This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy for additional information.
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.
PIN THIS RECIPE to your DINNER RECIPES Boards, and Remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!
Amber Dawn says
We call this hangover soup. Haha.
William Mcgar says
I’m hungry let’s eat.
Kim Motiuk says
I’m making this recipe this weekend!
JKVA says
Do the whole tomatoes break down during cooking, or am I supposed to chop them up a bit? Also, is there a particular brand of beef broth that is ‘stronger’ than others? TIA
thekitchenmagpie says
@JKVA I make my own using boullion powder, it’s a lot easier to control the strength and flavour! You can chop up the tomatoes at the end if they don’t break down enough for your liking as well, we like big chunks in ours!
TammyLynnMason says
Sounds very good. When does the ketchup get added in? I don’t see it in the instructions.
dobeman says
TammyLynnMason It’s listed in step 2 of the instructions (Add the broth, cans of chopped and whole tomatoes, Worcestershire,
ketchup,brown sugar (if wanted) and Italian seasoning. Add more sugar
and Worcestershire to taste if needed.) I like ketchup but love Heniz chili sauce and I use it for any and all things that I would normally use ketchup for and it would work great in this delicious and satisfying comfort food recipe.
Hi Karlynn, I haven’t seen your website before and I like all that I see including your recipes and your entertaining writing! I used to live in Calgary but now I live on the BC coast where your recent road trip took you.
Sheryl Connor says
This is a recipe that I have been looking for. Questions? Have you ever tried chicken wings or a fryer cut up (boiled and season) instead of ground beef? I can not wait to try you recipe above looks very delicious specially with Jalapeno corn bread.
thekitchenmagpie says
Sheryl Connor No… I have tried ground turkey, which is excellent. You need a good ground meat in this soup for that great texture. You could use plain chicken meat, but it would be missing that texture.
Jennifer Nicole says
We adore this recipe! It’s easy and very flavorful.
Coralee Flug says
The cafe in Rycroft served and it was always my favorite.
Tammy Strausbaugh Wilfong says
Discovered your recipe over a year ago and fell in love with this soup. I make it as often as I can and would eat it for all three meals of the day if I could! It’s that good!!
Alana Meisner says
I genuinely feel like every recipe you post is my childhood. I grew up in Fort Saskatchewan and am making all these recipes for my own family now! You are my go to for supper ideas. Will all these recipes be in your new cook book?
The Kitchen Magpie says
My cookbook is all desserts, but hey, who knows what cookbook #2 is!!
Alana Meisner says
Well I happen to love deserts too so I’ll happily buy cookbook #1 and look forward to #2!!
Donna McComb says
made this a couple weeks ago and loved it
Patt Cherry-Harris says
Had this as a kid. I loved it and I still do.
Kimberley Tremblay says
Ive never had it!!! lol I will have to make it now though. I LOVE meaty soups!!!
KathyJones3 says
Using a whole-grain elbow macaroni (3 times more fiber) would make this a pretty healthy soup. One of my fave restaurants features this as a daily soup choice. It’s their most popular soup! My mom called this Goulash Soup.
Gina says
I am making this today! My Mom used to make this……it was so good! We called always called it Hunky Junk : )
kc92004 says
Do you add the ketchup when you add the tomatoes aND everything else?
kc92004 says
Do you drain the cans of tomatoes or no?
The Kitchen Magpie says
Oh shoot I didn’t see this!!! It’s up now, sorry 🙁
Julie Post says
I was planning to make this tonight…curious how long the website will be down for maintenance. Maybe I need a plan b? 🙂
Vern Ledger says
Like this! Never used the crock pot though!!
Kelsie Kelly says
Made this tonight! My kids love it so it’s on regular rotation in our house:)
Amy Melby says
I made your Turkey Lasagna soup last week but with ground beef and tortellini (plus added spinach) and it was so good!! Family raved! Success!
John Martin says
Not this one cuz! lol….looks like death for me.
Debbie Baker says
Here is a picture of some we made before .We added mushrooms and peas .Yum
Cheryl Sprague Fernstrom says
Yes I do! Aptly named indeed. Kept the martins alive.
Debbie Baker says
Me and my husband love to cook together always look for new stuff to make together. Will be making this today when he gets home.
The Kitchen Magpie says
Once you start you can’t stop! So easy and so good!
Cindy Martin Trahan says
John Martin, Lyn Richard Cheryl Sprague Fernstrom Peg Miller … The infamous “Poor people soup”. Remember how John named it this … LOL
Debbie Baker says
I make this all the time now.Love it super easy .
Kendall Perkins-Virus says
I add carrots, celery and peas too
Susan Forbes says
This must be delicious!