There are some dishes that transcend mere recipes, becoming a warm embrace, a cherished memory, and a true comfort. For me, that dish is this incredible Easy Hamburger Potato Soup. I still vividly recall the first time my husband’s Aunt Joan sent us home with a ‘care package’ after a visit. As a hungry student, new to the culinary world, I had no idea the delightful treasure that unassuming margarine container held. The very next day, I opened it to discover a hearty, homemade soup that spoke directly to my soul. Aunt Joan would humbly say, “It’s nothing fancy,” but it was so much more; it was pure, unadulterated comfort in a bowl. This particular recipe is a loving adaptation of the beloved Best of Bridge hamburger soup, thoughtfully reimagined to be even simpler, heartier, and incredibly satisfying. While you might not find this kind of soul-nourishing dish on a Michelin-star menu, its humble ingredients combine to create a deeply flavorful and comforting experience that truly feels like home.

What truly sets our Easy Hamburger Potato Soup recipe apart from traditional versions, like the original Best of Bridge hamburger soup, is a key ingredient swap: we utilize tender, satisfying potatoes instead of barley. This not only makes our soup incredibly comforting but also naturally gluten-free (always ensure your broth and other ingredients are certified gluten-free if this is a dietary requirement) and remarkably filling. This simple, one-pot wonder is designed for maximum ease and convenience, making it a perfect solution for busy weeknights, lazy weekends, or any time you crave a wholesome meal. Additionally, it’s a fantastic Weight Watchers friendly option, making it an excellent choice for those mindful of their points, typically coming in around 5 WW points per serving. While this Hamburger Soup with Potatoes truly shines as a soul-warming meal on a chilly autumn or winter day, its wholesome goodness and ease of preparation make it a fantastic, easy dinner option year-round. If you’re on the lookout for more nourishing and healthy cold-weather day soups, be sure to explore our delightful collection of Healthy Fall Soup recipes for further culinary inspiration!

The Comfort of Homemade Hamburger Soup

Aunt Joan, my husband’s beloved aunt, had a knack for hospitality. When we first moved away from home, she would graciously feed us and then, without fail, send us home with generous containers of delicious leftovers. As a starving student with limited cooking skills at the time, her homemade meals were an absolute godsend! That comforting hamburger soup, in particular, encapsulated every positive “comfort food” vibe imaginable. It was hearty, satisfying, and offered a sense of warmth and security that only a home-cooked meal can provide. It quickly became a staple in our household and a recipe I cherished.

My personal preference for potatoes in this recipe is rooted in the sheer delight of a classic “meat and potatoes” meal, transformed into a comforting soup. There’s something undeniably satisfying about tender chunks of potato mingling with flavorful ground beef in a rich broth. This combination truly represents the ultimate in comfort food, offering a complete and fulfilling meal in every spoonful. If you share my love for hamburger potato comfort food, then you’ll absolutely adore my Easy Shipwreck Casserole too, another dish that perfectly blends these beloved elements!

🥘 Essential Ingredient Notes for Delicious Hamburger Soup

This Easy Hamburger Potato Soup is a beautifully simple, one-pot, hearty soup recipe. It’s crafted with wholesome ingredients like lean ground beef, tender potatoes, sweet carrots, aromatic onions, crisp celery, and a rich, flavorful tomato-infused broth. Each component plays a vital role in creating a delicious meal that the entire family will love! Let’s dive a little deeper into the ingredients that make this soup so special.

