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Not often seen these days, the North American classic Hamburger Soup deserves a comeback. Learn how to make an insanely simple, yet nourishing and delicious hamburger soup right here.
Don’t forget to learn How to Make Crock Pot Bone Broth to use as the base of your soup! For a more filling soup why not try making a Hamburger Soup With Macaroni?
Simple Classic Hamburger Soup
When it comes to comforting, hearty meals, it’s hard to beat a bowl of classic hamburger soup.
Packed with ground beef, vegetables, and a super flavorful broth, this soup is a timeless favorite that the whole family can enjoy.
While it is a pretty easy recipe at its outset, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind to ensure that you end up with the best-tasting soup possible.
Could You Use Fresh Tomato Soup?
While the recipe calls for condensed tomato soup, you might wonder if using fresh tomato soup is an option.
After all, not everyone keeps a can of condensed tomato soup around, and some might object to the high salt content.
Well, if you wanted to, you could absolutely make an entirely homemade tomato soup instead!
Homemade soup adds a huge amount of delicious, fresh flavor, and can be as simple as blending up some canned tomatoes with a few seasonings and a bit of onion and garlic, and giving it enough time on the stovetop to become delicious!
Just make sure that you carefully control the amount of moisture in your fresh tomato soup – the condensed option isn’t just a huge umami bomb of intense flavor, but it also doesn’t add that much liquid.
If your homemade soup is particularly liquidy, you might want to cut down on the amount of beef broth or water you use, to ensure that it doesn’t get too watery and wash out any other flavors.
How To Adjust The Acidity Using Sugar
One thing that’s really important when making anything with tomatoes is to keep in mind your acidity.
Tomatoes can vary in acidity, and if you find that your diced tomatoes contribute to a slightly acidic taste, you can balance it out with a touch of sugar.
Add a small amount of white sugar to cut the acidity and enhance the overall flavor profile, adding more and adjusting to taste as you go until it is as balanced and sweet as you like it.
Keep in mind that a little goes a long way, so don’t overdo it. Also, why not consider using a different kind of sweetener, to add even more flavor?
Some honey or agave syrup would add a ton of its own unique flavor profile to this recipe, all while still helping to balance out the acidity!
Can You Use Fresh Vegetables In Place Of Frozen?
While this recipe calls for using a nice convenient bag of frozen mixed vegetables, you could certainly use fresh vegetables if you preferred instead.
After all, fresh vegetables can add a vibrant and crisp element to your soup, something that the frozen or even the canned stuff simply can’t match.
Consider using a medley of diced carrots, celery, and green beans, so as to keep as close to the bag of frozen veggies, as well as maintain a vibrant color palate and balance of nutrients.
Just be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly to ensure your fresh vegetables are cooked to perfection.
Layering Your Recipe For Better Results
To achieve the best flavor and texture, it’s important to layer your ingredients properly. This means building flavors and developing brown fond and intense umami flavor by following each step carefully.
This starts with browning the ground beef and onions together until the meat is cooked and the onions turn translucent. This step builds the foundation of flavor for your soup, followed by even more flavors with the garlic as it sautés.
Plus, by adding the garlic after the beef, it ensures that it doesn’t burn, all while still developing plenty of additional flavors.
From there, you can start to deglaze the pan with your liquids, resulting in loads more flavor depth at the cost of no additional time!
Different Ways To Serve Your Hamburger Soup
Now that your hamburger soup is simmering to perfection and ready to serve, you need to think about how best to serve it.
Here are a few suggestions for some really great ways to serve this meaty, nutritious meal.
A great classic choice that is usually reserved for chowder, to make it, simply hollow out a loaf of crusty bread, ladle the soup into the bread bowl, and let your guests enjoy the delicious combination of soup and bread in every bite.
- Side of Classic Homemade Garlic Bread
A side of classic homemade garlic bread is always a winner, offering a delightful contrast of flavors and a ton of intense garlic flavor.
- Side Of Fries
If you’re craving a classic pairing, serve the soup with a side of crispy fries for a comforting meal. It might be a bit indulgent, but it is definitely super tasty as well!
- Sprinkle Of Grated Cheese As A Topping
Finally, for even more indulgence, a little sprinkle of cheese over the top of your soup makes for a savory, fatty mouthful with every bite!
Looking for more delicious Soup recipes? Try these out:
• Creamy Potato & Hamburger Soup
• Italian Sausage Lasagna Soup
Classic Hamburger Soup Recipe
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Course
- Soups
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 8
- Calories
- 161
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 10.75 oz can of condensed tomato soup
- 4 cups strong beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
- white sugar if you find your tomatoes are too acidic, the sugar will cut it.
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions
- Fry the ground beef and onions together until the ground beef is cooked and the onions are translucent. Add in the garlic and fry until brown. Drain the fat and place in the bottom of a crockpot.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato soup, beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, frozen vegetables and pepper.
- Simmer on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10.
- Remove the bay leaves. Ladle into bowls and serve!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Fry the ground beef and onions together in the metal cooking pot in your Instant Pot using the “sautee” function on your Instant Pot until the ground beef is cooked and the onions are translucent. Add in the garlic and fry until brown. Drain the fat.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato soup, beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, frozen vegetables and pepper.
- To cook immediately, press the soup button, seal the Instant Pot, close the vent and cook for 30 minutes. Let it naturally release – you can manually release but for safety’s sake I don’t recommend it.
- To slow cook all day, use the slow cook function and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Remove the bay leaves. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Stove Top Instructions
- Fry the ground beef and onions together in a large stockpot until the ground beef is cooked and the onions are translucent. Add in the garlic and fry until brown. Drain the fat.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato soup, beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, frozen vegetables and pepper.
- Simmer on medium heat for 60 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves. Ladle into bowls and serve!
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Safija Tutovic says
Just a question about the Instant Pot instructions: do you cook at pressure for 45 minutes? would the vegetables become mushy? thanks
Sab Edwards says
Last time I made this I forgot to put in the canned tomatoes!! hubby hates tomotoes and I knew I shouldn’t have listened to him..was BLAND lol