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Home » Soup » Alphabet Soup

November 21, 2019 By Sara 21 Comments

Alphabet Soup

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This recipe for alphabet soup is full of ground beef, vegetables and tender pasta, all simmered in a hearty tomato broth. The perfect family friendly dinner option!

My kids are soup fanatics, they’re always requesting chicken tortellini soup, cheeseburger soup and this super delicious alphabet soup.

Alphabet Soup Recipe | Hamburger Soup | Beef and Vegetable Soup #soup #hamburger #noodles #dinner #dinneratthezoo #carrots Alphabet Soup Recipe | Hamburger Soup | Beef and Vegetable Soup #soup #hamburger #noodles #dinner #dinneratthezoo #carrots

A pot of alphabet soup with ground beef and vegetables.

This winter my girls developed a love for soup. Which I was totally fine with, it’s easy to make, relatively healthy and is often a complete meal in a pot. One of my daughters rejects pasta and noodles about 90% of the time but she will make an exception for alphabet noodles which is how this recipe for alphabet soup came to be.

How do you make alphabet soup?

This soup starts with ground beef, which is cooked with carrots, onion and celery. After the meat and veggies are cooked through, tomatoes, beef broth and seasonings go into the pot. The final step is to add alphabet noodles, frozen corn and frozen green beans. Everything simmers together until the pasta is tender. Add a sprinkle of parsley and you’ll be ready to eat!

Ground beef, carrots, onion and celery in a soup pot.

Where do you buy alphabet noodles?

Let’s talk about alphabet noodles for a minute. It took me FOREVER to find them at the store. I’m talking months of looking at multiple stores. Finally one day I happened upon them…in the ethnic foods aisle with the Mexican food products. I would have never thought to look there. So if you can’t find them in the pasta aisle, check the ethnic food area, or order them online.

Ground beef, vegetables, canned tomatoes and seasonings in a pot.

Tips for alphabet soup

  • I use 90% lean ground beef. It’s got plenty of flavor but it isn’t overly greasy.
  • While I typically use frozen corn and green beans for this soup, feel free to substitute fresh veggies if they’re in season.
  • This soup makes great leftovers. Just be aware that the noodles will continue to absorb the broth as they sit in the fridge. When I reheat this soup, I typically add another cup of broth to the pot.
  • This soup is great served as-is, or with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.

A pot of soup with alphabet noodles, frozen corn and frozen green beans.

Alphabet Soup variations

I think this soup is perfect as-is, but there are tons of different ways to change up the ingredients to suit your tastes!

  • Protein: Try using cooked shredded chicken, mild Italian sausage or ground turkey instead of the beef.
  • Noodles: While this is clearly meant to use alphabet noodles, if you can’t find them or don’t have them on hand, any tiny pasta will work such as orzo or acini de pepe.
  • Vegetables: You can mix and match the vegetables to include the veggies your family likes best. Other great vegetables to try include potatoes, bell peppers, peas or spinach.

A bowl of alphabet soup with beef and vegetables in a tomato broth.

This soup is meant to appeal to the kids, but adults love it too! The hearty combination of meat, veggies and pasta just can’t be beat.

More soup recipes

  • Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
  • 50 Slow Cooker Soup Recipes
  • Stuffed Pepper Soup
  • Cabbage Roll Soup
  • Hamburger Soup
A pot of alphabet soup with ground beef and vegetables.
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5 from 7 votes

Alphabet Soup

This recipe for alphabet soup is full of ground beef, vegetables and tender pasta, all simmered in a hearty tomato broth. The perfect family friendly dinner option!
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Keyword alphabet soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 205kcal
Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion finely diced
  • 2 carrots peeled, quartered and sliced
  • 2 stalks celery thinly sliced
  • 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 15 ounce can diced tomatoes do not drain
  • 8 ounce can tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 3/4 cup alphabet noodles
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 1/2 cup frozen green beans
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves chopped

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot.
  • Cook for 5-6 minutes or until softened. 
  • Add the ground beef to the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until browned and mostly cooked through. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
  • Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, beef broth, alphabet noodles, corn and green beans to the pot; bring to a simmer.
  • Simmer for 10-12 minutes or until noodles are tender and vegetables have softened.
  • Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 976mg | Potassium: 672mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3650IU | Vitamin C: 12.2mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3.2mg

This post was originally published on March 24, 2015 and was updated on November 21, 2019 with new content.