• Extra Lean Ground Beef: Opting for extra lean ground beef is a fantastic choice for this soup. It’s healthier, contains less fat, and yet remains incredibly full of flavor. More importantly, using extra lean ground beef helps prevent your delicious hamburger soup from becoming overly “greasy,” ensuring a clean, rich broth.
• Carrots: I often use grated carrots because they are incredibly easy to prep and can even be grated and frozen ahead of time. You can simply drop them straight into the soup from frozen, saving you precious time. Chopped carrots work just as well if you prefer a chunkier texture.
• Potatoes: The beauty of this recipe is its flexibility with potatoes. You can use virtually any type you have on hand, but I personally find red potatoes to be excellent due to their slightly waxy texture that holds up well in soup. An important tip (which we’ll explore further below) is that peeling them is generally not necessary, saving you effort and preserving nutrients.
• Tomato Soup: Any brand of canned condensed tomato soup will work perfectly here. It adds a lovely tang and a velvety body to the broth, contributing significantly to the soup’s comforting flavor profile.
• Canned Diced Tomatoes: Using canned diced tomatoes, complete with their juice, is both economical and wonderfully convenient. They add a fresh, vibrant tomato flavor and texture to the soup without the hassle of preparing fresh tomatoes.
• Thyme: Thyme is an herb that harmonizes beautifully with the robust flavors of beef and vegetables. It possesses a distinct yet subtle flavor profile, often described as earthy, slightly minty, and citrus-laced, with savory undertones that can also lean sweet and woody, sometimes even hinting at a toned-down rosemary taste. It’s the perfect herbaceous addition to elevate this classic dish.

*Please see the full recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed instructions.

📖 Delicious Variations & Easy Substitutions

This Easy Hamburger Potato Soup recipe is wonderfully adaptable, allowing you to customize it to your taste, dietary needs, or whatever ingredients you have on hand. Don’t hesitate to experiment with these simple variations and substitutions to make it your own unique creation:

• Ground Beef / Hamburger: While extra lean ground beef is recommended for less grease, you can certainly use regular or lean ground beef. If you do, remember to thoroughly drain and squeeze out as much fat as possible through a sieve after browning to keep the soup from being too oily. For an even lighter or more Weight Watchers friendly version, consider substituting ground turkey or ground chicken. These alternatives absorb the broth’s flavors beautifully.
• Potatoes: Feel free to get creative with your choice of potatoes! Red potatoes, russet potatoes, or Yukon gold potatoes all work wonderfully, offering slightly different textures. If you’re open to different starches, you could even try adding barley (bringing it closer to the Best of Bridge original) or macaroni for a distinct textural element, turning it into more of a “hamburger macaroni soup.”
• Vegetables: This soup is a fantastic canvas for adding more vegetables. Boost the nutritional content and flavor by incorporating green beans, colorful bell peppers (any color works!), sweet peas, a bag of mixed frozen vegetables, or even shredded zucchini. A chef’s tip: I often keep 2-cup bags of frozen shredded zucchini in my freezer and drop them directly into soups like this – they cook down seamlessly and add hidden veggies!
• Onions: Both white or yellow onions are suitable for this recipe, contributing their foundational aromatic flavor. For a slightly different, perhaps sharper, flavor profile, you could experiment with red onion, though it might change the overall color slightly.
• Spicy Kick: If you enjoy a little heat, easily spice up your soup! Add a pinch of chili powder for a smoky warmth or a dash of cayenne pepper for a more direct fiery kick. Adjust to your preferred level of spiciness.
• Garlic: Freshly minced garlic offers the best flavor, but if you’re in a pinch, jarred minced garlic is a convenient substitute. As a last resort, a bit of garlic powder can also work – typically about ¼ to ½ teaspoon for every clove of fresh garlic.

1. Step 1: Brown the Meat and Onions. In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown your ground beef and chopped onion over medium heat on the stovetop. Cook until the beef is fully browned and cooked through (a meat thermometer should read 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C). If you’re not using extra lean ground beef (meaning your ground beef has more than 10% fat), it’s crucial to drain any excess fat before proceeding. Return the drained beef and onions to the pot.

2. Step 2: Add Remaining Ingredients. Once the beef and onions are ready, add all the other remaining ingredients to the pot. This includes your potatoes, carrots, celery, beef broth, canned tomatoes, tomato soup, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme.

