Hamburger Soup
Almost everyone I know likes hamburger soup. It’s one of those good old classics that bring me back to my childhood when my mom would make it for us. We were a large family, so finding economical ways to feed us was always in the forefront when we bought groceries or cooked. If we could feed 9 of us on a budget that was the aim.
Back in the day, vegetables were very cheap to buy and if you were lucky enough to have a garden they were almost free and always abundant. We didn’t have a garden when I was really young, but by the age of 8 we had moved and had a garden in our backyard. I loved picking fresh peas and eating them straight out of the garden.
If you have a garden and access to fresh vegetables then this soup will be a stunner. It’s easy on the wallet no matter what, but if you can get fresh veggies they truly to amp up the flavor of this soup. It’s good with frozen veggies, but nothing beats fresh from the garden.
Use what you have on hand for veggies, this soup is very forgiving and will accommodate most vegetables that would normally go well in a hot soup. I often switch between shredded cabbage and brussel sprouts, depending on what I have on hand, and what needs to be used up first. That’s another thing about this soup, make it hearty by adding the vegetables in your crisper that won’t last through the week. Onions, peppers, mushrooms, leeks ….the list goes on.
This recipe makes a large pot of soup, If you don’t want that much soup feel free to halve the recipe. Or alternatively you can freeze it. It freezes well. I use these 1 cup individual portion freezer containers. They freeze a perfect portion and pop out like a huge ice cube, then I transfer them to a ziploc freezer bag and freeze more until all the soup remaining is frozen for when we feel like soup in a hurry. The link to the container i use, is here it’s make by starfrit and is called “portion and freeze”. It can be found at Walmart or on Amazon.
For a delicious meal option, serve this with my cheesy garlic bread
Hamburger Soup
Equipment
- 1 Large Heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 kg lean ground beef
- 1 28oz can, diced tomatoes
- 2 large potatoes, diced small (optional)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1.5 -2 Litre beef broth (2L for more broth)1
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbps Worcestershire
- 1.5 cups shredded brussel sprouts *or any veggie you like
- ¼ cup pearl barley (optional)
Instructions
- Saute the diced onion, celery and shredded carrot in the 2T olive oil for about 3 to 4 minutes until softened.
- Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper, cook until no longer pink
- Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring so it doesn't burn
- Add the broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, potatoes or pearl barley (if using), oregano and worcestershire, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Cook for 10 minutes or until all of the veggies are fork tender.
- Add extra veggies at this time. I added 1.5 cups of shredded brussel sprouts this time, but you could add shredded cabbage, frozen mixed veggies, fresh green beans or any other veggie that you have on hand that would go well in soup (cauliflower, broccoli)
- Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes to cook the vegetables completely and let the flavors combine.