Vegetable Soup with Ground Beef (Old Fashioned, One Pot)
This vegetable soup with ground beef has nothing fancy about it, and that’s exactly why I love it. I’ve always been drawn to simple cooking: a few everyday ingredients, one big pot, and something cozy simmering on the stove on a cold winter day.
This is the kind of old fashioned soup that makes the whole house smell like comfort food. Browned ground beef, carrots, potatoes, green beans, and corn simmer in a tomato beef broth seasoned with basic dried herbs from the pantry. It’s hearty enough to be dinner on its own.
And honestly, the leftovers might be my favorite part. It makes a big batch, the flavor gets better overnight, and lunch is already taken care of for the next few days.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One pot, start to finish. Brown the beef, add everything else, and let it simmer. Fewer dishes on a busy weeknight.
- Pantry ingredients. Ground beef, a few vegetables, tomato sauce, beef broth, and dried herbs you probably already have.
- Big batch with better leftovers. It makes about 8 servings, and the broth gets richer after a night in the fridge.
- A complete meal. Meat, potatoes, and vegetables in one bowl. Add a dinner roll and you’re done.
- Easy to change. Swap the vegetables, use ground turkey, or make it thicker or thinner to suit your family.
What Makes This Vegetable Soup “Old Fashioned”?
Old fashioned vegetable beef soup is the simple, tomato-based kind many of us grew up on. It isn’t creamy and doesn’t use a long ingredient list. It’s a thin-to-medium tomato beef broth loaded with chunky potatoes, carrots, green beans, and corn.
Using ground beef instead of stew meat is what makes it practical for a weeknight. Ground beef browns in minutes and stays tender, so the soup is ready in about 45 minutes instead of simmering for hours like a Dutch oven beef stew.
If you’d like a meatless version, try my Grandma’s Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup.
Ingredients for Vegetable Soup with Ground Beef
Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Ground beef. 85/15 gives good flavor; just drain off the extra grease. Ground turkey works too.
- Potatoes. Russet, Yukon gold, or red all work. Russets break down a little and thicken the broth. Yukon gold and red hold their shape.
- Carrots. Diced small so they cook in the same time as the potatoes.
- Frozen green beans. No trimming or chopping needed.
- Corn. Canned and drained, or frozen. It goes in at the end so it stays sweet.
- Beef broth. Six to eight cups, depending on how brothy you like it.
- Tomato sauce. Gives a smooth tomato base without chunks.
- Dried minced onion and dried minced garlic. A pantry shortcut that means no chopping, and they soak up flavor as the soup simmers.
- Dried herbs. Parsley, basil, thyme, marjoram, and bay leaves, plus salt and black pepper. Marjoram is the old fashioned secret here. It gives that classic homemade soup flavor.
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How to Make Vegetable Soup with Ground Beef
- Brown the beef. Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and break it apart as it cooks, until no pink remains (160°F, per the USDA safe temperature chart). Drain off the extra grease.
- Toast the onion and garlic. Lower the heat to medium. Stir in the dried minced onion and garlic and cook for about 1 minute so they soak up the beef drippings.
- Add the vegetables and liquid. Add the carrots, potatoes, and frozen green beans. Pour in the beef broth and tomato sauce and stir.
- Season and simmer. Add the parsley, basil, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, until a fork slides easily into the potatoes and carrots.
- Finish with corn. Stir in the corn for the last 5 to 10 minutes, just until heated through.
- Taste and serve. Remove the bay leaves, taste, and adjust the salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.
Tip: Keep the soup at a gentle simmer, not a hard boil. A rolling boil breaks the potatoes apart and turns the broth cloudy.
Tips for the Best Ground Beef Vegetable Soup
- Cut the vegetables the same size. About ½-inch pieces of carrot and potato cook evenly.
- Choose the thickness you like. Use 6 cups of broth for a thicker, stew-like soup or 8 cups for a brothier one.
- Add the corn last. It only needs to warm through, and long cooking makes it tough.
- Season at the end. Broths vary a lot in salt, so taste before adding more.
Variations
- Ground turkey: Use it in place of beef for a leaner soup.
