Brown the meat and onion: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add ground meat and chopped onion with a little cooking oil. For less fat, use lean beef. Once browned, drain off any excess fat to keep the soup from being greasy.
10 ounce ground lean beef, cooking oil, 1 large yellow onion
Transfer to the crockpot: Transfer the browned meat and onion mixture to a 4.5-quart crockpot. This size works great, but any similar size will do just fine.
Add the spices and ingredients: Top the meat and onions with spices, salt, black pepper, and the remaining ingredients. Stir everything together, cover the crockpot, and set it to cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. The aroma will start to fill the kitchen!
1-2 tablespoon taco seasoning, 5 tablespoon canned green chilies, 1 can (15 ounce) crushed tomatoes, 1 can (15 ounce) rotel tomatoes, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 can (8 ounce) sweet corn, 1 an (15 ounce) kidney beans, 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, ½ teaspoon chili powder or chipotle powder, salt to taste, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, 1 ½ tablespoon ranch seasoning
Taste and adjust: After cooking, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed. Add more broth if the soup is thicker than desired for dipping.
Squeeze in lime juice: Before serving, squeeze the juice of half a lime into the soup for a burst of fresh flavor.
½ of a lime
Add the toppings: Serve the taco soup with corn tortilla chips, avocado, jalapeño slices, sour cream, and any favorite toppings. This soup is comfort food at its finest!
