Busy Day Soup
Busy Day Soup is perfect for those busy weeknights. It’s quick to make and requires little effort. Who loves easy recipes? Rich and savory broth, tender pasta, and loads of veggies and beef in each bite.
Busy Day Soup
What I love about Busy Day Soup is that you can throw all the ingredients into the pot and let your stove work its magic.
It has a few low prep ingredients like ground beef, onion soup mix, mixed frozen veggies, diced tomatoes and macaroni.
It’s perfect for days where you don’t know what to make for dinner. If you’re like me, those days are frequent.
This fall is a busy season for our family. My youngest daughter rides horses a couple times a week and is also taking swimming lessons. She is in Bronze Medallion and hopes to be a lifeguard. It’s a lot of shuttling back and forth. Good times.
When I want a simple, hearty meal, I turn to this soup recipe. Serve it with soda crackers or a buttered roll. It’s so tasty and filling.
How to Make Busy Day Soup
Grab a large soup pot, and brown the ground beef. Drain off the fat after it’s cooked so your soup isn’t greasy.
Pour in the water, onion soup mix and tomatoes with their juices. Simmer for 1 hour on medium low heat.
After the 1 hour mark, add in the uncooked macaroni noodles and frozen mixed vegetables. Cook for another 15 minutes on medium heat. The noodles and frozen veggies will cook until they are tender.
You don’t need to thaw the vegetables. Just throw them in right from the freezer. That is what I love about this recipe, it truly is so simple to make and pull together.
Serve it up hot! It makes about 6 servings and tastes even better the next day heated up. It’s just the two of us at home now so we always have leftovers.
Can I Swap Meat in Soup
Sure, you are more than welcome to use ground turkey, pork, or even ground chicken. Just cook the meat until it is fully done. You could even take the skins off bratwurst and use them. I am sure it would add a nice level of flavor.
Or maybe you want to layer the flavor of two meats. Beef and sausage are always a fantastic pairing and really can elevate the flavor.
Vegetables in Soup
The veggies used in this soup can be adjusted to fit your tastebuds. If you have fresh veggies you want to prep and slice up, go for it. Or if you have a bag of frozen vegetables in the freezer that sound tasty, use them instead.
Feel free to raid your pantry or freezer and use what you have on hand. Just get creative and pick items that you like the flavor of. Then I think you will enjoy the flavor of the soup.
Can I Change Out the Pasta in this Soup
Yes, if you don’t have any macaroni on hand, feel free to change it up. Reach for shells, rotini, ziti, etc. Any pasta will work you just want to ensure your pasta fully cooks. You could even break up spaghetti noodles to place in the soup.
I do feel that depending on the pasta the flavor of the soup varies slightly. But, overall any flavor is amazing paired with all the broth and vegetables.
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Toppings for Busy Day Soup
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley or even Italian seasoning for color and flavor.
- Shred and sprinkle cheese that adds a nice cheesy flavor.
- Add on some crackers or even crunchy croutons to soak up the savory broth.
- Splash of hot sauce to elevate the heat factor.
You can truly do so much to this soup to elevate the flavor. I love it how it is, but sometimes we add on some toppings to change up the flavor of the soup.
Meal Prep with Leftover Soup
This soup is incredible for placing in single serve containers and storing in the fridge. Meal prep for quick on the go lunches for when you need something quick. I think the flavor just blends even more as it sits in the fridge.
In terms of freezing, you will find you can freeze this soup. The vegetables will change a bit in texture as they thaw, but the flavor of this soup is still amazing and tasty. Pasta, as well, can become a bit mushy, so if you know you are going to freeze, cook to al dente.
How to Make in the Slow Cooker
You can also make Busy Day Soup in the slow cooker. Cook the ground beef first on the stove. Add all the ingredients except the pasta to the slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 6 hours. Add in the uncooked pasta when there is only 30 minutes left of cooking time.
Craving More Soup Recipes
- Stuffed Pepper Soup | If you enjoy stuffed peppers, you will love this incredible soup recipe. You get all the flavors of stuffed peppers but without all the work.
