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Packed with protein, fiber, and low in calories, this Healthy Hamburger Soup recipe is a must try! You’ll need just 15 minutes of hands-on time and your trusty slow cooker to make this delicious and comforting soup. This one’s surely going to be a total family favorite!
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I love a good healthy soup recipe! Soups are a great meal - they're comforting and brimming with protein and vegetables, making them super satisfying.
I’ve tried quite a lot of quick soup recipes in the past. My healthy broccoli and cheese soup is always a family favorite, though on days when I want to make soup as a complete meal, I turn to my turkey enchilada soup or Instant Pot taco soup recipes.
This soup, however, is my attempt at using up some leftover ground meat I had after I made my recipe for ground beef lettuce wraps, and I’m so happy I tried it, because now I have a new favorite!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: This healthy soup recipe needs just one pot and it couldn't be easier to make!
- High protein + Low calorie: This easy hamburger soup recipe has 25 grams of protein per serving and with just 297 calories per serving, it’s an amazing filling and wholesome low calorie meal that’s perfect for those on a weight loss journey.
- Veggie loaded: The soup packs in 9 vegetables, and is an excellent fiber rich meal that you can enjoy all on its own as a meal.
Ground Beef Potato Soup Ingredients
- Ground beef: Use lean ground beef, which ensures you don’t have a lot of grease to drain off after browning.
- Veggies: I used Yukon Gold potatoes, green beans, garlic, white onion, bell peppers, carrots, celery, sweet potatoes and some kale. Feel free to change it up and use what you have on hand. Other veggies that work great are peas, corn, broccoli, spinach, and even zucchini.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes: For that slight smoky flavor and a bit of acidity. Use crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, or some homemade tomato sauce instead if you can’t find fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Tomato paste: To add a deeper flavor to the soup that's both a little bit sweet and a little savory.
- Beef broth: The base for the soup. Use low sodium beef broth to keep it healthier.
- Seasonings: Just some salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Garnishes: Grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Dairy-free: To make a dairy-free version of this healthy ground beef soup, swap the Parmesan cheese for some nutritional yeast, any dairy-free cheese of your choice, or simply leave it off.
- Vegetarian: Skip the ground beef in the recipe and use crumbled mock meat, textured soy protein, or cooked beans or lentils. You will also need to swap the beef broth for vegetable broth.
- Meat swap: If you don’t have lean ground beef, you can opt for other lean meats like lean ground chicken, ground pork or ground turkey too.
- Add pasta: You can also bulk up the soup by adding in some pasta. Choose a high protein or multigrain pasta to keep it healthier.
How to Make Hamburger Soup
Making this hearty hamburger soup in the slow cooker is super easy. Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Step 1: Brown the beef. Brown the meat in a skillet with the olive oil, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the veggies are tender.
Step 2: Load up the slow cooker. Drain the meat mixture and then transfer it to the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients to the crockpot except the green beans and kale.
Step 3: Cook. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Add the green beans and kale to the Crockpot when there’s just 1 hour of cooking time left. When ready to serve the soup and garnish with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Storage Directions
- Refrigeration: This ground beef veggie soup will last in the refrigerator up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- Freezing: You can also batch make it and freeze it for up to 3 months. Just make sure you let the soup cool down completely and then transfer it to a freezer safe container to prevent freezer burn.
- Reheating: You can reheat hamburger veggie soup on the stovetop or in the microwave. If frozen, allow the soup to thaw overnight before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
This ground beef potato soup is hearty and filling, and is a complete meal in itself. If you really want to pair it with a side, go for something simple like these mashed potato muffins or broccoli crunch salad.
If you love a bread side, try my healthy cauliflower bread or these healthy zucchini biscuits, which work perfectly with the soup! Or even some crackers! These are my favorite crackers!
Expert Tips
- Browning matters: Don’t skip browning the meat. The extra few minutes it takes is totally worth it, and helps build that beautiful savory base for the soup.
- Season right: Use a flavorful broth and enough salt or seasonings to keep your sup from being bland. The touch of parmesan added or serving also brightens the flavor.
