Beefy Tomato Soup

This Beefy Tomato Soup is our most popular soup recipes! This comforting soup is loaded with beef and pasta simmered in a tomato cream broth!

If you like making soup as much as we do, try our Copycat Campbells’ Tomato Soup! Or if you’re looking for a low carb soup, then try this Pork Egg Roll Soup or our Low Carb Sausage Vegetable Soup!

Beefy Tomato Soup is ta beef and noodle soup recipe

An Easy Soup Recipe That’s Done In 30 Minutes!

Because I like to try and use what we have in the house, I opened the freezer, the fridge and all the cabinets to take stock of what we had on hand. Sometimes going back out to the grocery store is just not something I want to do.

I grabbed some ground beef from the freezer, cream cheese from the fridge, onions, basil and garlic from the cabinets and got to work.

Beefy Tomato Soup has become one of our most popular recipe on our site and for good reason. It’s really easy to make, it’s done in less than 30 minutes and it’s so creamy and comforting, everyone gobbles it up.

This soup recipe is another way I like to use spaghetti sauce in recipes as a short cut and a boost of flavor. And probably one of my favorite ways, too. Also a jar of spaghetti sauce is usually something we have in the pantry so it’s an easy ingredient to use in recipes like this.

This beef and macaroni soup gets so thick it’s almost like a beef goulash. Some people have said that it’s similar to a homemade hamburger helper once the noodles soak up all the broth.

Beefy Tomato Soup is a quick soup recipe with beef and noodles

How Do You Make Beefy Tomato Soup?

Gather your ingredients together and start by cooking the onion and garlic in olive oil. Next brown the beef, add a few seasonings then pour in chicken broth and your jar of marinara sauce.

beefy-tomato-soup-pour

You can still make this soup if you don’t have a jar of spaghetti sauce, just substitute a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce if that’s what you have instead.

Give it a stir and let it simmer for 10 minutes, not a full boil, just a simmer. Stir in cream cheese to make it nice and thick, add some fresh basil and finally add in the pasta. Or don’t, we’ll answer that question below!

Can You Cook the Pasta Separately For This Soup?

You sure can. If you like your soup to have more broth, cook the noodles separately and add it in the each bowl as you serve the soup.

And if you’re planning on making this beef and macaroni soup ahead of time, you should definitely cook the pasta separately so it doesn’t get too thick on you when you go to reheat it.

Beefy Tomato Soup is the perfect weeknight dinner, made quick with a few shortcuts!

Because we like this soup recipe thick and creamy, we put the pasta right in there so as it cooks it soaks up some of the broth. We don’t often have leftovers of this soup when we make it so getting too thick on us isn’t an issue.

Maybe it’s the creamy, delicious broth. Maybe it’s the beef and noodle combination. Or maybe it’s because it’s so easy to make!

Beefy Tomato Soup is a comfort food soup recipe for dinner with beef and pasta

This Beefy Tomato soup recipe has become a fan favorite since we posted it way back in 2015! It seems like everyone loves it and I hope you do too!

Looking For More Soup Recipes?

Mushroom & Beef Burgundy Soup

Split Pea and Ham Soup

Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli

Homemade Turkey Soup

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beefy tomato soup collage for pinterest

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Beefy Tomato Soup is a quick and easy dinner everyone will love!

Beefy Tomato Soup

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x

Beefy Tomato Soup is an easy beef and macaroni soup that your whole family will love! This soup is done and on the table in less than 30!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 3/4 lb. ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 (24 ounce) jar of spaghetti sauce
  • 4 cups of chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup of cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni or short-tubed pasta
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil, divided

Instructions

  1. In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring, until the onion softens.
  3. Add the ground beef to the onions, breaking up with a spoon and cook until no longer pink. Drain any drippings if necessary.
  4. Add the salt, pepper and oregano to the beef and stir to combine.
  5. Pour in the chicken stock and the pasta sauce, stir and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
  6. Whisk in the cream cheese and then add 2 tablespoons of the fresh basil.
  7. Pour in the pasta, stir and let cook for 10 minutes, covered, stirring halfway through cooking.
  8. Spoon into bowls and garnish with the leftover basil.

Recipe Notes

Your favorite spaghetti sauce can be used, or even a can of crushed tomatoes with a little more seasoning works!

*NOTE – A few of our readers have commented that the noodles soak up all the broth when you reheat the next day. If you want the soup for leftovers with more broth, cook the pasta separately and then add it to each bowl as you heat it up!

  • Category: soup
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: American

 

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312 Responses
        1. Dan

          I would at least add heavy cream to get the creamy consistency this soup is famous for! But if that isn’t to your liking either then yes, you can leave it out.

