Queso Keto Taco Soup Recipe (Quick & Easy)
This delicious keto soup recipe tastes more amazing than you can imagine. Queso Keto Taco Soup Recipe is rich, creamy, and packed with tons of bold taco flavor. It reminds me of my favorite queso dip in soup form. You are going to love this and keep it on regular rotation in your low-carb meal plan. I’ve also included instructions for the Instant Pot or Crockpot.
Queso Keto Taco Soup Recipe (Easy & Quick)
It is hard to believe that you can eat food that tastes exactly like queso dip and lose weight. I would have never believed it if I hadn’t been experiencing it myself. This Easy Taco Soup Recipe became a favorite of ours very quickly and has since become one of the most popular recipes I’ve posted. It’s super easy to whip up and tastes even better the second day if you happen to have any leftovers.
Tip: I’ve recently made a homemade taco seasoning you can substitute instead of the taco seasoning packet. You can find the recipe here.
Simple Ingredients for Queso Keto Taco Soup:
This recipe comes together so quickly with just a few simple ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry. While there isn’t any cheese in the ingredients, this low-carb taco soup recipe tastes so much like queso dip. I’m not sure if it is the cream cheese and taco seasoning together, but everyone loves this soup even if they aren’t eating keto.
- ground beef – I prefer an 80/20 blend
- onion – add to the ground beef mixture for added flavor
- Rotel Tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with green chilis) – It’s simply a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis already added.
- cream cheese – adds creaminess and fat
- beef broth – the base of the soup you can also use homemade beef bone broth
- heavy cream – also adds creaminess, fat, and flavor
- seasonings – gives the bold taco flavor
Traditional taco soup recipes often add black beans, but since they are high in carbs, those that follow a keto diet avoid them.
Have you tried my Cheesy Mexican Taco Casserole yet?
Start by browning the ground beef and onion in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. If you prefer, you can sub ground turkey instead for this keto-friendly taco soup.
Pro Tip: One way to save time when cooking dinner is to brown ground beef in advance and store it in the freezer. It makes sense to go ahead and brown more than one pound at a time, and it makes cooking meals like this low-carb taco soup even easier. I simply grab a pound out of the freezer, defrost, and throw in the rest of the ingredients. You can find this and other tips in 5 Simple Keto Meal Prep Ideas. If you have leftover taco meat you can skip this step.
The cream cheese mixes in easier if it is at room temperature or softened in the microwave first. Make sure that the cream cheese and ground beef are combined completely before adding additional ingredients.
Add the rest of the ingredients, then stir to combine and simmer so all the flavors can merge together.
What Taco Seasoning is Keto Friendly?
Most store-bought taco seasoning packets have added processed ingredients that many avoid while following the keto diet. My homemade keto taco seasoning doesn’t contain any fillers, and the carb count is lower than the store-bought version. My homemade taco seasoning recipe includes bold spices such as chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and more. It works perfectly in any recipe that calls for taco seasoning.
Yum! This is the absolute perfect keto taco soup recipe. It’s so nice to have dinner ready quickly, especially on busy nights when I don’t want to cook.
Can I Make it in the Slow Cooker?
While some suggest throwing all the ingredients in the crockpot for Taco Soup, dairy products such as heavy cream and cream cheese can curdle if added before the last hour of cooking time. To ensure the best quality of this recipe, I would suggest adding the drained browned ground beef, diced onion, beef broth, diced tomatoes, and spices first. Allow it to slow cook for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low. Finally, add the softened cream cheese and heavy cream during the last hour of cooking.
How to Make Taco Soup in the Instant Pot?
I would follow the general guidelines as mentioned above for cooking dairy in the slow cooker. First, brown the ground beef and onions on the saute setting and drain. Next, add beef broth, Rotel tomatoes, and spices. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then an NPR for 5 minutes. Remove lid, add softened cream cheese and heavy cream, and turn the pressure cooker back to the saute function and simmer for 5-10 minutes so all the flavors can merge.
What Do I Serve with Queso Keto Taco Soup?
A simple leafy garden salad is the perfect accompaniment to this delicious taco soup recipe.
How to Freeze Easy Keto Taco Soup?
Soups with cream tend to separate, change the texture and become grainy when thawed. If you’d like to freeze this soup, withhold heavy whipping cream until the soup has completely thawed and rewarmed. Then, add the heavy cream and serve. This soup will keep 4-6 months in the freezer in a freezer-safe container.
Toppings ideas for this soup:
I enjoy Easy Keto Taco Soup with a mix of freshly shredded Monterrey Jack and Cheddar Cheese sprinkled on top. Other toppings options include:
- Any variation of freshly grated cheeses
- Sour Cream
- Jalapenos
- Cilantro
- Diced onions
- Avocado
- Homemade Keto Cheese Crackers
How to Begin the Keto Lifestyle
If you are like many, you are curious about the keto diet. We have a great Guide to Getting Started with Keto that is perfect for helping you to learn more about the process and get off to a good start. You may want to know how much of each thing to eat every day. Use our post with the Best Keto Apps to Count Macros to help learn more about where to begin.