Recipe FAQs
You can! Start by browning the ground meat with the vegetables over medium heat. When the beef is cooked and no longer pink, drain and return to the pot.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot except for the green beans and kale. Cover and bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot is boiling, reduce to a medium simmer and simmer for 30 minutes covered. Remove the cover and add the green beans and kale. Stir the pot and let it cook another 10 minutes or until the green beans are cooked.
Yes, you can! Start by browning the ground beef and vegetables in the Instant Pot on the sauté function. Drain the meat once it is no longer pink, then return it to the Instant Pot. Add the remaining ingredients for the hamburger soup recipe except the green beans and kale. Cover and set the valve to sealing. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook 30 minutes. Once the pot beeps, move the valve to release and let the steam out. Remove the cover carefully after the steam has released. Stir in the kale and green beans. Let the soup sit 10 minutes for the green beans to cook.
If you tried this healthy hamburger soup recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
- ½ cup White Onion diced
- 1 Green Bell Pepper diced
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- ⅔ cup Sweet Potato or 1 small yam, peeled and diced
- 3 Yukon Gold Potatoes peeled and diced
- ⅓ cup Carrots diced
- ⅓ cup Celery diced
- 28 ounce Fire-Roasted Tomatoes with juices
- 6 ounce Tomato Paste
- 4 cups Beef Broth low sodium
- 2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- 8 ounce Green Beans cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups Kale packed and roughly chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Parsley and Parmesan for serving (optional)
Instructions
Crockpot Healthy Hamburger Soup Instructions
- Add the oil to a large skillet and bring to medium heat. Add the ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until the ground beef is cooked and no longer pink 3-4 minutes.
- Drain the beef mixture and transfer it to a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the green beans and kale.
- Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high side 4-6 hours.
- When there is 1 hour of cooking remaining, add and stir-in the green beans and kale. Cover and cook for the remaining 1 hour, or until the green beans are tender. If you are using frozen green beans, it may take longer to cook depending on your slow cooker.
- Taste to season more if needed, serve with chopped parsley and a sprinkle of parmesan.
Instant Pot Healthy Hamburger Soup Instructions
- Brown the ground beef, oil, green bell pepper and garlic in the Instant Pot on the sauté function. Drain the meat once it is no longer pink, then return it to the Instant Pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients for the hamburger soup recipe to the Instant Pot except the green beans and kale. Cover the pot and set the valve to sealing. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook 30 minutes.
- Once the pot beeps, move the valve to release and let the steam out. Remove the cover carefully after the steam has released. Stir in the kale and green beans. Let the soup sit 10 minutes for the green beans to cook.
- Taste to season more if needed, serve with chopped parsley and a sprinkle of parmesan.
Stovetop Healthy Hamburger Soup Instructions
- Brown the ground beef, oil, green bell pepper and garlic in a large pot over medium heat. Drain the meat once it is no longer pink, then return it to the pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot except for the green beans and kale. Cover and bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot is boiling, reduce to a medium simmer and simmer for 30 minutes covered.
- Remove the cover and add the green beans and kale. Stir the pot and let it cook another 10 minutes or until the green beans are cooked.
- Taste to season more if needed, serve with chopped parsley and a sprinkle of parmesan.
Notes
- This recipe makes 6 servings - each serving is approximately 1 3/4 cups.
- Browning the beef is absolutely crucial. Don’t skip the step- it builds great flavor!
- Add more veggies to the soup to bulk it up. Frozen veggies work great too!
- Make the soup more filling and protein rich by adding some rice, chickpea pasta or high protein pasta into it.
Nutrition
Usually when I cook (for 2) we have some to freeze. We ate this delectable, super delicious, hamburger soup for 2 days until stuffed. I'm a man and love to cook. My family and friends love that I do. This is the most flavorful dish I have tasted in a long time. It reminds me of my grandma's stew but better. Thanks so muck. I'm hooked.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Yum ! Whole family enjoyed
This was very good and I appreciated the Instant Pot directions too!
I did add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and two tablespoons Coconut Aminos and extra garlic. I will certainly be making this again. It was very nice to have a filling dinner that felt as good to eat as it was for my body. Thank you!
You're welcome. Thanks so much for the review!