Hamburger Soup Recipe {Poor Man Soup} Gonna Want Seconds (2024)

My hamburger soup recipe is a homestyle, hearty meal that satisfies while stirring up happy memories of grandma’s house! My grandma always had delicious beef soup recipes bubbling away in her kitchen. Her cooking has definitely inspired my recipes, none more so than this hamburger soup. Filling, flavorful, and oh so simple to make, this is the kind of meal that makes everything better!

If you beefy soups as much as we do, I hope you’ll try my cheeseburger soup, old-fashioned vegetable beef soup, beef barley soup,and my huge fan favorite, beef and tomato macaroni soup!

Let’s make this soup!!!

What I Love About This Recipe

• Less than an hour to make!
• One-pot wonder
• Clean up is a snap!
• Crowd-pleasing favorite
• It’s frugal – you can stretch a pound or two of ground beef to feed a crowd!

Hamburger Soup Ingredients

• Beef: Choosing a flavorful ground beef or chuck is important in this recipe, even though you’ll drain off the excess fat after browning. Leaner combinations work in recipes with more dominant flavors, but we want to maximize the beefy goodness in this soup by using a rich, fatty cut.
• Salt + Pepper
• Vegetable Oil: Any neutral flavor oil will work.
• Onion: I use a yellow onion but a white onion will work too!
• Garlic: I always use fresh garlic. The stuff that comes minced is a jar has a horribly off taste because of what’s used to preserve it in the jar. Nothing beats fresh minced garlic!
• All-Purpose Flour: This is used along with the vegetable oil to make a roux that gives this soup the perfect thickness.
• Beef Broth: I prefer low sodium so I can control the total amount of salt in the soup.
• Canned Tomatoes: I like to use the petite diced version. They fit perfectly nestled with other ingredients on a spoon.
• Better Than Bouillon: I use the beef flavored variety of this amazing product! This fortifies and bolsters the beefy flavor of the soup!
• Dried Italian Seasoning: The perfect mix of dried herbs.
• Tomato Paste: This pantry stable will bring a subtle sweetness and Earthiness!
• Potatoes – I’m a russet fan. It’s the potato I use whenever I can because I really love the starch content and texture. In this recipe, the potatoes get slightly crumbly and thicken the soup a bit more. You can substitute redpotatoes, but they have a slightly sticky texture and won’t add body to the soup like the russets.
• Frozen Mixed Vegetables: The perfect convenience food that adds easy, great nutrition.

How To Make Hamburger Vegetable Soup Recipe

1. Brown the ground beef, in a large pot, over medium heat. Add salt and pepper. Cook until there is no longer any pink. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Drain all fat from the pot and discard it.

2. In the same pot, add the oil and sautee the onion and garlic until they are soft, about 6-7 minutes. Sprinkle the onions with flour, stirring to evenly coat the onions and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the flour begins to brown.

3. Add the cooked beef, 6 cups of beef broth, tomatoes, Better than Bouillon,Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, tomato paste, potatoes, and frozen veggies. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Add more beef broth if the soup gets too thick. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Tips

Season The Beef – I like to add the salt and pepper while I’m browning the beef so it can absorb the seasoning while it’s hot.

Adding Flour – One of Grandma’s secrets (shhh, don’t tell anyone) is mixing in a little flour with the onions and garlic before adding the broth. This changes the mouthfeel of the soup to something a little thicker – not as thick as a stew but not brothy like so many other recipes for this type of soup.

It’s a simple addition, making a little roux, but it creates a complex texture and a real “stick-to-your-ribs” meal.

To Sauté or not to Sauté:Why can’t you just dump everything into the soup pot instead of doing all the browning and pre-cooking? Well, I suspect you’ve seen very few (good) recipes for soups and stews and sauces that don’tpre-cookaromatics.

• That’s because aromatics – things like onions, celery, garlic, and herbs – release their “aroma” when they interact with hot oil (hotter than boiling water). Without this step, you miss out on balanced flavors and smells that make the dish a flavorful, complex masterpiece.

Time-Saver – buy pre-chopped, frozen veggies. I like a combination of carrots, corn, peas, and green beans, but you can use your favorite blend. There’s no need to thaw them, either. You can dump them into the pot straight from the freezer.

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This soup will last 3 or 4 days in the fridge.
• Can You Freeze This? Leftovers actually freeze fairly well. The potatoes will, however, get fairly soft.
  • Let it thaw the soup thaw overnight in the fridge. Slowly reheat on the stovetop
• Make-Ahead Tips:If making this ahead of time, for best results, cook this without the potatoes. Store it in the freezer for 4-6 months. Simply thaw, reheat and add the potatoes the day you want to serve it.

Serving Recommendations

Homemade bread products are the perfect thing to serve along side this to dip and sop up the delicious soup! My quick and easy Bisquick biscuits, copycat Olive Garden bread sticks, buttery crescent rolls, or easy beer bread will serve you deliciously!!

More Yummy Beef Soup And Stew Recipes

• Crock Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Beef Noodle Soup
• Slow Cooker Beef Stew
• Busy Day Soup
• Hamburger Stew
• Classic Beef Stew
• Shipwreck Stew

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