This Slow Cooker Short Rib Fajita Soup is everything you love about steak fajitas, just in comforting, slurp-tastic soup form!  Loaded with all your favorite fajita flavors and ingredients, and made with the ease of the slow cooker, this soup is guaranteed to please!

Heeeeey there friends!  What’s good?!

How was your Galentine’s/Valentine’s Day?

You get or give anything fancy?!

My Valentine’s Day was delightful, thank you for asking.  😉

I woke up to the sweetest note from Boy and my favorite flowers (sunflowers in case any of you are taking notes).  I stayed in my jammies all day long (totally typical) and got a bunch of work done.  And then, I had my favorite dinner (popcorn, don’t judge) while relaxing, sipping a cocktail, and binge watching some shows with Boy and Dolce (our fur baby) on the couch.

In my world all those things make me extremely happy.  I’m easy to please and I don’t require a lot.  So all in all, it was a most marvelous day.

Anyways, we are going to get right into today’s recipe, because I’m over here counting the minutes to the weekend and I’m assuming you are doing the same.  Therefore wind-baggy nonsense needs to take a back seat.

Sane people who LIVE for the weekend rejoice!

Slow Cooker Short Rib Fajita Soup

AKA terrifically tasty short rib soup that tastes EXACTLY like your favorite steak fajitas!

And it’s soup-erbly easy thanks to the slow cooker!  Wahoo!

Here’s what’s going on in this soup-

Large chunks of melt-in-your-mouth, SUPER tender short ribs.

Loads of veggies and ALL the fajita fixin’s – onion, bell pepper, corn and black beans.

All those fabulous flavors and ingredients are swimming in a silky, rich, fajita flavored broth jazzed up with a touch of tortilla flavor from a bit of masa harina.

Top it all off with your favorite fajita garnishes, like pepper jack cheese, cilantro, avocado and sour cream and you have FIESTA of FLAVORS begging to be all UP in your face.

This soup is hearty, yet light and jam packed with everything you love about fajitas.

DOOOOO this friends!

I mean, what rational person doesn’t want to face plant into some fajitas that you can slurp down with a spoon?

⬆️️ Rhetorical question.

Go grab some sombreros and have yourself a soup party.  OLE!

How to Make It:

If you have an Instant Pot you can do ALL the browning and sautéing RIGHT in the IP!  Yippie!  Just follow the instructions, browning the ribs and then sautéing the veggies, but leave the vegetables in the IP (obviously).

Okay, let’s DO this!

First, you are going to season the ribs VERY GENEROUSLY with salt and pepper.  Don’t be stingy with the seasoning.  LOAD it up!  Then brown the ribs, IN BATCHES, until they are golden brown on all sides.  Remove those meaty bad boys to a plate if using an Instant Pot, or if you are using a dutch oven, transfer them right to the Slow Cooker.

Next, sauté the peppers and onions, again seasoning them liberally!  Add in the garlic and let that cook until fragrant, which should only take between 30 seconds and 1 minute.  Don’t burn the garlic, it tastes ICK.

If you are using a dutch oven and transferring everything to a slow cooker, add ¾ of a cup of broth to the pot to deglaze and scrape up all those delicious brown bits.  Transfer the peppers, onions and all the delicious brothy bits to the slow cooker.

Next, add everything BUT the masa harina to the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 5 ½ hours or until the beef is tender.

At this point, the soup tastes delicious as is, but it’s missing the tortilla component of fajitas, and this is where the masa harina (ground corn flour) magic happens.  Mix a bit of stock with a few tablespoons of masa harina and add it to the slow cooker.  Give the soup a good stir, then cover and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish it up and slurp it down!

Recipe Notes:

1. Make sure you trim the excess fat from your short ribs and cut them into large, bite sized pieces, roughly ½- ¾’’ in size.
2. You can use any kind of canned, diced tomatoes.  I’m a big fan of the fire roasted, diced tomatoes, so that is what I used and recommend.
3. If you have access to fresh corn, I would absolutely use that instead of frozen corn.  Just cut the kernels from the cob and proceed with the recipe as directed.
4. I used a mix of red and yellow bell peppers, but you can use whatever color peppers you like.  You can even add in a diced jalapeno when sauteing the peppers if you like a lot of spice!
5. I always recommend making your own seasonings, so I have included the recipe to DIY fajita seasoning in the notes section of the recipe below.  However, you can absolutely use store bought seasoning if you would like!
6. Make sure you season the ribs and vegetables generously with salt and pepper.  Seasoning liberally, and properly, makes the difference between a good soup and a GREAT one.
7. In case you skipped the “how to make it” section above, you can absolutely use the Instant Pot for this recipe.  Saute the ribs and remove them to a plate, then saute the veggies, deglaze the pot, add back in the ribs and continue with the recipe as instructed.