- More vegetables: Peas, lima beans, celery, cabbage, or diced bell pepper all fit right in.
- Diced tomatoes: Use a 14.5-ounce can, undrained, in place of half the tomato sauce for a chunkier soup.
- All frozen vegetables: Use a 1- to 2-pound bag of frozen mixed vegetables in place of the carrots, green beans, and corn. Add it with the potatoes.
- Different broth: Chicken or vegetable broth works if that’s what you have.
What to Serve with Vegetable Soup with Ground Beef
This soup is a complete meal, but it pairs well with:
- Homemade Rosemary Garlic Dinner Rolls Recipe
- Blue Cheese Wedge Salad
- Cast Iron Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe
Storage and Reheating
Let the soup cool completely before storing it.
- Refrigerator: Keep it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze it in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge. The potatoes will be a little softer after freezing.
- Reheating: Warm it on the stove over medium heat or in the microwave. Add a splash of broth if it has thickened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Browning adds flavor and lets you drain the grease. Raw ground beef added straight to the broth cooks into gray clumps and leaves the soup greasy.
Use Yukon gold or red potatoes, cut them into even ½-inch cubes, and keep the soup at a gentle simmer. Stop cooking as soon as a fork slides in easily.
Yes. Brown and drain the beef first, then add everything except the corn to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours, and stir in the corn for the last 30 minutes.
Use 6 cups of broth instead of 8, or mash a few potato pieces against the side of the pot and stir them in. Simmering uncovered for the last 10 minutes also helps.
They’re mostly the same soup. “Hamburger soup” usually means it’s made with ground beef. “Vegetable beef soup” often uses stew meat. This recipe is both: a vegetable beef soup made with ground beef.
Yes, for up to 3 months. The potatoes soften a little after thawing, but the flavor holds up well.
More Soup Recipes You Will Love
- Old Fashioned Dutch Oven Beef Stew on the Stovetop
- Grandmas Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup with Ground Beef
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 tablespoon minced dried garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced dried onion
- 4 medium carrots, diced into ½-inch pieces
- 7 medium potatoes cubed (russet potatoes, yellow or red potatoes)
- 12 ounces green beans frozen
- 15 ounces canned corn, drained (or 1½ cups frozen)
- 6 –8 cups beef broth
- 15 ounces of tomato sauce
- 3 large bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
Instructions
- Place a large pot or a large Dutch oven on the stove and turning the heat to medium-high. Add the pound of ground beef and cook while breaking it apart with a spoon. Continue cooking until the beef is fully browned and no pink remains. If there is extra grease in the pot, carefully drain it off.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the minced garlic and minced onion. Stir the dried minced onion and garlic into the browned beef and cook 1 minute
- Add the diced carrots, cubed potatoes, and frozen green beans to the pot. Pour in the beef broth and tomato sauce, then stir to combine.
- Add the parsley, basil, thyme, marjoram, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves. Turn the heat back up to medium-high heat and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Simmer on medium-low until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Stir in the corn during the last 5–10 minutes of cooking, just until heated through. Remove the bay leaves, taste, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.
Notes
- To make it easier, use frozen vegetables instead of fresh — they’re already chopped, which saves prep time.
- Adjust the broth to your desired consistency: use 6–8 cups of beef broth—more for a thinner, soupier consistency, less for a thicker, stew-like soup.
- For leaner meat, use extra lean ground beef or swap in ground turkey.
- Instead of beef broth, you can use vegetable broth or chicken broth.
- To add more veggies, try green peas, lima beans, sweet potato, or colorful bell peppers.
About Sarah
Wife. Mother. From-Scratch Cook. Homemaker.
I’m Sarah, the creator of Rocky Hedge Farm, where I share my love for simple living, homemade meals, and creating a cozy home. As a wife and mother, I’m passionate about slowing down, cooking from scratch, and finding joy in the everyday moments of life. From DIY projects and family-friendly recipes, I hope to inspire others to embrace a life rooted in simplicity and warmth.
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this was delicious. very easy to make. so glad it makes a lot so I can freeze some of it.