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This hamburger soup recipe is a simple and hearty meal made with ground beef, potatoes, and a delicious tomato broth. It’s a budget friendly complete meal that makes excellent leftovers!
You may also like my Hamburger Orzo Soup or Hamburger Stew recipe.
Why you’ll love it
Hamburger soup is one of those classic American comfort food dishes that’s easy to like and friendly on your wallet! You can’t go wrong with this cozy soup that has ground beef, potatoes, and a tomato broth that’s big on flavor.
The best part of this soup is how easy to make it is. It’s also full of inexpensive ingredients, and it’s an extremely versatile and flexible recipe. You can simply toss in whatever veggies you have on hand that need using up, and it’ll taste great.
What is hamburger soup?
- As for the name, it’s called hamburger soup because of the ground beef, which is sometimes referred to as hamburger meat. This soup doesn’t actually taste like hamburgers, and it’s essentially a satisfying and simple ground beef soup. It’s sort of like a quick and easy alternative to Beef Stew.
What you’ll need
- Olive oil, onions, and celery – sautéing these essentials creates the perfect base for this hearty soup
- Garlic – savory goodness
- Ground beef – adding protein makes this soup a complete meal. I like to use lean ground beef so that none/very little fat needs to be discarded during cooking
- Tomato paste and diced tomatoes – using both varieties gives the soup great texture and taste, and tomatoes are a classic complement to ground beef
- Beef broth – another layer of flavor
- Potatoes – Russets are my choice, but in a pinch yellow or red will be fine
- Italian seasoning – it’s a dried herb blend that comes in a single jar for ease
Pro tip
A 32 oz carton of beef broth equals 4 cups. Just pour the entire thing in for this recipe!
How to make hamburger soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a large soup pot, sauté the onions and celery in olive oil until softened. Add in the garlic, and brown the ground beef.
Add in the tomato paste followed by the diced tomatoes, broth, potatoes, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, and then let bubble gently until cooked through.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This is the Dutch oven I use to make my soup recipes.
- A garlic press makes mincing the garlic effortless (no peeling cloves!), and chop up the potatoes and celery quickly with a quality chef’s knife.
- Break up the ground beef with a spoon or meat chopper.
Substitutions and variations
- If you don’t like having pieces of tomato in your soup, use petite diced tomatoes or sub the diced tomatoes for tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, and then add more broth or water to thin if needed.
- You can throw in any vegetables from your fridge, or you can use frozen chopped mixed vegetables (for example, corn, green beans, carrots, or peas). A handful of spinach added when the soup is nearly done cooking would be terrific!
Helpful tips
- I used Russet potatoes, but feel free to sub with a different kind. I really like using Russets in soups because they fall apart easily since they’re a starchy variety.
- I use lean ground beef (use up to 95% lean if you like), so I don’t find it necessary to discard any of the fat. This saves a bit of work, and the little bit of fat that’s left over gives the soup a flavor boost! You can drain the fat if you want. I certainly recommend draining some out if you use regular ground beef, or the soup will end up oily.
- Depending on what kind of tomatoes you use, your soup could be less vibrant than the photos. That’s totally ok!
Leftovers and storage
- This hamburger soup makes fantastic leftovers, and they’ll keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- For best results, heat up in a saucepan slowly over a low heat.
- It also freezes well. Consume within 3 months of freezing for best results.
More soups with ground beef
Do you like hamburger soup? Will you give this recipe a try? Let me know in the comments below if you made it! You can also tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Easy Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 large Russet potatoes peeled & diced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, onion, and celery to a large soup pot. Sauté over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the garlic, followed by the beef. Cook until the beef has just browned, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes). You shouldn't need to drain much fat if you're using lean ground beef, but feel free to drain some/most of it if desired.
- Stir in the tomato paste, then add in the diced tomatoes, beef broth, potatoes, and Italian seasoning.
- Increase the heat and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat a bit so it’s gently boiling. Cook for 20-25 minutes. You can cook it a little bit longer to intensify the flavor if you wish.
- Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- Serves 4-6.
- Anything from about 1 to 1.5 pounds ground beef will work.
- Got an electric pressure cooker? Try the Instant Pot version of this recipe.
- You can also find this recipe in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on January 30, 2019. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!
Did you forget to put carrots in recipe?
I didn’t forget, no. I just chose not to include them back when I developed this version and the Instant Pot version. You’re welcome to include them if you want. 🙂
I made this hamburger soup today,however, since I didn’t want to go shopping I used what I had on hand. Tomato sauce. Canned tomatoes with basil and garlic . Chicken broth carrots, potatoes , celery and parsley and the ground meat. Delicious!
So glad you liked it!
I used a small can of tomato sauce in place of the diced tomatoes. Added grated carrots.And seasoned it with Worcestershire sauce & rosemary instead of Italian seasonings. It seems like the Italian blend is the go to for people who don’t know which herbs & spices to use.
I’m glad you liked it!
😋 YUMMY!! Brought back memories from my Mom’s cooking . She called this recipe “Picadillo“
Awesome!! Yes, I’ve definitely heard that. I hadn’t heard of picadillo until readers told me they grew up with it as well! 🙂
Easy and yummy. I’ll make this again!
Excellent!
I am a senior citizen and I grew up with this soup my kids and my grandkids all love this soup and it’s really a rarity when everyone like something it brings back loving memories of my mom and grandmother a favorite for ever
Aww that’s great! Thanks, Lana!
thank you
You’re welcome 🙂
I used Better Than Bouillon to make the broth, hot Italian sausage with hamburger, cabbage instead of celery, one whole fresh tomato diced, and a dash of Franks hot wing sauce, Mrs. Dash. and butter. Otherwise I stuck to the base recipe. And I can tell you this was the bomb
Awesome!!
Only thing I added was 1lg carrot sliced and sauteed with onions and garlic plus 1 can sliced mushrooms,too note went with potatoes this soup ROCKS!
So pleased you liked it, Darryl! 🙂
I have a set of books with old recipes it them.Try this one.1 lb hamburger,1 med onion,3 med carrots,1/2 diced celery,,1/4 tsp pepper,1/2 cup green beans.l just use a can or jar.3 med potatoes peeled and cube,3 cups water(l always change this but its a start),3 beef bullion,1 1/2 tsp salt,1/4 oregano(I’ve found you can put 1/4 cup in and it’s just fine.Use to taste.).
Brown burger in 2 qt pan except green beans.Bring to boil.Reduce heat.Cover 15 minutes.Add green beans.Simmer another 15 minutes….I usually check to make sure the potatoes are near done.Don’t add the green beans until the last 15 minutes.Adjust this to your tastes.
BTW those green beans are un-drained.
This was really good! I added carrots, green beans and corn. Loved the tomato broth! And it was even better leftover!
Awesome!! ♥️🤗