This Taco Soup With Ranch Dressing is truly the easiest soup recipe you’ll find. And without sacrificing flavor. Simple with ingredients, about 15 minutes worth of prep work, 15 minutes cook time, it’s a 30-minute meal your family will love. A perfect dinner recipe when you don’t feel like cooking. You’ve got to give this one a try.
If you love hearty Mexican style soups try my Chorizo Soup with cabbage. Or this rich and robust Cowboy Chili.
This Taco Soup Recipe with Ranch Dressing is a recipe that I’ve had for well over 50 years. A recipe from the convenience era of the 60’s, and a soup recipe that I still make today … over and over … and over.
My mom had this recipe in her recipe box, in it’s original form, clipped from what looked like a commercial package. I’m guessing the packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.
Back in the day we called this soup Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing or 7 Can Taco Soup.
Taco Soup is extremely kid friendly. And very mom friendly because there’s hardly any chopping required. You’ll spend more time opening those 7 cans than chopping the onion and garlic.
Good ol’ fashioned Taco Soup to the rescue, it’s such a great recipe when you need dinner in a jiff, and I mean a New York Minute jiff. It feeds a crowd, and it’s so incredibly easy. Its what cook when you don’t feel like cooking.
Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing is an oldie but goodie recipe that’s flat out delicious.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Nothing fancy here, just a quick visit to the canned food aisle and you’re in business.
- 1 Can Pinto Beans
- 1 Can Black Beans
- 1 Can Kidney Beans
- 1 Can Yellow Corn: Or substitute an equal amount of frozen corn.
- 1 Can Chopped Tomatoes: I like Red Gold Petite Diced Tomatoes. As the description indicates, the tomatoes are of a smaller chop, therefore making them more appealing in soups. If you have a can of large chunked chopped tomatoes, use kitchen shears to chop them into smaller pieces. Just open the can and insert the shears. No need to dirty an extra bowl.
- 2 Cans Beef Broth
- 1 Sweet Onion
- 2 Cloves Garlic, or garlic powder.
- 2 Pounds lean ground beef. A fat ratio of 90% to 10% will still give you enough fat for flavor without it being greasy.
- 1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
- 1 Packet of your favorite Taco Seasoning Mix. Or substitute two tablespoons of Homemade Taco Seasoning.
Ingredient Substitutions
One of great things about this taco soup is the ability to customize it and make it your own.
- Don’t like Kidney beans? Switch them out for a white bean such as Cannellini or Great Northern beans.
- Use a can of white corn or even hominy in place of yellow corn.
- Want to make it spicier? Switch out the diced tomatoes for a can of Rotel Tomatoes with green chile peppers.
- If you don’t eat beef, ground chicken or ground turkey will work well here. Ground chicken breast is very lean. You’ll have to add a little oil when frying it.
How To Make It, The Process
It’s so easy to make Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing that it will become a Fall and Winter staple. Protein packed and full of flavor, it’s hearty and filling. So grab your can opener and let’s get started.
- Step 1: Place a large colander in the sink. Open the cans of beans and corn, place in the colander all at once to drain. No need to rinse. In the meantime, chop the onion and garlic.
- Step 2: crumble the ground beef and cook until about half way done. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Step 3: Add in the drained beans and corn, undrained tomatoes, the cans of beef broth and stir well.
- Step 4: Add the packet of ranch dressing and the packet of taco seasoning, stir and add the water.
- Step 5: Simmer for 15 minutes or until flavors are blended. Done! Serve piping hot.
Questions You Might Have
You can. But you’ll need to brown the ground beef before adding the ingredients to the slow cooker. Since the canned ingredients are already cooked, I don’t recommend using the crock pot for cooking taco soup. Use it only as a tool to keep soup warm if you’re making it for a party. I’m thinking Super Bowl or a Sunday family gathering.
Yes. Everything about this soup is freezable. This recipe makes a very large batch, so store any leftovers in a freezer safe container. It will keep for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and heat stovetop.
I’ve never made taco soup with anything other than Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning and dressing mix. Since this is the original recipe, I’d stick to using the dry seasoning packet.
No. This recipe as written is not spicy, and that’s what makes it so wonderfully kid-friendly. If you purchase a spicy taco seasoning mix, or add hot sauce, or jalapeno peppers, only then will you have a spicy taco soup.
Tips For Success
- You’ll notice there’s no salt and fresh ground pepper in the ingredient list. The seasoning packets and the canned ingredients can contain enough salt to adequately flavor this soup. Wait until finished cooking, taste and adjust by adding salt and pepper if needed.
- This makes a large batch of soup, so choose a large soup pan. A 6-quart pot will work well here.
- Choose a ground beef blend of 90% lean to 10% fat. That little bit of fat content will add enough fat to cook the onions and garlic. And the fat will make the soup more flavorful.
Toppings and Add-Ins
Even though this taco soup recipe is meant to be a quick week-night dinner miracle meal. If you have time to fuss, here are some great topping ideas.
- Slices of lime. A squeeze of fresh lime juice makes any Mexican style soup brighter with flavor.
- Chopped Avocado: Adding a creamy texture is always a good thing.
- Chopped Cilantro
- Corn Chips: I like to take a small hand full of yellow or white corn chips and give them a good crunch for a topping. Purchased tortilla strips also work well here.
- A dollop of Sour Cream is always a good choice.
- If you’re looking to add some heat, top Taco Soup with thin slices of Jalapeno Pepper or Pickled Jalapeno Peppers.
- A shake or two of your favorite hot sauce will shake things up.
- A scoop of Guacamole? Say yes please.
- Shredded Cheese: Add your favorite. White Cheddar, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Fiesta Jack, or Muenster cheese all work well here. Familiar with Cotija Cheese? It’s a Mexican crumbling cheese that your Taco Soup will love.
