Easy Hamburger Soup is a budget-friendly dinner loaded with lean ground beef and vegetables, then finished with a generous handful of cheese. Love at first bite! Kid-friendly, adult-pleasing, and on the table with minimal effort—hello, weeknight dinner!
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Why You’ll Love This Hamburger Vegetable Soup Recipe
- Hearty and Healthy. When you want a soup that’s a real deal meal, it’s time to break out this easy hamburger soup recipe. Just like Beef and Barley Soup, it is filling, delicious, and packs every food group for a well-rounded healthy dinner.
- Weeknight Winner. The ingredients? Simple. The hands-on time? Minimal. You’ll just need to let the soup simmer for 25 to 30 minutes—or make my Crock Pot Hamburger Soup and dinner’s done by the time you get home from work.
- Kid-Friendly, Adult-Approved. No more being a short-order cook making something separate for everyone! Hamburger soup is your secret weapon for dinnertime détente….which is a long way of saying: kids love it. AND like my Homemade Hamburger Helper, it has enough complexity to please adults.
- Freezer-Friendly. You can whip up this hamburger vegetable soup to serve a crowd, or freeze half a batch for later and have dinner ready to go another night. (My Cabbage Soup, Lentil Soup, Instant Pot Split Pea Soup, and all of these freezer-friendly recipes are great optionstoo!)
How to Make Hamburger Soup
The Ingredients
- Lean Ground Beef. Using lean ground beef means you don’t end up with a lot of grease to drain off. If you use ground hamburger meat with a higher fat content, drain it after browning. Looking for more delicious ground beef recipes? Check out my Quick and Easy Ground Beef Dinner Ideas.
- Vegetables. Frozen veggies save you prep time! A mix of peas, carrots, corn, and/or green beans is perfect. Combine them with bell pepper, onion and celery for freshness and flavor.
- Tomato Paste. You’ll have leftovers, so freeze it for the next time you only need a few tablespoons of tomato paste for a recipe.
- Seasonings. Fresh garlic, dried oregano, and a little bit of cayenne to put some pep in your step.
- Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles. You’ll need the tomatoes, peppers, and the juices from the can.
- Yukon Gold Potato. As these Ground Beef and Potatoes can attest, the combo is classic for a reason! I keep the peel on for extra nutrition. A Russet potato will work, but I prefer a waxy variety like Yukon gold potatoes (plus Yukons taste more buttery, which is always a good thing).
- Worcestershire Sauce. Key for adding depth to the flavor of so many recipes. (You’ll also find it in my Stuffed Pepper Casserole.)
- Low-Sodium Beef Broth. Keep this hamburger vegetable soup simple and use store-bought.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese. Or try Colby jack or pepper jack.
- Green Onions. For color, crunch, and flavor.
The Directions
- Brown the Beef. Do this with the aromatics and seasonings.
- Simmer. Stir in the liquid ingredients and potatoes and bring to a simmer.
- Add the Vegetables. Stir them into the soup, then simmer partially covered until the potatoes are tender.
- Finish. Add more broth, if needed, to reach your desired consistency. Ladle the soup into bowls, finish with cheese and green onions, and ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- Hamburger Soup With Rice. Add a cup of cooked long-grain brown rice or white rice to the pot of soup at the end of the cooking time. (I recommend cooked rice to keep it from soaking up all the broth in the pot!)
- Hamburger Soup With Pasta. Add orzo, alphabet pasta, or another small pasta variety when you add the frozen vegetables. When going this route, I usually make hamburger soup without potatoes.
- Tex-Mex Hamburger Soup. Instead of oregano, add a tablespoon or two of taco seasoning. Add a diced jalapeño, a can of Hatch chiles, or a roasted poblano pepper for a little more kick. Top with the Best Guacamole.
Storage Tips
- To Store. Refrigerate hamburger soup in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Reheat leftover soup on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- To Freeze. Freeze the soup in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating according to the instructions above.
What to Serve with Hamburger Soup
- Salad. This soup is a complete meal in a bowl, but if you want to stretch it out further, you can round out your dinner with a simple green salad like Arugula Salad or make a kid-friendly Fruit Salad.
- Bread. Mexican Cornbread or Homemade Dinner Rolls will soak up all the last bits of flavorful broth.
- Roasted Vegetables. To keep it kid-friendly, try Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Carrots, or Parmesan Roasted Zucchini.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Dutch Oven. A kitchen multitasker that goes from stovetop to oven—and that’s roomy enough for big batches of soup!
- Chef’s Knife. There’s no need to fill your kitchen drawers with fancy tools when you have a high-quality chef’s knife.
- Ladle. A roomy ladle is a must for soups.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Dice the Potatoes in Uniform Sizes. Otherwise, you’re likely to have smaller potatoes that are mushy and falling apart and others that are hard and taste raw.
- Swap the Meat. Feel free to swap the ground beef with ground turkey, or use your favorite plant-based ground beef to make this hamburger soup vegetarian. (Just be sure to also use a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce!)
- Shred the Cheese Yourself. On a weeknight you might not have time, but if at all possible, I highly recommend shredding the cheese off the block rather than buying a bag of pre-shredded cheese. Store-bought shredded cheese has additives that keep it from clumping, but these also impact how it melts. For smoothly melted cheese, shredding it yourself is your best bet.
- Use Low-Sodium Broth. This allows you to control the taste of the recipe—plus, it’s easier to add more salt than it is to take it away once it’s added. (The cheese alone adds a lot of extra salty flavor to this hamburger soup!)
Hamburger Soup
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus additional to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper plus additional to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper plus additional to taste
- 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles in their juices
- 1 medium Yukon gold potato scrubbed and ½-inch diced
- 1 red bell pepper or green bell pepper diced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 –4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 pound frozen mixed vegetables no need to thaw
- 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese or colby jack or pepper jack
- chopped green onions for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Once hot but not smoking, add the beef, onion, and celery. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until it is no longer pink and fully cooked through, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and cayenne and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes, potato, bell pepper, and Worcestershire. Pour in 3 cups of the broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a rapid simmer, then reduce the heat, partially cover the pot, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the vegetables. Continue simmering, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes more.
- If the soup is thicker than you would like, add the additional broth until you reach your desired consistency. Re-cover the slow cooker and let cook 5 additional minutes to warm through and allow the flavors to marry. Serve hot, sprinkled with cheese and chopped green onions.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate hamburger soup in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Reheat leftover soup on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze the soup in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating according to the instructions above.
Nutrition
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Beef makes for a hearty, satisfying dinner! These beef recipes are easy, delicious, and sure to please:
This was easy and delicious! No leftovers in this house!
So happy to hear it, thanks Trish!
So so so good. Best vegetable/beef type soup I have ever had!
Yay! So happy to hear that, Natalie! Thank you!
Fabulous recipe, was a huge hit with my family! The cayenne adds a little kick, so if you don’t want spicy heat you could cut back. Loved it!
Great to hear, thank you Stephanie!