Turkey Taco Soup is perfect for when you can’t decide between making a chilli or a soup. It’s a hearty filling meal in a bowl. 

When the kids are off school in the Summer holidays, I always like to ask them what they would like for lunch, as having them at home means I have more time to prepare them something filling and healthy.

So today, when I asked my youngest what she would like, she requested soup. Soup might seem like an odd choice in the summer, but we are a family that love soup any time of year.

I love having a tub of homemade soup in the fridge, it doesn’t need to be the same meal every day wither, you can mix it up by adding toppings, like a protein if it is a vegetable soup or even some rice or pasta.

Today when my daughter requested soup, I didn’t want to make our usual Chicken and Noodle Soup, I fancied something a bit different that used the 1lb of extra lean ground turkey in the fridge.

We love chilli, so a Turkey Taco Soup seemed like a perfect choice. As it’s the best of both.

For taco soup, you can use any ground meat of choice, ground beef is the most popular, but as I already had some ground turkey to use, that was what I went with.

I also prefer to use fresh tomatoes, they just have a much fresher taste. By all means used canned, but if you want amazing, go for fresh. I use an awesome Serrated Vegetable Peeler, to remove the skins effortlessly.

The next main part of a taco soup is the seasoning, and you will find various different taco seasoning recipes out there, including ready ones you can buy, all of which will usually have a syn value because of synned ingredients.

For my taco seasoning, I make my own where I can control what goes into it.  I like to use almost the same seasonings as I do in a chilli. So – salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder, black pepper, oregano, chilli and smoked paprika. Then you need something to balance out the heat of the spices and acidity of the tomatoes, so I also use some Sukrin Gold (a natural brown sugar sweetener with no aftertaste and my preferred choice when making baked goods or wanting to sweeten things). Up until my discovery of this, I would just use honey or maple syrup and syn it, as I hate that aftertaste that certain sweeteners can have, but this really does taste good.

As I wanted this ready pretty quickly for lunch I used my Instant Pot. (one of my most useful kitchen gadgets)

During the summer last year, there was an awesome deal for an Instant Pot.  I had my eye on these for a while, but hadn’t jumped in and ordered one. However, I just couldn’t resist the Amazon prime day deal and so I hit add to basket and well you know the rest.

If you haven’t heard of an Instant Pot you are seriously missing out. It is the best kitchen gadget I have purchased. I would even put it above my actifry and that’s saying something.

It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, saute’s, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).

Check out my other: Instant Pot Recipes

Click here to read more about the instant pot on Amazon

So for making lunch today, it was perfect, this Turkey Taco Soup takes just 12 minutes in the instant pot (not counting the time for the pressure to naturally release).

Don’t worry if you don’t have an instant pot, this can also be cooked on the stove top, it just takes a little longer.

This Soup is also perfect for an SP day, just be sure to omit the corn, everything else is SP friendly.

I like to top my soup with some grated cheddar as part of my HEa and a dollop of low fat soured cream (which is also okay for an SP day, as it’s a synned ingredient), then some fresh chopped cilantro (coriander.

If you are not following an SP day then definitely add the corn, and you can use some fat-free yoghurt mixed with a little lemon juice and salt for a SYN FREE soured cream – perfect!!

This Turkey Taco Soup is perfect for freezing, if you actually have any leftover to freeze that is, might be worth doubling up the recipe if you want to do that. Enjoy!!

What Kitchen items do I need to make this Chinese Chicken Curry?

• Deep Saucepan or Instant Pot
• Small Mixing Bowl
• Measuring Jug
• Measuring Spoons
• Serrated Vegetable Peeler
• Wooden Spoon
• Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
• Chopping Board

Syn Free Instant Pot Turkey Taco Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendlyExtra Easy - syn free per servingSP - syn free per serving (omit corn)WW Smart Points - 6Dairy Free - omit any cheese/soured cream. 

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Ingredients

• 1lb (450g) of extra lean turkey mince 
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 200g (7oz) of fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup (120ml) of corn
• 3 tbs of tomato paste
• 3 cups (720ml) of chicken broth/stock (low sodium)
• 2 cups (480ml) of canned black beans, drained
• spray oil
• salt and black pepper to taste
• for the taco seasoning:
• 1 tbs of chilli powder
• 1 tbs of sukrin: gold
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1/2 tsp of onion powder
• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp of oregano
• pinch of smoked paprika
• pinch of cayenne (omit if you don't like spicy)

Instructions

Instant Pot

1. Mix taco seasoning ingredients together in a bowl
2. Set instant pot to saute mode
3. Add the ground turkey, garlic and onion and fry till turkey is browned
4. Stir in the taco seasoning.
5. Add all other ingredients and mix well, add lid, close valve and set to 12 minutes high pressure.
6. Once cooked allow a natural pressure release.
7. Season with a little salt and black pepper as needed.
8. Ladle into bowls and enjoy as is topped with some chopped cilantro (coriander), or serve topped with some cheddar from your healthy extra a choice and a little synned low fat soured cream.

Stove Top

1. Mix taco seasoning ingredients together in a bowl
2. Spray a deep pot with spray oil over a medium high heat
3. Add the ground turkey, garlic and onion and fry till turkey is browned
4. Stir in the taco seasoning.
5. Add all other ingredients and mix well
6. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for approx 30-40 minutes. 
7. Add a little additional water or stock if soup is too thick and season with salt and black pepper as needed.
8. Ladle into bowls and enjoy as is topped with some chopped cilantro (coriander), or serve topped with some cheddar from your healthy extra a choice and a little synned low fat soured cream.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 316 Total Fat: 5.8g Saturated Fat: 1.3g Cholesterol: 45.5mg Sodium: 644.5mg Carbohydrates: 35.6g Fiber: 9.9g Sugar: 4.3g Protein: 33.8g