3. Step 3: Simmer to Perfection. Stir all the ingredients together thoroughly to combine everything. Then, cover the pot and let the soup simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until the potatoes are perfectly cooked through and tender (you should be able to easily pierce them with a fork). This simmering time allows all the flavors to meld beautifully, creating a rich and deeply satisfying broth.

🔢 Weight Watchers Points (WW Points)

One of the fantastic benefits of this Easy Hamburger Potato Soup is its Weight Watchers friendliness. This hearty and satisfying soup is approximately 5 WW points per serving, making it an excellent choice for a filling meal on your journey. You can also further lighten it up and make this soup even more WW friendly by substituting the ground beef with extra lean ground turkey or ground chicken, which often have lower point values, without sacrificing flavor or heartiness.

💡 Top Tip: Don’t Peel Your Potatoes!

Why You Don’t Need to Peel Your Potatoes for This Soup

As you can clearly see from the accompanying photos, I deliberately choose not to peel the potatoes for this Easy Hamburger Potato Soup. If you typically find yourself peeling potatoes for soup and don’t particularly enjoy the extra work, then I have good news for you: you can stop now! Not peeling your potatoes for this recipe offers multiple benefits.

The potato peel is actually the most nutrient-dense part of the potato. By peeling them, you’re not only creating unnecessary waste but also stripping away a significant amount of valuable nutrition. Potato skins contain more iron than the flesh of the potatoes and are also an excellent source of dietary fiber, essential B vitamins, and vitamin C. Leaving the skins on adds texture, contributes to the rustic, homemade feel of the soup, and boosts its overall health benefits. It’s a simple change that saves you time and is better for you and the environment. You can read more about why you don’t need to peel your potatoes HERE.

🌡️ Storing This Easy Hamburger Potato Soup Recipe

This Easy Hamburger Potato Soup is perfect for meal prep and makes fantastic leftovers. Proper storage ensures you can enjoy this comforting meal for days to come:

Fridge: Leftover soup can be safely stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The flavors often deepen and improve overnight!

Freezer: This hamburger soup freezes beautifully, making it ideal for future quick meals. Simply transfer cooled soup into airtight, freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags (leaving a little headspace for expansion). It can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To Reheat: To enjoy your frozen or refrigerated leftovers, reheat them gently. For smaller portions, the microwave works well (2-3 minutes, stirring halfway). For larger quantities, simply reheat over low to medium heat on the stovetop, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated through.

🥗 What to Serve with Hearty Hamburger Potato Soup

This Easy Hamburger Potato Soup is a meal in itself, but it pairs wonderfully with a few simple sides to complete your dining experience. The rich, savory flavors of the soup are perfectly complemented by:

• Crusty Bread: A warm, crusty loaf of bread is ideal for soaking up every last drop of the delicious broth.
• Homemade Buns: Our Grandma Buns (as shown in the image below) are soft, fluffy, and absolutely perfect alongside this hearty soup.
• Biscuits: Flaky Old Fashioned Baking Powder Biscuits offer a delightful texture contrast and soak up the broth beautifully.
• Fresh Salad: A light, refreshing salad, like our Mandarin Orange Salad Recipe, provides a lovely balance to the richness of the soup. A simple green salad with a vinaigrette dressing would also be fantastic.

Leftover hamburger potato soup can be safely stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For best flavor and safety, always ensure it’s cooled properly before storing.

Yes, it is highly recommended to drain your ground beef after browning if it has more than 10% fat content (e.g., regular or lean ground beef). This prevents the soup from becoming greasy. If you use extra lean ground beef (90% lean or higher), draining is typically not necessary.

Absolutely! While beef broth enhances the beefy flavor, you can easily substitute vegetable broth or chicken broth (or stock) for beef broth if you prefer or if you don’t have beef broth on hand. The soup will still be delicious, though with a slightly different flavor profile.

Yes, this soup is very versatile! You can add a variety of other vegetables such as green beans, corn, peas, bell peppers, or even spinach in the last few minutes of cooking. Using a bag of frozen mixed vegetables is also a convenient option to boost the nutrient content.

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