Easy Hamburger Potato Soup

This is likely the easiest hamburger potato soup recipe you’ll come across. It requires ZERO vegetable chopping and just 10-15 minutes of active cooking time. Every massive two-cup serving has 18 grams of protein with only 240 calories, making this a high volume soup perfect for keeping you cozy and full on a low calorie diet.

You will find a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, but I’ll walk you through all the convenience ingredients and substitutions between here and there. I’ve tested many variations of ground beef and potato soup, so I feel confident you’ll be an expert after reading through this post.

Ingredients for Hamburger and Potato Soup

Similar to my easiest turkey chili ever, this soup uses frozen veggies to alleviate the need for your chef knife and cutting board. But unlike the chili recipe, you don’t need a food processor or blender to hide any veggies. Here’s a look at the “convenience” ingredients you’ll need:

• Frozen Chopped Onions – Can’t find frozen? Pre-diced onion works fine, and you can always dice your own. You’ll need 2 2/3 cups to replace a 12 oz bag of diced onions.
• Canned Diced Potatoes – This speeds up the cook time of this soup drastically, but you’re welcome to use freshly peeled potatoes instead. I’ve included specific notes in the recipe card for using fresh potatoes.
• Frozen Crushed Garlic – I always have frozen garlic cloves and ginger cubes on hand. It saves a ton of time when cooking. And don’t worry, freezing keeps the fresh garlic flavors unlike pre-minced garlic or ginger pastes.
• Frozen Mixed Vegetables – I used a mixed veggie blend, but you could use just peas and carrots or your favorite hamburger soup vegetables. You can also add more than just one bag if you like a veggie-heavy soup.

In my experience, using frozen and canned vegetables for something like soup produces an end result that’s mostly indistinguishable from a soup made with fresh veggies. Especially when it’s for something like a mirepoix (onion, celery, etc.) and potatoes.

Veggies aside, the only other things you need to make a great hamburger and potato soup is ground beef, salt and pepper, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce (or another umami sauce like soy sauce, fish sauce, etc.), and beef or chicken broth. I like using bone broth for an extra protein boost and slightly thicker soup.

While the recipe doesn’t call for them, you could always add some herbs and other spices to the soup while it simmers. Thyme would go great here, and red pepper flakes would add a bit more heat to the broth.

Another thing I always recommend for soups and chili is finishing with a few tablespoons of vinegar and/or hot sauce. This provides a pop of acidity that brightens the dish and takes things to another level.

What to Serve with Hamburger Soup

It’s hard to beat a piece of crusty bread with soup. I like to spray slices of sourdough bread with a bit of avocado or olive oil spray and toss them in a grill pan to create extra crunchy grilled bread.

Another great option is cornbread. It’s easy to make lower calorie cornbread with something like Greek yogurt or higher protein mixes like Kodiak Cakes pancake mix.

And finally, nothing will take you back to the school cafeteria faster than a bowl of hamburger soup with saltine crackers. The real question is whether you crumble the crackers in the package before adding to the soup or putting them in the soup whole. (I’m a crumble in the package guy.)

However you end up serving your ground beef potato soup, I’d love to hear about it. Let me know your thoughts about this recipe in a recipe review or comment below. And if you’re on the hunt for more high protein soups, be sure to check out my creamy taco beef soup or white bean chicken soup recipes next.