    1. Dria

      Thank you for this recipe. My family loves this simple and filling meal. We adapt it a little and add a pound of ground beef and 2 to 2.5 cups of elbow Macaroni since they like it to be thicker and less of a soup consistency. We’ve enjoyed this meal 2 weeks in a row and will make it a family staple. God bless your efforts and for your heart to share wholesome, delicious meals for families.






      1. Dan

        Thanks so much Dria! I love to hear that we’re in families houses at dinner time, it’s the whole reason why I do this!

    2. Elizabeth

      I followed your exact recipe and LOVED iT!! i like my food with a little spice so I added crushed red peppers to my serving and it made it even better! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  1. Lisa M.

    This was delicious! I made it tonight. I used a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes. Will make again. It’s so easy to make too!

  2. Tricia

    My girls made this for dinner tonight since it’s such an easy recipe (I was just “helping)…and it was delicious! We all loved it! Tasted like lasagna in a soup. Thanks for the great recipe. I’ll be adding this to my “rock star” cookbook! ; )

    1. Dan

      Thanks Jules, I think it’s a perfect recipe for a three year old, pasta and beef, what’s not to like? Hope you enjoyed it!

        1. Dan

          It’s not going to give the soup the same creamy consistency but you can definitely use it if it’s what you have!

    1. nessa downer

      The recipe ACTUALLY said “cream cheese” “1/2 cup of cream cheese, at room temperature” in fact …. in the text!!!
      Sorry, don’t normally respond to comments, but this was too stupid to be stupid. Or possibly this individual was just desperate for a reply..

  3. Sunny

    This soup was so easy & Awesome! Thank you for this recipe. I used sausage (sweet) – 4 opened links & had some chicken stock & some veg stock…threw in with the rest & wow is this delish! I’d recommend whisking the cream cheese in some hot stock separately before adding as I had to fish out some of it & whisk it properly then add for body & flavor.






  4. Pam

    Dan do you drain the fat after browning the ground beef? Or is the half pound a small enough amount that the fat just adds flavor?

    1. Dan

      Pam I think you’re exactly right. It’s small enough that I think it’s ok not to drain in, especially if you’re using lean ground beef.

  5. teryy

    I like to precook the pasta, shock it in cold water then add to any soup that I happen to be making. This kind of helps the pasta stop cooking and turn the soup in progress into a mushy noodle mess .

    1. Dan

      That’s a good way to do it too – this soup doesn’t really get mushy by putting the pasta directly in but with more brothy soups I totally agree with you!

    1. Dan

      Hi Kim! It’s actually cream cheese in the soup, not sour cream. As far as a dairy free option, I’m not really sure…I know that you can use tofu (pureed) to thicken soups but it won’t give you the same flavor as the cream cheese. But I can tell you that this soup is going to be delicious all on it’s own, even without adding the cream cheese so I would just leave it out!

    1. Dan

      Hi Kelly, we’ve actually added a box of frozen chopped spinach that we thawed out and drained. It was delicious! Or I think peas would work too. You could really add anything you like!

      1. Jennifer

        I keep forgetting to rate this amazing recipe! Everyone I have made up for just raves about it. It’s so quick and easy with such a great burst of flavor. Question though that I just thought of tonight? Is there any reason why we don’t use beef broth instead of chicken? I was thinking about trying that but don’t know if it would throw everything off. What are your thoughts Dan? And thanks again for an excellent recipe!






        1. Dan

          You can use either! We’ve made it both ways, I think we originally grabbed chicken broth because we have it in stock all the time.

    1. Dan

      I’d say you’d have to at least brown the beef first before adding it to the crock pot but you should definitely try it! Let me know if you do…

  6. Carrie

    Looking forward to making this tonight! I just bought all of the ingredients. Question: should I only add 3/4 of a pound of the ground beef? I bought a package that was about 1.25 lb. will adding all of it be too much meat for the soup? just curious. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

    1. LInzi

      This has become my go to recipe at least once a month. I cut back on the broth so it’s less soupy, my husband calls it homemade hamburger helper, it’s so awesome! We love it!






    1. Dan

      Debbie, you can freeze it for sure but the pasta might get a little soft when you reheat it. But we’ve done it and it’s still great. If you’re making it planning to freeze it then I’d freeze it without the pasta and just add it in when you reheat.

  7. Karen

    Saw your recipe on Pinterest. We tried it tonight and it was delicious! Definitely a family favourite and will be added to the meal roster. Thanks for sharing.






  8. Allison

    This was really good, and really simple. I threw in some chopped baby spinach at the end for color because I didn’t have basil. What a great idea to use pasta sauce….it really separates it from typical tomato-based soups.






