I recently caught this recipe for Hamburger Soup on an episode of Pioneer Woman and I was highly intrigued. The idea of hamburger soup had me a bit bewildered at first, but this comfort food actually reminds me a bit of that delicious and nutritious minestrone soup you may have gotten in the cafeteria in elementary school, with the addition of ground beef. It has undertones of a rich pot roast as well. It is literally a meat and potatoes recipe, chock full of so many vegetables, making it is a hearty one-pot meal with super classic flavors.
What I reeeeally loved about this recipe, is it calls for basic ingredients and allows me to use up the celery and carrots in my fridge, along with the meat from my freezer. I absolutely loathe the idea of wasting food, so it is all about finding recipes that inspire you to use up all of what you have. That is what makes cooking and recipe hunting so much fun! It is a nerdy little game that I like to play to try new things and avoid any waste in the kitchen.
All that said, I decided to give this new concoction a whirl, and boy is it good. The weather is just starting to turn here in SC, and while I love a good pot of chili, there is also something about a pot of soup that gives me the feels. If you cook for someone who isn’t too keen on beans, this is the perfect substitute for chili on a cozy winter day. Plus, it is chock FULL of veggies along with the beef, so it is a full meal in a pot.
Jump to RecipeIt is also really nice to be able to focus your efforts into making something from scratch in the morning, resulting in a complete dinner ready to go by the time the evening rolls around. This recipe makes enough to feed a small crowd, but feel free to cool and freeze the leftovers for an easy and effortless weeknight dinner later on.
Recipe Notes:
The recipe calls for a 14oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes, but all I could find was a 28oz can, so that is what I used and it turned out perfectly. My guy has an aversion to chunks of tomato, so I pureed the tomatoes with an immersion blender to get the flavor without the big pieces. You can always adjust based on everyone’s liking.
Also, the boxes/cartons of beef stock tend to come in 32oz portions (or four cups) so I just used the whole of the carton as well because otherwise it would probably end up going to waste. Lastly, use whichever combo of peppers you like! Green peppers give me heartburn, so I swapped them out for a yellow, orange and red combo.
If you are having a hankering for some cozy comfort food, this is the recipe to make. Let me know how yours turns out in the comments!
Hearty Hamburger Soup
Equipment
- Large Stock Pot
- wooden spoon
- Plastic Containers for Leftovers
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs ground beef
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz can, whole peeled tomatoes
- 3 cups beef stock or beef broth, plus more as needed
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 yellow red pepper, seeded and diced
- 5 whole red potatoes, cut into chunks
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp dried parsley flakes -or- fresh parsley
- ½ tsp ground oregano
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Brown the meat with the onion, celery, and garlic in a large pot over medium-high heat. Remove the pot from the heat and drain off as much fat as you can. (Discard the fat once it cools.)
- Return the pot to the heat and add the rest of the ingredients: whole tomatoes (break tomatoes up with hands), beef stock or broth, bell peppers, carrots, red potatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and spices. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, then cover the pot and simmer the soup for 15 to 20 minutes more, until potatoes are tender but not overly mushy.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt if needed. The soup should be thick, but if you would like it to have a more soupy texture, slowly add in additional beef stock/broth until desired consistency is reached.