Creamy Ground Beef Tomato Soup is browned ground beef simmered in a tomato and chicken stock broth, turned silky with cream cheese and filled out with tender elbow macaroni. It cooks in one pot, serves 6, and is on the table in 35 minutes.
How to make it: Soften onion and garlic in olive oil, brown the beef, then simmer it with chicken stock and a jar of spaghetti sauce. Whisk in cream cheese and fresh basil, stir in the pasta, and cook it right in the soup until tender.
Why You’ll Love It
- One pot: the beef, the broth and the pasta all cook in the same pot, so there is only one to wash.
- Weeknight fast: 5 minutes of prep and 30 minutes on the stove.
- Pantry ingredients: a pound of ground beef, a jar of spaghetti sauce, a carton of stock and a box of pasta.
- Thick and hearty: as the macaroni soaks up the broth, it turns almost as thick as a beef goulash.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef: One pound. Drain the drippings after browning if there is a lot of fat in the pot.
Spaghetti sauce: A 24-ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti or marinara sauce is the shortcut here and a boost of flavor. No jar in the pantry? See the crushed tomato swap under Variations.
Chicken stock: Four cups make the broth.
Cream cheese: Half a cup, at room temperature so it whisks smoothly into the hot soup.
Pasta: Elbow macaroni, shells or any other short tube pasta. The tube shapes fill up with the creamy broth, so you get some in every bite.
Fresh basil: Chopped and divided: part goes into the pot with the cream cheese and the rest goes on top of each bowl.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 24 ounces spaghetti sauce (1 jar)
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, or shells or other short tube pasta
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped, divided
How to Make Creamy Ground Beef Tomato Soup
1. Soften the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion softens.
2. Brown the beef. Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook until it is no longer pink and reaches 160°F. Drain any drippings if needed. Season with the salt, pepper and oregano and stir.
3. Simmer. Pour in the chicken stock and the spaghetti sauce, stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, not a full boil.
4. Add the cream cheese. Whisk in the cream cheese until combined, then add 2 tablespoons of the basil.
5. Cook the pasta. Stir in the pasta, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the pasta is tender.
6. Serve. Spoon into bowls and top with the rest of the basil.
How to Keep It Creamy, Not Curdled, and Brothy the Next Day
Two things decide how this soup turns out: how the cream cheese goes in, and what happens to the pasta once the pot sits.
Keep the pot at a simmer. Let the tomato broth bubble gently for those 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered: a simmer, not a full boil.
Use soft cream cheese. Set it out ahead so it is at room temperature, and whisk it in until combined. Another way: cube it and stir it in with the pot off the heat until it melts. The broth turns creamy without breaking.
Plan for the pasta. The macaroni keeps drinking up the broth as the soup sits, and by the next day the pot is closer to a thick beef and noodle dinner than a soup. That is good news if you love it thick. If you want leftovers that stay brothy, you have two choices:
| You want | Do this |
|---|---|
| Thick, hearty soup tonight | Cook the pasta in the pot, covered, for 10 minutes |
| More broth in every bowl | Add another cup of broth when you make the soup |
| Brothy leftovers | Cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl as you serve |
| Loosened leftovers | Stir in a splash more broth when you reheat |
Tips for Success
Why is my soup so thick?
The pasta soaked up the broth. Stir in more chicken stock, a little at a time, until it is as thin as you like.
Do I need to drain the beef?
Only if there are drippings in the pot after browning. Spoon them off, then add the seasonings.
Variations
- Crushed tomatoes instead of spaghetti sauce: use a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce in place of the jar, and add a little more seasoning.
- More vegetables: stir in fresh spinach, or peas and carrots.
- Another meat: ground pork, Italian sausage or ground turkey all work in place of the beef. Cook turkey to 165°F.
- Slow cooker: brown the beef with the onion, drain it and put it in the slow cooker with the broth, seasonings and tomatoes. Cook on low for 2 hours, then add the macaroni and cream cheese and cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar at the end if you like, and top with Parmesan. Thaw the meat before it goes into a slow cooker.
- Instant Pot: brown the beef and onion on the sauté setting, add everything else, and cook on the soup setting for 1 minute. Let the pot sit for 5 to 10 minutes before you open the valve.
- Tomato rice soup: skip the cream cheese and pasta, simmer the beef with vegetable broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning, and add 3/4 cup of uncooked white rice. Simmer until the rice is tender.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Cream sauces do not freeze well, so the texture of a frozen batch may change. Thaw frozen soup in the refrigerator. Reheat soup to a rolling boil, and add a splash of broth to loosen it, since the pasta keeps soaking up the liquid. Don’t reheat it in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
A warm biscuit on the side is all this bowl needs: bake a batch of butter biscuits or quick 3-ingredient cheddar biscuit bites. For more soup nights, try the slow cooker Amish tomato noodle soup, a creamy potato and hamburger soup made in the Crockpot or slow cooker unstuffed cabbage roll soup. If you like beef and noodles in a creamy sauce, ground beef stroganoff is next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you give me a recipe using ground beef and tomato soup?
This is the one: brown a pound of ground beef with onion and garlic, simmer it in chicken stock and spaghetti sauce, whisk in cream cheese, and cook elbow macaroni right in the pot. It serves 6.
Can you cook the pasta separately for this soup?
Yes. Cook it on its own and add it to each bowl as you serve. The soup keeps more of its broth that way, which helps if you plan on leftovers.
Can I use crushed tomatoes instead of spaghetti sauce?
Yes. A 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce works in place of the jar. Add a little more seasoning, since the jarred sauce brings its own.
What pasta works best?
Short tube pasta, such as elbow macaroni or shells. The creamy broth gets inside the pasta.
Final Notes
Keep a little extra stock on hand for the second day, when the pasta has drunk up the broth. If you make this, tell me in the comments how it turned out.
Creamy Ground Beef Tomato Soup
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 24 ounces spaghetti sauce 1 jar
- 1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni or shells or other short tube pasta
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped, divided
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion softens.
- Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook until it is no longer pink and reaches 160°F. Drain any drippings if needed. Season with the salt, pepper and oregano and stir.
- Pour in the chicken stock and the spaghetti sauce, stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, not a full boil.
- Whisk in the cream cheese until combined, then add 2 tablespoons of the basil.
- Stir in the pasta, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the pasta is tender.
- Spoon into bowls and top with the rest of the basil.
