Hearty hamburger vegetable soup is one of my go-to comfort recipes, brimming with a tomato-based broth, ground beef, and mixed veggies. The filling soup is an easy one-pot dinner that’s budget-friendly and perfect for busy weeknights and weekly meal planning. Try more tasty ground beef recipes!
Key Ingredients
- Ground Beef: Ground beef gives the soup its hearty flavor, but ground turkey or ground chicken works just as well.
- Spices: A cozy mix of kosher salt, coarse black pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, and dried tarragon seasons the broth.
- Vegetables: This soup is super flexible, but I love onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and peas. When you need to get dinner on the table fast, use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables.
- Broth: Beef broth is the base for the soup, but you can also use beef stock or water with a spoonful of beef Better Than Bouillon.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Deepen the flavor with a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
- Roma Tomatoes: For the best flavor, blend fresh Roma tomatoes; otherwise, grab a can of petite diced tomatoes when you’re short on time.
- Tomato Paste: Deepen the color and flavor of the hamburger vegetable soup with a scoop of tomato paste.
- Bay Leaves: A couple of bay leaves infuse a warm, clove-like aroma as the soup simmers.
Additions and Substitutions
Hamburger vegetable soup is one of those use-what-you-have recipes, so feel free to get creative. Here are a few suggestions for what to add or substitute for other ingredients in the soup.
- Can I use stew meat? Use bottom round or chuck roast cut into 1-inch pieces instead of ground beef. However, I recommend searing the stew meat beforehand and increasing the cooking time by 30-40 minutes.
- Grains: For a thicker and more filling soup, include pearl barley, rice, or quinoa.
- Cream: Add a splash of heavy cream, half and half, or coconut milk to a creamier soup.
- Vegetables: Use the soup recipe as a starting point, but feel free to exchange or add vegetables like celery, cauliflower, kale, spinach, parsnips, green beans, and corn.
How to Make Hamburger Vegetable Soup
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Warm the oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Then, add the ground beef, breaking it up with a meat chopper. Continue cooking until brown and heated through for about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Stir garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and dried tarragon into the ground beef mixture.
Step 3: Next, add the onion, garlic, carrots, and potatoes to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the vegetables soften.
Step 4: Stir in the shredded cabbage, peas, pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce.
Step 5: Deglaze the pan with beef broth and nestle the bay leaves into the soup. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, adjusting the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer.
Expert Tips
- Cut the vegetables the same size to ensure they cook at the same rate.
If you enjoy hamburger vegetable soup, try one of these beef stew recipes!
Serving Suggestions
Cozy hamburger vegetable soup is a crowd-pleaser! Save the comforting fall or winter soup for when you’re cooking on a budget or have extra vegetables to use, and serve with with slices of warm sourdough bread.
- Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread, Buttery Rolls, Pao de Sal, Soda Bread without Buttermilk
- Corn Bread, Corn Casserole
- Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Cauliflower
- White, Rice, Pilaf
- Vegetable Chopped Salad, Arugula Spinach Salad
- Saltine Crackers
What To Do With Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Let the soup cool, and transfer it to a freezer-safe container or bag. Hamburger vegetable soup freezes for 2-3 months.
- Thaw: Defrost the soup in the fridge overnight.
- Reheat: Warm the leftovers on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can you add to hamburger soup to give it more flavor?
The hearty soup is brimming with umami-rich ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and warm spices for flavor and depth.
More Stew Recipes:
Hamburger Vegetable Soup
- Small Bowl
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 medium carrots, diced
- 4 petite potatoes, cubed
- 2 cups green cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup peas
- 3 Roma tomatoes, pureed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- Warm the oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Then, add the ground beef, breaking it up with a meat chopper. Continue cooking until brown and heated through for about 10 minutes.
- Stir garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and dried tarragon into the ground beef mixture.
- Next, add the onion, garlic, carrots, and potatoes to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the vegetables soften.
- Stir in the shredded cabbage, peas, pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Deglaze the pan with beef broth and nestle the bay leaves into the soup. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, adjusting the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Cut the vegetables the same size to ensure they cook at the same rate.
Brea
Thursday 22nd of September 2022
I’m pregnant and struggling to get in protein and veggies that I normally love. Tressa’s website in general has been a god send because recipes like this take nutritious food and turn it into something cozy and tasty. This soup has the BEST flavor and I love that you can get creative with the vegetables. This is your fall go to soup 100%%!!
Tressa Jamil
Thursday 22nd of September 2022
Wow, that is such high praise and I am so thankful it was able to meet a need during such an exciting time.
Richard
Friday 16th of September 2022
This healthy beef vegetable soup recipe is fantastic! Very easy to prepare and way better than canned soup.
Tressa Jamil
Saturday 17th of September 2022
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment; I am happy you enjoyed it.