Making Hamburger Soup With Macaroni turns your normal hamburger soup into a full meal deal! While I love a good basic hamburger soup, I have found that the kids love it with macaroni even more – is anyone surprised? Not me! If I put elbow macaroni into anything (almost) the kids are guaranteed to love it!
Classic Hamburger Soup with Elbow Macaroni
This is how my Grandma used to make hamburger soup, with macaroni, and I am sure that I can guess why. Hamburger soup with macaroni is cheap, cheerful, and filling – and when you have three grandkids that are starving from playing outside on the farm all morning they are going to need a lunch that will fill them up.
What kind of beef do you use in Hamburger soup?
You want to use lean ground beef, but if you have to use regular ground beef you can simply drain the grease a little better since it’s more fatty than lean. Hamburger soup with macaroni is pretty customizable when it comes to the meat, whatever type of ground beef you have in your freezer will do just fine!
What do I need to make Hamburger Soup With Macaroni?
While you can definitely spruce up hamburger soup, it’s really a basic soup with few ingredients, which is why it’s such a hit with home cooks everywhere. Here are just the basics that you need to make a plain hamburger soup with macaroni:
- Ground beef
- Onions and garlic
- Diced tomatoes
- Beef broth
- Elbow Macaroni
- Thyme ( while you can make it without it, I love the flavor too much to not include it on this list!)
That really is it! I’m not even putting pepper on that list! So don’t feel discouraged if you are missing some of the extra ingredients, you can still make a delicious soup. The extras that make hamburger soup just that teeny bit better:
- Condensed tomato soup ( this really makes it richer and tastes like what Grandma used to make!)
- Dash of sugar – this cuts the acidity of the tomatoes but some people don’t like added sugar
- Ketchup if you don’t have the condensed tomato soup – it will add richness as well
- Bay leaves – bay leaves actually help to boost the savory flavor
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- You can cook the pasta IN the soup, but a lot of people find that some pasta makes the soup “starchy” Instead, pre-cook the pasta and simply add it in at the end. I personally don’t mind the starch, but some do!
For some other great soup recipes try my:
- Split Pea Hamburger Soup
- Italian Turkey Macaroni Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
- Simple & Delicious Crockpot Beef Stew
- Creamy Potato Hamburger Soup
Happy cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Hamburger Soup with Macaroni
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 10.75 oz can condensed tomato soup
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups frozen vegetables
- 1 tsp white sugar if your tomatoes are too acidic
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups elbow macaroni cooked
Instructions
- Fry the ground beef and onions together in the bottom of a large soup pot until the ground beef is cooked and the onions are translucent. Add in the garlic and fry until brown. Drain the fat and return the pot to the stove.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato soup, beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, frozen vegetables and pepper.
- Simmer the soup on low heat until the meat has softened and the vegetables are cooked, around 40 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the cooked macaroni and let it warm up. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
E C Gregory says
I think I will also add some fresh baby spinach the last few minutes to add color. The spinach will wilt quickly so waiting to to the end to add it.
k. rutka says
finishing up my 3rd pot which reminds me of my mom’s recipe sort of i think yours is richer with the tomato soup and i tweak it with some added cumin and red pepper flakes yum!!
Julia says
Made this over the weekend with what I had on hand. Came out delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Danielle says
Recipe made a big pot of soup on a rainy night. The only thing I substituted was small, cubed potatoes cut up in the place of the pasta.
June C Long says
How much ketchup compared to the tomato soup? My DH has Celiac desiese.
Amy says
2-3 chopped carrots should be plenty to cut acidity without adding sugar. This recipe looks yummy. Reminds me of what my mom made. 🙂
Night Heron says
A bowl of Hot Soup is perfect for a Cold Stormy Winter Day after coming in from shoveling the Diveway and front Sidewalk
sandy oman says
I absolutely loved this recipe my husband is a diabetic so I’m trying to get more veggies into him so I made this I did add a can of sicilian beans and another can of tomato soup and extra garlic I am putting this on my go to recipes. I have to say this didn’t even need pasta to make it taste good I added the 2 cups but I could have ate this hearty dinner without it with parmesan cheese on top.
