Slow Cooker Taco Rice Soup

Whenever I feel like I want tacos but I want them served in a bowl I make this slow cooker taco rice soup. Ground beef, beans, tomatoes, and rice all in a delicious taco flavored broth. Top it with some cheese and a spoonful of sour cream and its perfect. There’s a little browning involved but then you can set the crock pot and walk away.

I love how simple it is to throw together as well. Most of these items I have on hand. With just some canned goods from my pantry and a pound of ground beef it can feed about 6 people. Which makes this a great recipe to have on hand when your dinner needs to stretch. Just remember to hold on to that rice. It will only take it a few minutes to warm up and you dont want it cooking and absorbing the soup while its cooking.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

With all that beef, beans, and rice you’ll feel satisfied with just one bowl. The fire roasted tomatoes help give it a little bit of smoke flavor as well. Taco season will season most of your soup for you too. You can opt for cheese and sour cream to keep your soup mild. If you want a bit more spice you can add some jalapenos. Having it easy to spice up makes it easier to please everyone.

It also allows you to get most of your clean up done. After you put your meat in the slow cooker you can wash your pan and clean up your counter. I also like to prep my toppings and chop them up. That way all you have to do is stir your rice into the soup and scoop it out.

What You Need

Ground beef, taco seasoning, onion, garlic, fire roasted tomatoes, chili beans, black beans, tomato sauce and beef broth will make this soup. Feel free to add any toppings you like.

Ground Beef

I use lean ground beef so there’s less grease to drain off. But you can use any type of ground beef you have. Be sure to brown the meat and break it up before you add it to your slow cooker. You don’t want big chunks of meat but small pieces of meat scattered throughout the soup. Ground turkey can be substituted for the ground beef if that’s what you have. The taco seasoning will still taste amazing with that.

Taco Seasoning

I find using taco seasoning to be a great way to season your soup. No need to measure out all the spices and your meat will have that taco soup taste. Add to your hot meat and let it cook for a couple of minutes before throwing everything in your crock pot. Use 2 tbsp if you make your own taco seasoning. Its always nice to have homemade taco seasoning on hand. You can lower the sodium and spice content as well.

Canned Beans

We are going to use both chili beans and black beans in this recipe. You’ll want to drain and rinse the black beans. The chili beans we will leave as is with all the sauce. Don’t throw that sauce away you want it in the soup. If you happen to have pinto beans feel free to sub for the black beans. Or use corn if you want to decrease the amount of beans.

Cooked Rice

As mentioned above make sure to have your rice cooked before you add it to your soup. Whether its white rice or Spanish rice. You can even buy rice in a pouch already cooked and that works too. You only need one cup which doesnt seem like much but its great for bulk. You can use brown rice or even cooked quinoa if you like.

How To Make It

You will brown the beef first and add the rest of your soup ingredients to your slow cooker. Just make sure not to add the rice until the soup is finished cooking.

Brown The Beef

Heat your pan on medium high and add the ground beef. Cook until there’s no more pink color left. Using your wooden spoon you can break up the meat as its cooking. Add taco seasoning and let it cook another 1-2 mins. Drain any grease that may be in your pan.

Fill Your Crock Pot

Add the ground beef to your slow cooker. Top with your chopped onion and garlic. Fire roasted tomatoes, chili beans and sauce, drained and rinsed black beans, tomato sauce and beef broth. Stir everything together and make sure to scrape down to the bottom to mix in all the meat.

Let It Cook

Cover your crock pot and let it cook on low for 4-5 hours. The onion should be nice and soft and you’ll taste the flavor of the soup. There’s no need to stir anything just let it cook away.

Add Your Rice

Once the 4-5 hours is complete add your rice to the soup. If your rice has clumped together just use your spoon to break it apart. Allow your rice to heat for another 5 mins or so. Give it more time if you need to but you shouldn’t need to let it sit there another hour.

Serve

Try your soup before adding any more salt. You may not need any additional salt depending on what you used. If you enjoy black pepper add that to your soup. Ladle your soup out and enjoy! Have the toppings available at your table.

Some Helpful Tips

• Do NOT use raw rice in this recipe. Even though its nice to just dump it all in your slow cooker. We are using cooked rice for this recipe and the broth will be correct for that. Raw rice will absorb liquid and when you let this cook for a few hours your rice will be mushy and you may not have any broth left.
• If your soup becomes thicker add about 1/2 cup of broth or water and stir. You can add more if needed but this is a good starting point. This also helps if you added the rice and now the soup is thick the next day.
• Have some toppings ready. Again no need to have many toppings but just a few. Cheddar cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips go with this meal. If you have an avocado you need to finish feel free to dice that up as well.

Storage And Leftovers

• Store: In an airtight container this will last about 4 days in the refrigerator. As your soup sits the rice will absorb more broth. So when you’re ready to eat your left overs it will probably be thicker.
• Freeze: You can freeze this soup as well. Allow it to cool and store it in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Make sure to leave room at the top of your container. You can skip the rice and add it when your ready to eat it if your freezing the whole thing.
• Heat: Add your leftovers to a microwave safe bowl and heat up in the microwave. You can also warm your leftovers in a pan on the stove top. Just add some broth or water and continue to heat until its nice and hot.

Pair It With

• Crunchy tortilla chips. If you crush some on top of the soup its that much better.
• Corn bread. Add a little honey and butter to your corn bread and its delicious with the spicy soup.
• Green salad with some cilantro lime dressing. Fresh is always a nice pairing.
• More sour cream and diced jalapenos. Always a win.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this on high?

Absolutely you can. Just allow it to cook on high for about 2-3 hours. Once the onions have softened you can add your rice and follow the directions as shown above.

Should I brown my meat?

I like to brown the meat for this recipe. It flavors your meat more and allows you to drain any extra grease. You can also break up your meat easier when browning versus having it with all your beans and tomatoes.