Simple, hearty and tasty are three words I’d use to describe this Instant Pot Easy Hamburger Soup in 20 Min!! There are no fancy ingredients or complex processes used to make this delicious soup. It’s gluten-free.
Don’t yet own a pressure cooker? Stove top and Slow Cooker instructions included so share it with friends.
It’s a simple soup but, not plain! It’s basically vegetable soup with ground beef except it’s beefier and more flavorful!
This soup is also known as “Hobo Soup” but, that’s just because of its frugal ingredients! Looking at grocery prices, you’ll hear no complaints from me. Plus, I keep all of these ingredients on hand anyway! I’ve included a long list of substitutions below! I’ve got you fully covered here!
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links which means, if you make a purchase, I’ll receive a very small commission.
Your kitchen will fill up with a wonderful aroma while this soup is cooking and your car won’t smell like pizza days later after picking up takeout on the way home from basketball practice.
A Simple Short Cut to Save Time
You can make this yummy Hamburger Soup even faster by using frozen mixed vegetables instead of cutting up vegetables. I didn’t use them in this recipe because I don’t like lima beans and didn’t feel like picking them out.
When I was a little girl, I was pretty sure that bad things would happen to me if I ate lima beans. I wasn’t exactly sure what would happen to me but, I couldn’t possibly eat them to find out the consequences.
I took a couple of minutes to saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil because the onions and garlic flavor the oil. That oil is going to flavor everything else in the pot! But, if you’re in a hurry, you can skip the saute step.
My husband confessed “This is better than my grandmother’s Hamburger Soup.” I hope my mother-in-law isn’t reading this!
How to Make Instant Pot Easy Hamburger Soup in 20 Min!
I suggest using 85% lean ground beef or higher because if you use a fattier ground beef, it’ll be very fatty but, if you like it that way, go ahead. As you can see below, using the Instant Pot is the fastest way to make this soup and that’s only one reason I love my Instant Pot!
*The printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.
Servings: 8
Instructions:
- First, add olive oil, chopped onions, and minced garlic to the Instant Pot and set it on “Saute” function for 3 minutes. Stir it.
- Then, add the remaining ingredients and stir it until it is combined.
- Next, put the Instant Pot lid on and set it to “High Pressure” setting for 15 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, allow the pressure to release naturally for a few minutes. Then, release the remaining pressure with the venting valve until the metal indicator drops. When it’s safe to open the lid, do so carefully. Give it another stir, remove bay leaf and it’s ready to eat! You may want to add additional salt but, taste it first as the beef broth and tomatoes are salted.
Note: This soup tastes better as it sits in its juices.
Here is a good guide for Instant Pot cooking times.
Storage:
Store this beef soup in the refrigerator covered for up to 5 days and freeze up to 6 months.
This lid fits your 6 qt Instant Pot so you can slap it on quickly and put the leftovers in the refrigerator for those hungry teens to eat up later when your kitchen is “closed.”
Plus, you can get the non-stick Instant Pot pictured above too! Check out this great Instant Pot Accessories Kit review. It makes a great gift!
Simple, Hearty and Tasty Hamburger Soup!
Stove Top Instructions:
Cook time: 40 min
- First, add olive oil, chopped onions, and minced garlic to a Dutch Oven or large stock pot on medium/high heat. Stir it and let cook for 2 minutes. Add the ground beef breaking it up into pieces. Let it brown for about 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients and turn heat up to high. Stir it and when it reaches to a boil, turn to medium heat and cover it. Stir every 10-15 minutes.
- Allow soup to cook another 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- First, to a 4-6 qt slow cooker, add olive oil, chopped onions, and minced garlic followed by ground beef. Break apart ground beef into small pieces.
- Next, add remaining ingredients.
- Then, set the slow cooker to high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving.
Substitutions:
- Use ground turkey or a mixture of ground beef and ground pork.
- Add 3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables or frozen soup vegetables in place of the potatoes, carrots, corn, and green beans. But, still add the chopped onions and minced garlic as instructions state.
- Add diced green bell peppers instead of green beans.
- Add 1/2 cup of peas instead of 1 cup of green beans.
- Use vegetable stock instead of beef broth
- Omit potatoes and corn for a low-carb soup.
Pull out your Instant Pot and make this delicious homemade Hamburger Soup for dinner tonight! Serve a big bowl with a hunk of bread and it becomes an easy weeknight meal the whole family will enjoy! It’s simple, hearty and tasty after all.
If this soup sounds utterly delicious to you, let me introduce our popular Loaded Santa Fe Slow Cooker Chili to you. You may also like Slow Cooker Beef and Chorizo Chili because it deliciously flavored and uses ground chorizo sausage.
I took this recipe to Weekend Potluck.
Instant Pot Hamburger Soup in 20 Minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef 85% lean or higher
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 3 cups beef broth
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup green beans fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup whole kernel corn canned or frozen
- 1 cup potatoes one inch cubed
- 3/4 cup carrots
- 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes with juice
- 1/4 tsp celery seed
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- First, add olive oil, chopped onions, and minced garlic to the Instant Pot and set it on "Saute" function for 4 minutes. Stir it.
- Then, add the remaining ingredients and stir it until it is combined. Meat should be under the liquid.
- Next, put the Instant Pot lid on and set it to "High Pressure" setting for 15 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, allow the pressure to release naturally for a few minutes. Then, release the remaining pressure with the venting valve until the metal indicator drops. When it's safe to open the lid, do so carefully. Give it another stir, remove bay leaf and it's ready to eat!
Notes
Storage:
Store leftovers, covered in refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.Substitutions:
- Use ground turkey or a mixture of ground beef and ground pork.
- Add 3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables or frozen soup vegetables in place of the potatoes, carrots, corn, and green beans. But, still add the chopped onions and minced garlic as instructions state.
- Add diced green bell peppers instead of green beans.
- Add 1/2 cup of peas instead of 1 cup of green beans.
- Use vegetable stock instead of beef broth
- Omit potatoes and corn for a low-carb soup.
What a nice memory. Thanks for leaving this comment.
Brings back memories of when I went to summer camp overnight. We used to make this & I loved it.
Hope you love it! Thanks for leaving a comment.
I love hamburger soup. Going to make this tonite. I eat soup all year round and I live in the desert!
When using your pressure cooker, the food contents should be UNDER the liquid, whether it be broth, water, etc. This is more for roasts.
For this recipe, the ground beef is mixed with the veggies and other ingredients so, it won’t literally be under the liquid.
What does meat should be under the liquid mean
Hi Pam. Adding some pasta is a great idea however, I haven’t tested that. My suggestion is to add 1 cup of mini pasta shells and one extra cup of beef broth along with the other ingredients listed in step 2. Keep the cooking time the same. Please let me know how this works out. Thanks.
and would that change the cooking time ?
can you add some like shell maccaroni noodles
Thanks for the nice comment. I’ll take a look at your link party.
Looks delicious! I would like to invite you to a brand new linky party! The Super Fabulous Friday Linky Party is live now..come on by and join us > > https://abiggreenhouse.com/the-super-fabulous-friday-linky-party-2/
Yes, add the ground beef right to the soup. It doesn’t have to be browned first. Hope you like the recipe!
Do you add raw hamburger meat to the soup? You don’t brown the ground beef first?
LOL Heather! That’s funny. Thanks for your comment and putting a smile on my face!
Lima beans are disgusting, so good call. Looking forward to making this soup!
Simple doesn’t mean plain, especially where your soup is concerned. 🙂
I’m one of the few that hasn’t gone the Instant Pot way so I’ll be cooking on the stove top. 😀