    1. Dan

      Thank you Allison! This soup was a sponsored post for Francesco Rinaldi – we were trying to think of creative ways to use their sauce, now we buy it all the time for this soup! Glad you liked it!

      1. Rebekah

        Will using a different brand of sauce affect it much? I don’t have that brand on hand, in fact I’m not sure I’ve ever even seen it. I do have a few jars of assorted flavors of Prego. Spaghetti with ground venison was on the menu tonight, but I think dressing it up with the cream cheese will be an amazing way to change up an easy week night meal. Thanks!

  9. Will

    Wow, what a great recipe! A tomato soup lover since my childhood, I abandoned canned tomato soups years ago, and have several “go-to” scratch recipes now that I use. Tried this one for the first time today, it came out just perfect. I really like the simplicity of this recipe, (simple, clear instructions, when to put the lid on, etc.) plus it has three of my favorite ingredients…(1) onions; (2) garlic; and (3) ground beef. Several of my beloved recipes use heavy cream as an ingredient, but I loved the way the cream cheese brought such a smooth, velvety creaminess to this soup. Next time, I’ll substitute Gourmet Seasoning Salt instead of regular salt, and Chive & Onion cream cheese instead of plain. But also, thank you for introducing me to Rinaldi’s Pasta Sauce…a hidden gem in my local Wal-mart that I never knew about. How many times have I thrown together whatever I had on hand to make a meal, but it was always a one-time never-to-be-duplicated-again recipe. Profuse thanks for writing this one down….it is definitely a keeper!






    1. Dan

      Thank you so much Wil! I love all the feedback. We do actually keep jarred sauce on hand, especially when it;s a good one! Great for lots of different quick ideas. And chive and onion cream cheese – awesome idea!

  10. Kim

    I made this over the weekend and it was a hit. I’m actually very anti-jar-sauce because I always make my own and was hesitant to grab something off the shelf. But I did and it was great in this recipe. I did have crushed tomatoes, so maybe I’ll try that next time. Any suggestions for a brand of crushed?

    Thanks for posting this. I will be making it again soon.

    1. Dan

      Thanks Kim! We make our own sauce all the time too, but after making this recipe I’ve found it is nice to have on hand. We have made this with crushed tomatoes also and it turns out great. I like to buy Redpack or Muir Glen because they have BPA free packaging but I think as long as you season it up the way you like any brand will do! Thanks for checking in!

    1. Dan

      Thanks Jen! I updated the recipe to say it serves 6. I’d day that it serves even 8, if you’re serving a small bowl and a salad or something on the side – but 6 for sure! I hope you try it, it’s one of our favorites!

  11. Michelle

    Would it work if I used both sausage and beef and make a double batch? We are moving and trying to use what he have.

    1. Dan

      Absolutely Michelle – we always use up what we have, I think both beef and sausage together would be great! Good luck with your move!

  12. Kimberly Burke

    Jenn

    I just made this soup and me and my husband LOVED it!! It was hearty and filling and had tons of flavor. I fixed sour dough grilled cheese sandwiches with it. It was perfect!! Thanks for the yummy recipe!

    Kim






    1. Dan

      Sour dough grilled cheese sandwiches sound amazing, perfect dippers! Your very welcome, glad you (and your husband) enjoyed it!

  13. Mom of all Boys

    My family loved this, it was delicious. My boys called it “Lasagna Soup”. (It really did taste like lasagna! So good)

  14. Jennifer

    My grandmother handed a recipe like this down to me. We do it More like a goulash. Bell pepper, hamburger, onion , garlic, bay leaf, basil and top with Parmesan cheese! (Dairy free) It was one of my favorites growing up! I can’t wait to try with cream cheese! Unfortunately I have a dairy allergy in the house so grandmas way for him and I’ll mix a little cream cheese into some for me!! Thx

  15. Kathy

    This soup was so so good my friend Lori makes that soup without the hamburger her husband and her love it and we’re having it tonight and I tasted it it’s so good

  16. Theresa

    This soup was fantastic! My almost 2 year old daughter loved it! She kept saying… ‘soup, soup, soup…..mmmmmm’. I used a pasta sauce with basil in it, but still added fresh basil. I was also a bit short on cream cheese because I doubled the recipe so I added a little bit of heavy cream. Can’t wait for leftovers!

  17. Joann

    Hi Dan, This looks delicious and can’t wait to try it. I do have a quick question, You said if you do not have fresh basil you could you dry, I was just wandering how much you would use? I have everything but the fresh basil and I want to make this ASAP. Thanks so much and this looks so good. :)

    1. Dan

      Joann, yes, the fresh basil really makes the flavor stand out but if you only have dried then you only need about 2 teaspoons. I would add the dried basil in with the onions in step 2. Enjoy!

