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.
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 canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 10.75 ounces condensed tomato soup 1 can
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables or fresh chopped vegetables
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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Delicious!! Very savory and hearty. I remember this soup from my childhood and it tastes just how I remember it. Thank you.
My favorite hamburger soup recipe!
I am so glad you are loving this recipe Teresa!
Thanks Holly, for another fabulous, most delicious recipe!! So tasty!
Thanks so much!
When I was first on my own, this was the first recipe I figured out how to make. Almost identical, except for the tomato soup. I left that out and added a bit more broth and Worc. to compensate. 1 c. carrots fresh in with the potatoes, 2.5 of corn and green beans at the end. Such a great comforting soup.
Second time this winter making the recipe. My husband is a very picky eating, he doesn’t like soups or stews. This one was a hit. For my rating it’s truly a 4.5, not a 5 star but not a 4 either. Good starter recipe, add your own favorites and spice :) Very good.
Almost like my mom’s. She added things together and made it her own similar to this as well as her pork chop soup 😋
Viva la Mexico
🇺🇸
I had Rotel instead of canned tomatoes and the only Worcestershire that I had was a Cajun powered worcestershire but a friend from Louisiana had sent me. my leftover veggie is where a mix of carrots, peas and corn. it turned out extremely delicious. My husband who is pretty finicky is super happy
I love your hamburger soup Holly!
and, so does everyone else I cook it for!
It is inexpensive, easy & quick to make & it is so Delicious!!!!😸
I am so happy to hear this recipe has been a hit Celia!
Can I use a chuck roast instead and how?
Yes, I recommend following this recipe for vegetable beef soup which is very similar. The chuck roast will need to simmer 45-65 minutes, or until tender, and the broth will simmer down quite a bit so you will need to use more.
Love the base recipe. I had to add a lot of extra spice, salt and extra Worcestershire. Taste, taste, taste says Chef Ramsey! I did use fresh vegetables: yellow peppers, zucchini, carrots and celery. It took an extra 30 minutes to cook the veggies. All worth it as my one super picky eater asked for more.
Holy shit Holly, THAT SOUP WAS FANTASTIC!!!! Yes, it warranted the “s” word. The recipe is so simple and yet tastes like a five star restaurant soup! I didn’t change much, I only had 500ml of my own canned tomato soup, so I used the whole jar. I think next time I would use fire roasted diced tomatoes, but other than that, I followed it as stated. It is pure perfection! Thanks for sharing Holly! I now have to check out your other recipes. This one is my new favorite!
This website is awesome.
Can I cook the beef first and then throw everything in the crockpot for 4-6 hours? Thanks!
We have never tried this recipe in the slow cooker. But I think it could definitely be done! I agree that browning the beef first is a good idea, then add it to the slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients.I would cook on low 6-8 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Enjoy.
If using real vegetables, when do you suggest adding them?
They should cook in the 15 to 20 minutes time allotted. If needed you can add an extra minute or two to ensure they are fully cooked.
thank you 😊 🙏
this was an easy recipe, very taste! Everyone I served it to loved it. Making it again and again
I want to make this but no tomato soup and only have vegetable broth. What substitute would you recommend for tomato soup? Sounds delicious!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Bonnie, but you should be able to swap in tomato juice or tomato sauce. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!