Hamburger Soup is a quick and easy meal loaded with vegetables, lean beef, diced tomatoes and potatoes. It’s great made ahead of time, budget friendly, reheats well and freezes perfectly.
We serve this easy Hamburger Soup with a fresh green salad and some crusty bread for the perfect meal!
I love a good soup as a weeknight meal. Hearty soups are satisfying & simple and they are loaded with vegetables and healthy ingredients! Soup is the perfect cool weather food or delicious weeknight dinner!
You can make them totally low cal like a Weight Loss Vegetable Soup, nice and hearty like a Chicken Wild Rice Soup or rich and creamy like a Slow Cooker Corn Chowder!
This Hamburger Soup is simple classic comfort food, hearty, healthy and satisfying. Perfect on a cool evening to warm your belly from the inside out.
I have to say that while we’ve always referred to this as hamburger soup, I know you guys have tons of other names for it! Hamburger soup, vegetable soup, hangover soup, poor man’s soup, bachelor’s stew… just to name a few.
Regardless of what you call it, you’ll definitely want to make it!
How to Make Hamburger Soup
A rich tomato broth is filled with ground beef, tender potatoes and vegetables. Sometimes the most simple ingredients make the best ever meals.
This hamburger soup is not only delicious, it’s easy to make with ingredients you likely have on hand.
I start with a mixture of lean beef, onion and garlic browned and drained. You can use any kind of ground meat in this recipe including ground turkey.
Beef broth is the best broth option to add lots of great flavor; I personally prefer the low sodium variety.
Hamburger Soup with Vegetables
I use a mixture of frozen vegetables to make this super easy (no chopping, no prepping) but it’s also a great way to use up any veggies in your fridge. Carrots, celery, peas, beans, zucchini… pretty much anything goes, sometimes we make this even with cabbage!
This version of Hamburger Soup uses potatoes since that’s how we always had it growing up. If you don’t have potatoes on hand (or just prefer pasta) you can add any type of pasta into this recipe!
I add an extra 1 cup of broth (or water) and let the pasta simmer until tender. Macaroni, shells and rotini are favorites to make this into a delicious and hearty macaroni beef soup!
What to Serve with Hamburger Soup
While the soup is simmering, I prepare a quick chopped salad and slice up a loaf of french bread (almost always served with Homemade Garlic Butter) for a complete meal.
If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, this soup is great reheated for lunches all week but even better, it freezes perfectly!
I prop up a freezer bag in my little baggie holder and fill each baggie with one serving.
When I need a quick lunch, I take it out of the freezer the night before or in the morning and microwave for a perfect meal. (And then sometimes add a little sprinkle of cheese before serving).
This has been a family favorite forever!
It gets rave reviews from everyone who tries it, it’s quick and easy to make, reheats well and is versatile. The perfect soup.
This is also an excellent gifting soup.
If you know anyone that’s recently had a baby or surgery, or is just having an extra crazy week with the kids, this is the soup to drop off.
Add along a side of 30 Minute Dinner Rolls for the perfect meal!
It stretches to feed a crowd with that salad and bread and will last a few days.
Easy Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced
- 3 ½ cups beef broth
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 can condensed tomato soup
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups mixed vegetables fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Brown onion, ground beef and garlic until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Add potatoes, broth, tomatoes, tomato soup, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning and bay leaves. Simmer covered 10 minutes.
- Stir in vegetables. Simmer 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Soup
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Do you think I could substitute chicken broth for the beef broth? Would it be too much of a change in flavor? Thanks in advance
I think it would change the base flavor but should still be delicious.
I tweaked this a little. I used a jar of Rao’s Marinara sauce instead of tomato soup. I also omitted the Italian seasoning and used garlic, salt, pepper, Lowry’s, and added better than bullion even though I used beef stock.
It is actually okay to do that, you just can’t substitute chicken stock with beef broth because that REALLY changes the taste. Yes! You CAN always substitute beef broth with chicken broth.
I hope that helps!
Any tips on how to convert this to a crock pot recipe? ☺️ Very tasty!
Hi Ren, I would suggest browning the beef and adding it to the slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients. Then cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the potatoes are tender!
I have made this soup several times this year and my hubby and grandkids have loved it every single time! I love the rich flavor the Worcestershire sauce gives it.
I did add a few tsps. of sugar to offset the acidity of tomatoes. I also had to improvise as I didn’t have condensed tom. soup today, just used tom. sauce & it was still very yummy! I also added chickpeas as hubby & I love them. Left out potatoes & pasta as we’re trying to cut carbs. (I have used kale, broccoli, green beans and/or cabbage before).