- Dill Pickle Soup | Serve up this comforting and filling soup. If you know someone who loves pickles, this soup was made for them.
- Cauliflower Soup with Bacon | You have a creamy soup that is loaded with cauliflower flavor and then topped with crispy bacon in every single bite.
For other delicious soup recipes, try my New England Clam Chowder, Hamburger Soup, Cream of Celery Soup, Cream of Carrot Soup, Cheeseburger Chowder, Sausage & Cabbage Soup and Cabbage Roll Soup.
What are your favourite recipes for busy days?
Busy Day Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- 1 ¾ cup mixed frozen vegetables
- 5 cups water
- 1 can diced tomatoes 28oz can
- 1 cup macaroni uncooked
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, brown ground beef. Drain fat.
- Pour in water, onion soup mix and tomatoes with juice. Simmer for 1 hour on medium low.
- Add macaroni and frozen vegetables. Cook 15 minutes longer on medium heat. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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I have made this recipe many times, it’s always a winner in my house. Over the years since I discovered it, I’ve only ever changed minor things. Adding minced garlic and salt and pepper to the beef while it cooks. Sometimes I use beef broth or a mix of broth and water depending on what I have available. Beefy onion soup mix is also yummy instead of the regular. But the only two changes I always make are adding a little Worcestershire sauce and one bay leaf. Thank you for this fabulous and versatile recipe Stacie!Â
Can this be made in the crock pot?
Hi Carol, yes it can! I would cook the ground beef first before adding it to the crockpot. Add the pasta about 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time. I think the frozen veggies would be fine to go in with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 6 hours.
I think I would use stew meat in stead of hamburger.
Beef stew meat is so expensive, I think in these days that we live in now with meat prices so high this is a great alternative to beef stew meat. I myself have been making hamburger soup for all of my adult life,. It’s economical, delicious, and so easy..Love the recipe. I also add beef bouillon to mine.
I used Sweet Italian sausage vs. ground beef and Italian seasoning 🙂
So, the soup is simmering on the stove, this Halloween Eve and the moon is full and almost high in the sky!  I cannot wait to try this soup.  I must admit that I changed the recipe a bit.  I used 5.5 cups of low sodium beef broth, chopped up my favorite veggies!  I cooked the beef with fresh chopped yellow onion and fresh minced garlic, salt/pepper, light Adobo seasoning, and Italian seasonings  I then added 1 can of stewed tomatoes, 2 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes and 1 can of tomato paste.  I then added the veggies, few dashes of Worcestershire, and a few bay leaves.  I omitted the pasta because I’m the only one eating it so I’m trying to cut out carbs and have more protein in my meals.  It smells heavenly!  Thank you for this recipe!  Happy Halloween
How much of all ingredients do you use and can sizes ? Please thank you how long you cook it forÂ
do you think this would freeze ok
Yes, you can freeze it for up to three months!
I made this soup tonight!  Soooooo good! I tweaked it a tiny bit. I added three beef bouillon cubes  and some frozen because I had some leftover. I loved this soup and the broth was perfect! Thank you for a wonderful weeknight supper! Mmmmmmm!
*leftover frozen corn
I have made this before and its delicious. I love letting it sit longer so it absorbs the flavors more. What if you don’t have any onion soup mix on hand? Is there something you can add in place of that or will it still be ok if its left out?
If you leave it out, you’ll want to add some spices in to give it some flavor. You can make your own onion soup mix as well: https://www.thecountrycook.net/homemade-dry-onion-soup-mix/
When making soups like that that use macaroni or pasta I cook the noodle and add to the bowls of soup. If you put it into the entire pot and don’t eat it all the noodles will get soggy sitting in the soup. This way they’re fresher when you eat the left overs.
What size packet of onion soup mix did you use? 2.0oz or 1.8oz?Â
Either one would be fine. This product would work https://www.walmart.com/ip/6-Pack-Lipton-Onion-Flavor-Recipe-Secrets-Soup-and-Dip-Mix-2-oz/475076487