Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup is the ultimate comfort soup made with what you have on hand in the pantry, fridge or freezer. Make it quickly and inexpensively on the stovetop, slow cooker or Instant Pot with shortcuts and variations.
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As summer comes to an end and the leaves begin to fall, the cooler nights makes me of soup and cornbread.
I'm not quite ready for snuggly up next to the fire because the days are still pretty warm here in Alabama!
Ingredients
- Ground beef or chuck
- Chopped onion
- Waxy potatoes: red or Yukon gold
- Sliced carrots
- Celery
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Canned whole kernel corn
- Canned green beans or peas
- Salt and herbs (optional)
- Vegetable, chicken or beef broth
- Tomato juice or V-8 juice (optional)
How to make Hamburger Vegetable Soup
- Cook ground beef and onion together in an 8-quart pot over medium-high heat, stirring to crumble meat. (If using meat leaner than ground chuck, add 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil). Drain, if needed.
- Meanwhile, chop the fresh vegetables and drain canned vegetables.
- Add vegetables (salt and herbs if using that variation), stirring well.
- Pour in the broth and tomato juice or V-8 juice. Cover and bring to a boil. Push the lid to the side slightly to vent; reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. You can simmer longer if desired.
What to serve with Hamburger Vegetable Soup
Cornbread is my go-to side to serve with any soup.
- Vidalia Onion Cornbread with Caramelized Onion Fans
- Cornbread
- Crusty French Bread
- Saltine or Ritz crackers
- Tossed Green Salad with Black Raspberry (or Blackberry) Vinaigrette
- Grilled cheese sandwich
Can this easy vegetable soup be frozen?
Yes. Be sure to cool the soup to room temperature first. Then, spoon it into a freezer-safe, plastic container with an airtight lid. Freeze up to 3 months.
To thaw, place the soup container in the refrigerator 2 days before you need it or thaw in the microwave on 30% Power (Defrost) 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the container.
You can also fill quart size freezer bags with 2 to 3 cups of soup; squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing and freeze them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen solid, you can stack the flat packages of soup easily.
Shortcuts & Variations
Shortcuts:
- Frozen chopped onion and/or bell pepper can replace fresh
- Canned corn, tomatoes, green beans
- Replace fresh potatoes with one can of diced potatoes (drained); saves 10 minutes on simmering time
- Sliced baby carrots or pre-cut carrot chips can replace peeled and slice carrots
Variations:
- Ground venison, turkey, pork and chicken can replace beef
- Fresh or frozen cut corn, tomatoes, and green beans can replace canned; add 5 to 10 minutes additional simmering time. If using fresh tomatoes, add ½ cup additional tomato/V-8 juice
- Chicken or beef broth can replace beef broth
- ½ teaspoon dried herbs or Italian seasoning can be added
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs such as basil, oregano and thyme can be added
- Diced tomatoes with garlic, herbs or olive oil can replace plain tomatoes
- Vegetarian version: omit ground beef
- For spicy version: Replace diced tomatoes with a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis and/or use spicy V-8 juice
- 1 additional cup broth can replace tomato juice
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce can replace tomato juice (Soup will be slightly thicker)
- 1 or 2 cans of diced potatoes can replace the fresh potatoes
Can I make vegetable soup in the Instant Pot?
Yes. Cook ground beef and onion in the insert pot on SAUTE. Drain, if needed. Add remaining ingredients. (I do not adjust liquid.) Cook on PRESSURE COOK or Manual Mode 5 minutes. It will take about 20 minutes to come up to pressure. Let it NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes.
Can I make it in the slow cooker?
Yes. Cook ground beef and onion in a skillet (unless your slow cooker has the SAUTE mode). Drain and transfer to the slow cooker. Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir well. Cover with the lid and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours.
Vegetable soup in general reminds me a little of the folk tale Stone Soup. You can literally add whatever vegetables you have and make a slightly different soup every time. I like to call mine "Clean Out The Fridge Soup".
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Other soup recipes you will love
- Beans and Greens: Shortcut Turnip Greens Soup
- Shortcut Tomato and Bread Soup
- Instant Pot White Bean and Chicken Chili
- Shortcut White Bean and Chicken Chili
Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup (Shortcuts and Variations)
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Equipment
- 8 quart pot
Ingredients
- ½ to ¾ pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 small round red or Yukon gold potatoes (about 12 ounces) (Russet potatoes will work but will fall apart more easily)
- 3 small carrots (or 1 ½ cups baby carrots sliced)
- 3 ribs celery with leaves There's lots of flavor in the leaves!
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained (or petite diced)
- 1 15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 14.5 ounce can cut green beans, drained
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional-can be added at the end, if needed)
- 3 cups vegetable, beef or chicken broth
- 1 cup tomato juice or V-8 juice or 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce (optional) (If tomato juice is not used, add 1 additional cup broth)
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning or a mixture of oregano, thyme, and basil (optional) Or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs
Instructions
- Cook ground beef and onion together in an8-quart pot over medium-high heat, stirring to crumble meat. (If using meat leaner than ground chuck, add 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil). Drain meat, if needed. Leaner meats will not need to be drained.
- Meanwhile, chop the fresh vegetables and drain canned vegetables.
- Add vegetables (and herbs if using that variation), stirring well.
- Pour in the broth and tomato juice or V-8 juice. Cover and bring to a boil. Push the lid to the side slightly to vent; reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. You can simmer longer if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
Updated 9/29/22 with valuable information.
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