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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!
  • Sliced 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 (14.5- ounce) cans fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 (10.75-ounce) can tomato soup
  • 1 (10.75-ounce) can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 (4.25-ounce) cans sliced olives, drained
  • 1 (10.75-ounce) can corn, drained
  • 1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning

Instructions 

  • In a large pot, add the ground turkey and cook over medium-high heat until cooked through and no longer pink.
  • Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato soup, dark kidney beans, diced olives, corn, and taco seasoning to the pot. Stir to combine.
  • Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Enjoy the soup warm with your favorite toppings!

Video

Notes

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

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcalCarbohydrates: 0.3gProtein: 11gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 54mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 0.04gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 56IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg

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. Made this the other day right before bad weather hit, and it was PERFECT to eat for a few days straight. Very good, healthy & easy. This will definitely be a staple in my recipe collection. Thank you for sharing this! 🙂

  2. I have a gluten intolerance and was wondering if I could use stewed tomatoes instead of the soup? Just wondering if that would work. Thanks–this looks like a great option for me. Soups are difficult to find when you are gluten intolerant and this one sounds delicious and healthy.

  3. Made this last night. I omitted the olives since I don’t like them and it turned out amazing! Very delicious! Super simple. A perfect meal for fall.

  4. This is soooo easy and delicious. I use the leanest ground beef instead. I also top mine with diced red oinions and a few jalepeno’s and low fat sour cream. My husband and son love crushed tortilia chips as well. Thanks Alyssa, keep up the great work! Quick and low fat meals are hard to come by that taste great.

  5. Oh.My.Goodness!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I just made it and it is delicious! I will definitely be making this again.

  6. Looking forward to making this! I saw an earlier post asking if this can be a crockpot dish. Has anyone tried that? P.S. what’s with the rude comment above?!?! Geez, lady.

  7. For step 2, do you add the cans to the turkey or do you prepare it seperately and add everything together after?

    Please and thanks. 🙂 Can’t wait to try this!

    1. I just brown the turkey in the pot and once cooked I add all of the cans to it! So easy and good… ummm I want some right now!! Let me know how you like it! 🙂

  8. Alyssa,
    This soup looks delicious. I love soup this time of year and am always looking for new recipes. I’m sure my family will LOVE this one. Thanks for sharing at Creative Thursday 🙂
    Michelle

  9. For those worried about sodium from canned foods, they do make LOW-SODIUM tomato soup….just use common sense and buy that and stop complaining! For God’s sake…bitch, bitch. bitch when a recipe gift is given to you!

  10. Quick question…I am guessing that you drain the corn and beans, but I wanted to make sure. Sounds great! Can’t wait to try it!

      1. Could you add to the recipe… “drained.”

        I hate having to read through comments to find out recipe fixes.

        Thanks … 🙂

  11. Olives are very calorie intensive, and canned soup and veggies have so much salt – so it would really be helpful if the nutrition information was included so we could ‘see’ how skinny it is.

    1. Here is what I did when I made it 2 nights ago. I added up every can I put in and also the turkey meat in calories. The recipe made 8.5 cups. I divided the calories by 8.5. It made it 265 calories a serving. It was skinnied up a little reducing the calories by using turkey meat and low sodium taco seasoning. Right now I don’t provide the nutritional information on my blog but I may in the future. This is just a fun blog to share my recipes and those that I find with others and keeping them easy and delicious for busy families. If you want me to remove the skinny from the picture to make yourself feel better about it I will, but I consider anything that you can make quickly and easily and have it under 300 calories a serving a skinny recipe. Hope this helps! 🙂

    2. what would the calories per cup be without olives? I love love love this recipe, but I keep the olives out, I also add i sm chopped onion and a tsp of dried cilantro

    1. I am so glad you liked it! Isn’t it super easy and delicious!! We love it! Hope you have a great day! Thanks for commenting!

  12. Yum! I have had taco soup once before. Loved it. I will be making this recipe for sure. Perfect for Fall. Thanks for sharing.

    ( I invite you over to my new blog The Old Red Chair. Please feel free to follow back or comment.)