Hearty, wholesome, and absolutely delicious, this Crockpot Hamburger Soup Recipe is perfect for any occasion. Packing in ground beef, veggies, and pasta, this satisfying soup makes for a great dinner for the entire family.
I’m a big comfort food person and soup lover, and if you’re like me, you’ll fall in love with this soup.
On a bad day, I always end up making my ramen chicken noodle soup or a nice bowl of creamy chicken tortilla soup. Quite recently, I tried my hands at this easy ground beef soup and was absolutely blown away by its simplicity and deliciousness.
Why You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Hamburger Soup Recipe
- Comforting: Sick days, sad days, busy days, and lazy, no-cook days call for this easy, comforting, and filling soup recipe.
- Easy to make: This has to be one of the simplest Crockpot soup recipes out there. You’ll need just a few minutes of hands-on kitchen time.
- Family-friendly: This simple and easy recipe works for the entire family. It’s a favorite in my house!
- Customizable: The hamburger stew is customizable too! You can experiment with the kind of meat, pasta, and veggies you’re using and even adjust the seasonings to your preference.
Ingredients
Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients in this easy-to-make hamburger stew recipe. A lot of these are pantry staples, and many of the ingredients can be swapped out for something else.
- Ground beef: Start with some lean ground beef. Using organic, grass-fed beef can be great. If you don’t have ground beef or just want to try something different, ground chicken or ground turkey can be great choices for this recipe.
- Veggies: Use lots of veggies. I added zucchini, mushrooms, celery, carrots, baby spinach, onions and garlic. They help bulk up the soup and also add tons of flavor and texture. Don’t just stick to the veggies I’ve used here- experiment with other veggies like potatoes, corn, peas, green beans, and green onions.
- Chicken broth: This will form the base of the soup. I love sticking to chicken soup for its flavor and simplicity though you can use almost any other broth of your choice. Veggie broth and beef broth are good options, or you could just use a chicken bouillon and some water.
- Canned tomatoes: These add a nice bit of tanginess and flavor to the soup. Use fresh tomatoes if you want to.
- Tomato paste: For some extra depth of flavor, I also like to add some tomato paste.
- Seasonings: To season, you’ll just need some Italian seasoning and red chili flakes.
- Pasta: Use any cooked pasta of your choice. I used macaroni here. I used macaroni, but you could also try using other kinds of pasta like fusilli, rotini, farfalle, penne, or shell pasta.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Add more flavor: Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to deepen the flavor of this Crockpot vegetable beef soup. You can also add more of your favorite seasonings, such as garlic, thyme, turmeric, chili powder, bay leaf, or onion powder.
- Gluten-free: Instead of pasta, use Russet potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, red potatoes, or even sweet potatoes cut into three-quarter inch cubes. You can also replace the pasta with cabbage for a low-carb option that's also gluten-free.
- Make it spicy: To make the hamburger soup spicier, add some chopped jalapenos or red pepper flakes into the mix. Or simply top it with a dash of hot sauce before you serve.
- Make it healthier: Pack in more healthy goodness and nutrients into the soup by adding some beans into the mix.
- Crockpot cheeseburger soup: Stir in your favorite cheese such as cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese right before serving and top with more!
How to Make Crockpot Hamburger Soup
Once you have all the ingredients ready, prep your Crockpot by greasing it with some cooking spray before you begin the recipe. Here's a look at the easy steps for making this easy soup recipe.
Step 1: Crumble meat. Crumble the uncooked beef into the bottom of your Crockpot.
Step 2: Add seasonings and veggies. Top with tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings. Then layer the veggies except the spinach. Add liquids. DO NOT STIR.
Step 3: Cook. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours. Gently stir to combine and add in the spinach.
Step 4: Finishing touches. Serve the soup over the cooked macaroni and top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy.
⭐️ Hint: Add the cooked pasta into the soup towards the end, right before you serve to keep the pasta from soaking up all the liquid and turning lumpy.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy our Lazy Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Casserole, 15 Bean Soup in the Slow Cooker, Slow Cooker Tomato Soup, Crockpot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, Sweet and Spicy Bacon Burger or our Lazy Lasagna. It is delicious! Or for another Cheeseburger recipe, check out our Bacon Cheeseburger Pie.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Your leftover vegetable beef Crockpot soup can be refrigerated for 2-3 days in airtight containers.
