Homemade Ground Beef Pasta Soup (Printer-Friendly)
Savory beef and pasta soup with tomatoes, peas and spinach—comforting and ready in 45 minutes.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Meats
01 - 1 pound ground beef
→ Vegetables
02 - 1 medium onion, diced
03 - 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
04 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
05 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
07 - 1 cup frozen peas
08 - 1 cup baby spinach, optional
→ Pasta
09 - 1 cup small pasta shells or ditalini
→ Liquids
10 - 6 cups beef broth
11 - 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
→ Spices & Seasonings
12 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
13 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
14 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
15 - Salt and pepper, to taste
16 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
→ Cheese
17 - Grated Parmesan, for serving
# How To Make It:
01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until browned. Drain excess fat if necessary.
02 - Add onion, carrots, and celery to the pot. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened.
03 - Stir in minced garlic, dried basil, oregano, and thyme. Cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Add diced tomatoes with their juices, tomato sauce, and beef broth to the pot. Bring mixture to a simmer.
05 - Stir in pasta; continue to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
06 - Add frozen peas and baby spinach (if using) during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking. Continue until pasta and vegetables are tender.
07 - Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan if desired. Serve immediately while hot.
# Helpful Hints:
01 -
- The broth is deeply savory, yet the soup comes together with almost no fuss.
- It’s a standby that welcomes substitutions or fridge cleanouts, making it wonderfully forgiving and crowd-pleasing.
02 -
- If you leave the pasta in the soup overnight, it will soak up the broth—cook it separately when making ahead.
- Start tasting your soup before seasoning, since stock and tomatoes can be salty on their own.
03 -
- Brown the beef thoroughly—it adds irreplaceable flavor depth to the whole pot.
- A Parmesan rind simmered with the soup can turn good into unforgettable.