Pro Tip: Purchase good quality cheese and grate it yourself. Pre-grated cheese in bags includes additives to keep it from clumping, which will also compromise the melting factor. Grating cheese from a block of cheese will result in a creamier and more consistent melting experience. Plus, it’s less expensive.
Recipe For Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing
This simple Taco Soup gets a 5-star rating at our house. Ready in just about 30 minutes, its hearty with ground beef, canned beans, canned corn and tomatoes. Packets of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and Taco seasoning ramp up that flavor to a crazy-delicious level. A recipe from the same era that brought us Taco Salad with Doritos and Catalina Dressing … you’ve got to give this one a try.
Try serving this taco soup with my Cornbread Recipe with Creamed Corn.
More Easy Mexican Soup Recipes
- Sopa Ranchera, a delicious Southwestern Chicken Soup Recipe.
- Chicken Poblano Soup With Hominy, a rotisserie chicken makes this one a breeze.
- Simple New Mexico Pork Pozole: Traditional with pork roast and warming spices, a must have for your recipe database.
I consider Soup Recipes to be my speciality, so be sure to check out my Soup and Stew Category. You’ll find lots of comfort food recipes including one of the most popular on my site for Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Chile.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef 90% – 10% is a good blend.
- 1 cup sweet onion chopped, 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic chopped, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
- 15 ½ ounce pinto beans canned, drained
- 15 ½ ounce kidney beans canned, drained
- 15 ½ ounce black beans canned, drained
- 15 ½ ounce yellow corn canned, drained
- 15 ½ ounce chopped tomatoes canned, undrained
- 2 14.5 ounce Cans beef broth
- 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Seasoning 1 ounce package. Salad Dressing and Recipe Mix, on the dressing aisle
- 1 package Taco Seasoning 1 ounce
- 1 Cup water
Instructions
- Place a large colander in the sink. Open all cans of beans and corn, place in the colander all at once to drain.
- In the meantime, chop the onion and garlic.
- In a large Dutch Oven or soup pan crumble the ground beef and cook until about half way done. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add in the drained beans and corn, undrained tomatoes, the beef broth. Stir well.
- Sprinkle in The ranch dressing, taco seasoning and stir well. Add water.
- Simmer for 15 minutes or until flavors are blended. Sprinkle with some chopped raw onion and shredded cheese. Serve with corn chips.
Notes
-
- You’ll notice there’s no salt and fresh ground pepper in the ingredient list. The seasoning packets and the canned ingredients can contain enough salt to adequately flavor this soup. Wait until finished cooking, taste and adjust by adding salt and pepper if needed.
-
- This makes a large batch of soup, so choose a large soup pan. A 6 quart pot will work well here.
-
- Choose a ground beef blend of 90% lean to 10% fat. That little bit of fat content will add enough fat to cook the onions and garlic. And fat will make the soup more flavorful.
-
- Slices of lime. A squeeze of fresh lime juice makes any Mexican style soup brighter with flavor.
-
- Chopped Avocado: Adding a creamy texture is always a good thing.
-
- Chopped Cilantro:
-
- Corn Chips: I like to take a small hand full of yellow or white corn chips and give them a good crunch for a topping. Purchased tortilla strips also work well here.
-
- A dollop of Sour Cream is always a good choice.
-
- If you’re looking to add some heat, top Taco Soup with thin slices of Jalapeno Pepper or Pickled Jalapeno Peppers.
-
- A shake or two of your favorite hot sauce will shake things up.
-
- A scoop of Guacamole? Say yes please.
-
- Shredded Cheese:
Nutrition
7 Can Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing …It’s what’s for Dinner.
This recipe for Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing was originally published November of 2013 and updated March of 2024 with step by step instructions.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Even a novice cook will be able to prepare this soup and get lots of compliments.
There truly is nothing better than a quick and simple meal like this on a busy night… heck, on any night!!!
my kind of soup! cant complain about food since this is one of the drawing cards of living in Lebanon but I sure miss Mex and TexMex goodies and that’s an easy one to reproduce at home any old time!
Yum! This is the sort of thing Mom would make the night before Thanksgiving when everyone was showing up at odd hours. You could always count on a warm bowl of soup mo matter how late you got in.
Hi Lea Ann! This soup looks awesome! Exactly my kinda soup. A definite must try!
Wow, that is fast! And it looks so good!
You did well to pull such a good meal together when you were short on time– this doesn’t look like it was a last minute thought, looks like you planned all week to make it and enjoy it with football and friends!
One of my closest friends who died almost 4 years ago, loved this soup. In fact this was one of the only things she ever cooked (she wasn’t exactly Martha Stewart). Shortly after she died I blogged about her and said in it I how I wished I would have gotten her favorite taco soup recipe. Somehow her sister saw it and sent me the recipe, which is like yours. Little did I know, all I had to do was ask you for it. One of these days I’ll make it.
Sounds like just the answer to some of my “tired” days.
Sam
You bet Sam. It was my answer.
Can you have taco soup on Taco Tuesday?
Absolutely
When I was under the weather recently, we brought out a lot of these old favorites that we hadn’t made in 10 years or more. Easy and it brought back some memories.
Love this taco soup and you can’t beat the prep times.
I agree Chris. Sometimes those oldie but goodies are fun to bring back. And also sometimes a necessity.
Looking good!
Thanks Adam
for a fast meal this sure looks a lot better than the balony sandwich I would have come up with – 1 slice of bread with mustard, 1 slice of bread with mayo, 1 slice bologna, 1 slice cheese – should you ever need the recipe.
LOL, I love bologna sandwiches. However, yours is fancier. Mine is white bread, Miracle Whip and bologna. no mustard or cheese please. and always a leaf of Iceburg Lettuce.