More Keto-Friendly Recipes
I know you will love this keto queso-style easy taco soup recipe. Alongside this recipe, you’ll find a ton of other delicious keto options found in our keto recipe index. You can check out all of our tried and true low-carb-friendly recipes there to begin your meal plans. Below you’ll find a few of our favorite recipes to get you started!
- Easy Keto Monterey Chicken Recipe
- BBQ Keto Meatloaf Recipe
- Easy Keto Fried Chicken Recipe
- Grilled Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
More Keto Mexican or Tex Mex Recipes
- Best Keto Queso Recipe
- Keto Low Carb Taco Cups
- The Very Best Keto Taco Meat
- Keto Taco Salad
- Best Keto Chicken Taco Soup Recipe
Keto Shopping Lists
One of my favorite tools to use when feeling lazy is simply using these grocery lists for our favorite stores. I know the items on these lists will be keto-friendly and ideal for throwing in my shopping cart to build meals and recipes around later.
Keto at Walmart
Keto Grocery Items at Sam’s Club
Keto Items at Costco
Keto Grocery Items at ALDI
Low Carb Grocery Items at Target
Queso Keto Taco Soup Recipe (Quick & Easy)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 10oz cans of Rotel
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 packet of taco seasoning or my homemade taco seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown ground beef and onions together, then drain.
- In a large saucepan, add ground beef and softened cream cheese on low/medium heat. Stir together to mix well before adding any other ingredients
- Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Optional: Serve topped with freshly grated cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, and/or guacamole.
Video
Notes
Can I Make it in the Slow Cooker?
While some suggest throwing all the ingredients in the crockpot for Taco Soup, dairy products such as heavy cream and cream cheese can curdle if added before the last hour of cooking time. To ensure the best quality of this recipe, I would suggest adding the drained browned ground beef, diced onion, beef broth, diced tomatoes, and spices first. Allow it to slow cook for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low. Finally, add the softened cream cheese and heavy cream during the last hour of cooking.How to Make Taco Soup in the Instant Pot?
I would follow the general guidelines mentioned above for cooking dairy in the slow cooker. First, brown the ground beef and onions on the saute setting and drain. Next, add beef broth, Rotel tomatoes, and spices. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then an NPR for 5 minutes. Remove lid, add softened cream cheese and heavy cream and turn pressure cooker back to the saute function and simmer for 5-10 minutes so all the flavors can merge.Nutrition
If you make homemade taco seasoning, how much would you put in it??
Click on the link for the homemade taco seasoning and it will take you to the recipe. It has information on the equivalency to store bought packages.
It was so easy and delicious! Thank you Kasey
Awesome! You’re very welcome, Monique!
This recipe saved me from giving up on day 3!
I am so glad, Heather. Hang in there!
Can you do this in a crockpot? If so, do you lessen how much broth you put in?
There is a paragraph in the post that talks about this.
Made this soup and I love it! Quick and easy with a flavorful punch, this soup does not disappoint.
I’m glad you love it!
Do you drain the rotel or not? Thanks!
No, I don’t.
So delicious! Thanks for sharing . This is definitely a keeper recipe 😉
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you liked it.
WHAT is Rotel?? I live in Australia, I’ve never heard of this?!
Rotel is canned diced tomatoes with diced green chilies.
I absolutely love this soup. I double the recipe so my husband and I can leftovers to take for lunch.
Awesome! Glad ya’ll love it!
Really good! I altered a little bit because I wanted some more veggies (and don’t mind a chunkier soup) so I added a can of corn, some mushrooms and bell pepper…kept everything else the same. Very tasty! My boyfriend said it was his favorite thing I’ve made, so I’ll definitely be keeping this in rotation!
Glad ya’ll liked it!
My seems kind of thin. Any ideas how to thicken it up a little?
The soup isn’t meant to be thick. You could use a keto-approved thickener like Xanthan Gum if you’d like. Make sure to start with a very small amount like 1/4 tsp as it can make the soup slimy quickly.
Awesome, quick and easy. Love it
Glad you loved it!
This is a wonderful soup and it’s sooooo easy. What’s not to love?
Thank you so much, Elle! I’m glad you love it.
Super simple and YUMMY! I added extra cream cheese to thicken it more.
Unbelievable!
Kudos to the creator!
Yay!! I’m so glad you loved it!
What is the aprox serving?? One cup?? Kind of hard to measure everything that I have
Because I have a large family, we usually eat the soup in one setting. I just divide it evenly into the number of servings.
Only 3 of us in my family. I’m going to be measuring out as 8oz being a serving. Will prob end up being a pot of more than 8 servings, but that is fine with us.
Enjoy!