This Instant Pot Taco Soup recipe is an easy weeknight dinner, that’s full of all your favorite Mexican flavors. Serve with cheese, sour cream and avocado!
The Best Taco Soup Recipe
Hi everyone! I’m Jennifer from Deliciously Sprinkled and I’m SOOO excited to share this delicious Instant Pot Taco Soup recipe with all of you today!
With the holiday’s in full swing, it seems like we are just so busy that I don’t have time to make dinner and I’m really sick of eating out all the time. So I decided I was going to start using my Instant Pot that I got for my birthday to hopefully help me make dinner quicker and easier.
Well you guys, I seriously LOVE my Instant Pot. After I got over the first initial intimidation of it, I learned that it’s really so simple to use and it’s so nice that I can have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes.
So if you’re like me and just got an Instant Pot and don’t know what to make in it, this easy taco soup is the perfect recipe to try first. My family loves this soup, my husband said he could eat this everyday!
Taco Soup Ingredients
This Instant Pot taco soup uses surprisingly few ingredients to achieve its rich flavor. For this easy soup recipe, you’ll need olive oil, ground beef, onion, canned corn, pinto beans, Rotel (a mixture of diced tomatoes and green chilies), diced tomatoes, ranch seasoning mix, taco seasoning, and beef broth.
Note that you’ll be using dry ranch seasoning and NOT ranch dressing. Ranch seasoning comes in small packets, and you can usually find them in the spice aisle.
How to Make Taco Soup in an Instant Pot
One of my favorite things about the Instant Pot is that you can saute meat and veggies right in the pot, so there’s no need to dirty a bunch of different pots and pans. You’ll first need to saute the ground beef and onions together until browned.
After you’ve browned the meat, just dump the corn, beans, rotel, diced tomatoes, ranch seasoning mix, taco seasoning, and beef broth into the pot. Stir and then set the Instant Pot to the soup setting for 20 minutes.
Once the soup is done, serve with your favorite toppings.
Our Favorite Taco Soup Toppings
You can top your taco soup with anything you’d put on a regular taco! Some of our favorite taco soup toppings include:
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- Fritos
- Pickled jalapeños
- Avocado
- Diced tomato
- Hot sauce
- Chopped onion
- …and more!
What to Serve with Taco Soup
This Instant Pot taco soup is incredibly hearty as is, but it’s nice to serve something alongside it. A few of our favorite sides to serve with this taco soup are:
- Sweet Cornbread
- Grilled Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad
- Frito Salad
- Mexican Street Corn (Elote)
- Mexican Fried Rice
Can I Make Taco Soup in a Slow Cooker?
Absolutely! To make this easy taco soup in a slow cooker, you’ll need to brown the meat and onions in a skillet before transferring the mixture to a slow cooker. Dump in the rest of the ingredients, then let the taco soup cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.
Can I Make Taco Soup with Ground Turkey?
Yes, both ground turkey and ground chicken would work well in this taco soup recipe. You’d still want to use beef broth though, since it adds so much flavor to the soup!
Can I Freeze Taco Soup?
Definitely. Instant Pot taco soup freezes incredibly well. You’ll first need to let it cool to room temperature, and then you can store it in freezer-safe bags or jars. When you’re ready to enjoy the frozen soup, simply set it in the fridge to thaw overnight.
Tips for Making Instant Pot Taco Soup
When making taco soup in the Instant Pot, make sure to factor in the amount of time your machine needs to build up and release the pressure. We always forgot to do that when we first started cooking with an Instant Pot, so dinner was on the table late a few times!
This is a fairly flexible recipe, so you’re welcome to swap out some of the ingredients based on what you have on hand. You can use different kinds of beans, omit the corn, and so on to suit your preferences.
If you prefer your homemade taco soup on the spicy side, add in a dash of hot sauce (either to the whole pot of soup, or just into your bowl). A little goes a long way, so be careful!
Read more: Have you heard about our Instant Pot Cheat Sheet? It has all the details for cooking the basics in your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Taco Soup
Description
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 pounds Ground Beef
- 1 Medium Onion, chopped
- 1 can Corn, 15.25 oz.
- 1 can Pinto Beans, 16 oz., drained and rinsed
- 1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, 10 oz.
- 2 cans Diced Tomatoes, 14.5 oz.
- 1 packet Dry Ranch Seasoning Mix
- 2 packets Taco Seasoning
- 2 1/2 cups Beef Broth
Instructions
FOR THE INSTANT POT:
- Set the instant pot to "Saute" and add olive oil.
- Once hot, add the ground beef and onions, cook until meat is browned.
- Turn off instant pot and drain meat.
- Put the meat back into the instant pot.
- Add corn, beans, rotel, diced tomatoes, ranch seasoning and taco seasoning.
- Add beef broth and stir.
- Place the lid on and set the valve to "Sealed".
- Press the "Soup" button and set timer for 20 minutes.
- Once the soup is done, turn valve to "Quick Release".
- Serve soup with shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream and Fritos.
FOR THE SLOW COOKER:
- Heat a pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Once hot, add the meat and the onions. Cook until meat is browned. Drain.
