Kick Tail Taco Soup in a Crock Pot

This great taco soup low in fat and calories but is kick tail spicy with a ton of taste plus it is thick enough to be called taco chili. Low in fat and calories, you won’t believe this fits your diet.


Publishing Note: This is third in a series of reposts of older underappreciated recipes. I want to highlight some great recipes that are my personal favorites. I’m buffing up the photo editing and wording some. Please give it a try. First published January 13, 2012, so some comments may be older. DrDan

The main complaint about most taco soups appears to be the mild spices. Most recipes start by cooking some burger and then dumping into a crock pot with the taco seasoning. The spices are minimal to begin with and then diffuse into the liquid so the meat has little if any flavor.

I started with a modified version of my spicy taco meat. I bumped it up and add a little jalapeno. I added all the spices to the meat when cooking so it would keep some flavor and not have it all washed out in the soup. Excellent, just right.

My Rating

It is only a 1-5 scale, but this is a 6. I loved it.

Recipe Notes on Taco Soup

I looked at a lot of recipes and really can’t claim an “inspired by.” This Paula Deen recipe had ranch dressing powder as did several others. It added an interesting taste, and I recommend it, but it is optional.

I wanted to be lazy and not pay any attention to this, so I went the slow cooker route. You could do this on the stove top in a couple of hours or a dutch oven in an over for a couple of hours.

This is a thick soup as published but if you want a very thick chili-like result, leave out the beef broth.

This is 6/10 on the heat-o-meter. I thought it would be hotter. Add more spices or another jalapeno if you want to burn.

I suggest a lower fat burger (I used 90/10). There is no point that draining fat won’t remove a lot of spice.

Prep one jalapeno by mincing and a medium onion with a medium chop.

Combine 1 lb lower fat ground beef with the onion over medium-high heat. Cook and break up the beef.

While beef is starting to cook, combine the spices 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. When beef and onion has cooked for 4-5 minutes and is about half browned, add the spices and about half the can of tomato sauce. Continue to cook until beef is well browned. About 10 minutes total cooking time.

Add beef to the crock pot. Rinse 1 can black beans, and one can of kidney beans and add to pot. You may substitute any beans you want.

Add all remaining ingredients: 1 small can green chilies, two cans diced tomatoes, 1 – 14oz can tomato sauce, the diced jalapeno, one-half envelope of dry ranch dressing mix, and a 14 oz can of beef broth. The beef broth may be omitted if you want this thick.

Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

Kick Tail Taco Soup in a Crock Pot

Votes: 4 Rating: 4.75 You: Rate this recipe!

Print Recipe

This great taco soup low in fat and calories but is kick tail spicy with a ton of taste plus it is thick enough to be called taco chili.

• CourseSoup
• CuisineMexican

Servings	Prep Time
12	20 minutes

Cook Time

360 minutes

Servings Prep Time 12 20 minutes

Cook Time 360 minutes

Kick Tail Taco Soup in a Crock Pot Votes: 4 Rating: 4.75 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe This great taco soup low in fat and calories but is kick tail spicy with a ton of taste plus it is thick enough to be called taco chili. CourseSoup CuisineMexican Servings Prep Time 12 20 minutes Cook Time 360 minutes Servings Prep Time 12 20 minutes Cook Time 360 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef lower fat 90% or better
• 1 onion medium chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne less to decrease the heat
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 oz green chilies
• 14 oz black beans rinsed
• 14 oz light kidney beans rinsed
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 14 oz tomato sauce
• 14 oz beef broth Optional leave out if you want very thick
• 1/2 envelope ranch dressing powder Optional

Servings:

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

1. Prep one jalapeno by mincing and a medium onion with a medium chop.
2. Combine 1 lb lower fat ground beef with the onion over medium-high heat. Cook and break up the beef.
3. While beef is starting to cook, combine the spices 3 T chili powder, 1 t cumin, 1 t oregano, 1 t cayenne pepper, 1 t garlic powder, 1 t salt and 1/2 t of pepper. When beef and onion has cooked for 4-5 minutes and is about half browned, add the spices and about half the can of tomato sauce. Continue to cook until beef is well browned. About 10 minutes total cooking time.
4. Add beef to the crock pot. Rinse 1 can black beans and one can of kidney beans and add to pot. You may substitute any beans you want.
5. Add all remaining ingredients: 1 small can green chilies, two cans diced tomatoes, the rest of the tomato sauce, the diced jalapeno, one-half envelope of dry ranch dressing mix, and a 14 oz can of beef broth. The beef broth may be omitted if you want this thick.
6. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

Recipe Notes

This is 6/10 on the heat-o-meter. Remove the jalapeno for less or add more spice if yu want to burn.
The Ranch dressing powder give an interesting "cooling" to the taste even with the heat.

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All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Rating is done by clicking on the stars above.

Last Updated
January 27,2017