it more runny, add the water.
  • Be sure to drain and rinse beans so soup isn’t overly salty.
  • When I cook soups with ground turkey, I like to give it an extra flavor and color boost by adding the spices before I add the turkey to the rest of the soup ingredients.
  • First, I cook the turkey and diced onions in a large skillet until done, breaking it up with a fork to make sure there are no large clumps of meat. Then I sprinkle the meat mixture with my spices and then cook and stir for another three to four minutes.
  • The chili powder, paprika, and black pepper especially work to give the meat a nice, rich color so you can fake out the family—they’ll never guess that it’s turkey instead of beef!

The process of making skinny taco soup.

How to switch up your Skinny Taco Soup:

Add all your favorite taco soup toppings and customize your meal just the way you like it. Mix it up or keep it plain! These variations are great ideas to get you started, just remember to be creative and enjoy your taco soup recipe!

  • Serve with: Avocado, sour cream, tortilla strips, lime wedges, Guacamole, chopped cilantro, salsa, rice, shredded mexican cheese, diced green or white onions, Diced green or white onions, Jalapeños
  • Swap out: ground turkey for ground beef – use lean ground beef for best results. I go for 85% or 90% Angus.
  • Slow cooker? Yes! To make your skinny taco soup in the Crock Pot just brown the onions and beef, and then garlic, drain fat and add mixture to the slow cooker. Then add tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce and spices. Cover and cook on low heat 5 – 6 hours. Stir in corn and beans and heat through (then add cilantro and lime if using).
  • Vegetarian option: If you wanted to make it vegetarian you could use lentils or another can of beans.

Storing Taco Soup:

  • To freeze, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator then reheat on the stove or microwave.
  • I recommend freezing this soup in jars or individual containers so it’s easy to thaw out exactly how much you need.
  • When reheating, too thin it out simply add more broth or water.

Skinny taco soup in a white bowl garnished with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

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Skinny Taco Soup

5 from 1 vote
By: Alyssa Rivers
This is our family's go-to taco soup recipe.  I know there are a lot of taco soup recipes out there that claim they are the world's best and so life-changing, but I think this is the only one you need.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8 people

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound ground lean turkey meat
  • 2 cans or 1 big can of diced tomatoes I used the fire roasted
  • 1 taco sesaoning or package low sodium taco seasoning, I used 2
  • 1 can tomato soup
  • 1 can dark kidney beans
  • 3 small cans diced olives
  • 1 can corn

Instructions 

  • Brown the ground turkey meat in a skillet.
  • Add all of the cans into the pot.
  • Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes.
  • That's it!  So easy!  Enjoy

Video

Notes

Updated on April 17, 2020
Originally Posted on November 6, 2012

Nutrition

Calories: 106kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 11gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 221mgPotassium: 314mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 173IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 2mg

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

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

 

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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32 Comments

  1. I’m curious if you could share the brands of ingredients you used. My nutrition calculations are significantly different than yours, so I’m wondering if I’m just using the wrong products. Thanks in advance for any insight. 🙂

    1. Hello! These nutrition calculations are Just estimated! They are estimated based on the food itself, not the specific brand. So it will definitely vary depending on what brands or type of food that you use!

  2. 5 stars
    I came across your recipe today after I’d received an email regarding homemade seasonings (talk about surfing!) It’s a cool spring day, so I decided to make it. It is so delicious, and SO easy!! I did use frozen corn (from my garden last year) because I didn’t have canned, and it worked perfectly. Served it with tortilla strips and cheese for hubby, straight up for me! Yummy!!

  3. Super easy and delicious! I really dislike black olives so I added a 15.25oz can of drained and rinsed black beans instead and it came out great. I dished out single servings for freezing and they reheated pretty well. I’ll definitely be keeping these ingredients on hand.

  4. Great recipe, thank you very much. I tried it with canned enchilada sauce (mild) in place of tomato soup (1/2 cup 90 cal). Ench sauce (1/2 cup 50 cal) is lighter than tomatoe soup but I’m sure it was not as thick as yours. Just something for those of us that are really trying to trim :). Truly a keeper, thanks again, keep ’em coming!

  5. Had this for dinner tonight. Very good. I assumed since it didn’t say to, that I was not supposed to drain the corn and beans so I didn’t. I usually read through the reviews before trying a new recipe, but didn’t do that this time. It still turned out great. Maybe more soupy than it was supposed to be but my family loved it. We crushed tortilla chips in and added cheese and sour cream. I thought it would remind me of chili but it didn’t at all. It was so easy snd quick to make. This will be added to my dinner rotation in the future.