- Add meat and onions to the slow cooker. Add corn, beans, rotel, diced tomatoes, ranch seasoning and taco seasoning. Add beef broth and stir.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Serve soup with shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream and Fritos.
Wendy
Super easy and super tasty! Topped with shredded cheese, crushed tortillas, and cilantro.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Wendy!!
Joe Thompson
I hate this website with its crappy ads, pointless stories, and missing recipes.
Sweet Basil
Hi Joe! I’m sorry for your frustration! There is a convenient “Jump to Recipe” button at the beginning of every post that will take you straight to the recipe card if the recipe is all you are after. You can save or print the recipe from there.
Pamela
This site has the best, most original recipes I have seen on the internet. Love it.
Sweet Basil
Thank you Pamela!! XOXO!
Carrie
Hello! This recipe looks great. What size Instant Pot did you use?
Sweet Basil
We have a 6qt Instant Pot.
jayne larose
I made this and its a yummy recipe!! I just wanted to know in the nutrition facts it says a serving is one bowl. Wondering if you mean one cup? Thanks.
Sweet Basil
Yes, it’s about 1-1.25 cups of soup.
CP
I have a pretty dumb question. I have never used a pressure cooker before and I have an off-brand one that has a “stew” button but no “soup” button. Are these the same thing?
Sweet Basil
Hi Catie! I’m not family with other brands but I would imagine it would be the same thing. You could also just do Manual for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
Wendy
I never leave reviews, but this recipe was delicious and so easy! I just got my instant pot but have had a crockpot for forever. I’m so excited to be able to do things I love to do in the crockpot much faster in the IP. I was too nervous to freehand like I do in the crockpot since I’m not familiar with how much liquid to lose, time, setting, etc.
I subbed corn for a can of black beans. I used chili rotel and fire roasted garlic tomatoes because who hates more flavor?! This was DELICIOUS and I will definitely be making again.
Sweet Basil
Yay! Thanks for the feedback Wendy! So glad you enjoyed it!
Lisa
I have tried to make taco soup in my instant pot several times now, and every time I get the burn notification with it scorching slightly. I’ve tried it with the soup setting and the manual setting. I’ve even tried adding more broth to make it less thick.
Sweet Basil
I’m so sorry this keeps happening! It seems like some Instant Pots are more sensitive than others. You could try browning the meat in on the stove in a different pan.
Deb
*****Really great recipe! I added 1 can of green chilies and used 3 T each of taco seasoning and ranch powder ( I dont buy packets). I added a handful of cilantro to pot after cooking. I will make this often as my husband raved over it too.
Sweet Basil
Love to hear this Deb! I love the addition of more green chiles!
Doug G
Never one to comment , but this was really great. Also never one to change a recipe and mention it because of the great taste they usually have… with that said… great , quick recipe. I did use Ranch Style beans “with jalapeños” and the Ready for Chili diced tomatoes… gave it a good Louisiana kick….
Sweet Basil
There you go! We are all about altering recipes to make them just how we like them! Thanks for taking time to leave us a comment, Doug!
Jewel
I got an instant pot for my birthday but haven’t used it yet. I usually make soup in my crock pot. Can I make the soup in the instant pot and then leave it in there for several hours like I would my crock pot?
Sweet Basil
Yes, just push “warm” when it’s done cooking.
Bonnie Bonds
Can I use chicken instead of beef?
Sweet Basil
Absolutely!!
Shamady
This recipe is so tasty! I am making it for a potluck at work tomorrow!
Sweet Basil
Yum! It is always a hit in our house! How did it go over at work??
Jessica
What’s the calorie count?
Sweet Basil
Shoot! We are on it! Thank you for lettings us know the nutritional information is missing!
Kim
About to make this for the super bowl but not sure about can sizes for all items?
Jennifer
Hey Kim! I just updated the recipe to include the can sizes. Enjoy! 🙂
Amanda
I would love to make this, however I’m wondering if I could possibly purée the tomatoes so they aren’t in chunks?? My kids don’t really care for chunky bits of tomato. Do you think it would change he outcome of the recipe too much?
Sweet Basil
Oh absolutely! That would work great! You can even leave them out if you prefer. 🙂
Jade
WHat size of canned tomatoes do you use
Kate
This was wonderful, thank you! However, the total time is NOT 30 minutes. Why do recipes not include at least an estimated time for the pressure to build? The pressure on this took a solid 20 minutes to build up, making total time 50 minutes. Just fyi for future recipes you post. New instant pot owners struggle with this! 😊
Sweet Basil
Thanks for the note Kate. I wonder why ours doesn’t take that long to build pressure? Ours starts and is done in almost half the time. I’ll make a note in case there’s a difference in pots I wasn’t aware of. Thank you so much for pointing that out!
Katy
Same with me! Started wishing I had just thrown it in the crock pot earlier. 😉 I’ll know for next time and allow more time to build the pressure.
Sweet Basil
Oh dear! What model do you have?
Trichia
So you don’t drain the grease from browning the hamburger meat?
Sweet Basil
If there’s a lot to be drained then you can do that.
Serena
Do you drain your beans and corn? Thx!
Sweet Basil
It will work either way. 🙂
shawnna
hey girl- this soup looks amazing!