This hearty hamburger soup is loaded with ground beef, potatoes and an assortment of vegetables, all in a savory broth. The perfect easy dinner option that the whole family will love!
When I’m looking for a one pot meal that I know will be a crowd pleaser, I turn to chili mac, chicken cacciatore or this simple yet satisfying hamburger soup.
Sometimes I find myself with a pound of ground beef and no clue what to make with it. It’s times like that when I turn to hamburger soup- it’s satisfying, quick, and you can customize it with whatever ingredients you already have around the house. Looking for more ways to use this versatile type of meat? Try my creamy and comforting ground beef stroganoff!
Check out some of my other favorite soup recipes like albondigas soup, stuffed pepper soup and cheeseburger soup.
Table of Contents
Hamburger Soup Ingredients
To make hamburger soup, make sure you have olive oil, an onion, carrots, celery, ground beef, garlic, a can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, beef broth, a potato, frozen corn, green beans, parsley, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Hamburger Soup?
This hamburger soup recipe starts with the classic base of onion, carrot and celery. Sautee the onion, carrot and celery in a little olive oil until softened in a large pot. After your veggies cook, the hamburger goes into the pot to brown. Break up the beef into crumbles. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds. Next add tomatoes, tomato sauce, diced potato, beef broth and herbs to the pot, then bring the whole thing to a boil and then let it simmer. After the potatoes soften, stir in some corn and green beans with some salt and pepper. Add a sprinkle of parsley, then serve and enjoy!
Tips For The Perfect Soup
- I use 90% lean ground beef. It’s got plenty of flavor but doesn’t make the hamburger soup greasy. If you’re using beef with a higher fat content, drain off any excess fat after cooking the meat.
- I use fresh green beans, but you can absolutely use frozen if you prefer. The key is to add them at the end of the cooking time so that they don’t get mushy.
- While cooking your ground beef, make sure to break it up into bite sized pieces.
- Make sure to cut all of your vegetables into similar sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate.
- You can use store bought Italian seasoning or make your own Italian seasoning.
- Leftovers of this hamburger soup stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat it in the microwave or over low heat on the stove top.
Quick Tip
The smaller you cut your potatoes, the less time it will take for this soup to cook. I cut my potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and it typically takes about 20-25 minutes for the potatoes to soften.
Recipe FAQs
This soup is a great candidate for the freezer, and will stay fresh for up to 2 months. Thaw the soup in the fridge overnight, then reheat it on the stove over low heat until warmed through.
You can make hamburger soup with ground beef, veggies, a potato, tomato paste, beef broth and seasonings.
If your ground beef has a more fat than 90% lean beef, you will need to drain off the fat. For example, if you use 85% lean or 80% lean ground beef you will want to drain the fat after cooking the meat.
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Hamburger Soup Variations
I love this recipe as-is, but you can absolutely add other ingredients into the mix to customize the soup to your tastes.
- Protein: Instead of ground beef, try ground turkey, mild Italian sausage or even cooked shredded chicken.
- Potatoes: Skip the Russet potatoes and use Yukon Gold potatoes, red potatoes or even sweet potatoes.
- Pasta: You can add short pasta like macaroni when the soup has about 10 minutes left to cook. If you add pasta, you will want to add some extra broth for the pasta to absorb.
- Vegetables: Try adding other veggies such as kale, butternut squash, bell peppers, spinach, zucchini or peas.
- Spicy: Add some heat with a little hot sauce, chili powder, cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
- Cheese: You can top this soup with shredded cheddar cheese when serving the soup.
Slow Cooker Hamburger Soup
This soup can be made in the slow cooker instead of on the stove top. Follow the first four steps of the recipe, then place the ground beef and vegetable mixture in a crock pot along with the tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, potatoes and Italian seasoning. Cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours. Stir in the frozen corn and green beans and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve.
This hamburger soup is hearty enough to stand on its own as a complete meal, but I often serve it with some crusty bread because it’s such a nice complement to the soup. I also serve this soup with cheesy pull apart bread or homemade dinner rolls.
What’s your favorite way to use hamburger meat? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!
More Soup Recipes
Tortellini Soup with Sausage
30 mins
Ham Bone Soup (Slow Cooker)
4 hrs 10 mins
Chicken Tortellini Soup (Slow Cooker)
4 hrs 10 mins
Chicken Taco Soup
30 mins
Alphabet Soup
45 mins
Hamburger Soup Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 2 carrots peeled, quartered and sliced
- 2 ribs celery thinly sliced
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes do not drain
- 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or equal parts of garlic powder, dried oregano and dried basil
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 large russet potato peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup diced green beans fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley optional
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 and potato to the pot; bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.
- Stir in the corn and green beans and cook for 5 minutes more. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes
- The smaller you cut your potatoes, the less time it will take for this soup to cook. I cut mine into 1/2 inch cubes and it typically takes about 20-25 minutes for the potatoes to soften.
- I use a 90% lean ground beef. It’s got plenty of flavor but doesn’t make the soup greasy. If you’re using beef with a higher fat content, drain off any excess fat after cooking the meat.
Definitely add the potatoes with the carrots and celery and NOT towards the end or you will have uncooked potatoes! Otherwise the recipe is good.
This soup was great! I didn’t have beef stock so used chicken stock and it was wonderful. I did add a little cayenne pepper, not much, because we like things a little spicy.
Thank you!
2 celery stalks is a LOT of celery.
I made this, using 2 ribs of celery.
It would be more clear with the correct terminology. That said, it was delicious!
Thanks, corrected the recipe!
Excellent, a perfect winter Sunday night meal!
Do you cover the pot to simmer or leave it uncovered?
I leave it uncovered!
Should have been 5 stars previously, my husband loved this soup after I doctored with suggestions below. Thanks.
This soup was a great starter. I added more of each vegtable, a 1/4 cup of pizza sauce, a few beef boulin cubes and I slow-low simmered for several hours to enhance flavor. Much more flavorful than where is started.
Would this be possible the make in the crock pot?
The paragraph right before the recipe starts talks about how to make it in a crock pot!
This soup was absolutely delicious ,thanks .
This soup reminds me of something my mom would make. There was 6 of us kids in a military family. I fried fido noodles and added them the last 8 minutes. I also added a little flour when frying ground beef to make it more of a stoup. Nice soup. Thank you for sharing.
I made this for my family and it was a flavorful and healthy soup. I substituted tomato sauce with pizza sauce since that’s what I had on hand. I also served with garlic bread and sprinkled cheese on top.
We have this saved to my dinner meals. I have made many times. It’s really good!