Crockpot Hamburger Soup Recipe (Freezer Friendly) (2024)

Filled with tender ground beef, flavorful veggies, and just-right seasonings, this Crockpot Hamburger Soup recipe is a hearty, healthy meal you’ll want to add to your menu! This is an easy make-ahead, freezer-to-slow cooker recipe that’s also gluten-free, dairy-free, and a Whole30 hamburger vegetable soup that thousands have loved.

Hamburger Soup Recipe packed with veggies

This easy crockpot hamburger soup features a variety of starchy and non-starchy veggies. Add in broth, seasonings, and tender chunks of ground beef and you’ve got a hearty, thick, and healthy slow cooker hamburger soup to share. Thousands have loved this recipe for its great taste and good nutrition. Each serving provides an incredible 3-4 servings of vegetables, 7 grams of fiber, and 24 grams of protein. See below for the complete nutritional information and calories per serving.

Ingredients to Make Crockpot Hamburger Soup

This is a versatile crockpot hamburger vegetable soup recipe. Feel free to change up the veggies with what you have on hand.

• Lean ground beef – look for 90-93% lean ground beef. Learn how to choose quality meat. You can substitute ground bison, ground turkey, or ground chicken
• Sweet potato and Yukon gold potatoes – we really like the combination of sweet and Yukon potatoes, but if you wish to use only one, that is just fine
• Yellow onion – a white onion will also work
• Green bell pepper – use any color of sweet bell pepper
• Garlic clove
• Carrots
• Celery
• Canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes– while the fire-roasted diced tomatoes add more flavor, you can certainly use regular (crushed, petite, diced) canned tomatoes, if that’s what you have on hand
• Tomato paste– this helps make the soup nice and thick
• Beef broth– you could also use chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth
• Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh green beans– frozen green beans could also work; add them to the slow cooker at the end of cooking
• Kale –an optional ingredient, but we love the texture it adds to this hamburger soup recipe; you could also use spinach

This easy crock pot recipe is so versatile, so feel free to throw in any other veggies you have on hand, such as peas, corn, or russet potatoes. Or seasoning with your favorite spices, such as dried basil, oregano, or parsley. You could even stir in a favorite pasta at the end, if you’d like, such as macaroni or penne.

How to make Healthy Hamburger Soup

This is a simple, comforting food, crock pot hamburger soup that cooks away while you go on with your busy day. To make it, simply brown the beef with the onion, green pepper, and garlicin a skillet on the stove top. Chop the remainder of the the veggies and add everything except to the slow cooker, except for the green beans and kale. Set the slow cooker to the low setting and cook for 8 hours (or set on the high heat setting and cook for 4 hours). When you have one hour of cooking time left, stir in the kale and green beans. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and serve with crackers or crusty bread, or just the way it is, hearty and warm!

Can I make This Hamburger Soup in the Instant Pot?

You can! Here are the easy steps to make this Crockpot Hamburger Soup in an Instant Pot instead of a slow cooker. We suggest halving all of the ingredients in this recipe if you are using a 6-quart multicooker otherwise it will exceed the ‘Max’ fill line.

1. Select ‘Sauté’ on the Instant Pot and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add ground beef, garlic, onions, and bell pepper, sauté for 5-7 minutes or until meat is cooked and no longer pink.
2. Add the remaining of the ingredients, except for the kale. Lock the lid into place and flip valve to sealing position.
3. Select high pressure cooking and set to 12 minutes. When the cook time is up, allow for 5-7 minutes of natural pressure release before flipping the valve to the venting position to release any remaining pressure.
4. Remove the lid. Turn the Instant Pot to the Sauté function and stir in the kale. Continue to cook until kale is tender, 3-5 minutes more.