Give your fajitas the soup-erb treatment with this Slow Cooker Short Rib Fajita Soup.  Loaded with all the traditional fajita flavors and ingredients, this soup is guaranteed to please!

Until next week friends, cheers – to steak fajitas in slurp-tastic soup form.

-xoxo-

Cheyanne

5 from 9 votes

Print

Slow Cooker Short Rib Fajita Soup

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

6 hr

Total Time

6 hr 15 mins

 

This Slow Cooker Short Rib Fajita Soup is everything you love about steak fajitas, just in comforting, slurp-tastic soup form! Loaded with all your favorite fajita flavors and ingredients, and made with the ease of the slow cooker, this soup is guaranteed to please!

Course: entree, Soup

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings: 6

Calories: 752 kcal

Author: Cheyanne Holzworth-Bany

Ingredients

• 3 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil , divided
• 2 Pounds Boneless Beef Short Ribs – trimmed of excess fat cut into bite sized pieces (roughly ½ - ¾’’ cubes)
• 5 Cups Low Sodium Beef Stock , divided
• 1 (14.5 oz) Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes , with juices
• 2 Cups Yellow Onion – peeled & diced(about 2 small onions)
• 2 Cups Bell Peppers – diced(about 2 peppers)*
• 4 cloves Garlic - minced
• 1 Cup Frozen Corn , defrosted
• 1 (15.5 oz) Can Black Beans – drained and rinsed
• 2 1/2 TBS Fajita Seasoning *
• 2 TBS Masa Harina
• Salt and Pepper , to taste
• Optional Garnishes: Shredded Pepper Jack, Cilantro, Avocado, Jalapenos, Sour Cream, Lime Juice, Tortilla Strips

Instructions

1. Brown the ribs: Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot (or Dutch oven) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of the ribs and cook until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer to the slow cooker and repeat with another tablespoon of oil and remaining ribs, transferring those to the slow cooker when browned as well.
2. Sauté the onions and peppers: Reduce heat to medium and add another tablespoon of oil to the pot. Add the onions and peppers. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in ¾ cup of stock to deglaze, scraping the brown bits up off the bottom of the pot. Transfer to the slow cooker with the ribs.
3. Add in 4 cups of stock, tomatoes, corn, black beans and fajita seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 5 ½ hours or until beef is tender.
4. In a small bowl mix together remaining ¼ cup of stock with masa harina. Mix well and add it to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and continue to cook on low for an additional 30 minutes.
5. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Serve with optional garnishes and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

1. Make sure you trim the excess fat from your short ribs and cut them into large, bite sized pieces, roughly ½- ¾’’ in size.
2. You can use any kind of canned, diced tomatoes. I’m a big fan of the fire roasted, diced tomatoes, so that is what I used and recommend.
3. If you have access to fresh corn, I would absolutely use that instead of frozen corn. Just cut the kernels from the cob and proceed with the recipe as directed.
4. I used a mix of red and yellow bell peppers, but you can use whatever color peppers you like. You can even add in a diced jalapeno when sauteing the peppers if you like a lot of spice!
5. Make sure you season the ribs and vegetables generously with salt and pepper. Seasoning liberally, and properly, makes the difference between a good soup and a GREAT one.
6. You can absolutely use the Instant Pot for this recipe. Saute the ribs and remove them to a plate, then saute the veggies, deglaze the pot, add back in the ribs and continue with the recipe as instructed.
7. I always recommend making your own seasonings, so I have included the recipe to DIY fajita seasoning in the notes section of the recipe below. However, you can absolutely use store bought seasoning if you would like!
Fajita Seasoning:
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Ground White Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Short Rib Fajita Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 752 Calories from Fat 558

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 62g 95%

Saturated Fat 24g 120%

Cholesterol 114mg 38%

Sodium 823mg 34%

Potassium 993mg 28%

Total Carbohydrates 20g 7%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 5g

Protein 28g 56%

Vitamin A 33.2%

Vitamin C 84.7%

Calcium 5%

Iron 20.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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