Cowboy Soup Recipe: Easy, Very Tasty Tex-Mex Soup

You don’t have to be on cattle drives to enjoy a great meal fit for a trail boss! This Cowboy Soup Recipe has Tex-Mex flavors and is one of our favorite camping dinner recipes.

Dutch Oven Cowboy Soup by CampingForFoodies features a black cast iron Dutch oven filled with hamburger Tex-Mex soup in a red tomato sauce broth. Green beans, yellow corn kernels, green peas, orange cubed carrots and white potato chunks in the soup are ready to be served with the ladle set in the pot.

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Recipe Prep

This is one of our one pot camping meals that requires very little meal prep because it uses mostly canned ingredients and frozen mixed veggies. You’ll only need to chop some bacon and cube a couple of potatoes.


Cooking Methods & Equipment

  • I like making this as one of our easy campfire recipes because it’s a great way to make this wonderful soup using a campfire grate or tripod.
  • Unfortunately, the last time we made this meal we were cooking in really windy conditions and it was not safe to have campfires. The best part of making cowboy soup recipes is the ability for the camp cook to transition to prepare as camp stove recipes using a propane-heat source.
  • You’ll need a 12-inch 8 quart Dutch oven or large pot with tight-fitting lid to cook this delicious meal.

Recipe Steps

Step 1. Prepare your ingredients, heat source and equipment as directed.

Step 2. Fry the bacon. Don’t drain the grease from the pot.

Step 3. Brown the hamburger. You’ll add the ground beef to the pot with the bacon and crumble it as it cooks. Don’t drain the grease.

Step 4. Add the remaining ingredients. When the meat is no longer pink, add the following ingredients: spices, potatoes, cans of tomatoes, pinto beans, black beans, ranch beans, green chile peppers, beef broth and defrosted frozen peas, carrots, sweet corn and green beans.

Step 5. Bring to boil, covered. Reduce heat and uncover, simmer till potatoes are tender.

Step 6. Serve hot. Topped with crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Cowboy Soup Recipe by CampingForFoodies features a blue camping bowl filled with a serving of hamburger Tex-Mex soup in a red tomato sauce broth. Green beans, yellow corn kernels, green peas, orange cubed carrots and white potato chunks in the soup are topped with crushed corn tortilla chips. The handle of a spoon rests on the side of the bowl that is set on a campfire wood log.

What To Serve With This Recipe

If you’re looking for keto camping food, this soup is a wonderful choice. It has:

  • Total carbs/serving: 12g
  • Total fiber/serving: 2g
  • Net carbs/serving: 10g (which can be reduced even further by omitting the potatoes)

This cowboy hamburger soup is a great option if you’re looking for gluten free camping food. I like adding crushed tortilla chips or croutons made from cornbread muffins. This will add gluten to this meal unless you use gluten-free varieties.

Meal Planning

YouTube video

Use my camping menu planner to stay organized when planning meals for your next trip. It’s FREE and you’ll get it delivered instantly to your inbox!

Camping Menu Template Meal Planner Free Printable by CampingForFoodies features a collage of free camping printables including a camping menu planner template, a campfire stew recipe card and a healthy no cook camping salad with text over the image that reads free camping menu template, tips and recipe ideas.

Scaling Servings

This full recipe serves about 8 as a main course or about a dozen cowboys as a first course. The quantities in the printable recipe card are considered a dinner serving size for 8 adults. This delicious tex mex soup is one of my favorite easy camping meals for large groups, so, use the + sign to adjust the number of servings you need and the ingredient quantities will be automatically adjusted for you. Be sure to increase the size of your cooking pot accordingly.


Leftovers

You probably won’t have a drop of this soup leftover but if you do, keep it refrigerated in an airtight container. It’s great reheated for a quick lunch the next day.


Similar Recipes

This hearty cowboy soup is the perfect meal on a cold winter day. We have more winter camping recipes with tons of flavor you’re going to want to try the next time you’re camping in frigid temps.

