A recipe for a cozy Venison Soup that tastes like a cross between a taco-inspired chili and a comforting bean dip.
This venison soup is so incredibly cozy and unique, like a cross between a warm bean dip and a taco-inspired chili. Its creation was accidental but I love this soup so much I just couldn't decide on a name. Because this is THE venison soup recipe you're gonna want to make again and again.
So how did this mashup happen? As I was attempting to thicken the soup during recipe testing, it occurred to me that I would get a fantastically thick soup, like a chili, if I were to smush in some of the pinto beans. And that really does the trick!
The resulting soup has a hearty thickness to it, one you’re just gonna love! If you love hearty soups, you've also gotta check out this black bean soup, made with canned beans to save time.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
It's cozy and delicious. This cozy soup featuring venison is perfect for fall and is like a cross between a cozy bean dip and a taco-inspired chili. Mmmmm. You can also sub in ground beef if venison isn't readily available. If you're into cozy soups, give this cheesy Baked Potato Soup recipe a try.
It's a great way to use ground venison. When November hits in Minnesota, deer hunting season starts in full swing! Venison is not quite as versatile as say ground beef because it's so lean, but it's fantastic in this soup against pinto beans and cream cheese.
It's easy to make. There isn't a lot of prep work required other than browning your venison and diced onions in a fat (like olive oil or bacon grease) before putting the soup together.
How to Make Venison Soup - Ingredients
Don’t let the number of ingredients fool you - there’s not a lot of prep work required to make this venison soup recipe, thanks to the inclusion of canned, ready-to-use ingredients.
- ground venison
- olive oil or bacon grease
- yellow or white onion
- garlic cloves
- ancho chili powder
- cumin
- paprika
- diced tomatoes with green chilies
- canned pinto beans
- beef broth
- cream cheese
- Tapatio - the heat and acidity do wonders here, trust me
- heavy whipping cream
- salt and pepper, to taste (optional)
- Toppings such as grated cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, sour cream or tortilla strips
Scroll down to the recipe card to see the exact ingredient amounts needed.
How to Make Venison Soup - Directions
Take the cream cheese out of the fridge first so that it has time to soften.
Add the ground venison to a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the venison, stirring occasionally, until it’s cooked through, around 7 minutes.
I like to season the meat after it’s browned for a few minutes. Add the ancho chili powder, cumin, and paprika as the meat cooks.
Add yellow onion and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the pinto beans (including liquid), diced tomatoes with green chili, hot sauce, and beef broth to the Dutch oven.
Increase the heat to high to bring the soup to a boil. Upon boiling, immediately turn down the heat to a simmer. Simmer for around 15 minutes.
While the soup simmers, add cream cheese to a bowl. Spoon out some of the soup liquid into the bowl with cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese has completely melted in (you can use a blender if you’d like to speed up this process).
Add the melted cream cheese mixture to the soup and stir to combine. Add heavy whipping cream and stir.
Take a potato masher and smush some of the beans. I like to do this by just carefully mashing about half of the soup. The starches released from mashing the beans will help achieve a thicker chili.
Let simmer for around 45 minutes, partially covered. When you are happy with the thickness, remove from heat. I like this soup to get nice and thick, which requires a 45-60 minute cook.
Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper (if desired). Serve with sliced avocado, crushed tortilla strips, and freshly chopped cilantro or parsley.
Equipment
If you need to grind venison AND you happen to own a KitchenAid Mixer I highly recommend this KitchenAid Food Grinder Attachment for KitchenAid Mixer. I was hesitant at first to purchase this attachment because I thought an all metal grinder attachment was the way to go, but after several uses it’s proven itself sturdy.
My top tip is to immediately clean the grinding attachment after using; it comes apart easily and consists of few parts.
A Dutch oven, like this 5.5 quart model that I own and love.
Storage
Store leftover venison soup in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Substitutions for Venison Soup
- Ground venison - even though this recipe calls for venison, you can certainly swap in ground beef, pork, or chicken!
- Ancho chili powder - sub in regular old chili powder instead.
- Canned diced tomatoes with green chilies - use any kind of canned diced tomatoes you wish; this venison soup is also great with fire roasted tomatoes.
- Pinto beans - I actually don't recommend a substitute here; you could use black beans, but the resulting soup color isn't super appetizing.
- Beef broth - I love using beef broth to help lend a beefy umami, but you can also use chicken or vegetable broth. Or try making your own beef broth.
- Tapatio - while I’ve only made this recipe so far with Tapatio, I think almost any hot sauce would work. I recommend using something similar tasting to Tapatio if you want to replicate the recipe as closely as possible. Try Cholula or Valentina.
- Heavy whipping cream - you could opt for ½ and ½ here as well.
Top Tip
This venison soup recipe is fun to experiment with; I enjoy tossing in fresh jalapenos. I encourage you to tweak this recipe and make it your own!
FAQ
How gamey venison tastes varies quite a bit from person to person. I grew up eating venison so I've sampled my fair share of gamey harvests. If you find your venison is just on the edge of gamey for your preference this soup does wonders to level it off thanks to the acid and longer cook time. IMHO, no recipe can completely cover up overly gamey meat... Well, maybe if you deep fried it!
I recommend a drizzle of this Creamy Salsa Dressing and some fresh herbs. And, of course, crushed tortilla chips.
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Venison Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or bacon grease
- 1 yellow or white onion diced (around 2 cups)
- 6-8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- 1 14.5-ounce diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1 30-ounce can pinto beans including liquid
- 1 32-ounce box of beef broth
- 1 8 ounce block of cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon Tapatio
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
- Toppings such as grated cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, sour cream or tortilla strips
Instructions
- Take the cream cheese out of the fridge first so that it has time to soften.
- Add the ground venison to a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the venison, stirring occasionally, until it’s cooked through, around 7 minutes. I like to season the meat after it’s browned for a few minutes. Add the ancho chili powder, cumin, and paprika as the meat cooks.
- Add yellow onion and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the pinto beans (including liquid), diced tomatoes with green chili, hot sauce, and beef broth to the Dutch oven.
- Increase the heat to high to bring the soup to a boil. Upon boiling, immediately turn down the heat to a simmer. Simmer for around 15 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, add cream cheese to a bowl. Spoon out some of the soup liquid into the bowl with cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese has completely melted in (you can use a blender if you’d like to speed up this process).
- Add the melted cream cheese mixture to the soup and stir to combine. Add heavy whipping cream and stir.
- Take a potato masher and smush some of the beans. I like to do this by just carefully mashing about half of the soup. The starches released from mashing the beans will help achieve a thicker chili.
- Let simmer for around 45 minutes, partially covered. When you are happy with the thickness, remove from heat. I like this soup to get nice and thick, which requires a 45-60 minute cook.
- Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper (if desired). Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla strips or chips!
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