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This beef and tomato macaroni Soup is one of the best soups you can make, especially for colder weather. You can make it in the slow cooker or stovetop; the choice is yours.
Karlynn’s Recipe Rundown :
Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup
- This soup is so easy to make and a crowd-pleaser! It is the soup most requested by my family, and I have made a lot of soups over the years!
- This is an excellent slow cooker soup recipe. Cook it low and slow all day long, then come home and add noodles—dinner is done!
- This recipe is large enough for two meals, so make it once and eat it twice!
A Delicious Old-Fashioned Soup
We were on a road trip to the States when my kids were little, and we stopped at a little place on the I-15 that we had driven by countless times. Oh, please don’t ask me where or what it’s called, but it’s a rest stop with a small town by it. I would know it if I looked at it. While we always stop to stretch our legs, we’ve never eaten at the small roadside restaurant—until that trip.
While everything on the menu was good—not fancy, just a decent clubhouse and salad—the soup of the day reminded me of one of my favorite old-fashioned soups that I hadn’t eaten in years. I had forgotten how much I love a classic beef and tomato macaroni soup.
This is the Best When Made in a Slow Cooker
I rarely make soup that’s not in a slow cooker. I think most soups are improved by letting them simmer all day, the flavorings melding together in ways that a quick 20-minute simmer just doesn’t achieve. Plus, you have that little happy thought in your head all day long that your dinner will be just amazing when you get home! Doesn’t knowing that you have a hot, delicious supper waiting for you make a difference in your mood? I think that’s why I love my crockpot so much.
Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup Tips & Tricks
- My biggest suggestion for this recipe is to drain and rinse the ground beef. You can see that this soup has a bit of grease (and oh…that makes it so lovely!), but many recipes don’t even have you drain it. I suggest doing so because your soup doesn’t need that much grease.
- The stronger the beef broth, the more beefy your soup will end up, and a little extra Worcestershire sauce also helps with that! I prefer adding dry macaroni 30 minutes before serving, but if you are on a time crunch at the end of the day, pre-cook and then add the pasta.
Pre Cooked or Raw Noodles
How you prepare the elbow macaroni for this soup will make a difference in the end result.
- Pre-cooking the noodles leads to a thinner soup that is less like an American goulash recipe and more like an actual soup. This recipe is classically a soup recipe, not a goulash.
- If you like a thicker soup, cook the two cups of pasta in the soup at the end. The starches from the pasta will thicken the soup and the pasta absorbs some of the broth while cooking, making it a thicker soup.
How to Freeze This Soup
The noodles in this soup will change texture when frozen, so if this is an issue for your palate, freeze the soup portions without noodles, make fresh noodles when you defrost, and cook the soup next time.
I cook my noodles al dente and freeze the soup with the noodles in it, as we don’t mind if the noodles are softer next time. You can freeze the soup in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. I vacuum seal my Souper Cubes portions so that they last up to 6 months.
I have been making this soup for over a decade here at the Kitchen Magpie, and I hope that you love it!
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Other Delicious Beef Soup Recipes
Classic Beef and Tomato Macaroni Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups beef broth very strong
- one 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- one 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar to taste if you have a sweeter ketchup you may not need it
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cups cooked elbow macaroni OR 2 cups dry macaroni to add in at the end
- salt and pepper as desired
Instructions
Slow Cooker Directions
- In a medium frying pan, sauté the ground beef until it is no longer pink. Drain the grease, leaving some in the pan for the onions, and place the ground beef into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Sauté the onions until tender-crisp, then add the garlic. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until the garlic is browned and fragrant. Place in the slow cooker.
- Add the beef broth, cans of tomatoes, Worcestershire, ketchup, brown sugar, and Italian seasoning to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add more sugar and Worcestershire to taste if needed. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- When you are ready to serve, add the dry macaroni and let it cook in the slow cooker for 20-25 minutes. You can also add pre-cooked macaroni to the soup and let it heat through.
Instant Pot Directions
- Press the saute button and fry the ground beef and onions until the beef is no longer pink. Add in the garlic. Fry for another minute or so. Drain the grease.
- Add in the remaining ingredients except for the macaroni. Cook on the SOUP setting for 10 minutes. ( this really helps get the beef flavor going.) Release the pressure manually according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Add the DRY macaroni (not cooked, or it will be mush!), then cook for 10 minutes on the SOUP setting again. Release manually or with the NPR ( naturally) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Bettina says
needs some veggies like carrots, onions and garlic
Trudy says
I can’t enjoy looking through this post without the pop up subscriber blocking me from the content. I’m already a subscriber! This is really discouraging. Wish the pop-up would vanish after a few seconds so I can continue on.
Joanne Ewen says
I need the serving size in cups or grams please
Mom of type 1 diabetic child
Thank you from your norther neighbours in Canada 🇨🇦
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
This is one of my favorites.
