In the winter months is there anything better than a steaming hot bowl of hearty soup? I find there is nothing I crave more. I am talking about the kind of soup that warms you right to your bones and gives you those warm tingles all over. This Classic Hamburger Soup will do just that!
If you are anything like us, during the week we have a very limited amount of time to get dinner on the table. With this soup there is not a lot of preparation required. Which is always nice (and a huge win in our house)!
This post was updated on December 22, 2019.
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Onions
You might notice that there are no red onions that are visible in this updated post, but instead carrots! So let me explain…
About a month ago we discovered that Eddie is allergic to onions! This took us FOREVER to figure out. For the longest time, we actually thought it was cooked carrots (hence no carrots in this soup the first time around). We actually eat the food that we prepare for this blog, but I have made this soup recipe a hundred times with onions so I know that they work!
So that's all, please feel free to use onions in this recipe if you wish. We are currently in the process of experimenting with different types of onions to see if it is one specific type or all types. So for a while our recipes will be onion free, but I promise this doesn’t affect the taste or end product at all!
Let's Make the soup
You will need to grab a large stock pot or cast iron dutch oven. Over medium heat brown the ground beef, breaking it apart until it is fully cooked. I use 600 grams of organic lean ground beef for this recipe.
After the ground beef is fully cooked if you have a lot of grease in the pan, drain off some. I usually don’t drain the beef, because you will still want a little bit of the fat for cooking the vegetables, but if you have more grease than a tablespoon or so, drain off some of the excess so your soup is not greasy.
Next, add in the onions, sweet bell peppers, celery, and carrots. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the vegetables become slightly tender.
After the veggies have sauteed with the beef, add in all of the remaining ingredients. Stir well to combine and bring the soup to a simmer.
Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and let the soup simmer for a minimum of 45 minutes. Of course, as with most soup recipes the longer it simmers, the more flavour that gets released, and the more rich tasting the end product will be. If you are letting this soup simmer for a longer amount of time, turn the burner as low as it will go, and let the soup simmer all day. (p.s, it makes your house smell divine!)
Low Sodium Alternative
If you are watching your sodium intake, you can make these minor changes to the recipe that lower the sodium. It is definitely not “salt free”, but it greatly lowers the amount of sodium in the soup.
The changes to make are:
- Decrease beef Consommé to one can only
- Add 4 cups of Vegetable Broth or Chicken Broth (no salt added)
- Decrease water to 1 cup
We put a lot of work into our recipes, we would love to know if you tried this recipe and how it turned out for you!
If you have any questions about this recipe, I would be happy to answer them in the comments down below! To get a hold of us, you can shoot us an email or leave a comment down below! We can also be found on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.
updated on December 22, 2019
Classic Hamburger Soup
Hearty and warming family favorite
Ingredients
- 600 grams Organic Ground Beef, lean
- 1 Large Red Onion, diced (optional)
- 1-28 oz can Diced Tomatoes, drained
- 2 cups Water
- 3 cans Beef Consommé
- 1 can Tomato Soup
- 2-3 Bay Leaves
- 2-3 Sweet Bell Peppers, seeded and diced
- 4 Stalks Celery, chopped
- 4 Carrots, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup Pearl Barley
- 1 Tablespoon Parsley Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Thyme Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Stove Top Directions
- In a large stockpot or dutch oven, over medium heat brown ground beef until fully cooked.
- Over medium heat add red onion, sweet bell peppers, celery, and carrots. Saute for 5 minutes.
- Add in remaining ingredients, stir to combine, and bring to a boil.
- Cover with a lid and let simmer over medium low heat for a minimum of 45 minutes. Stirring regularly just to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.
- Remove from heat, keep covered with the lid and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Crockpot Directions
- Brown ground beef as directed above before adding to the crockpot.
- Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Let simmer on high for 4 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.
Notes
Low Sodium Alternative
These changes will make this soup lower in sodium.
- Decrease beef Consommé to one can only.
