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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
Video
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!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The Kitchen Magpie says
It’s a gooder! Funny how old recipes are usually the best ones.
Sarah Schultz says
One of my faves of yours!
The Kitchen Magpie says
I LOVE this soup. Reminds me of my childhood as wel!
Lisa AllMe Westfall says
I grew up on this! My mom and grandma always made it as a go to easy warm meal. They called it goulash.
Jennifer Nicole says
Hi! Can you tell me where I can find very strong beef broth? Is this something I should make myself? Thank you! 🙂
Shelly55021 says
How fun to see a soup version of an old family recipe!!! My mom made a hotdish like this in an electric fry pan as a staple lunch for Dad and any hired men he had working for him. She did not use any beef broth, and only used salt and pepper for seasonings. My dad still makes a big batch of this about every month just so he doesn’t need to cook everyday! It is probably in the top 5 old family recipes that all my family loves!
I do plan on trying this soup version tho!
atteroc39 says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I want to make this using beef stew meat instead of ground beef. Any suggestions?
thekitchenmagpie says
atteroc39 You can cook it the same, you definitely have to slow cook it all day long, but then it’s more a lovely goulash with the stewing beef in it, very yummy!
jlecocq says
I made this recipe and it was really great. My 2 teenage boys wanted seconds. A nice mid-west style comfort food. I tried a combination of quinoa & wheat macaroni and quinoa &
corn macaroni to see how they would taste and for variety and it was really tasty. I
pre-cooked the noodles and chilled them until I served the soup. It
comes out so hot out of the crock pot that it rewarms the noodles
perfectly and brings down the extremely hot temperature of the soup when
you pour it over the noodles. I had to cook the soup on high in my
crock pot all day as the whole tomatoes did take all day to cook down and
soften but if you need it quicker you could probably use all diced
tomatoes instead or a combo of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. I only used 1 TBS of brown sugar and it was fine.
Thanks for posting a great recipe! I will try a vegetarian version with Morningstar Farms Meatless Crumbles and vegetable broth next time I make it to see how a vegetarian version of it tastes.
thekitchenmagpie says
@jlecocq I am so glad that it was a hit! It really is a classic comfort food, and now it’s a staple in our house. It’s also a good one for teenage boys to learn how to cook 😉 especially when they want seconds hahah! Thanks for letting me know!
Lauren Anne Hogan Moore says
The whole tomatoes are kind of problematic. Mine didn’t squish, and no one will eat them whole. I think next time I will just use more of the diced. I don’t like Worcestershire sauce, so I substituted soy sauce. To cut the saltiness, I DID add the 2 Tbsp. brown sugar. This worked quite well. I also added some ground red pepper for kick. If the kids will eat it, then it’s good in my house. The kids ate it.
thekitchenmagpie says
Lauren Anne Hogan Moore Glad that you liked it! I am a whole tomato freak (love them in mac n’ cheese…yum!) but you bet, sub in the diced ones instead!
Ecfinn says
Any suggestions on how to make this WITHOUT the crockpot? Simmer time, etc?
thekitchenmagpie says
@Ecfinn I would simmer it for 10-15 minutes, then add the noodles and cook until the noodles are done. It can be a really fast soup if you want it to be. The longer it simmers though, the better the flavours meld together.
ShirleyHeatonMcGovern says
@Ecfinn I have been making a similar goulash for years and cook it on the stove. I would cook it for several hours though as it makes the taste sooo much better!
amg032609 says
This is a great recipe. My suggestion would be to leave out the sugar if you’re using ketchup OR use tomato paste with a reduced amount of sugar. Generally, I find, that only a teaspoon or two is necessary for even a large dish. Just a touch to cut the acidic flavor of the tomatoes. This is the first time I’ve seen a soup version of American Goulash and it’s wonderful! Definitely one of our favorite comfort meals. You might also consider not rinsing the beef after draining. If you use a lean enough cut there won’t be much to drain and then you might lose a lot of flavor if you rinse. Also, a bit of fat in a meal is good as the most vitamins are fat soluble. Everything in moderation. :)
AbbieC says
Italian seasonings? Like dry Italian dressing?
amg032609 says
AbbieC – Not dry Italian salad dressing. In the spice market of your local grocery store they should sell an Italian Seasoning spice blend. Generic brand is fine, too – you just have to watch for sodium content. Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute is awesome and works well in place of Italian Seasoning as it has some of the same flavors. If you don’t have access to a mix you can use your own spices of basil, oregeno, garlic, and black pepper to create your own. Just a 1/4 teaspoon of each to start and then adjust the flavors as you like. You can also use/add thyme, bay leaf, and marjoram, if you like. Rosemary tends to be strong and is not found in traditional Italian seasoning. You can add it, of course, but a little bit goes a long way.