    1. Dan

      Sure Billie, You can add whatever you want! I’m not sure that potstickers would be easier than just throwing pasta in but it sounds great!

  18. Laurie Farr

    This is truly one of the best tomato soups I have ever tried. My boyfriend requests I make this weekly! I even made it twice in one week! Thanks for posting!!






  19. Audra

    Loved the soup! I made the dish tonight with ground turkey and neufchatel cream cheese to make it a smidge healthier. The cream cheese made the soup. While I liked the ground turkey, I do think ground beef adds a flavor that you just can’t get (even with all the seasoning in the world) from ground turkey.
    I couldn’t find the pasta sauce you were talking about or a pasta sauce without salt on my Kroger shelf, so I picked up the Hunts 100% natural can of pasta sauce which worked really well.
    I love all things onion, I ended up adding raw finely chopped onions to the top of the soup… I bet Parmesan would be great to add to the top as well (the kind you get from Trader Joes that’s shaved instead of grated).
    Thanks for sharing!

  20. Dan

    Thanks for all the feedback Audra! And I totally agree with you about the turkey, if you get a really lean ground beef (95%) it really isn’t that much different when it comes to being healthier so I tend to stick with a really lean beef. And you can use any pasta sauce that you like, I’ve even made this with a can of crushed tomatoes and a little more seasoning and it still turns out good! Glad you enjoyed it!

  21. Letty

    Made this last night and it was so easy and flavorful! My husband is already asking when I can make it again. He also asked if I could possibly add some parmesan cheese and mushrooms on the next go round! I’ll keep ya posted on how it comes out!






  22. Salma

    Hi, I want to make this for my one year old, what can I use if I want to skip ship bought pasta sauce? I was thinking of just adding tinned chopped tomatoes with the stock?
    Thanks in advance.

  23. Danni

    Kicked off soup season at our house with this recipe and it was a winner all around. Added carrots with onions and a little red pepper flake, but otherwise followed completely. Kids gobbled it up. Great recipe that’s so easy and yummy!!






  24. Wendie

    OMG… Made this tonight. No onion or garlic used. Substituted with onion/garlic powder(husband won’t eat).
    It was soooo good & the husband liked it(he’s a picky one). I did 1 pound ground beef & 2 cups pasta. I’m telling you, it is a must try. I’m adding to my regulars.






    1. Dan

      Wendie – thanks for letting me know, it’s a favorite with our family too! I’m glad you and your husband liked it, I’m a former picky eater myself…

  25. Heather

    Hi! Looking forward to making this soup tonight! I usually cook with 85/15 (percent fat) ground beef.
    What would you recommend for this recipe?

    1. Dan

      Heather, sorry if I miss you last night! I’d say that you can use whatever meat you have on hand – it really does’t matter for this soup! If it’s a fattier blend then you might just have to drain some of the grease of before you continue. Hope it worked out for you!

    1. Dan

      You could use lamb if that’s what you like, obviously the flavor will be different but go ahead and give it a try! You could also use ground chicken or turkey or even sausage.

  26. Kelli

    This was delicious!! I followed the recipe to a T and it came out amazing, everyone went back for seconds! I wasn’t able to find that exact brand of pasta sauce, so just used our favorite and we loved it. Thanks very much for this great recipe, will definitely become a regular in our house!






    1. Dan

      Thank you Kelli! I’m so happy your family enjoyed it – it’s nice to have at least a few dinners that everyone likes right?

  27. caroline

    My daughter looked at the photo and said “Please let’s make it” well we did and, oh boy, it was sooo delicious, like lasagne soup :-) I used a jar of passata for the tomato base, small chunks of beef instead of mince. This will be a staple on cold winter days in Helsinki where we live. Thanks Dan






    1. Dan

      I’m so glad you liked it Caroline – and your daughter too! It’s a great one for cold days – I love your swap outs, too!

  28. CAROL

    I’m excited to make this. I was searching the web for an easy, not too high brow soup to send on a church retreat for high schoolers. This nails it. Thanks for sharing. I know it will be a hit with this crowd.

  29. Ashley

    This is the second time I’ve made this dish. It is so easy and my family devours it. I’m not a great cook (my husband does most of the cooking because he likes to cook and he’s amazing at it.) I can usually at least follow the recipe yet with this I managed to not follow the recipe (on accident) both times and it turned out great both times. First I didn’t cook the noodles in the dish, I cooked them first then added them to the dish because of this I didn’t cook it the last 10 min. (it was thinner, more like a soup). Tonight I forgot to ask hubby to grab fresh basil so we went with just the oregano. Tonight I cooked the noodles in the dish and it was thicker and I preffered it. Both time I also used a regular (not salt free) pasta sauce but left out the salt and pepper. This is a winner with my family! Thank you for sharing!
    The only thing I would say to a comment I saw was that this is supposed to feed 6 adults; I don’t agree. Granted my kids eat a lot when I serve this dish but we had 4 adults and 2 small kids eat this and there was not enough. Grandma and Grandpa came back for seconds and were bummed to find the pan empty. I will be doubling this next time and I won’t miss including fresh basil.






