Hi! Elizabeth here. Thanks for stopping by! I’ve been thinking a lot about Anna’s post about food rules from last week. So many of our clients come to us with a lifetime of unhelpful, rigid rules around food. A big part of our work as registered dietitians and child feeding experts is guiding them to establish new, flexible, useful rules or guidelines.
Like Anna, I had similar, unrealistic rules about food when my girls were very young. Those rules about organic, local, in-season, etc, etc were impossible to follow without feeling like my head was going to spin off! Thankfully, I have greatly relaxed those rules.
All meals don’t have to be made from scratch
One guideline I use now is that I don’t have to make everything we eat. I love to cook, and most food cooked at home tastes better than what you buy at the store. But we can’t live with me trying to cook everything! I remind myself and my clients that it’s completely fine to buy pre-made, pre-packaged foods.
All meals don’t have to be made from scratch with a LOOOOONG list of ingredients. I encourage clients to ask themselves, “What can I fix to eat that isn’t complicated and that will meet my (or my family’s) nutritional needs?”
Anna’s post also got me thinking about taco black bean soup and my beliefs about pre-made, packaged seasoning mixes. I don’t love them. In part because I don’t think they taste great. I prefer the way homemade seasoning mixes taste (with the exception of Jane’s Crazy Mixed Up Salt!)
As you likely know, most black bean taco soup recipes (this one included) typically call for packets of taco seasoning mix and ranch dressing mix. If I weren’t willing to be flexible about homemade vs. pre-made, I likely never would have made this soup! It quickly became a family favorite.
Why You’ll Love Taco Soup with Beans
- It only takes 30 minutes to make, so it’s a perfect easy meal for busy weeknights!
- It’s made primarily of basic ingredients that tend to be pantry staples.
- The addition of black beans gives this easy soup more fiber and nutrients. (And if you like black beans, you’ll also like our sweet potato and black bean tacos).
- You can top it with your favorite taco toppings, such as avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, and sour cream.
- Make a simple salad to go with it. And you’re all set!
- There are always leftovers for another night or lunches, and this taco soup with ranch dressing freezes and reheats well.
I’d never even heard of a taco soup recipe with ranch dressing until we had it during a recent visit to see my husband’s parents. How is it possible I’d never heard of it?!?! Honestly, I wonder if I had come across it in the past and dismissed it because of my rule about pre-made, store-bought seasoning mixes.
Whatever the reason, we all enjoyed the taco soup my mother-in-law made. I asked for the recipe and began making black bean taco soup with ranch packet, which quickly became a go-to meal, especially during the winter months.
Ingredients to make the soup
- Olive oil
- Canned black beans
- Canned corn
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Onion
- Taco seasoning
- Rach dressing seasoning packet
- Ground beef
Substitutions
- Can you substitute ground turkey for ground beef? Definitely! Substitute 1 pound of ground turkey for the ground beef. Cook the ground turkey as you would the ground beef for about 5 minutes or until it’s browned.
- Can I make this soup vegetarian? Sure! Just omit the ground beef and add two more cans of beans to the soup pot. It might be fun to add different types of beans.
- What beans can you use in this easy taco soup recipe? Any beans for taco soup you like. A few that you might use in place of black beans are light or dark kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans, cannellini beans, or adzuki beans.
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Steps to Make This Easy Taco Soup Recipe with Ranch Dressing
1. Sauté a small diced onion in 1 tsp olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat to medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
2. Sauté the ground beef on medium to medium-high heat until it’s no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3. Drain and rinse the canned black beans and corn. Add them to the cooked ground beef and onions along with taco seasoning, ranch packet, water, and salt and pepper.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Seasoning for Taco Soup with Black Beans
I typically make homemade taco seasoning mix. I love Alton Brown’s Taco Potion 19 but have adapted it for my family’s tastes. When I make this soup, I often use my homemade taco seasoning along with a packet of ranch seasoning. And for those times I don’t have any homemade taco mix, I’m so glad I have some packets on hand!
What to Serve with Taco Soup with Beans
You can serve the soup on its own with your favorite toppings, such as sour cream, grated cheese (cheddar or Monterey jack), diced avocado, fresh cilantro, chopped green onion, and lime wedges.
There are lots of sides you can serve taco black bean soup with, including cornbread (store-bought, made from Jiffy mix, or homemade), sliced cucumber, and avocado with a little lime juice and salt, your favorite rice, nachos, guacamole, and corn chips, tortilla chips and salsa, fresh fruit salad, or a mixed green salad with cucumber, avocado, and a bottled cilantro vinaigrette.
Recipe FAQs
Definitely! You’ll be so glad you did. Who doesn’t love to be able to pull dinner from the freezer and simply thaw and reheat? Allow the soup to cool. You can cool it in a large bowl over an ice bath (ice and water in a bowl big enough to hold the bowl your soup is in). Place it in a freezer-safe air tight container, and label the time (I like to use masking tape and a Sharpie marker to write the date and food). If using plastic food storage bags, remove any extra air from the bag and place bags flat in the freezer so they take up less room and you can easily stack them.
Allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or thaw it according to your microwave instructions.
Place the soup in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
More freezable kid-friendly meals
Black Bean Taco Soup with Ranch Dressing
Black Bean Taco Soup with Ranch DressingIngredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion peeled and chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3-15 oz cans of black beans drained
- 1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1-15 oz can of corn drained
- 2 1/2 tbsp homemade taco seasoning or 1 packet of taco seasoning mix
- 1 packet ranch dressing seasoning mix
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Add 1 tsp olive oil and chopped onion to a large pot or Dutch oven and place over medium high heat. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the pan. Cook on medium heat to – medium-high heat until no longer pink – about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium-high – high and bring to a boil. Then turn down to medium – medium low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Serve in soup bowls along with your favorite taco toppings.
We’re Elizabeth & Anna!
It’s great to have you here. We’re registered dietitians and we share tips to support you in raising kids with a healthy relationship with food.
I am going to make this !!! Thank you for another easy, midweek meal that my kids will love .
Yay! Let me know what you think of it.