thekitchenmagpie says
amg032609 AbbieC Thanks for answering this! I missed it! <3
AbigailGray says
Had this tonight and my husband and I enjoyed the first few bites. But I agree with some of the other comments that I’d cut down on the brown sugar or leave it out entirely 🙁 We loved the consistency of the soup and the ratio of meat to noodles!
thekitchenmagpie says
@AbigailGray I’m going to guess that it all depends on the ketchup that everyone is using. Mine isn’t sweet but some varities are going to be more sugary for sure! I think I’ll change it to add it ” to taste”.
Susan says
You mention “strained” tomatoes. Should we drain them or keep the juices? Thanks.
thekitchenmagpie says
@Susan No, sorry! That’s a typo!
LaurieVilneff says
I’ve always made this recipe here, soooo yummy.
I suggest leaving out the noodles and putting noodles into each bowl instead. This way the noodles never go soggy. Same thing with rice and potatoes.
I NEVER use brown sugar in a soup……… my hubby would freak !
To change this up to another soup: Use chicken (leftover) and chicken broth or veggie broth. No brown sugar or ketchup (can be typed up as an option for those that may like it). All else the same
Carrie says
I made this and finished off the leftovers yesterday. It was SO good! I mean, I seriously think it is a new favorite of mine…I don’t know how I’ve gone my whole life without ever having it. lol…thank you for the recipe. I followed it to a “T” and it was awesome…to the person who said they had to throw it out, I just don’t see how…must of left out something.
thekitchenmagpie says
@Carrie I am so glad that you liked it! And yes, if something was SO bad you had to throw it out, it’s usually because the recipe wasn’t followed lol. If my family doesn’t like it, the recipe won’t ever be published here! It IS a new favorite of ours, I don’t know how I haven’t been making it my whole life too!
Lisa says
Made this today, so yummy! After a full day of baking Christmas cookies it was nice to have a hearty soup all ready to go for dinner. The only thing I may change next time will be to omit the brown sugar or maybe cut it in half. I think we might prefer it a bit less sweet.
thekitchenmagpie says
@Lisa I would add it to taste, it all depends on how acidic your tomatoes are. Really acidic ones might even need more. All depends on what they canned!
whitney says
Do I keep the whole tomatoes whole? or do I crush them?
Thanks!
thekitchenmagpie says
@whitney Either or, you can slice up a few of them if you like!
mdye says
This was not good. Just didn’t work. At all. Threw it all out after forcing my kids to eat a couple bites. 🙁
thekitchenmagpie says
@mdye If it was a new recipe, I’d understand but I don’t get how a tried and true recipe from oh, the ’60’s didn’t work unless something was missed? This recipe has been made for decades now and I didn’t change a thing?
Crystal73 says
I make this. I call it Goulash. I use tomato juice, tomato sauce, onion, ground beef. I sometimes add whole kernel corn and cubed potatoes. This is one of my favorite dishes during the winter.
The Kitchen Magpie says
Aw bummer!
Corinna Turner says
sounds yummy, too bad i’m the only one who likes tomatoes.
Bev Baxter Thomas Batchelor says
Decided to go whole hog and making homemade bread to go with it!! It’s looking so yummy as it cooks in the slow cooker!
James Lori Shipley says
I might just make a whole crock full adding the pasta to each portion as I use it-I can freeze the beef and veggies and add pasta when reheating. My grandma used to make it like that especially if she had plans to freeze any leftovers-which rarely happened! 🙂 She would make two pots one of pasta which we would portion in the bottom of our bowls layered on top with the beef portion! So yummy!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Maybe try making a third of it? It was amazing for lunch the next day!
James Lori Shipley says
OMG my grandma used to make this-only she used a home based beef broth tomato and macaroni-she never actually added beef but for flavor. It was so good-now I am craving it! Only no one in my house eats it but me-too much soup for one person!
The Kitchen Magpie says
It is..and it is SO good for lunch the next day!!
Stephanie Ng Canavan says
Ultimate comfort yumminess!
The Kitchen Magpie says
It’s a classic, that’s for sure! It’s so homey and comforting!
Bev Baxter Thomas Batchelor says
decided last night that’s on the menu for us tonight! So yummy and reminds me of my Mom!