Hamburger soup
Ground beef, potatoes and plenty of vegetables in a tomatoey broth, a thrifty, filling soup that tastes like home.
- 55 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $2.18 a serving
- 300 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 3 beef bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with the juice
- 1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup frozen green beans
- 1 cup frozen corn
From your pantry
- 6 cups water
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 300 calories, 19 g protein, 31 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $2.18 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, carrots, celery and potatoes, and the garlic.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Cook the beef and onion in a large pot over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat, until no pink remains, 8 to 10 minutes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 9 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Spoon off most of the fat, then add the carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Add the water, bouillon cubes, tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, Italian seasoning, pepper and potatoes, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Dolly’s tip: Crumble the cubes with your fingers as they go in so they dissolve faster.Turn the heat to low, set the and for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 20 min
Stir in the green beans and corn and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Low heatTimer: 5 min
Taste before adding any salt, since bouillon is salty, and ladle into bowls.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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