Updated and republished from January 2012
This Mexican soup recipe never fails to please a crowd. It is one of my favorite recipes for a lot of reasons:
1) It tastes awesome!
2) It is primarily made with veggies and beans.
3) It freezes really well, and you know how much we love freezer meal cooking. In fact, I included Freezer Meal directions below.
4) It’s perfect for a large crowd, feeding up to 12 adults. Having easy and delicious go-to main dishes like this make showing hospitality to large groups so much easier!
5) It is super easy and relatively cheap to make.
6) Kids love it! (If you’re easy on the spices.)
Do I have you convinced yet? If not, you can ask the people who just left my house requesting the recipe.
Hope you like it as much as we do! Here are a few other Mexican recipes from our Recipe Index if you’re interested:
Cheesy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
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Super easy Mexican soup recipe. Packed with flavor, very filling and makes a TON. Great recipe for large groups. Freezer friendly as well!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs of lean ground beef (or sub ground chicken)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt (or sub garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 package dry ranch dressing mix or make your own ranch dip
- 2–3 tablespoons of taco seasoning
- 2 15 oz cans Rotel (or two 15 oz cans of petite diced tomatoes and two 4 oz cans of chopped green chilies
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 15 oz cans shoe peg white corn
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 1 15 oz can pinto beans
- 1 15 oz can ranch beans (or sub 1 can pinto beans)
- 2 cups of water
Instructions
- Brown meat and onion on medium/high heat until beef is cooked thoroughly. Add garlic salt and cumin while browning the meat.
- Add all ingredients, including meat mixture into a large pot. (Don’t even drain the beans.) Just dump it all in!
- Simmer for 2 hours.
- Optional: serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips
Notes
Slow Cooker Instructions:
Brown the meat with onions according to directions. Add the meat mixture plus all other ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Freezer Meal Directions:
To Freeze:
Fully cook the soup, let it cool completely, and freeze in a BPA-free gallon freezer bag or other air-tight freezable container for up to 3 months.
To Prepare:
Either thaw in the fridge overnight and warm up or warm on the stovetop over low heat. You can also put it in the crock pot from frozen, stirring periodically.
Since this recipe uses a lot of canned food items, be sure to look for brands that are BPA-free.
Looking for more ground beef recipes?
Check out our Top 10 Ground Beef Freezer Meals!
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So I want to make this during the week and freeze it, then have it ready for sunday morning. My question is if i’m going to be reheating it in a crockpot how much time would you suggest I do that for? Just so I have a good idea (and I don’t show up with still frozen food!!)
Thanks!
We do not recommend warming or cooking frozen foods in a crockpot, because it can create the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. So, thaw your soup in the refrigerator over 24-48 hours. If it’s thawed, I would say about 3-4 hours on LOW should do the job.
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How would you recommend cooking this recipe in a crock pot? I was thinking I could cook the meat and onions, then add the ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours.
Yep that would work well!
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Is there a substitute for the packet of ranch?
There is a link to a homemade version within the recipe.
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Recipe calls for 2 cans of Rotel. What is that?
This is an older recipe, so I’m glad you brought that to our attention. Rotel is a brand name for a canned tomato and green chili mix. To make this closer to “real food” though, you can use two 15 oz cans of petite diced tomatoes and two 4-6 oz cans of chopped green chilies. Check to make sure there are no added ingredients in those cans and organic is even better! I hope that helps.
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This recipe is SO YUMMY!! 😀 Big hit every time I make it now….thanks ladies!