Taco Soup

Here's how to make a hearty, filling
Taco Soup

With the weather here extremely cold and snowing almost every day, I thought I would whip up an extra-large pot of soup, to keep it handy.

This easy Taco Soup recipe freezes really well.

The instructions are going to be a bit more extensive this time because I made the soup with dried black soybeans, and they take some pre-preparation. It isn't hard though. You just need to think ahead.

A couple of days ahead, in fact.

Organic soy beans are loaded with fiber, so they have lower carb counts than other canned beans do. You can always leave them out of course, for a lower carb count, but the count is super low:

In general, dried beans are higher in carbs. Can't get around that. They are 18 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fiber per 1/2 cup, making 14 net carbs. Back when I first created this recipe, they were not anywhere near that high.

Canned soybeans, on the other hand, are quite a bit lower. They are 8 grams of carbohydrate per 1/2 cup, drained cooked solids, but 7 of those carbs are fiber -- so 2 net carbs per cup of canned beans.

Black Soy Beans

(Available at Amazon)

It's possible that either the dried beans or canned beans are mislabeled, since manufacturers don't understand low carb well.

In addition, baby corn isn't like regular corn.

It grows at the bottom of the corn stalk and never matures, so super low in carbs. You eat the cob and all. For this recipe, you only need the pieces, which are often half the price. One-half cup of pieces are 4 carbs and 2 grams fiber, for 2 net carbs.

Baby Corn Nuggets

(Available at Amazon)

How to Prepare Dried Soybeans

To prepare dried soybeans, measure out 2 cups dry beans into a large pot. Fill the pot half-way with water. Bring it to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and allow the beans to soak for at least 24 hours.

After soaking, drain the beans. Place them in a crock pot. Fill the crock pot with water. Cook on low heat for 8 to 24 hours, depending on your altitude. The closer to sea level you are, the faster the beans will get soft. Drain the beans.

Keto-Friendly Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds extra-lean ground beef
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Taco Seasoning (homemade or a mix)
• Seasoning salt
• 1 large can of chopped tomatoes, including liquid
• 1 small can of chopped green chilies
• 1 can of baby corn, sliced into chunks
• 2 large jalapeno peppers, minced or sliced
• 4 cans of black soybeans (about 6 cups beans)

Method:

Brown the ground beef with the onions, green pepper, and garlic. Drain any excess fat/water which accumulates.

Season heavily to taste with Taco seasoning and seasoning salt. Place in a large soup pot. I actually do the browning in the soup pot itself.

Add all the rest of the ingredients, plus a quart of water, and simmer for several hours, until the soup thickens a bit and the beans are soft.

This makes tons of soup, something like 6 quarts or more, depending on how soupy you like it. My husband doesn't like a lot of water in his soup. He likes it quite thick, more like a thin stew, so the nutritional counts will reflect that.

If you want a thin soup, you can either eat more or recalculate the carbs for the amount of soup the extra liquid makes.

2 cups of soup: 333 calories, 18g fat, 12 carbs, 5g fiber, (7 net), and 30g protein

So even if you use the pinto and kidney beans, we're still only talking about 7 net carbs per bowlful.