Earlier this week I took the little kids to Madison County, of The Bridges of Madison County fame, to check out Clark Tower. The massive stone tower was built in the 1920’s on top of an enormous hill with the most gorgeous, sweeping views of Madison County below. I’ve been dying to see it for years. Told the kids we were going to go see a castle. We were all thrilled!
The tower is located within Winterset City Park which contains one of the historic bridges, plus a huge playground, hedge maze, and a log cabin originally built in the 1850s. The changing leaves, cool breeze, bright blue skies, and sense of outdoor adventure was exactly what we needed. It was SUCH a great morning, especially because I had Hamburger Soup ready and waiting for us to reheat for lunch when we returned home!
You guys, I learned a fancy new trick to see what recipes you’re searching for when you get to IGE and, spoiler alert: it’s ALL THE SOUPS. All of ’em! I highly advise you get this humble, hearty, ground beef soup recipe on your menu ASAP, because it’s just what we need for fall.
Hamburger Soup Ingredients
Browned and seasoned ground beef is simmered with tons of vegetables of the fresh, frozen, and canned variety, plus lots of seasonings, beef broth, tomato sauce and a special ingredient that gives the soup big big flavor – V8 vegetable juice. It makes this vegetable hamburger soup taste like the Campbell’s Alphabet Soup of my childhood…minus the gluten and caramel coloring!
Side Dishes to Serve With
A nice side salad is always great to freshen up a flavorful-packed and hearty soup recipe like this one, though I am also very partial to my Gluten Free Dinner Rolls. Roasted or Air Fried asparagus would be great too.
Why You Should Make Hamburger Soup
- It’s PACKED with vegetables.
- Yet PACKED with flavor.
- Is Easy.
- Inexpensive.
- Feeds an army.
- Reheats well.
I can’t wait for you to get this hearty ground beef soup recipe simmering on your stove. It truly feeds your stomach AND soul!
How to Make This Recipe
Start by sauting carrots, celery and shallot or onion in butter until crisp-tender, seasoning with my homemade seasoned salt and pepper. Add fresh garlic then saute until extremely fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
Next add ground beef then break it up as it cooks. I prefer using a fattier ground beef like 85/15 or 80/20 because it stays tender in the soup after sauting/simmering, plus it adds a ton of flavor. You can either scoop out excess fat after sauting, or skim it off the top of the soup as it simmers.
Next add tomato sauce, beef stock or broth, and V8 vegetable juice which not only adds extra nutrition, but flavor too. Also toss in Italian seasoning, a bay leaf, a can of cut green beans, and frozen sweet corn.
Bring the soup to a bubble then add diced russet potatoes and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
That’s all she wrote! Remove the bay leaves then scoop this hearty, humble, absolutely DELICIOUS Hamburger Soup recipe into bowls and enjoy. Then go back for another bowl. And then another. You’ll see!
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Hamburger Soup
Description
Hamburger Soup from scratch is packed with flavor! This humble, satisfying soup recipe will bring you back for bowl after bowl.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup baby carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot or small onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper (see notes)
- 1lb ground beef (I like 85/15 or 80/20)
- 4 cups (32oz) beef stock or broth
- 15oz can tomato sauce
- 15oz can cut green beans, drained
- 5.5oz can V8 original vegetable juice
- 1-1/2 cups frozen sweet corn
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 small russet potatoes (14oz), peeled and diced
Directions
- Heat butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add carrots, celery, and shallot or onion, season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper, then saute for 3 minutes. Place a lid on top then cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic then saute until very fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Turn heat up to medium-high, add ground beef, season with more seasoned salt and pepper, then break it up as it cooks. If there is a lot of extra fat in the pot you can either scoop it out now with a spoon, or skim it off the top of the soup later.
- Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT potatoes then turn heat to high to bring soup to a bubble. Add potatoes then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (You may put a lid on the pot near the end to help the potatoes soften if they’re taking too long.) Remove bay leaf then scoop soup into bowls and serve.
Notes
- Click here for my Homemade Seasoned Salt Recipe >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
This is a really delicious, nutritious and a hearty soup! When my husband and I want something filled with veggies this is always our go-to! Thank you for your creation
Same here, Carol!! So glad you two enjoy it! :)
This is such a good and easy recipe. Sitting here thinking about this soup I am now hungry for it!
