My Whole30 Taco Soup is the 30-minute one-pot dinner solution that my kids love! It’s nice those meals that your kids look forward to and this hearty, almost chili-like soup is one of them. It’s fast, easy, and family-friendly! A delicious cozy soup option for a busy weeknight.
Why I Love This Whole30 Taco Soup
First, this soup works for a variety of dietary needs. It’s gluten-free and dairy-free, and leave out the beans to make it Whole30, Paleo and Keto. Second, it’s full of veggies AND kid-friendly! My kids have not even *noticed* that this one has cauliflower rice in it – blends right into the texture and flavor. That’s what I call a mom win!
Plus, it works great both on the stove and in an instant pot. A family favorite, we usually double it and enjoy the leftovers or freeze it. That’s right, it freezes great too!
Additionally, this is a soup we love to travel with. I make it ahead of time and freeze it. Frozen it can travel easily in a cooler in the car or on a plane. (Yes, liquids like soup, if frozen when you get on the plane, can be taken in a cooler as a carry-on!). We heat it up in the hotel microwave, over the fire while camping, or even at a gas station microwave on the road.
Other Whole30 Soups I Love
When it’s soup season, never fear – I have you covered with so many delicious options! ALL of these are Whole30, Paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free with various cooking options.
- Whole30 Buffalo Chicken Soup
- Whole30 Cauliflower Soup
- Tomato Chicken and Basil Soup
- Whole30 Budget Beef Stew
- Whole30 Chili
- Salsa Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- Ground beef – I usually use 93/7 or 85/15 leanness, but you can use whatever is accessible to you! And yes, you can substitute ground turkey or chicken, if that is your preference.
- Onion – Most onions will work here, I usually use yellow or white onion.
- Garlic – You can use fresh garlic cloves, that you mince. Or, grab a bottle of pre-chopped minced garlic (I find them by the produce section). Don’t have any fresh garlic? You can substitute 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic or garlic powder.
- Tomato sauce – Just basic tomato sauce, double checking there are no added sugar or unallowed additives if you are on a Whole30.
- Black beans – Optional to make this soup extra hearty and for additional protein. Be sure to leave out if you are on a Whole30, or need a Paleo or Keto option!
- Riced Cauliflower – You can use fresh or frozen, whatever you have on hand or is most affordable!
- Chili powder – I get my spices from the bulk bins of Winco or in bulk from Sam’s Club
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Salt – Traditional table salt works great here!
- Optional toppings: Avocado, chopped cilantro, jalapenos, homemade Plantain Chips or Tostones (if on a Whole30, or store-bought plantain or tortilla chips (if not on a Whole30).
How to Make It
The steps for making this soup are simple and quick! First, cook the ground beef with chopped onion and garlic in a large pot on the stove or in your Instant Pot on sauté. Then, add in all other ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or seal the Instant Pot and cook on the stew/soup setting for 20 minutes. Finally, we serve with plantain or tortilla chips, cilantro, and avocado (no chips if on Whole30 or Keto).
Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes can used ones with green chilies in them for a kick!
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1 15.5 oz can black beans optional, leave out for Whole30, Paleo or Keto
- 16 oz fresh or frozen riced cauliflower
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Toppings of choice Avocado, chopped cilantro, jalapenos, plantain or tortilla chips
Instructions
- Cook ground beef with chopped onion and garlic in a large pot on the stove or in your Instant Pot on sauté.
- Add in all other ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes, stiring occasionally, or seal Instant Pot and cook on stew/soup setting for 20 minutes. We serve with plantain or tortilla chips, cilantro and avocado (no chips if on Whole30 or Keto).
Notes
Can the taco soup be frozen?
It absolutely can! Freezes like a dream. Enjoy!
I just loved it!
I’ve been planning to make this soup for a while..today was the day! Wow; delish. The recipe is easy; used many pantry staples. the flavors are excellent and very filling. Everyone loved it. 🔥🙌🏼
There simply isn’t enough space on the internet to describe how AWESOME this recipe will be in your life. Double or triple batch to freeze! Modify it to meet your family or budget needs.
