Beef Tortilla Soup Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

Beef Tortilla Soup is such an easy and delicious comfort food! Loaded with spices, beans, corn, tomatoes, and everything you’d expect from the perfect tortilla soup, but with ground beef instead of chicken. Top with shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and all the fixings for the ultimate Mexican beef soup!

What’s in this Beef Tortilla Soup recipe?

If you love chicken tortilla soup, you’re going to love this tortilla soup with beef too! It’s filled with the same Mexican flavors, but I added ground beef instead of chicken. It’s just as delicious and just as easy to make.

• Ground Beef: Ground chuck or hamburger meat both work for this delicious Mexican soup recipe!
• Rotel: This mix of tomatoes and green chiles adds the perfect sweet and smoky Tex-Mex flavor to the soup.
• Broth: I used both beef and chicken broth, but you can use one or the other for the full amount if you prefer.
• Butter: Helps cooks the onion and garlic.
• Onion: Diced onions add savory aromatic flavor. I recommend using white or yellow, but you can sub red onions if you like them better.
• Garlic: A few cloves of garlic adds more depth of flavor.
• Tomato Juice: This is a tomato-based soup, so this helps fill out the liquid.
• Water: A little more liquid to fill out the broth.
• Oil: Helps to cook the onions and garlic. Olive oil or canola oil work best for sauteing.
• Worcestershire Sauce: Adds deep umami flavor to the soup.
• Steak Sauce: Use your favorite brand.
• Beans: A mix of red and black beans add texture. Feel free to use all black or red instead of both.
• Corn: Kernels of corn add more texture plus a slightly sweet and buttery flavor.
• Lime: Adds acidity to balance the flavors and adds a bright splash.
• Spices: Chili powder and cumin add just a bit of heat. Add more if you want your soup a little spicier.

Notes from the Test Kitchen

Don’t forget to finish each bowl of soup with tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips (or keep them whole), sour cream, avocado slices, shredded cheese, or any other toppings you like!

Variations on Tortilla Beef Soup

If you have some shredded beef (fully cooked), you can throw that into the pot with the rest of the tortilla soup ingredients and cook as directed. You can make this beef birria or barbacoa beef ahead of time for extra delicious flavor!

Serving Suggestions

Serve bowls of this Mexican beef soup with all of your favorite toppings. Add fresh tortillas or flat breads to the table for dipping. It makes a great pairing with ground beef tacos, beef taquitos, or beef enchiladas. And it never hurts to have some chips and guacamole or queso nearby!

How to Make Beef Tortilla Soup Step by Step

Heat the Fats: Heat 2 tablespoons of canola or olive oil and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or soup pan.

Sauté the Onion and Garlic: Add 1 chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.

Add the Ingredients: Add 2 pounds of lean ground chuck, 10 ounces (1 can) of Rotel tomatoes, 2 cups of beef broth, 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of water, 3 cups of tomato juice, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1½ teaspoons of ground cumin, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tablespoon of bottled steak sauce, 15 ounces (1 can) of drained black beans, 15 ounces (1 can) of drained red beans, 15.25 ounces (1 can) of whole kernel corn, and the juice of ½ fresh lime.

Simmer and Serve: Cover the pot, bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 45-60 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped cilantro and stir well. Pour soup into heatproof bowls and top with tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Serve immediately. If desired, garnish with avocado slices and/or sour cream.

How to Store and Reheat

Store leftover beef tortilla soup in airtight container, and keep in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Reheat in a pot on the stovetop, simmering and stirring until fully warmed through. Or reheat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until warm.

How to Freeze

To freeze soup: Let the beef tortilla soup cool to room temperature, then pour it into freezer-safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months, and defrost in the fridge before reheating.

If you’d like to store it in bags, pour cooled soup into heavy-duty resealable bags and lay flat on a rimmed baking tray. Place it in the freezer for 1-2 hours until solid, then rearrange the bags to freeze long-term.

More Soup Recipes To Try

• Chicken Soup
• Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Hash Brown Potato Soup
• Beer Cheese Soup
• Ham and Bean Soup
• Cabbage Soup