Hearty Hamburger Soup (freezer meal)

Is there anything better on a cold day than homemade hamburger soup?! This soup has all your protein, barley, and veggies in one place, making it a simple family meal. This hamburger soup recipe actually came about accidentally. Sometimes when my neighbor and I do our massive freezer meal marathons, we have some of our prepped ingredients left over at the end. Not wanting to have anything go to waste, we invent recipes at the end. Our Tex Mex Pasta Bake and Asian Rice Bowl are examples of recipes that came about the same way.

And now every time we are left with hamburgers and vegetables, we make this hamburger soup recipe. It’s become such a staple that we often cook up extra ground beef just for this. It’s also a really economical meal.

Hearty Hamburger Soup Recipe:

• 1 lb. browned ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup barley
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. parsley
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups beef broth*

*Be sure to add the beef broth last and hold the bag well while pouring to prevent spills!

Assembly instructions:

1. Brown ground beef.
2. Chop vegetables.
3. Place cooked beef, vegetables, and other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Be sure to add the beef broth last and hold the bag securely or have someone else hold the bag for this step so that it doesn’t spill.

Stovetop Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Heat in a large pot on the stovetop over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour.
3. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 3-5 hours.
3. Remove the bay leaf prior to serving.

Serve soup with crusty bread or buns. If you want, you can also offer a side salad as well, but it has enough vegetables to be served without a salad.

Print

Hearty Hamburger Soup

Course: Soup

Keyword: beef, hamburger soup, soup

Servings: 6

Calories: 107 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb. browned ground beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup barley
• 1 cup carrots peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 3 cups beef broth

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

1. Brown ground beef.
2. Chop vegetables.

3. Place cooked beef, vegetables, and other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Be sure to add the beef broth last and hold the bag securely or have someone else hold the bag for this step so that it doesn't spill.

Stovetop Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw.

2. Heat in a large pot on stovetop over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour.

Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 3-5 hours.

You may be interested in these other make-ahead soup recipes:

Enchilada Soup

Corn Chowder with Bacon

Spicy White Bean and Chicken Soup