    1. Minnie

      I must say i was a tad disappointed.
      However i ended up doing exactly this and then upset over how bland it turned out to be. If u would like it more tasteful here is what i did and i will only be adding what i did extra.
      I cooked fresh cilantro with hamburger meat.
      Once finished i also added crushed tomatos and petite diced tomatos.
      Followed by seasoning the whole thing with:
      Grated Parmesan
      Italian and herb seasoning
      Italian seasoning
      Salt
      Pepper
      Garlic salt
      Oregano
      And pulled out my shreadded cheese for everyone to get their desired amount of cheese.
      5 stars because it was indeed DELICIOUS!
      Thank you so much for sharing this recipe






    1. Dan

      You can Connie and it will be delicious. The cream cheese gives it a thicker consistency and a little tang but heavy cream will work fine.

  30. Madeline

    I made this soup after discovering the recipe on Pinterest. YUM! My husband and I really enjoyed it. Little prep time, easy to make, and delicious. I also liked that it was a creamy soup but without much guilt (I used low fat cream cheese). Thanks!






  31. Joan L

    I am so excited to try this. I think the addition of some diced zucchini would be really good in it too. Being only one person, I will probably freeze into individual servings. I always freeze before adding noodles.

  32. CaRol

    This was a keeper! Absolutely delicious. I used the end of a box of mdium pasta shells and then decided to also use up the end of a box of no-boil lasagna noodles, breaking them up into large pieces (sort of like the lasagna soup recipes I’ve seen). Everyone loved it and I will definitely be making this again. I had been looking for something that wasn’t in my usual rotation of beef barley, chicken noodle, split pea, squash soups and this was not only different, but FABULOUS!

    1. Dan

      Carol, thank you so much for letting me know! It’s one of our favorite dinners too, our kids ask for it all the time!

    1. Dan

      It will be fine without it yes, it just won’t have a creamy consistency, but it will still be delicious! If you have any heavy cream you could add that too.

  33. Cathy

    the recipe does not specify…. do you put uncooked pasta in and let it boil until the noodles are soft, or do you use cooked pasta and just add it in at the end??? sometimes this makes a difference.

    1. Dan

      Hi Cathy, yes – when it says it step #8 to pour in the pasta that is uncooked pasta. Stir it and put the lid on so the pasta cooks for about 10 minutes.

  34. Darlene

    This is the best. I have been on the soup kick lately and this is very creamy and very good. I recommend this soup for you to try and make it’s easy to make. Will be making it again thank you so much for the recipe






    1. Dan

      Well, that’s a good question, I would say go ahead and give it a shot! are you talking about the Campbell’s condensed soup that you add water to? If so, I’d add the recommended amount of water plus the soup. I think to equal the amount of sauce in a jar you’d need to add 2 cans. I’d also cut back on the amount of salt used in this recipe as the condensed soup can be salty. Let me know how it works!

  35. Kristine

    Hi, Dan.

    I look forward to trying your recipe out. However, we don’t have the particular pasta sauce your call for up in Canada. Is there a substitute you can suggest for it?

    Thanks! :)

  36. Nicole

    I just so happened to come across this site posted in a mom’s group on Facebook…SCORE! I’m excited to try some of your recipes, especially this one!

  37. Tina

    Found your amazing site via Pinterest. I can’t wait to try this recipe! My family will love it! (me too of course, lol)
    I will be sharing a link to your recipe in my upcoming post, Easy Healthy Lunch Ideas (on a Budget). I am sure my readers will love your recipe too!






  38. ColleenB. ~Texas

    the ‘make it your way’ soup was delicious. Used Johnsonville Italian sausage and added some frozen mixed vegetables, of which I Always have on hand in the freezer. No spaghetti sauce on hand so used some of my homemade pizza sauce

    1. Dan

      That’s great Colleen, as I’ve said in the past I love making recipes that are the “base” for what you’re going to make and then you should add whatever you have on hand! And I bet your homemade pizza sauce is delicious!

  39. Penny

    I made this soup tonight for my husband and I for work this week I used ground turkey in place of ground beef. It is delicious! I make a different soup almost weekly and this is a keeper. It was delicious before I put in the cream cheese so I may leave it out the next time just to save on fat and calories. I have never used the Rinaldi sauce before. Very flavorful. I couldn’t find the one stated in the recipe so i had to replace it with the green pepper and mushroom Rinaldi sauce Very good! Thanks for a delicious recipe!