- Add 4 cups of Vegetable Broth or Chicken Broth (no salt added)
- Decrease water to 1 cup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 396Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 729mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 6gSugar: 11gProtein: 33g
Please Note- The nutritional information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator and it will vary based on the ingredients that you use.
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Allison says
Good for the soul
Jessica says
I agree!
Allison says
Forgot to rate this recipe on my first comment. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Definitely a five.
Burt B. says
Whoah that looks terrific, great job !!
Jessica says
Thank you!
Kristen says
I made a huge pot of this wonderful soup today, as we finally had some rain! I don't use canned soup, but I did add low sodium broth. Chopped onion and garlic, along with many vegetables. It was so good! Thanks!!!
Jessica says
I am so happy that you liked it!! ?
Samm Porter says
Soup is fantastic. Used just water as I had no broth or canned soups so less salt. Had a tin of ROTEL finely chopped tomatoes and green chilies which made a good flavour as I did not have garlic nor most of the spices listed — flavour was subtle but delicious. This recipe is easy to make once veges are all chopped. Regular white onion seems to blend in well and not deviate from original theme of the recipe. Loved all photos and instructions. Thanks for a well thought out soup recipe.
Jessica says
Thanks for the kind words and I am SO happy that you loved it! I love the addition of the Rotel tomatoes, I am a big fan of those also!
Will Bridgeforth says
OMG!!! This soup is the BOMB! I went step by step with the recipe, had everything except the thyme leaves. Put everything in my crockpot before I went to work, and when I came home ...OMG!!! IT WAS ON!!! My 18year old son had three bowls! We love it! Thanks for the great recipe.
Jessica says
Thank you for the great review! We are stoked that you loved it!
Lisa says
Wonderful recipe! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am also allergic to onions and it is the bane of my existence. EVERYTHING has onions and it’s so frustrating. Seems that is everyone’s go-to flavor booster & no one knows how to spice food up without them. Thank you for a recipe that is flavorful without onions.!!
Welcome to 3% of the population, Eddie. We are a rare bunch. Highly likely you are also allergic to sulfa drugs, so watch that if you have never taken any!
Jessica says
We are so happy that you loved this recipe. Yes, onions are in absolutely everything! Mostly all of our newer content is onion-free! We hope you'll be back for more onion-free recipes in the future 😃
Theresa L Jarvis says
This soup was so delicious!!! Everyone loved it. five stars!
Jessica says
Awesome! So happy that you liked it!
Công ty Triều An says
i like the classic
Lindsey says
This recipe is perfection!! I am a novice when it comes to any type of soup. This came out so delicious, my husband and I both loved it. I love barley so I added a little bit extra. I can't wait to make this again and again.
Jessica says
Yay! We are so happy that you and your husband liked it! I am a barley lover too, I sneak a bit extra in every time I make it 🙂
Benni says
Pretty good. The store was out of pearl barley so I used macaroni. I don't usually buy canned soup, but I thought it would be less flavorful without the tomato soup so I went for it. First time I've purchased canned soup in about 20 yrs. Didn't think it would do much damage even though there were some questionable ingredients. I always cook everything from scratch. Anyway, the flavor was very good & I'll be making it again. Prep time was a little over an hour.
parichute says
My family LOVED this soup! I used Better than Bouillon in place of consumme and a 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes (stripped of stems and squished) foregoing tomato soup. It is similar to Venus de Milo (VdM) soup but MUCH better. No more VdM for us.
Thank you for an excellent 'keeper'.
Jessica says
Amazing! We are so happy that you and your family love the soup!
Ck says
Could you use rice in place of the pearl barley?
Jessica says
Hi Ck,
I have not tested using rice in place of the pearl barley.
Lala says
I really like this soup. I had to make some changes because of the tomatoes. In place of the tomatoes I used v8 juice,3 tablespoons of tomato paste and w cups of broth with Better than bouillon. I will definitely make again