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  • This Dutch Oven Cowboy Stew Recipe combines bacon, ground beef and andouille sausage with canned pinto and green beans, whole kernel corn and green chilies to make a thick and hearty delicious Texas cowboy stew.
  • Try this Chicken Piccata Soup if you want something on the lighter side.
  • Try this Hot Italian Sausage Campfire Soup if you like cream-based homemade soup. It starts with hot Italian sausage and bacon then adds heavy cream with chicken broth, potatoes and fresh spinach. This hearty soup is one of my favorite Dutch oven camping recipes.
  • If you like delicious tex-mex meals, try this Diablo Sandwich. It’s a few steps above a sloppy joe sandwich, the extra flavor comes from taco seasoning and a few drops of your favorite hot sauce. It’s the right amount of heat for city slickers who want to experience the great outdoors like the cowboys with a little extra kick. I always serve an extra bottle of hot sauce on the side for those who want their sandwich to taste even hotter. This is one of my favorite ground beef camping recipes.
  • If you’re short on fridge and cooler space, make this 5 Can Chili using ingredients that are pantry staples. You’ll combine canned chicken, veggies, green chiles and salsa to make a meal that’ll be on your table in 20 minutes. Check out all of our ideas for camping food recipes no refrigeration required.
  • This Campfire White Chili uses ground turkey, chicken broth and canned white beans to create a flavorful broth as it’s base. The Monterey jack cheese is the secret ingredient that thickens this chili to a nice creamy consistency. Add a dollop of sour cream for serving and you’re got a real crowd-pleaser.
  • If you like a rich tomato-based broth, you’ll love this Campfire Stew. Added flavor comes from two types of meat and fresh veggies. The end result is a fork-tender stew that is satisfying and hearty.
  • When making this Dutch Oven Goulash, you don’t have to boil the macaroni in a separate pot. You just brown the meat then add a couple of chopped fresh vegetables and the cans of vegetables, broth and macaroni so it all cooks together. It’s one of the best easy camping meals you’ll make!

Watch How To Make It

Recipe

Cowboy Soup Recipe by CampingForFoodies features a blue camping bowl filled with a serving of hamburger Tex-Mex soup in a red tomato sauce broth. Green beans, yellow corn kernels, green peas, orange cubed carrots and white potato chunks in the soup are topped with crushed corn tortilla chips. The handle of a spoon rests on the side of the bowl that is set on a campfire wood log.

Cowboy Soup Recipe

Camping For Foodies Soups, Stews & Chili Recipes: This Cowboy Soup has yummy Tex-Mex flavors and requires very little prep work before it’s cooking.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Soups, Stews & Chili
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 138kcal
Author: Kim Hanna

Equipment

Ingredients

Meat

  • 6 slices bacon chopped
  • 1 pound lean ground beef

Spices (Can Be Measured And Mixed In Advance)

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Remaining Ingredients

  • 2 large potatoes peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
  • 1 (15 oz) can ranch style beans, undrained
  • 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 (4 oz) can diced green chile peppers, undrained
  • 1 (32 oz) carton beef broth
  • 1 (32 oz) bag frozen mixed vegetables (with corn kernels, peas, carrots and green beans), defrosted

Optional Garnish

  • Garnish with tortilla chips or cornbread croutons if desired.

Instructions

  • Heat 12-inch 8 quart Dutch oven or large pot with tight-fitting lid on stove top or campfire coals using medium-high heat or high heat if in really windy conditions.
  • Fry bacon until it’s browned, stirring to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Don’t drain grease.
  • Add ground beef to pot, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks. Don’t drain grease.
  • When the meat is no longer pink, add the spices and remaining ingredients to the pot and stir to combine.
  • Increase to high heat and cover to bring the mixture to boil.
  • Reduce to medium heat, remove cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes.
  • Top with tortilla chips or cornbread croutons, if desired. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 223mg | Potassium: 480mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 610IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 3mg

What do you think?

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5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




2 Comments

  1. Elizabeth says:

    5 stars
    Great layers of flavor and really easy to throw together at camp. We added a dollop of sour cream and a margarita on the side to really complete our meal!

    1. Kim Hanna says:

      Hi Elizabeth! I totally love the ideas of the sour cream and a margarita on the side! I’m going to try that next time too! Happy Camping, Kim