Healthy Hamburger Soup is Meal prep and freezer-friendly

Here at The Real Food Dietitians, we love recipes that can be prepped ahead and even frozen to make later when you really need it. And we know you love this kind of recipe, too! This Crockpot Hamburger Soup recipe is one that you can made ahead of time in several ways:

• Make-ahead and freeze: If you want to have an easy thaw-and-reheat soup on hand for the weeks or months to come, simply prepare this hamburger soup recipe from start to finish. Pour it into one or two 9×13-inch baking dishes and place in the refrigerator overnight to cool. Then, transfer into a large freezer-safe bag or divide individual portions into small freezer-safe bags. Freezer for up to
• Freezer-to-slow cooker method: Cook the ground beef, onions, green pepper, and garlic as instructed in Step 1; let cool slightly then transfer to a large freezer-safe bag. Add the remaining ingredients to the bag (except for the broth, green beans, and kale). Seal and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, let the bag thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Dump the contents of the bag into a slow cooker and add the broth; cook as directed, adding the green beans and kale near the end of cooking time.
• Prep ingredients to cook later: If you want to make this recipe in the next few days, you can set yourself up for mealtime success by prepping many of the ingredients ahead of time. Star by browning the ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Let this mixture cool and store in a covered container in the fridge. Separately, you can chop the potatoes, carrots, and celery and store those in a different container in the fridge. Finally, prep the green beans and kale, and store those in another container in the fridge. When it comes time to make the recipe, add the ground beef mixture, potatoes, carrots, celery, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, and seasonings. Complete the recipe as written, adding the green beans and kale during the last hour of cooking.

How Crockpot Hamburger Soup Fits in Special Diets

Not only is this soup hearty and delicious, but it is also a great choice when feeding people who have food allergies or certain dietary restrictions.

Gluten Free

This soup contains no wheat flour thickeners or ingredients that contain gluten, so it is a naturally gluten-free and grain-free hamburger soup

Dairy Free

Our crockpot hamburger soup doesn’t contain any butter, cheese, or milk, and is naturally dairy free

Soy Free

We don’t use any soy-containing flavorings in the soup, so it is a soy-free soup recipe

Paleo

This hamburger soup is Paleo friendly

Without any grains or added sugars, this is a Whole30 hamburger and vegetable soup recipe

This soup does not contain any nuts

How to reheat Hamburger Soup from frozen

Follow these basic steps to thaw and reheat your frozen Hamburger Soup recipe.

1. Thaw the container of frozen soup a warm water bath in the sink. Once it starts to soften, transfer the soup to a pot on the stovetop or a microwave-safe bowl.
2. On the stovetop, heat the hamburger soup over low to medium heat. Stir occasionally, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and serve.
3. In the microwave, set microwave on low setting and microwave the soup for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, microwave in 1-minute increments until the soup is hot.

More 5-Star Crockpot Soups

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Nutritious ingredients in Crockpot Hamburger Soup

This slow cooker hamburger soup recipe is chock full of nutritious ingredients that provide high quality protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Look for these nutrition all-stars:

• ground beef – a budget-friendly ingredient that provides high-quality protein in every bite. Find more ground beef recipes in our 20 Healthy Ground Beef Recipes post.
• sweet potato – a great source of vitamins and fiber, and also helps promote gut health
• carrots – a good source of fiber and nutrients that support bones and eyes
• fire-roasted tomatoes – fire-roasting increases the lycopene content in tomatoes, a powerful antioxidant that can support everything from skin health to acute pain
• green beans – a great source of folate and vitamin K to support pregnancy, as well as bone health and mental health
• kale – an extremely nutrient-dense veggie with fiber to support gut health

This nutritious soup is perfect for making and sharing with someone who could use a good, comforting, home-cooked meal. Think of new parents, a sick friend, a family member in a tough season of life, or a grandparent who needs an easy meal. Prep the ingredients for them so they can add to a slow cooker later, or make the entire recipe, start-to-finish. However you share this crockpot hamburger soup, it will be appreciated and nourish someone you love from the inside out.

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Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter.

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