Pressure Cooker Taco Soup for dinner! Topped with crushed tortilla chips, chopped onions, sour cream, and fresh cilantro, you get the flavors of a crispy taco in every bite.
WHAT IS TACO SOUP?
Taco soup is lighter than chili, but still hearty enough to serve as a meal in itself. It’s spicy, brothy, and full of ground beef, beans, and corn.
When you serve it with toppings of crushed tortilla chips, chopped onions, sour cream, and fresh cilantro, you get the flavors of a crispy taco in every bite.
EASY TACO SOUP IN THE PRESSURE COOKER
I prefer to use my 6-quart Instant Pot pressure cooker to make this soup (and for just about everything else!), since it will cook the soup fast, and also keep it warm for up to 10 hours if I need to make dinner earlier in the day. It really is the best of both worlds. (Looking for a slow cooker version? Try our Slow Cooker Taco Soup.)
- New to the Instant Pot? Check out our post How To Use an Instant Pot: A First-Timer’s Guide.
HOW TO MAKE TACO SOUP
To make the soup, you’ll start by cooking the onions and beef together for a few minutes. You don’t have to thoroughly brown the beef; you just want to break it up a bit before the rest of the ingredients go into the pot. It’s ok if there are still traces of pink in there.
Oh, and it’s easiest to use a nice lean variety of ground beef (93 percent or higher) so there’s no need to drain off excess fat.
After that, all you’ve got to do is add the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook the soup!
While it’s cooking, you can prepare your toppings so they’re ready to go when it’s time to eat. All told, it takes less about an hour to make!
THIS SOUP MAKES GREAT LEFTOVERS!
This soup really is a meal in itself. It’s a quick dinner for cool or chilly evenings, and the leftovers make a great packed lunch, too.
HOW TO FREEZE THIS SOUP
If you have more leftovers than you can eat in a few days, freeze the rest! Pack portions into freezer containers or bags, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating, or transfer the frozen soup to a saucepan and warm over low heat until thawed and reheated.
Sometimes I like to ladle soup into a mini-loaf or muffin pan, freeze it, and then transfer the frozen food into gallon bags and store in the freezer.
MORE BEST PRESSURE COOKER MEALS!
Pressure Cooker Taco Soup Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
For Stovetop Pressure Cookers: Do step 1 as written in a pressure cooker on the stovetop over medium heat. Secure the lid on the pressure cooker, bring up to high pressure, then turn down the heat and let the soup cook for 17 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure release naturally completely, or allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 15 minutes before performing a quick pressure release. Serve the soup with the toppings and lime wedges.
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean (93 percent or higher) ground beef
- 1 medium red or yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 1/4 cups (6 ounces) corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
To serve:
- 1 1/2 cups tortilla chips, lightly crushed
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup diced onion (red or white)
- 6 lime wedges
Special equipment:
Method
1 Sauté the ground beef and onion: Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker on its “Sauté” setting. Add the ground beef, onions, and salt, and sauté for about three minutes, breaking up the meat with a spoon or spatula. It’s fine if the meat does not fully cook through.
2 Add the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook the soup: Stir in the chicken broth, diced tomatoes and their liquid, black beans, kidney beans, green chiles, corn, spices, and salt.
Secure the lid on the pressure cooker and make sure it is set to its “Sealing” position. Select the “Soup,” “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” setting, and set the time to 20 minutes at high pressure. The pot will take about 15 minutes to come up to pressure, and then the cooking time will begin.
3 Release the pressure: When the cooking program ends, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes. At this point, you can either perform a quick pressure release by moving the pressure vent to its “Venting” position, or let the pressure release naturally the rest of the way.
You can also leave the soup on the pressure cooker’s “Keep Warm” setting for up to 10 hours.
4 Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and serve it topped with the chips, sour cream, cilantro, and diced onions on top, with wedges of lime on the side. Leftovers will keep refrigerated for about 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
