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Jars of pressure canned taco soup with ground beef, beans, corn and tomatoes, shown with a bowl of finished taco soup.

Pressure Canned Taco Soup

A hearty pressure-canned taco soup loaded with ground beef, pinto and black beans, fresh corn, tomatoes, and smoky taco seasonings. A filling meal-in-a-jar for busy nights when you want to open the pantry and have dinner nearly done.
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Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Servings: 7 Quarts
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Beans
  • 1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans
  • 1 1/2 cups dried black beans
  • 9 cups water
For the Taco Soup
  • 3 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 3 cups fresh corn kernels
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 cups unseasoned stewed tomatoes
  • 32 ounces beef broth
  • Additional hot beef broth or water as needed
Seasonings
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons salt

Method
 

Prepare the Beans
  1. Combine the pinto and black beans in a large pot with 9 cups of water.
  2. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.
  3. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the beans soak for 1 hour.
  4. Return the beans to the stove and bring them back to a boil. Drain and set aside.
Prepare the Ground Beef
  1. While the beans are soaking, brown 3 1/2 pounds of ground beef.
  2. Break the beef into fairly small pieces as it cooks. Once it is completely browned, drain off the excess fat well.
  3. Add the chopped onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  4. Transfer everything to a large stockpot.
Make the Taco Soup
  1. Add the drained beans and fresh corn to the beef.
  2. Pour in the stewed tomatoes and 32 ounces of beef broth.
  3. Add the chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and salt.
  4. Stir everything together.
  5. At this point, take a look at the soup.
  6. The solids need to be covered with liquid. If 32 ounces of broth isn't enough for your particular batch, add additional beef broth or water.
  7. Don't cook the soup down to make it thicker.
  8. Bring the entire pot to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
  9. Now you're ready to fill the jars.
Fill the Jars
  1. This is the part of the recipe where I want you to pay attention to the ratio rather than trying to get as much food as possible into each jar.
  2. Using a slotted spoon, add the beef, beans, corn, and vegetables to a hot quart jar.
  3. Stop when the jar is halfway full of solids.
  4. Do not pack them down.
  5. Ladle the hot tomato and broth mixture over the solids, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
  6. Remove air bubbles and check the headspace again.
  7. If you need additional liquid, use boiling beef broth or boiling water. Don't solve a shortage of liquid by adding more solids to the jar.
  8. Wipe the jar rim, center the lid, and tighten the band fingertip tight.
  9. Continue filling the remaining jars the same way.
  10. My batch produced seven quarts plus one pint, but yield can vary slightly depending on how finely the vegetables are chopped, how much liquid the beans absorb, and how much additional broth is needed.
Pressure Can the Soup
  1. Place the jars into your prepared pressure canner and secure the lid.
  2. Heat the canner with the vent open. Once a strong, steady stream of steam is coming from the vent, allow the canner to vent for a full 10 minutes.
  3. Then close the vent or add the weight and allow the canner to come to the correct pressure.
  4. Process quart jars for 75 minutes.
  5. For a dial-gauge pressure canner, use:
  6. 0–2,000 feet: 11 PSI
  7. 2,001–4,000 feet: 12 PSI
  8. 4,001–6,000 feet: 13 PSI
  9. 6,001–8,000 feet: 14 PSI
  10. For a weighted-gauge pressure canner, use:
  11. 0–1,000 feet: 10 PSI
  12. Above 1,000 feet: 15 PSI
  13. Start your 75-minute timer only after the canner reaches the correct pressure.
  14. If the pressure drops below the required pressure at any point during processing, bring the canner back to pressure and restart the processing time from the beginning.
  15. When the processing time is finished, turn off the heat and let the canner return to zero pressure naturally.
  16. Do not try to speed this up.
  17. Once the canner has completely depressurized, remove the weight or open the vent and wait another 10 minutes before opening the lid.
  18. Open the lid away from your face and remove the jars to a towel-covered counter.
  19. Leave them alone for 12 to 24 hours before checking the seals, removing the bands, washing the jars, and putting them away.

Notes

The 32 ounces of beef broth is a starting amount. Depending on how much liquid your beans absorb, you may need additional hot beef broth or water. The solids should be covered with liquid when the soup is brought to a boil. When filling jars, fill each jar no more than halfway with solids, then add hot liquid, leaving 1 inch of headspace. If you run short on liquid, add additional boiling broth rather than packing more solids into the jars.