Ken says
Just wanted to say hi and how much I enjoy your delicious meals.
I’m sort of new at this but I’ll learning.
I’ve had some excellent meals using your recipes.
Keep up the great work.
Thanks
Ken from Canada
Jan says
Mmmmmmm. I had to change some things, used penne didn’t have elbow. Didn’t have enough beef broth mixed up some bullion used that. Husband really liked it too. he made the comment, nice change of pace…I can just taste this on a cold winter day!
Frank says
I’ve made this several times. Delicious just as-is and so easy! I cook the macaroni separately and put the macaroni and soup together bowl-by-bowl. This lets me store the leftover pasta and soup separately so the pasta doesn’t get mushy. Because, with this method, the pasta is not getting cooked in the soup (absorbing some liquid), I reduce the beef broth to four cups instead of six, still keeping it extra strong.
85% lean ground turkey substitutes well for the beef, reducing saturated fat, and is still delicious. I also add a teaspoon of liquid smoke and a teaspoon of smoked paprika. For family members who like things a little spicy, they can cayenne pepper powder to individual bowls. The flavors pair beautifully!
Kenneth Weaver says
I am deleting you because it is so difficult to go direct to the receipts ingredients. I don’t need to read or schroll thru 14 pages of detail. I just need to see the receipt
Shawna K says
Remember bloggers earn money from ads and a good story (like you’d hear from the coin of you were learning the reopening person) with the recipe gives room for the ads too.
You can click on ‘jump to recipe’
Then sometimes I click on ‘print’ and see just the recipe that way.
These recipes are worth it!
Shawna says
Remember bloggers earn money from ads and a good story (like you’d hear from the coin of you were learning the reopening person) with the recipe gives room for the ads too.
You can click on ‘jump to recipe’
Then sometimes I click on ‘print’ and see just the recipe that way.
These recipes are worth it!
Christine says
My picky Italian roommate requests this soup! I used 1-14oz can of Chopped Tomatoes, 1-14oz can of petite diced tomatoes and less ketchup. I had to add more beef broth after 2 cups of dry elbow macaroni soaked up the broth. Sprinkled with parmesan cheese and we are eating this for a week , great soup 🍲
Tracy says
Mr. Kenneth Weaver,
If you can imagine, these types of websites are for everyone to use and enjoy. If you don’t need to look at step by step instructions and pictures, you have an option to “jump to recipe” at the top of the recipe page. I certainly don’t think it is necessary to give a 1/5 star rating. Not fair of you. By the way how about proofreading your reviews before you send. You’ve used the word “receipt” twice in your review instead of the word “recipe.”
Christine says
Believe it or not, back in the 17 and 1800’s a recipe was called a receipt! Mr. Kenneth Weaver was very rude!
Laura says
Hi, this soup looks sounds great, does it freeze well?
lisa hall says
lol ummm ok but i had no problems getting the recipe..
Carla says
There is a “jump to recipe” button that takes you right to the ingredients
PodunkMama says
The first time I made it my husband ate it for dinner, as well as the next day’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner–AGAIN! To make the stronger beef broth stronger, I use a carton of beef broth liquid and 3 beef bullion cubes. I also used a can of petite diced tomatoes instead of the whole tomatoes. It has become one of my family’s top 3 favorite soups! Thank you for this DELICIOUS recipe! I’m off to make it again for a COLD WINTER DAY!
Jan says
Second time to make this soup, my husband really enjoyed it as did I!
all the ingredients I love…very good soup thank you!!!😋
TM says
Thank you for the recipe. I made this in a dutch oven on the stove top. I used this recipe as a base to use up a leftover roast! I diced up the leftover meat and added the roasted veggies at the end, after the pasta was done so they wouldn’t be so soft. This comes together very quickly and is a lovely homey dish. I guess mine was more of a stew. My substitutions aside from the roast beef were to trade 1 cup of wine for water and to use better than bullion. I also added drippings and sauce from my roast and sauteed the onion with some diced celery, carrot, and a couple of mushrooms.
Carol says
My family had a completely different version of this where you cooked beef short ribs to make the beef broth then added canned tomatoes and macaroni. My family didn’t use a lot of seasoning so it was just salt and pepper to taste.
Keith H says
“The whole blinkin’ family…” That is *so* British, Karlynn, (and definitely doesn’t sound American to me), so I’m supposing it has lingered on in Canada. Anyway, this soup is in the Instant Pot right now, so fingers crossed. Inflation has gone worst-in 30-years crazy here in England, so recipes that are tasty and meaty, butd don’t break the bank, are just the ticket right now.
Leslie Kelley says
Recipe is just what I was looking for-no celery and yes please Worchestire sauce! I am going to make it with diced hot dogs vs ground beef for a change up.
Mary Tognazzini says
WHERE CAN I FIND A STRONG BEEF BROTH, MOST DON’T TASTE LIKE BEEF?