Jenny says
I don’t have tomato soup how much ketchup should I add
Clems_Mom says
I added just under one cup, and 6 cups of broth but I did two pounds of meat. Its still simmering but it smells good
CZB says
We had something like this at a restaurant last night and I wanted to try making it. I didn’t have thyme, I used Italian seasoning, a can of kidney beans, a splash of Worcestershire and a pinch of red pepper flakes. It’s delicious and I couldn’t have made it without the base recipe. Thank you for posting.
Lorraine Murdoch says
Great recipe. My husband is a transport driver and enjoyed it many times at different truck stops. He came home one day and decided to try and make it. It is almost exactly like yours. My 4 children loved it and it has continued to be dad’s soup, A very forgiving recipe so don’t be afraid to try it.
Adrien St Louis says
I was just experimenting with soups recipes and came across this one and i made it,my wife liked it that means i will be making more i love the taste.
Susan says
Hi Karlynn, just wondered how I can unsubscribe from your Sister’s low carb. recipes and still keep yours. I’ve tried a couple of times now and it won’t let me unsubscribe at all. Neither her nor you yet it does offer the chance to u subscribe.
Trish Gander says
Can I do this is a Roaster and, can I up the recipe to feed 50 people?
Kylie says
Making this recipe as we speak and it was super easy to follow and smells delicious. My mom used to make hamburger soup and now that she has passed away, I wanted to find a recipe that seemed similar to what she would make and I think this is it. Saving it and writing it down so that I can continue to make it throughout the upcoming cooler months ahead. Thank you so much. It’s bringing me a sense of comfort as I remember she would make it for me frequently, growing up.
Jackie Cardwell says
Making this soup for the first time. Because of health issues I can not use meat. I did use chicken broth.
Hope it will be as good without meat.
Quixote says
Fabulous and easy, I used roasted red pepper tomato soup.
Frances says
Sounds really scrumpcheroo. Soon as it cools off will make this and add chicken tenders cut up in 1 inch pieces,mixed vegetables.diced tomatoes,onions,garlic and maybe couple risers diced,chicken bouillon or beef and that’s it.
Michelle ridle says
Can this be done in a slow cooker?
Karlynn Johnston says
You can! Just add in the pasta at the end.
Helen Price says
I am a soup lover from way back and you have some great soup recipes….but in my browsing through your recipes, I came across your Hamburger Soup with Macaroni and your Instant Pot Macaroni and they are exactly the same with the exception you have to cook it longer in the Instant Pot than the Stove Top…..is it possible there is a typo on the Instant Pot Recipe????
Karlynn Johnston says
You can simmer this longer to break down the hamburger, which is the best way to make this soup. The pressure cooker turns the meat into a really velvety meat in 45 minutes, but no one wants to simmer a soup on the stove for three hours to get the same texture. So I use the average soup time on this one and then if you have a pressure cooker you can really get the velvety meat texture with it.
Jeanne says
I am making this for first time. How do you make it thicker? Looks and smells good but looks little thinner than ones I get in restaurant.
Sharon says
When I need to thicken up a tomatoe based sauce, I find a tablespoon or two of Tomato Paste works best.
Darlene says
I am making my second batch of hamburger macaroni soup. My husband and I loved it the first time I made it. No need to tweak any ingredients for us. Thanks for the great recipe.
Tracey says
I loved this soup. I am on a low sodium diet so used small can no salt added tomato soup and small can of low sodium V8 juice in place of tomato condensed soup and added more spices since low sodium but the recipe itself is so yummy and hearty!!
Tracey says
I meant tomato sauce
Ron Hollis says
Just made a big ol pot of your Hamburger soup because today just seemed like one of those days for it, you know, low 50s, overcast. Anyway, just wanted to say what a great, quick, filling recipe this was. Thanks so much
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Lori Harrington says
Sounds delicious