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.
Made it tonight! We do not usually eat soup for dinner, but tonight this meal was exceptional! Tasty and delicious! Easy and appetizing! Thanks for sharing.
I’m super excited to try some of recipes. I have been trying to find different crockpot recipes.
Made this soup but I added Lima beans purple Hull peas potatoes so good
I remember my grandmother making this when I was a child, and loving it!
Haven’t seen nor heard about it in recent years so I started googling for a recipe, and luckily found yours.
In addition to this being budget -friendly, you can substitute or add just about any vegetables or pasta you like. There is no wrong way to make a hamburger soup!
Thank you for sharing this treasured old standby!
Absolutely delicious
FABULOUS! I added a two little packets of red pepper flakes and kicked it up too much! I then had to add more chunky tomatoes and all was good!
LOVE THIS RECIPE. I added some soy and a corn, carrot and peas frozen mix. I also added in cheese tortellini. Delicious!
I made the soup. It was so delicious! We had it for three meals for the three of us.
I used two cans of tomato and left out the tomato sauce. I had a bunch of scallions so I cut them up and put them in, doubled the green beans, put in some celery leaves from the celery in our garden I included three carrots, I put in a green bell pepper. I omitted the potato and served the soup with some brown rice. We put about 1/4 cup of rice into a large bowl of soup. I also put in one can of black beans. I did this last to go with the rice and create what is called in the book entitled “Diet for a Small Planet” ” a complete protein” which occurs when you have rice and beans together. The protein will assimilate better if you have the two both in the same meal.
There are so many ways to make this soup. It is easy, fast, tasty, healthful. Thank you very much!
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Amazing! I absolutely love this recipe. I almost never have seconds of any dish, and I ate a lot of this. Lol. It’s great! Thank you for the excellent addition to my dinner menu. ❤️
Sounds delicious! What would you recommend I serve as sides to round out a complete meal?
I serve this with bread or a green salad!
I love this recipe!!! Made it today
Hoping my russet potato’s don’t get too mushy 🙂
It’s perfect and my kids will love it! Thank you
I especially love the green bean addition I bought fresh and I think it adds the perfect kick!
Yay so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for reporting back!
Delicious soup! I would suggest using petite chopped tomatoes, as the tomatoes seemed a bit large. Also, I would suggest draining the meat after it cools. Very taste soup overall!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for reporting back!
Great recipe! I added a bit of Worcestershire. I will def make again some day.
So happy to hear that you’re enjoying the recipe, thanks for reporting back!
Awesome recipe very good. Thank you.
Really good start. I felt it lacked a savory component; it needed a little depth. I ended up adding a tablespoon of soy sauce which added that missing piece and made all the difference! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reporting back!
Can this be made in slow cooker?
Yes it can! You’ll want to brown the beef first, then add the beef, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, seasonings, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth and potatoes to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours, then stir in the corn and green beans right before serving.
I have four kiddos in my zoo, and they all love soup. I like this one especially because o the simple ingredients for my 10 month old. I have also omitted the potatoes and added elbow macaroni. “This is sooooo good,” said the 7 year old. Thanks for the inspiration!
So happy that they all enjoyed it! Thanks for reporting back!
When should I add noodles with this recipe in a slow cooker?
During the last 20-30 minutes of the cook time!
I added broccoli, cauliflower, and squash….it was amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe 😊
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for reporting back!
We add spicy V8 juice in combination with the beef broth…. Yummy!
That sounds delicious!
Adding a Tablespoon or so of Asian fish sauce, or light soy, adds umami and makes it yummier still!
Sounds great!
This is a wonderful recipe. I made it twice, once with ground beef and again today with a cut up chuck steak. This time added baby limas, very few noodles and 5 shredded Brussels sprouts. Delicious. Thank you!
Sounds amazing, so glad you enjoyed it!
I love this soup! It’s also called vegetable soup. I also add black eyed peas and baby Lima beans. A friend told me the other day that her aunt brings everything to a boil then adds uncooked hamburger. Then she simmers until done. it holds the hamburger’s flavor better.
Love the idea of adding beans, I’ll try that next time!