Ground beef is an essential staple for most home cooks. After all, the perennially popular cut is inexpensive, easy to work with, incredibly versatile, and a little goes a long way. Since it breaks down into bite-sized crumbles, it can be stretched into all manner of big batch recipes. One of those just happens to be soup.
As opposed to stew meat, which requires hours to slowly cook down and tenderize, ground beef is ready in minutes. On the other hand, it can simmer as long as needed — giving flavors time to meld, and the other ingredients an opportunity to catch up — without getting dry and tough. That's why we're saying "Soup, there it is!" by taking ground beef beyond hamburgers and chili in these fast and flavorful ground beef soup recipes.
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Hamburger Soup
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Why bother with buns? Everyone's favorite sandwich gets deliciously (and wholesomely) transformed into a spoonable ground beef soup, flecked with bits of chopped onion, carrots, and celery. And yes, you better believe that there's ketchup in the broth.
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Mama's Italian Wedding Soup
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We'd gladly pledge a lifetime of loyalty to this celebratory Italian American soup, brimming with bouncy miniature meatballs, lovingly intertwined with toothsome pasta and spinach.
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Instant Pot Keto Hamburger Soup
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So many magic words in a single recipe title! Instant Pot enthusiasts will love the automated ease of simmering up a pot of ground beef and pork sausage-rich soup. And keto adherents will appreciate that it's totally diet approved — and boy, do we love diets that allow for a broth made from whipping cream, cheddar cheese and cream cheese.
- Browse more Instant Pot Recipes.
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Venus de Milo Soup
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"This is my version of a popular soup served at a well-known banquet facility in southeastern Massachusetts," explains contributor Elizabeth Cornell Chedid. "It is simple to prepare using common ingredients you may already have on hand in your pantry and freezer. Feel free to vary the basic recipe with in-season fresh veggies and low-fat turkey or veggie-soy burger for the ground beef."
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Albondigas
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Italian recipes don't get exclusive bragging rights to meatballs — nor even meatballs swimming in soup. The winning combination is equally beloved in Mexico, as delightfully referenced by this delectable ground beef soup recipe, boasting a salsa broth brightened with fronds of verdant cilantro.
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Black-Eyed Pea Soup
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Did you know that black eyed peas are considered lucky? Resembling coins, they're believed to bring prosperity to the consumer. That's why they're so often served on New Year's Day. That said, there's no reason you can't court a bit of luck year-round with this hearty soup of black eyed peas, ground beef, and pork sausage sweetened with molasses, spiced with cumin, and simmered in bouillon, diced tomatoes, and green chili peppers.
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Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
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"Ever wondered what to do with that last little bit of marinara sauce or those broken lasagna noodles?" asked recipe contributor Bren. "Well, I've got you covered! This soup has all of the flavors of lasagna without all of the hours in the kitchen. I've made it with fairly simple ingredients but feel free to add ground fennel seeds or herbs."
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Alphabet Soup
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Instead of being condensed in a can, this childhood favorite gets a preservative-free upgrade. Think ground round, beef bouillon, spicy vegetable juice cocktail, frozen mixed vegetables, and dried alphabet pasta — no more, no less.
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Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Soup
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Love cabbage rolls, but not a fan of all the fussy work that goes into constructing them? This rib-sticking soup contains all of the traditional sweet and sour elements of the Eastern European staple, including ribbons of cabbage, crumbles of ground beef and rice, in a tomato-based broth seasoned with bay leaves, black pepper, apple cider vinegar, and black pepper. And since it's prepared in an Instant Pot, it requires just a fraction of the work.
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Hamburger Corn Soup
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"This is my grandmother's recipe by way of my mother," shares contributor Meemps of this creamed corn-enriched soup. "It's easy and tastes great. Origins of this recipe come from the Pennsylvania Dutch of Central PA."
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Italian Vegetable Soup
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One of the things we adore about ground beef is that it plays so well with other ingredients. In fact, it's not afraid to let vegetables share the stage, by creating a delicious duet with carrots, diced tomatoes, cabbage, corn, and green beans.
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Taco Soup with Green Chilies
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This is our one-pot answer to taco night — a beef-and-bean soup flavored with diced tomatoes and green chilies, thickened with corn, and made indulgently creamy with tangy and rich Velveeta cheese.
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Saskatchawan City Steak Soup
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"I had a soup when I was on holidays this summer and loved it," said aptly named contributor, Souper_Sasker. "So, when I got home and the weather changed a little, I decided to try to re-create it. What I came up with is the delicious, thick soup that is really more like a stew. It's amazing with dumplings dropped on top."
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Spicy Potato Soup
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Enlivened with a healthy dash of hot pepper sauce, sweetened with tomato sauce, and bulked out with ground beef, this ground beef soup recipe is so much more than a bowl of mashed potatoes (not that there's anything wrong with that).
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MeMe's Pasta Fagioli
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"White cannellini beans, ditalini pasta with vegetables, lean hamburger, and herbs are simmered in vegetable juice and chicken broth," said contributor Karyn Osborne. "It is like an Italian chili like Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli and even better the second day."
- Browse more Soup Recipes.