Hamburger Soup is an easy and healthy weeknight dinner you can meal prep in advance. It’s so hearty, filling, and full of flavor! It also freezes well, so you can make it in large batches for future enjoyment.
My Hamburger Soup Recipe is gluten free, grain free, and dairy free. It’s loaded with nutritious vegetables and high in protein. And, you can make it even more protein-packed with one simple tweak. I like to serve this soup with avocado slices to sneak in some healthy fats and my grain free “corn” bread.
What Is Hamburger Soup?
What sets hamburger soup apart from traditional vegetable soup is that it’s loaded with ground beef (I also add ground turkey to lean it out and make it higher in protein). Therefore, it’s much higher in protein and more hearty and filling while still including lots of nutritious vegetables.
And, feel free to get creative with it. You can add other vegetables to suit your preference and swap out the ground beef with ground turkey to make it lower in calories and higher in protein. Personally, I like to use a 50/50 mix of ground beef and ground turkey. I find the ground beef makes it more savory and filling.
Hamburger Soup Ingredients
- Ground Beef and/or Turkey – I like to use a 50/50 blend of ground beef and ground turkey. I still get the savoriness of the ground beef while sneaking in extra protein with the ground turkey. But, feel free to use only ground beef or only ground turkey with this soup recipe.
- Assorted Veggies – This soup is packed with nutritious vegetables, including onions, green beans, carrots, and celery. You can also add other veggies, including zucchini, cauliflower, and squash.
- Diced Tomatoes – I prefer fire-roasted diced tomatoes with this soup recipe, but regular diced tomatoes works fine too.
- Tomato Paste – This helps to thicken up the soup while adding more of that tomato flavor.
- Potatoes – I prefer yukon gold potatoes with this soup. They add extra heartiness and texture to the soup. You can also use sweet potato to switch things up or parsnips to keep it paleo-friendly.
- Beef Broth – Adds liquid while keeping the flavor bold and beefy.
- Seasonings – To round out the flavor of this soup, add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, fresh garlic, onion powder, cumin, paprika, sea salt, and pepper. The seasonings are what bring all the flavors together.
How To Make Hamburger Soup
After prepping all of the ingredients and chopping all the vegetables, this soup recipe comes together very quickly.
- Saute the onions and garlic. Preheat a large soup pot with avocado oil and saute the onions until translucent. Then, add the minced garlic and saute one more minute.
- Cook the meat. Add the ground beef and ground turkey to the pot and cook until fully browned.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add all remaining soup ingredients, including the veggies, diced tomatoes, broth, and seasonings.
- Simmer to perfection. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer until the vegetables reach your desired texture. This usually takes 30-45minutes.
Kayla’s Pro Tip: An enameled cast iron dutch oven is my favorite cookware for making soups and stews. It’s non-toxic, oven-safe, non-stick, and distributes heat very well. I love the Le Creuset one, but this Martha Stewart one is a great alternative that’s more budget friendly.
How-To Meal Prep and Freeze This Soup
Soups are one of the best things for meal prep because they can be prepped days in advance and even frozen. This Hamburger Soup recipe will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and the flavor will just get better as it marinates. You can also freeze this soup in a freezer-safe container for up to one month.
Kayla’s Meal Prep Tip For Freezing: If you’re meal prepping for an entire family, feel free to store this soup in a large container for freezing. That way, you can defrost it all at once. However, if you’re only meal prepping for yourself, you can portion the soup out into individual single serve containers and defrost them one at a time, when needed. These glass Weck Jars are great for freezing soups and are stackable.
Incorporate This Soup Into Your Meal Prep Routine
I shared this Hamburger Soup in one of my 5-Day Healthy Meal Prep menus. Watch me make it below.
Loaded Hamburger Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Enameled Dutch Oven my favorite budget-friendly option
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Avocado or Coconut Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 lb 85% Lean Ground Beef
- 1/2 lb 93% Lean Ground Turkey (feel free to add a whole lb if you want it extra meaty)
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 28-29 oz Diced Tomatoes fire roasted preferred
- 3-4 Celery Stalks, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
- 3-4 Carrot Stalks, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 C. Fresh Green Beans, chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 2 C. Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into fourths (use sweet potatoes or parsnips for paleo)
- 32 oz Beef Broth
- 2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp EACH of Sea Salt and Paprika
- 1/2 tsp EACH of Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and Cumin
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Optional Toppings: Fresh Chopped Parsley and Avocado Slices
Instructions
- In a large soup pot over medium heat, add the oil and onions. Saute the onions until they're slightly soft and translucent. Then, add the minced garlic and saute another minute.
- Add in the ground beef and ground turkey and continue to cook until it's fully browned.
- Next, add in all remaining hamburger soup ingredients. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to low-medium, add a lid, and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables reach your desired texture.
- When ready to serve, garnish with fresh parsley and avocado slices. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
More Healthy Soup and Dinner Recipes
On the search for more healthy soup and healthy dinner recipes? Here’s a few of my favorites.
- Anti-Inflammatory Golden Soup: Healing, comforting, nutritious, and great for reducing bloating and inflammation.
- Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole: This dinner casserole is so good that you won’t even notice it has spaghetti squash in it! It’s grain free, dairy free, and paleo friendly.
- Chimichurri Steak and Quinoa Balanced Bowl: This balanced bowl is so filling and the chimichurri sauce is chef’s kiss. It’s gluten free and full of flavor!
- Pan Seared Salmon: This salmon dish is made with my lemon butter cream sauce and it’s so dang good!! It’s also low carb and Keto friendly.