    1. Dan

      Yes, you can use any spaghetti sauce you have on hand – or even a can of crushed tomatoes! I’m so glad you liked it!

  40. Jean

    This soup is awesome! I usually make soup on Sundays to take for my lunch during the week with a serving always set aside in the freezer for my 80 yr old father. I made this soup tonight after finding the recipe on Pinterest. My husband decided to try it after the aroma drew him away from the TV and into the kitchen…..I may have to make another batch tomorrow as it’s not going to last long. Also, it’s perfect for my dad as its not too spicy; I may make my dad his own batch. YUM.






  41. Deb

    I am making this now. Doing it in the Instapot. Browned the beef and onions and garlic. Added the rest and put it on soup mode for 10 minutes. It smells so darn good. The boyfriend is standing here practically drooling. Thanks so much for the recipe. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.






  42. Patricia

    I don’t like the pasta soaking up all the broth and turning flabby so in the past, I’ve subbed frozen corn for my grain serving. It won’t soak up the liquid or turn flabby and takes no time to cook.
    Easy substitute.

      1. Kelsie

        Great recipe! It was a winner with my 2 year old!

        Can you freeze it? If you keep the noodles separate of course.






        1. Dan

          Exactly! We make a double or triple batch and freeze it in soup cubes, then add the pasta when we reheat it. So glad you and your 2 year old liked it!

  43. A Parks

    This soup was amazingg!! I added maybe 2 1/2 – 3 cups of stock instead of four, used chicken instead of beef, and added some sharp cheddar into it. I wanted a more thick & creamy than liquidy soup. It turned out amazing!!! Great recipe. Since my boyfriend & I aren’t living together, I’ll be eating this for the week, but I can’t wait to make it for him.

    1. Dan

      Sounds great! The soup is pretty thick as is, but the way you like it works best! I’m sure your boyfriend will love it too!

  44. Brenda

    This was a YUM, YUM, YUM! I doubled the onions, added several cloves of garlic. We don’t have that brand of sauce, so I used Kroger’s Private Selection. I used 1# of 100% grass-fed beef and crumbled in a little pasture-raised pork breakfast sausage I had cooked that morning. I added 2 stalks of celery chopped and a grated carrot to the vegetables and some ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. I couldn’t eat it when it was first made, so it sat a few hours and when I lifted the lid it had magically transformed itself from soup to goulash and BOY, WAS IT DELICIOUS!!! I thought, This is a great dish to take to someone when you need to take a supper, for a funeral, new baby, etc. I will make this again and again!! A real winner. Thanks!






    1. Dan

      Thank you Brenda! You can definitely use whatever sauce you have on hand, we use homemade sometimes too! I’m so glad you liked it, thank you for letting me know!

  45. Cal

    This is a super easy but delicious recipe. I used vegetable primavera sauce and added sliced carrots. The kids loved it






  46. Lisa

    This was one of those recipes that I threw together and the family loved it! But I was In such a rush I was worried that I didnt save it and I would never find it again. Thank goodness for Screenshot! This is perfect for dinner, leftovers…this will become a staple at our house.
    Thanks!!






    1. Dan

      I don’t offer nutrition information, just the recipe. You can put it into a calorie counter to figure it out though!

  47. Lisa

    Hi Dan, I’m about to start Whole30, but transitioning my kitchen and your soup looks too good to pass up. I’m curious why you chose chicken broth over beef broth being that there is beef in the soup. I’m still learning and would love your input. Thanks!

    1. Dan

      You’re not the first to ask! And my answer was it was just honestly what I had on hand. So if beef broth works for you, definitely use it!

    1. Dan

      I don’t think you’ll end up with the same flavor or texture…do you have any heavy cream or whipping cream?

  48. Tami

    This satisfied everyone’s palates. It was soup and stew all in one. Very delicious and so easy! Went well with a glass of red cab. Next time I will try with a little cream and not cream cheese. It was a little to much for my one daughters taste buds. Thank you for sharing.






    1. Dan

      We’ve done the same thing when we were out of cream cheese, it tastes great! Glad you and your family enjoyed it!

  49. Kitty

    How do you get the cream cheese to completely melt into the soup? When we tried this it just became blobs of cheese, even when using a whisk. We ended up melting half of the cream cheese separately in a pan and then adding it to the soup. Would have tried a handheld blender, but thought it would probably destroy the ground beef.

  50. Lori

    Had to improvise a little with what I had on hand and pressed for time…but we loved it! Definitely going in my go-to binder! Simple and relatively inexpensive to make.

    Thank you so much for such an awesome recipe :)






  51. Shetay

    This is both very tasty and filling. I used ground turkey instead of beef and 5 cheese tortellini instead of pasta shells. ????????????????