This soup is Not only very easy & quick to make, but super hearty and delish! Thank you for sharing with us! It is in my Go to favorites!
Try using a can of MANWICH instead of tomato soup/sauce, that’s a whole new level of DELICIOUSNESS!
What kind of potatoes do you use and how much? How long to cook if I put it in the crockpot?
Hi Judy, a baking potato like a russet potato should hold up well in the crockpot. I would brown the ground beef before adding it to the crockpot and then cook on low for about 4 hours. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
We happened to have a wet and rainy July 1. I found this recipe and I had all the ingredients, only I used canned veggies. It was wonderful. Only change I made was to double the spices. This will be a regular in our household.
Best soup I’ve ever made! Packed full of flavor. My husband could live off this soup I think. I make this soup atleast twice a month. ❤️❤️❤️
Hello! Is there any way that V8 juice could be used as a substitute for the condensed tomato soup? Thanks!
Sure it can!
Good basic recipe for this dish. I have a “Mexican” variant that subs in a can of refried beans instead of the potatoes or other starch. I would keep your other ingredients but add chopped onion.
A slightly difference spice mix. Cumin (1-2tb), Coriander powder (1/2 tsp.) and chilis. I use dried chilis that are softened and seeded.
But’s almost another recipe.:)
One of the best soups I’ve made, and I’ve made a lot! I used fresh celery, carrots and frozen corn and added them all with the potatoes, then simmered for 1 1/2 hours. Fantastic! And so easy!
Wow, I wasn’t expecting something so easy and healthy to taste so good! For the added vegetables, I used diced carrots. a can of sweet corn, a can of green beans, and frozen peas. This was seriously so good. I had no problem with my potatoes getting done.
Wow, I wasn’t expecting something so easy and healthy to taste so good! For the added vegetables, I used diced carrots. a can of sweet corn, a can of green beans, and frozen peas. This was seriously so good.
This is amazing. I added two slices carrots, 1 can of green beans, some frozen peas and some shredded cabbage. Other than that, I made the recipe exactly as written.
Will definitely make again.
This is my favorite soups to eat with some rolls. I just add zucchini and mushrooms too❤️
This was delicious!
After reading many reviews about the potatoes either taking too long or not being cooked enough I decided to dice them first and then parboil them while I cooked the beef. When it was time to throw the potatoes in they were already half way done. This was the slightest extra step taken and saved about 10 minutes.
We don’t like thyme (Italian Seasoning) so I just used some rosemary, oregano, sage, parsley and basil. I used two cans of the diced tomatoes that are already seasoned with basil, garlic and oregano. This was the only modification I made to the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Tracy! Thanks for sharing your modifications, they sound great :)
What if you don’t have canned tomato? Would tomato paste work or would it be better to just opt out?
Sorry canned tomato soup***
Hi Steph, you could replace it with tomato sauce or tomato paste but be sure to thin it out with some additional water/broth as the tomato paste will make it quite thick.
Tried for first time. Just finished cooking. Had taste yum. My tea tonight Eddie, Melbourne Australia
This is one of my favorite recipes
Question though, it says you updated it. What changed? I had the recipe from before the update. It seems more tomato-y now.
Or am I just crazy?
So happy you are enjoying this recipe, Angie! We haven’t updated the recipe since it was originally published but we have updated the writing that goes before it. That might be what you are noticing. You could cut back on the tomatoes a little if you prefer!
Before adding the cooked ground meat or any similar protein (sausages, etc.) buzz up the soup contents reducing the potatoes to small pieces or an actual puree. Better body and taste IMO.
I always opt to replace that with MANWICH cuz I don’t like tomatoes very much.
I almost never do this, but I just wanted to drop a comment and say that I gave this recipe a try and not only was it a hit but ALL the kids loved it! With five-six children, ages 3-21, that’s quite a feat!
Love this soup. Easy to make and so tasty.
Recovering from Covid, food was just something I didn’t want but on the 6th day all I could think about was my Mommas hamburger stew. But my Momma passed away 5 years ago. I had never made stew before. I searched recipes and found yours.. looked like my Mommas so I made it. My husband and I loved it and ate it for a couple of weeks. Different batches..lol. I even made it for my neighbors when they all came down with Covid. It is a keeper!!! Thank You for sharing.
So happy to hear that you loved this recipe, Lori! It is such delicious comfort food.
I’ve made this soup a few times and loved it. I’m out of potatoes today though. If I use macaroni instead, how much should I use?
This Beef and Macaroni Soup sounds like exactly what you are looking for, Jenn! Hope you enjoy it.
This is a great wholesome, easy but delicious recipe!
Love this on a cold day!