If you love flavorful steak fajitas, you'll flip for this super simple Mexican Beef Soup! Featuring juicy, beefy short ribs, tender veggies, fajita seasonings, and a flavorful broth, this comforting short rib soup is like a fiesta of flavors for your tastebuds. Made with the convenience of the slow cooker, this recipe is equal parts simple, cozy, and delicious!
Brown the Short 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.
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.
To the Slow Cooker: Add in 4 cups of stock, tomatoes, corn, black beans, and fajita seasoning. Give everything a good stir to combine.
Cover and cook on low for 5 ½ hours or until beef is tender.
Mix Thickener, Add to Soup: 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. Continue to Cook: Cover the crockpot or slow cooker and continue to cook the beef rib soup on low for an additional 30 minutes, or until the short ribs are extremely tender.
Adjust, Garnish: Take a bite of the Mexican beef soup and adjust for seasoning. Transfer the soup to individual serving bowls and garnish with your favorite Mexican soup toppings, like pico de gallo, sliced avocados, shredded cheese, cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream.
Serve the Mexican Soup with Beef Short Ribs while warm and enjoy!
Notes
Make sure you trim the excess fat from your short ribs and cut them into large, bite sized pieces, roughly ½- ¾’’ in size.
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.
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.
Peppers: 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 jalapenos when sautéing the peppers if you like a lot of spice!
Fajita Seasoning: I always recommend making your own seasonings for the best flavor. I use my fajita spice seasoning (https://www.nospoonnecessary.com/fajita-seasoning/). However, of course you can use your favorite store bought brand (taco seasoning works too!).
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.
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.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and the nutrition facts are an estimate based upon 6 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.