The Best Taco Soup You'll Ever Have

Do you like tacos? (Is the sky blue?) Well, our friends Laura and Ryan from Smith & Ratliff make a rich, hearty taco soup that they call "the ultimate soup recipe for the non-cook." Here's how to make it...

The Best Taco Soup You'll Ever Have
By Ryan Smith and Laura Ratliff of Smith & Ratliff

Laura: When the new year rolls around, I always find myself with a craving for taco soup. There are many variations on the basic recipe—some good (lots of green chilies!), some not so good (canned corn!). But whenever I make it, I use the recipe that my mom and aunt have been using for years. It instantly transports me back to Christmas and New Years' holidays spent with my family in Colorado and Santa Fe, where we would sit next to the fireplace and watch the snow fall or look out over the mountains.

Of course, this isn't a super gourmet recipe, but the simplistic charm of dumping cans and spice packets into a Dutch oven to create a tasty, hearty soup can't be beat. This is the ultimate soup recipe for the non-cook. If you do want to upgrade it, you can substitute your own combination of spices for the spice packets, or even stew your own tomatoes. You can also use ground beef in lieu of turkey, and the soup is delicious served with homemade cornbread.

The recipe below makes a lot of soup, but even if you're a household of two (as we are), it lasts for several days in the fridge and gets even better as time passes. It's one of our favorite simple winter meals, so I hope you enjoy it as well.

Recipe: The Best Taco Soup You'll Ever Have
Makes 6-8 generous portions

You'll need:

1 1/4 lbs. ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles
2 14.5 oz. cans stewed tomatoes (preferably Mexican recipe)
1 15 oz. can pinto beans (try Trappey's with jalapenos for an extra kick!)
1 15 oz. can white hominy
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 cups water

What to do:

Brown meat with onion and green chiles in a Dutch oven, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon. Drain fat. Add tomatoes with juice, can of beans with liquid, hominy with juice, dry taco and ranch mixes and water. Stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with cornbread.

Thank you, Laura and Ryan! Looks delicious.
P.S. More best recipes, including broccoli soup and roasted tomato soup. Plus, the perfect winter lunch...

(Recipe and photos by Ryan Smith and Laura Ratliff of Smith & Ratliff. Thanks to Shoko for helping with this series.)