  52. Rachel

    So tasty! Made it for the first time tonight and I love it! I added corn tortilla strips at serving. My only complaint is it’s a bit thin. Maybe I didn’t add enough cream cheese. Any ideas how to thicken it up, I appreciate any feedback!






  53. Brooke

    Wow. I hardly ever leave reviews on recipes but i am blown away at how good this is. I made it exactly as called for in the recipe except i used Rao’s marinara sauce. This will definitely be on rotation in my house. Thanks for an awesome meal






  54. Rachelc

    I don’t own an oven so I have been running out of simple, hearty ideas of what to cook on the stove. I just made this for my family and it is a HIT! Very filling and full of flavor. It will definitely be a recipe I come back to again and again. Thanks for sharing!






      1. Angelica

        Made this today. Very delicious! Everyone here enjoyed it. But I must have measured incorrectly because it was very thick. My daughter said “This isn’t soup, its pasta.” Haha. Husband said the same. He loved it because he’s not one for brothy soups so the thickness was perfect for him. Next time I will keep an eye on it and if it’s still to thick for my preference I’ll just add more broth. Or cook the pasta separately as suggested. Thanks for sharing.






        1. Dan

          You probably didn’t, it is a thick soup! More like a stew or even a goulash. Dan used to not like brothy soups either, so way back when we created this recipe we made it thick on purpose. But yes, as the post says you can cook the pasta separate or add another cup of broth when you’re making the soup. Glad you liked it!

  55. Jaime Lynne*

    Made this tonight for dinner, and it was the perfect soup for the cold fall night we’re having. My husband and daughter very much enjoyed this, it’s so flavorful, and very hearty! I made a bigger pot as we will enjoy it tomorrow also!!

    Thanks again!! :)

  56. Lana

    A keeper! Husband loved it and I look forward to trying it on the grandkids lol. I did add a little extra broth .

  57. Caro G

    This is my 2nd time making this. So easy and yummy. First round, the pasta soaked up all the liquid, but my husband and kids loved it. This round, I added more liquid. I substituted the cream cheese for half and half.






  58. Annalyn

    Very simple and easy to follow instructions. The ingredients are a common staple in anyone’s kitchen too. Even though, I did not have cream cheese and chicken stock available and just went on with substituting it with sour cream and a beef stock cube in water instead. It tasted absolutely delicious! I also used just a plain passata sauce and added extra oregano and pepper. My son and even my baby loved it!






  59. Autumn

    Yum!!!
    This recipe is amazing! I followed the recipe as written and it was so good. My husband who is not a big fan of soups, loved it.
    I have a soup swap coming up this weekend. One of my friends can’t have dairy so I am just going to make it without the cream cheese but I have faith that it will still be delicious.
    Thank you for sharing.






  60. Crystal

    I love this soup! I’m already thinking about making it again soon! So simple and taste like I worked hard in the kitchen! I doubled the recipe, but after ready other reviews, I decided to throw only half the noodles in at the end. I prefer my soup to be a little thicker, but I didn’t want it to be over kill. I boiled the other half on the side just Incase later it needed more. I never even used those. Thank you for this great recipe!






  61. Rosemary Parker

    Like it pretty much i wish you make a recipes for pepper pot soup use to buy this soup through cambells soup they font sell this any more it was my favorite soup pleade make a recipes for this soup






  62. Melissa

    WE. LOVE. THIS. SOUP. It’s now on heavy rotation… it’s amazing. Didn’t have cream cheese so used the same amount of sour cream – still amazing. Parmesan cheese on top is also delicious. Thank you for this! I usually double it so we can pack it for work lunches. I’m so glad to have an easy, quick, and inexpensive recipe to add to our favorites!






  63. Lauren

    Use kite hill cream cheese and vegan meat crumble to make this vegan! I’ve done it without the meat crumble and it’s still so good!






  64. Ben W.

    My fiance and I love this recipe! We move every couple months for his work so having something delicious and simple to make with the few kitchen supplies we can bring is a real blessing. It is becoming our go-to comfort food. Thank you for sharing it!






    1. Dan

      Wow, that’s a tough gig! We make this one a lot too for our “when we have nothing to make” nights and our boys always love it! Thank you for letting us know!

  65. Michael

    Could I make this without the cream cheese divide it in half and then add the cream cheese, refrigerate the other half and add the cream cheese when I heat it the next day? I’m new to left overs but we have so much food left with less ppl in the house these days.

    1. Dan

      That sound like a lot of work, but yes you could do that! Do you have people in your house that don’t like cream cheese?

