Thank you so much for all of the wonderful comments on my Bags to Dishes series! Thanks to all of the wonderful feedback, I’ve shared a series of recipes with you so that you can have all of the recipes I use in my bags to dishes meals. Be sure to read the original post to find out how you can convert your own meals into shelf stable ones in order to have your family’s favorite recipes available with the grab of a bag, like this Taco Soup!
Taco Soup ~Shelf Stable Bags To Dishes~
Today’s recipe is one of my Bags to Dishes recipes. I’ve also shared Ma’s Chicken and Rice Bake, Famous Alabama Camp Stew, Chicken Noodle Casserole, Chicken Enchilada Pie and Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole, so make sure you check those out as well if you are planning on assembling some of your own Bags to Dishes meals this weekend.
Taco Soup (my mom calls it Sante Fe Soup) is one of those incredibly flavorful meals that involves nothing more than opening a few cans and packets, stirring together, and simmering. It has all sorts of wonderful veggies in it, but you can add even more if you like. This soup can also be customized when it comes to serving. I sometimes top mine with cheese or sour cream but we often just leave it as it because it is already so good! If’ I’m really wanting a heartier meal or need to stretch it to feed more, I serve it over rice, which I purchase for less than half the retail price by buying in bulk.
Taco soup ingredients are easy and when you’re ready to make it, this entire meal comes together in less than 15 minutes. I gather up all of the canned goods and then measure out the spices into a bag. You can use spice packets if you prefer (just one packet ranch dressing mix and one packet taco seasoning of your choice along with a little onion powder) but I buy those in bulk at Sam’s to save money.
I alternate between using Dehydrated Ground Beef and black beans but I never hesitate to use black beans in place of beef in a Bags to Dishes recipe, so you go with whatever you want.
Main options/alternatives for beef in this recipe that come to mind right now are:
- Dehydrated Ground Beef
- Ground Beef from Freezer (label it for this bag meal so you don’t use it for something else)
- Canned Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
- Canned Chicken, etc
In your bag, you’ll need to assemble : Beef Option (choose one from above), kidney beans, corn, Ro-tel*, tomato sauce, and a seasoning bag of onion powder, ranch dressing mix, and taco seasoning mix. Actual recipe is below. Be sure and print out a copy of the recipe to include in the bag. That’s it!
I usually make anywhere from 2-4 Taco Soup Bag meals at a time.
*Rotel is diced tomatoes with green chilies. If you can’t get it where you live, you can substitute a 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes and a 4 ounce can of chopped green chilies. You’ll have a wee bit more tomatoes and chilies in your soup but it will be fine. Another option is to move to where they sell Rotel but I’m guessing that may be out of most people’s budgets and it would be cheaper just to buy the substitution ingredients.
To make this meal, open all cans and dump everything into a pot along with the water. I don’t drain anything with the exception of those times I use black beans. I always drain and rinse black beans before adding them to a recipe because the liquid in the can imparts an overwhelming black bean taste to the dish if you don’t.
Bring this just to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce heat and let it simmer for a few minutes. In about fifteen minutes, you can have supper 🙂
This is one of six Bags to Dishes recipes that I’ve shared with you.
If you make up four of each of those, then you could have 3 days each week for the next month that you don’t have to worry about what’s for supper!
More Bags to Dishes meals coming up so stay tuned! If you’re on Facebook or Pinterest, be sure you post these recipes to your wall for easy finding later.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef frozen, dehydrated, or substitute 1 can black beans that have been rinsed
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 cans kidney beans
- 1 can corn
- 15 ounce can Ro-Tel
- 15 ounce can Tomato Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning Mix or 1 packet
- 3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix or 1 packet
- 1 +1/2 cups water
Instructions
To assemble: Measure out all spices and seasonings and place in small zipper seal bag. Place bag in 2 gallon zipper seal bag along with all other ingredients, except water. Include printed copy of this recipe.
To make:
-
Open all cans but do not drain, with the exception of black beans, if using. Black beans should be drained and rinsed. Dump all ingredients into a medium pot. Stir.
-
Bring just to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce to low and simmer 5-10 minutes.
Serve warm, as is or with toppings of your choice such as cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, salsa, avocado, etc. (We just usually serve it as it is)
This post was originally published in August of 2014. I updated the photos and post in March of 2020.
“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.”
~Albert Einstein
Yum