Comfort Foods: Taco Soup (with vegan options)
When it comes to soup making Taco Soup is the perfect place to start both as a cook and as a parent trying to get your kids to try soup for the first time.
We make ours thick and eat it almost like a dip with tortilla chips and a variety of toppings: salsa, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, whatever sounds best to you - try it!
NOTE: Beans need to soak overnight - if you don't have time for this, you can replace with canned beans. We have people in our home with sensitive stomachs, and if the beans aren't prepared right - they get sick. If you have family members who get stomach pains when eating beans - it could be that they aren't being soaked and rinsed first. Learn more about the healthy benefits of soaking beans here.
I doubled the recipe to make enough for our family (currently 8 of us living in the house) to eat lunch & dinner for 2-3 days. But I will give ratios below so you can easily alter it for your family or group size.
This recipe can also easily be made vegan/vegetarian. I actually prefer it with out meat and make it that way 90% of the time. For those who want meat - any type of ground burger will do - we use venison or elk burger that we have harvested and ground ourselves because we like to know what is in our food.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of dried beans
- 29oz canned corn
- 29oz diced or stewed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup taco seasoning
- Salt to taste - I use about 1/4 - 1/3 when boiling the beans - you'll be surprised how much salt it takes to give them flavor.
- (optional) 1/2 lb to 1 lb ground meat of your choosing. I've used turkey, elk, deer, & beef all work fine.
Instructions
Step 1 - Soak your beans in water overnight
be sure to place them in a bowl large enough you can put 2x the water as beans, as the beans will soak the water up.
Step 2 - Drain and rinse the beans
Step 3 - Place beans in a large pot, cover with water, salt, and bring to a rolling boil.
8qt should be plenty for 1x this recipe - I've made a double batch in the video and had to move up to a larger stock pot.
Step 4 - let boil until tender - will take around 30 minutes or more.- If using meat - brown over medium heat while beans are boiling.
Step 5 - I drain my beans once more - but this step is optional and up to you.
Step 6 - add entire contents (liquid included) of corn and stewed tomatoes. & burger.
Step 7 - Cover with water once more
I just barely cover it because we like less broth. I also use the tomato and corn cans to fill it with water so I can rinse them and utilize the rest of the flavor - win/win
Step 8 - Bring Soup to a boil, reduce heat and let simmerI add a few more tsps of salt here for flavor
Step 9 - Serve with tortilla chips, your choice of toppings, and enjoy!
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