But for the love of all things yummy – MAKE THIS!’
Lol, I love this review! Thanks for the energy and love for this recipe – looks like you get why this is a regular in our home. Thank you! 💛
Made this last night. Had it for dinner past 2 nights. Absolutely delicious!!
I’m so happy it was an easy win! Thank you!
Delicious! I only had 1 lb of ground beef so I added more cauliflower and bone broth and little more seasonings. Kids loved it too!
If I did this in crockpot, would the caulirice be ok?
Yes! It wouldn’t be much different than the result in an instant pot or on the stove. It will get soft, but it’s a texture blended into the other flavors and textures so it works!
This recipe makes it on my meal plan every single week (my kids make the meal plan each week). I have one child that loves cauliflower, one that can take it or leave it and one that despises it, however they all three love this soup, including the cauliflower rice! My anti-cauliflower child said he can’t even taste it. I don’t do well with beans so I just have them on the side and people can add to their soup if they choose. Since I omit the beans, I just use two full pounds of ground beef. A few times I had some zucchini that needed used up and I chopped it and stuck it in the soup and was really good. Bonus veggies!! I make a huge batch of taco seasoning each month and usually I just use that in the soup in the place of the seasonings (pretty much the same anyway plus a few spices). Thank you again for a wonderful family-friendly recipe!
What a wonderful family win! How awesome they are rocking the cauliflower in it and you’ve also done zucchini in it. Wahoo and thank you!
I follow a real mix of Whole 30, paleo and vegan bloggers. Autumn’s recipes are by far my favorites! Maybe it’s because I have three sons? 🙂 But truly, the recipes are simple, use ingredients you likely have and are kid-approved. I didn’t have cauli rice tonight so I skipped the beans in the soup and made a pan of black beans and rice as a layer under the taco soup. Also threw in a cup of frozen chopped spinach at the end of simmering the soup, and no one noticed the greens. Delicious dinner!
Aw, thank you so much! I love that you are a boy mom too. Great modifications to make this work with what you had on hand!
This is delicious! We are not paleo or whole30, just like some healthier options. This has become one of my go-to, easy, quick to prepare dinners. Thank you so much!
I love that your family enjoyed this one Megan – that makes me happy! Thank you!
It was easy to put together, not too spicy for my non-spicy people and 3 out of 4 kids said they liked it! I’m going to print this recipe!
Yay, I’m so happy it was an easy win – thank you!
Autumn… I seriously love every recipe I’ve tried! The most recent one being Taco Soup. I made it for the first time on Friday… we loved it so much, I made it again on Sunday!
Aw Carol, you always have been such a wonderful and sweet supporter of my journey! You have been there since those first Whole30 potlucks! Thanks mama!
Finally made this taco soup! Just delicious. I see lots of potential, including feeding friends. I can tell it’s going to become more tasty tomorrow. Thank you. Straight-forward, delicious and nutritious.
This soup is delicious! My kids keep me busy so I’m always looking for recipes that can be prepped in the crockpot a day in advance, this soup worked beautifully! We loved it topped with avocado, lime & cilantro. Thank you!
Made this for the first time tonight. Incredibly easy and so delicious. This will definitely be part of our weekly rotation of meals!
This easy one is definitely a regular in our home. Wonderful that it will be in yours as well, thank you! 😃
I’m currently doing a Whole30 and came across this recipe on your Instagram. It was literally so easy and my husband, who’s doing this Whole30 with me too, loved it as well. I wasn’t paying attention when I bought the diced tomatoes, they had olive oil and garlic in them. It gave the soup more of a spaghetti sauce taste, but we didn’t mind 🙂 This recipe is so versatile, you can use a variety of toppings/additions and it will definitely be on our food prep rotation, Whole30 or not!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
I’m so happy this was an easy win, especially on a Whole30! I’m rooting for you and your husband!
The soup was delicious and so simple to make. I only used 1lb ground beef. I also had a green pepper I need to use up so that went in too. My whole family loved this soup. Thank you for another winning recipe!
So glad your family loved it too! It’s an easy one we definitely make on the regular. Thank you!