- Freezing: You can also choose to freeze the soup if you want to, but remember not to add the pasta in if you’re planning to do that. Also, freezing, thawing and reheating can impact the texture of the veggies in the soup, so you might want to keep that in mind as well.
- Reheating: The soup can be reheated in the microwave if it is a smaller portion, or in a pot over medium-low heat if it is a larger portion. Add more liquid if needed during reheating.
Serving Suggestions
This Crockpot hamburger soup packs in pasta too, which means you can enjoy it as a hearty meal on its own.
If you really want to team it up with some bread, I would recommend whipping up some air fryer frozen biscuits or some homemade cornbread.
For some extra deliciousness, you can also top the soup with some shredded cheese and freshly chopped cilantro or any other herbs of your choice.
If you want to enjoy a bit of a crunch factor, you can also top the soup with some wonton crisps.
And if you still need some more help with figuring out what to serve with your hamburger soup, check out our post on what to serve with soup for some inspiration.
Expert Tips
- Utilize leftovers: If you have some veggies leftover in the refrigerator, this soup is a great place to put them to use. You could also use roasted veggies if you want to.
- Cut size matters: If you’re using fresh veggies, make sure you chop them roughly the same size so that they’re all cooked through. Bigger chunks and tougher veggies can take longer to cook, so keep that in mind.
- Drain excess grease. If using ground meat that's more fatty cook it separately before adding it to the slow cooker. After it's cooked drain it well after browning it so the soup is greasy.
- Keep pasta separate. This works best for storing leftovers either in the freezer or fridge. The pasta will soak up liquid as it sits turning quite soft.
FAQ
Yes, you can thicken it up to more of a stew-like consistency by adding a cornstarch slurry. In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a half cup of the warm broth. Mix until all of the lumps are gone. Slowly stir into the hamburger soup, and let it cook on low for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Sure! If you're using lean meat it's not necessary but if you prefer to brown it before adding it to the slow cooker you can!
Yes! If you have a bag of frozen veggies, feel free to use them for convenience. The idea is to make the soup more healthy and veggie-packed.
Watch How to Make It
Watch our video to see how easily this Slow Cooker Hamburger Soup comes together. This is going to be one of your favorite crockpot soup recipes.
More Delicious Soup Recipes
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Slow Cooker Hamburger Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef lean
- 1 can (28 oz) canned tomatoes diced and undrained
- 1 carton (32 oz) chicken broth
- 1 can (5 ½-6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 cup carrots sliced
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 1 ½ cups zucchini sliced
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 1 ½ cups baby spinach
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 cups pasta cooked
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Crumble uncooked beef across bottom of your slow cooker.
- In a medium sized bowl combine canned tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, garlic, and chicken broth. Set aside.
- Add onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, mushrooms and any other vegetables you want to include on top of the ground beef and then the liquid mixture. DO NOT STIR.
- Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or about 7 hours on low.
- As soon as you think your soup is ready remove lid and with a wooden spoon stir crumbled ground beef off the bottom of the slow cooker, breaking ground beef up as necessary.
- Add spinach (if using) about 10 minutes before serving.
- I take the cooked pasta and add it to each portion when serving. This soup freezes beautifully without the pasta in it. It is up to you. Enjoy!
Notes
- Utilize leftovers: If you have some veggies leftover in the refrigerator, this soup is a great place to put them to use. You could also use roasted veggies if you want to.
- Cut size matters: If you’re using fresh veggies, make sure you chop them roughly the same size so that they’re all cooked through. Bigger chunks and tougher veggies can take longer to cook, so keep that in mind.
- Drain excess grease. If using ground meat that's more fatty cook it separately before adding it to the slow cooker. After it's cooked drain it well after browning it so the soup is greasy.
- Keep pasta separate. This works best for storing leftovers either in the freezer or fridge. The pasta will soak up liquid as it sits turning quite soft.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in August 2019. It has been updated with new content and images.
Leave a Reply