Kent says
Just buy a small jar of Better than Bouillon beef broth. It’s super condensed broth, it’s a paste that you either add to water or I would just add it to that beef broth. I would just add a tablespoon of it to the recipe and see what you think. If you need more, then add more. I add a really big tablespoon of it to my chili and it really gives it a beefy background.
Tonia says
I definitely agree with having Better Than Bouillon on hand. They also make an amazing ham base, I keep several flavors.
Also, specific to beefyness, I keep a small jar of inexpensive decaf instant coffee crystals in my spice cabinet. I learned the trick a million years ago – just a few small sprinklings of crystals to taste. Beef, chocolate, coffee, they all share similar flavor profiles.
Joyce Muller says
Very good receipt
Jennie says
Karlynn, I only have an Instant Pot now. Do you think this soup would turn out better if I used the pressure cook or the slow cook function? If need be, I have a tempered, vented glass lid from another kitchen pot that I could use to slow cook, if that’s preferable to the regular IP lid.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts re slow vs pressure cook for this recipe. And does the lid make a difference?
Your Beef, tomato & mac soup is SO on tomorrow’s menu! 🙂
Cheers
Jennie says
Ended up going with your pressure cook instructions and the soup turned out perfectly. 😀
Only adjustments I made were seasonings to my family’s tastes added to pot before pressure cook time: half jalapeno de-seeded & minced; more fresh garlic + a tsp dry; and an extra tsp of crushed dry rosemary.
Dinner was easy and yummy. Thanks Karlynn!
Donna Merrill says
Omg! Exactly how my Mom made it and I hadn’t made since my mom died.
But I have since seeing yours and it is one of my Favorites for winter! I also add carrots and celery to mine and a touch of cayenne for an extra kick with pre cooked macaroni on the side so not to get mushy
Cheryl B says
This was so good. Thank you! When I read you’d rather burn down your house than clean I knew this would be tasty! Plus, I thought, I’m not the only one that thinks – should I burn or clean?
RLS says
I appreciate everyone’s reviews and thoughts, however…..I prefer to read reviews based on other people’s thoughts on the ACTUAL soup, not what ifs or what maybe? I’m not a food snob, just a mom trying to cook a meal for my family based on facts
Nikki Reuer says
I made this tonight. It was delish!!! Here is what I changed based on my food preferences and my families. Instead of a second can of whole tomatoes, I used the same sized can of tomato juice and tossed some extra diced tomatoes in (I love tomato). Used 5 cups of beef broth, and 1 cups beef consume with an added shot of beef bouillon. I also added carrots and cooked 1.5 cups of macaroni beforehand and added 1/2 cup at the end of the cook. Was DELISH!!!
MEL says
Just found your site and looking forward to try some of your recipes. Thank you
Tarra says
I did this on the stove rather than the crock pot and it was perfect! Two cartons of Campbell’s broth and an extra tbsp of powdered broth to make it stronger. Delicious! Will definitely continue to make this!
kate says
How do you get extra strong broth? Can you buy it?
Denise says
Campbells soup makes a double strength beef broth in a 10oz can.
Ashley says
What do I do with the whole tomatoes when it is done cooking? Will they cook down? Do I remove them? Chop them? Thanks for any feedback!
Cassie says
I would also like to know what we are supposed to do with the whole tomatoes…
P Carpenter says
The Whole Tomatoes in the recipe actually come in a can.
These will cook down in the pot. I guess you can
cut them up before you pour them into the mixture. Personal preference.
Trudy says
I am making this tomorrow! Thank you for having a slow cooker recipe that isn’t finished cooking in 4 hours!!! What full time working parent gets home in 4 hours!?
Sheri says
Can I substitute any other seasoning as I don’t care for the Italian mix?
Ashley says
I use Montreal Steak Seasoning instead
Diane DeRochie-Larose says
What an easy soup to make in the Instant Pot I cut up my veggies & cooked the ground beef the day before so I just had to add them in when I was ready to make the soup. It s a favourite in our house with the cold weather upon us
Dena says
I also made this as a stovetop recipe, let it simmer for a while before adding dry noodles. I blended the whole tomatoes before adding (bc that’s what I do for a similar recipe). I added diced tomatoes as is. I don’t know if that’s the “intent” of this recipe but it turned out great. I love the addition of Italian seasoning, brown sugar and worcestershire.
Kelli Hennessey says
Made this soup last night, and all five of us loved it. Didn’t decide to make it until 4 pm, still yummy! One of my girls has IBS so I left out the garlic but kept in the onion, which she picked out. Worked for all us – great recipe!
Gina says
If you put the onion in a little mini chopper for a minute or so, it will reduce the onion to almost a paste… You can add it, get all the flavor and she’ll never realize it’s in there. Some people just don’t like the texture of cooked onion :).
Catalina says
This is what I would like to have for dinner tonight!
Dee says
My family would eat this soup right up!