  66. J

    This soup is delicious! I was looking for a way to use up some cream cheese and stumbled upon this recipe. I didn’t have enough elbow noodles so I omitted completely and added 1/2 C. of dry quinoa instead. I also used a 28oz jar of crushed tomatoes instead of the pasta sauce, It was very hearty!






  67. Kali

    My kids loved this. My pickiest eater told me she wanted me to make it again! That is rare. Definitely a keeper! It was a bit on the salty side, so next time I will pay better attention to the salt content of the ingredients I chose to you. I like your idea of using crushed/diced tomatoes. We dipped grilled cheese in this and it was delicious. Thank you for posting so many years ago!






  68. Jessica

    Absolutely delicious! I was searching for a soup recipe that used ground beef, had a tomato flavor, and noodles. This was perfect. My 2 year old loved it after finally trying the smallest piece of meat she could find. This has been added to our favouritw recipe list to make again.






    1. Dan

      I totally get that! Texture is a big thing for a lot of kids, I’m so glad you found something she liked though. It’s wonderful when you can actually cook 1 thing for dinner!

  69. Katherine

    Wow this recipe was great! I made it with ground turkey! I did one and a half recipe because I have 21,19,17,15 year olds. I also threw in a tablespoon of oregano and a tablespoon of basil. I put some crushed red pepper in the bowls for my husband and myself. This will be on my rotation for sure!






    1. Dan

      Wow, you are feeding a lot of people! We only have 2 teenage boys and we have to double this soup! Thanks for the feedback, we really appreciate it!

  70. Heather MacNeil

    I just made it keto friendly by swapping out the pasta for some celery and zucchini slices. Absolutely delicious. Thanks for the inspiration. My husband devoured it.






  71. Margaret Chapman

    I made this recipe using 99% lean ground turkey and I used less cream cheese. I have 3 college age boys. Everyone loved this recipe. I sometimes throw in some fresh spinach to get some veggies in it too. I have since given the recipe to three other people and everyone loves it. It’s just a delicious, hearty soup for a cold day.






  72. Allyson Pliska Skibinski

    Made this for lunch today and was blown away by how easy it was! We have 5 kids and surprisingly they all loved it! My husband asked .me to make another batch already!






    1. Dan

      Thanks Allyson! Our boys love this soup too, we usually make a double batch so we have leftovers:) Because 5 kids, omg, we only have 2 boys and they clean us out!

  73. Lindsey

    My kids and I loved it, my husband wanted more flavor but deemed it “okay.” I’m not sure what he thought it was missing, but he’s entitled to his wrong opinion. 😅 I might try some kale next time but otherwise I thought it was great paired with crusty bread and a salad. Super easy weeknight meal with pantry staples. I used 1.3lb beef because that is the weird amount our store sells packages in, so I adjusted everything else accordingly. Our pasta sauce was a “three cheese” variety. We had very little left over for lunch tomorrow!






  74. Lorna

    I just made this soup for the first time tonight, and it was a home run. Quick, easy to make, and tasty! I didn’t have cream cheese, so I added in some sharp cheddar. I’m looking forward to trying it with CC next time, though!






  75. Anita S

    This soup was an instant favorite at my house! It is super easy to make, and comes out consistently delicious. I’ve also made it with ground Turkey and plant based cream cheese and plant based sour cream for a friend who has Alpha-gal and cannot have beef or dairy. It is just as good!






  76. RF

    Just wanted to share that we’ve been eating this for several years now – following the instructions except for occasionally subbing turkey for beef – and it never disappoints. Specifically, it’s one of our go-to’s for camping because it’s so simple, delicious and hearty. Big (overdue) thanks for this recipe!






  77. Sean

    Dan can I use Orzo pasta instead macaroni if i want more of a soup and if so how much do i put in? Also can i add it uncooked to the soup?






    1. Dan

      Yes you can out it in uncooked, I’d start with 3/4 -1 cup, depending on how much broth you like to have in your soup.

  78. Diana

    This is so good and easy to make. Will become a staple as I love soups all year round. I used beef broth instead of chicken but that is the only change I made.






    1. Ashley

      I have lots of beans to use. Do you think northern, black, or kidney would work. Which of the three, if any?






  79. Joan S

    This is one of our all time favorite soups! I’ve been making it for about 5 years. I add cubed mushrooms and carrots. Everyone I give the recipe to also loves it! So satisfying, simple to make and great flavor!






  80. Kathy

    This was great! I was looking for a way to use leftover tomato soup. I used mild Italian sausage instead of ground beef, and I added some frozen chopped green peppers. I also used gluten-free pasta. The family really enjoyed this!






  81. Viki Moss

    Excellent flavor and texture! I prefer thicker soups so I used a whole block of cream cheeses instead of 1/2. It was delicious! Will definitely make this again.






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