Filed Under: Dinner, One Pot Meals, Soup Tagged With: Dinner, Ground Beef, Noodles, Soup

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Comments

  1. Arleen says

    December 8, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Recipe says to add tomato sauce, I don’t see it listed with the ingredients.So how much sauce ?

    Reply
    • Sara Denig says

      December 9, 2019 at 6:38 am

      My family doesn’t like tomato. If I omit the diced tomatoes, what should I add for the liquid instead?

      Reply
      • Sara says

        December 9, 2019 at 9:06 am

        Add an extra 1/2 cup of broth

        Reply
  2. Toni says

    December 3, 2019 at 10:03 am

    5 stars
    I was so excited to find your recipe! I grew up with canned alphabet soup but love making it from scratch now (thank you)! Thanks for the tip on where to find the pasta too!

    Reply
  3. Catalina says

    December 3, 2019 at 2:06 am

    5 stars
    Wow! This alphabet soup is definitely a soup that my kid will love! Yum!

    Reply
  4. Allyson Zea says

    December 2, 2019 at 6:20 am

    I love making this at home because we know exactly what goes into it! Thanks for the easy recipe!

    Reply
  5. Beth says

    November 30, 2019 at 8:03 pm

    5 stars
    Such a delicious soup! The kids loved it especially with the alphabet noodles!

    Reply
  6. Erin says

    November 29, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    5 stars
    This soup needs to happen at my house very soon!!

    Reply
  7. Bethany says

    June 20, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    5 stars
    We ate this for the first time tonight using a different meatball recipe we’d previously made and frozen. It was good!

    Reply
  8. Greg says

    June 13, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    5 stars
    The turkey meatballs look amazing. What a hearty soup!

    Reply
  9. peter @feedyoursoultoo says

    April 28, 2015 at 9:30 am

    Good food and fun too. Great combination.

    Reply
  10. Carly says

    April 16, 2015 at 8:14 pm

    This looks AMAZING!!!

    Reply
  11. Brooke Knipp says

    April 16, 2015 at 7:24 pm

    Hmmm, I wonder if you could find those noodles on Amazon? It occurred to me that my kids have never eaten any version of alphabet soup–either store-bought or deliciously home-made, like yours. They would LOVE this! Plus, they like ‘Martha Speaks’ 🙂

    Reply
    • Lea says

      January 18, 2018 at 9:17 am

      Yup bought mine in a 3-pack bundle on Amazon for cheap!

      Reply
    • Ash says

      January 31, 2019 at 5:12 pm

      I can’t believe that alphabet pasta is hard to find, it always in stock at my local Giant Eagle grocery store, im making this some time this week!!!

      Reply
  12. Danielle says

    April 16, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    This recipe looks great. I have a toddler and we are learning letters now. He loves both soup and meatballs. I bet he would love to look for letters in his soup!

    Reply
  13. ashley says

    April 16, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    Yum! We love turkey meatballs so I’ll have to try this recipe 🙂

    Reply
  14. Stephanie of The TipToe Fairy says

    April 16, 2015 at 9:12 am

    5 stars
    My daughter would love this. Her two favorite things are alphabet soup and meatballs, and to put them together might just blow her mind, lol.

    Reply
  15. Babi says

    April 16, 2015 at 9:11 am

    I LOVE turkey meatballs! I’m definitely going to have to try this one out!

    Reply
  16. Bethany Magnie says

    April 16, 2015 at 8:29 am

    my cousins used to pick the little green flecks out of their ramen. Kids can be so ridiculous when it comes to food! This looks divine though!

    Reply
  17. twitchetts.blogspot.com says

    April 16, 2015 at 7:39 am

    This looks so tasty! My kids would Love making words on their spoons too.

    Reply

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