Oh I’m so glad, Shelly!! I think about this one a lot too – SO GOOD!
I made this soup the first time you posted it and it was so good! Thanks for reupping. One thing, MSG is NOT gross. Please do some research! :)
Thank you for pointing that out – I wrote this post in the fall of 2020, before I learned why MSG has/had been villainized. I will change the text immediately. Thanks for the heads up!
Made this soup and doubled the recipe. It is wonderful. So tasty. Tastes even better a day or two later. Absolutely a keeper.
I’m so thrilled you loved it, Karen! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I’m very very late to this party, but people. Make.This.Soup. Very easy to make, from simple ingredients….and you won’t believe how good it tastes. Great little recipe, IG, and thank you! So glad I subbed to your beautiful site.
Have you tried to make this recipe using an instant pot?
We make this constantly throughout the cold winter months. New favorite soup!
This was delicious!!!! Easy to make, packed with veggies can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch today.
Going to give it a go with turkey and in my instant pot tomorrow – Will report back! Now what to do with the other seven cans of V8 juice. ?
Tasted great!! Husband went back for seconds, which is sayimg a lot. I only did about 10 minutes under pressure (not the “soup” button – which is 60 minutes). Ground turkey was a just fine replacement. Mine was a little salty, as I never know how much to use when it’s not cited so definitely wondering how much of the seasoned salt you used. (I made a container of your homemade stuff).
This soup was so good! I made a few substitutions based on what I had but it was excellent!
Glad you were able to make it work, Heather! Thanks so much for your review and star rating!
I made this today and it was delicious! Think it would freeze OK?
Thrilled to hear it, Rachel! I do think it would freeze well!
Love your recipes! Do you have nutritional info for your recipes?
Hi Kaycie, thank you so much! I recommend you use a service like My Fitness Pal if you need that info! :) https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
WOWZA!! This soup is so much more than just hamburger and veggies. There’s so much flavor in this one pot! We let ours simmer for a few hours. We just kept commenting throughout our meal how flavorful this soup was. We will definitely make it again!!
SO thrilled that you loved the soup, Erica! Thank you so much for your review and star rating!!
Do you think this would work with ground chicken, and using chicken broth instead of beef broth? Any other modifications? Or not a good idea? Thanks!
I think that could work, Becca!
It was delish made with the ground chicken and chicken broth!!
I just finished eating the last of my mom’s version oh hamburger soup which is a very similar recipe. We love it. So appreciate your gluten free recipes here in Iowa City.
So glad to hear it, Theresa! :) Have a great weekend!
I love all your stories and recipes! Gwendolyn is getting so big! I screen shot your pictures and send them to mom. She had a successful hip replacement last week at 89! Rehab now. So thankful. She LOVES SEEING PICTURES OF ALL OF YOU! Love to you all!!
Making your soup tonight!
Oh I’m so glad to hear her surgery went well!! Prayers for a quick and full recovery. Oh yes, the kids are getting so, so big – it’s unbelievable!! Hugs from us to you! <3
This looks yummy! I grew up in Winterset, we lived near the cemetery, the parks were our play ground and we used to hike up to Clark’s tower all the time. Thanks for the memories!
I am so hoping to get back by myself or with Ben/friends to hike the trail – it is right up my alley!
What a fun day! My brother used to live by Hogback Bridge and we would walk there-SO beautiful in the fall. Makes me want to road trip to Winterset!
And…totally making that soup this week. YAY for NO peas! :)
We passed by the Hogback Bridge sign on the way home! It was such a beautiful area and morning – I felt like we were in a Hallmark movie! ?
We decided to take a little road trip there yesterday…not realizing it was *supposed* to be their annual covered bridge festival! There weren’t a ton of people but we hiked the in city park to the tower and had a picnic in the beautiful park. It was a perfect fall day! Thanks for the inspiration!
SO happy to hear this, Sara!!! Isn’t it just the most beautiful, relaxing place? So glad you were inspired to make the trip. Happy Fall!