350 Calorie Taco Soup

Monday was a pretty cold Spring day in Nebraska, so I decided to make Taco Soup for supper. Taco Soup is one of my favorites because it is extremely easy to make, I almost always have everything I need in my cupboards, and it is delicious! I know there are a lot of different variations of this recipe out there but below is how my family makes it.

Ingredients (Pictured above):

-1 lb 80/20 hamburger

-Tomato Juice 46 ounces

-1 package Taco Seasoning

-1 package dry ranch mix

-1 can of corn

-1 jar of salsa (I use homemade large mason jar, but original recipe calls for 12 ounces)

-1 tbsp of sugar

-1 pound of Velveeta cheese

-1 medium onion

1. I start by taking a large pot and putting it on low on the stove
2. Add 1 jar of salsa and half to ¾ of the can of tomato juice
3. Add dry ranch seasoning
4. Add 1 tbsp sugar
5. Add can of corn (do not drain)
6. Add Velveeta (I cut into little cubes so it melts easier)
7. Stir everything up
8. Chop one medium onion
9. Brown hamburger and onion
10. Season hamburger and onion how you prefer-we use salt, pepper, garlic salt and Lawry’s
11. Drain meat mixture
12. Add Taco Seasoning to meat mixture along with ¼ cup water
13. Let meat simmer on low in seasoning for about 2 minutes
14. Add meat mixture to large pot
15. Stir and let soup sit on low for 10-20 minutes stirring occasionally

**My husband and I are trying to watch our calorie intake. I put this recipe into My Fitness Pal and it says that if you take this recipe and divide it into 8 servings (approximately 2-3 ladles full per serving) the recipe above is around 340 calories.

Some people also like to add Frito chips, extra cheese and/or sour cream to top off the soup prior to serving (obviously more calories, but I’m not judging :) ). The original recipe that we received from my Great Aunt Vickie also included one can of pinto or chili beans-but I am not a huge fan of beans so we don’t add them. I suppose you could also make this without meat if you were looking for a meatless option. If you wanted to add spice you could add jalapeno peppers. That’s the great thing about this recipe, you can make it your own by adding and taking away whatever you chose.

I know it isn’t really soup season, but my family loves soup! If you have an awesome soup recipe please share below in the comments.