Best Hamburger Soup Recipe
Hearty hamburger soup is a complete meal in a bowl, with ground beef, tender potatoes, plenty of veggies, and a flavorful tomato base. It’s the perfect dinner for a chilly evening!
What Is Hamburger Soup?
No, hamburger soup does not involve pickles and it’s not meant to mimic a burger in soup form like my Easy Bacon Cheeseburger Soup—the name comes from the fact that it’s made with ground beef!
Hamburger soup is a hearty, flavorful soup made with browned ground beef, lots of vegetables, and a rich tomato-infused broth. It’s so jam-packed with ingredients, I’d say it’s pretty close to being a stew, but not quite. This is a “pantry soup” recipe because you can really make it with whatever you have on hand—it’s adaptable and easy like that.
As with many pantry recipes, it’s believed that hamburger soup originated during the Great Depression, when people had to stretch their food budgets and make the most of the inexpensive ingredients they had on hand. The alternate theory is that cowboys invented hamburger soup, and it does have some ingredients in common with Cowboy Stew. (If you have kids, I say: go with the cowboy story.)
Ingredients for Hamburger Soup
Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need for this easy hamburger soup recipe. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.
- Butter – Using butter instead of olive oil adds a bit more richness.
- Lean Ground Beef – Although I haven’t tried it personally, ground turkey or ground chicken would work just well if you prefer it. We just like the flavor of hamburger meat because it has a higher fat content.
- Mirepoix – Sweet onion, carrots, celery, and garlic cloves build the base of flavor in this hamburger soup recipe.
- Tomatoes – Tomato paste, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes with their juice—we’re using all the tomato products here!
- Seasonings – Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Or soy sauce or coconut aminos. This adds depth and umami.
- Beef Stock – Beef stock is more robust than chicken or veggie, so it’s what we want to use here. You can substitute with beef broth, chicken broth or vegetable broth.
- Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes – If you can only find regular Yukon gold potatoes, that’s fine too, just cut them into bite size pieces. Red potatoes are a good substitute.
- Vegetables – Frozen corn, fresh green beans, and frozen peas.
- Optional Garnishes – Fresh chopped parsley and freshly grated parmesan, if you’d like.
How to Make Hamburger Soup
Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for full printable instructions.
- Brown the beef. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat and brown the beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Transfer to a bowl.
- Sweat the veggies. Cook the onion, carrots, and celery to soften, then stir in the garlic.
- Add the Italian seasoning and tomato paste. Stir and cook until the tomato paste darkens.
- Bring to a boil. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and beef stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
- Simmer. Add the beef and potatoes and cook for 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Finish. Stir in the corn, green beans and peas and cook until they’re heated and the beans are tender. Season to taste and serve with parsley and Parmesan, if desired. And crusty bread, of course.
Tips for Making Hamburger Soup
Hamburger soup is a cinch to make, but these tips will make it perfect—and help you make it your own.
- Let the tomato paste darken. This may seem like a minor detail, but it’s an important step in developing the flavor of the soup. Cooking the tomato paste until it turns a deep red color helps caramelize it and brings out its natural sweetness.
- Don’t overcook the potatoes. If you do, they’ll get mushy and start to fall apart in the soup.
- Add some heat. Enjoy a little spice? Consider adding some red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or Cajun seasoning to the soup for an extra kick.
- Make it cheesy. For a cheesier experience, swap the Parmesan for shredded mozzarella or cheddar.
- Try different veggies. Zucchini, bell peppers, spinach—use whatever you have on hand and I promise, it will still be delicious!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Transfer leftover hamburger soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. Reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat, or in the microwave.
When it comes to freezing, hamburger soup does freeze well, with a small caveat: potatoes get weird after freezing, becoming kind of mealy. If this doesn’t bother you, freeze the soup for up to 3 months in freezer-safe containers or freezer bag and thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
For batch freezing soups, stews, stocks and broths, we love using silicone Souper Cubes for mess free meal prep.
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What to Serve With Hamburger Soup
- Parker House Rolls
- The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Homemade Garlic Bread
- Our Best House Salad
- Everything Sourdough Crackers
- Easy Brioche Rolls
- No Knead Sourdough Bread
More Hearty Soup Recipes
- Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Easy Loaded Potato Soup Recipe
- Italian Sausage Soup
- Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Maryland Crab Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- New England Clam Chowder
For more easy soup recipes, follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
Get the Recipe: Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 sweet onion, finely diced (approximately 1 1/2 cups diced)
- 2 carrots, peeled, quartered and sliced.
- 2 celery stalk, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper.
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 6 cups beef stock
- 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, cut into quarters or 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup chopped fresh green beans
- ½ cup frozen peas
- Fresh chopped parsley, optional
- Freshly grated parmesan, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat and add the ground beef, breaking it up into pieces with a wooden spoon.
- Cook the beef until browned and almost cooked through. Transfer the beef to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
- Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot, cooking until almost softened, approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
- Add the Italian seasoning and tomato paste stirring to combine. Continue to cook until the tomato paste is a deep red, almost burgundy color.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock.
- Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Return the beef to the pot and add the potatoes. Continue to cook the soup until the potatoes are tender, approximately 25 minutes.
- Stir in the corn, green beans and peas, continuing to cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Season to taste and serve immediately with parsley and grated cheese, if desired.