Classic Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup

This Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup is one of the best soups you can make, especially for colder weather as it warms you right up. It’s easy to make and a classic from my childhood. I hope you like it!

Classic Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup – One of my family’s all time favorites!

When we were in the States last winter we stopped in at a little place on the I-15 that we have driven by countless times. Oh, don’t ask me where or what it’s called, but it’s a rest stop that has a small little town by it. I would know it to look at it and while we always stop to stretch our legs,  we’ve never eaten at the small roadside restaurant. Until this last trip, that is.

While everything on the menu was nice, not fancy, just a decent clubhouse and salad, the soup of the day reminded me of one of my very favorite, old fashioned soups that I hadn’t eaten in years.

I rarely make soup that’s not in a crockpot. I think that most soups are improved by letting them simmer all day, the flavorings melding together in ways that a quick 20 minute simmer just doesn’t achieve. Plus you have that little happy thought in your head all day long that your dinner is going to be just amazing when you get home! Doesn’t it make a difference in your mood, knowing that you have a hot, delicious supper waiting for you? I think that’s why I love my crockpot so much.

What I love about this method is that you pre-cook the noodles (morning of, day before, it doesn’t matter) and then you add them in at the end of the day, just long enough to heat them up. The soup simmers all day long if you want, then when you come home, you have it waiting for you. Just add the pre-made noodles and there’s dinner!

This is truly a comfort food. The day I made this Mike was sick with a cold, tired and achy and it literally made his day to have some of this soup. It was also a snowy day, which always makes me pull out the crockpot and clear a permanent space on the counter for it. It won’t leave the counter again until spring now!

Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup Tips & Tricks

• My biggest suggestion for this recipe is to drain and rinse the ground beef. You can see that this soup has a bit of grease in it (and oh…that is what makes it so lovely!) but a lot of recipes don’t even have you drain it. I’m going to go ahead and say eeewwww to that. I’m such a pro.
• The stronger the beef broth the more beefy your soup will end up and a little extra Worcestershire sauce helps with that as well! I prefer adding in dry macaroni 30 minutes before serving but if you are in a time crunch at the end of the day, pre-cook and then add the pasta in.

Can I tell you a secret?

The whole blinkin’ family ate this.

I am astonished. I cannot believe my daughter ate this. Loved this. Ate it for lunch the next day. Needless to say this is definitely on THE ROTATION list. I wrote that in caps because that is the really important list, the list where we all love a dish, it’s easy to make, not too unhealthy and saves my sanity.

It’s sadly a really, really short list with my picky eaters.

I really hope you give this classic a whirl!

Happy cooking everyone!

Love you more than THE ROTATION list,

Classic Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

8 hrs

Total Time

8 hrs 15 mins

Talk about comfort food, this beefy macaroni and tomato soup is seriously the best thing I have tasted all fall! There’s a reason it’s a timeless classic!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Soup

Keyword: beef and tomato macaroni soup, beef macaroni soup

Servings: 8

Calories: 421 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 6 cups very strong beef broth
• 1- 28 ounce can Chopped Tomatoes
• 1- 28 ounce can whole Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar to taste if you have a sweeter ketchup you may not need it
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3 cups cooked elbow macaroni OR 2 cups dry macaroni to add in at the end
• salt and pepper as desired

Instructions

Crockpot Directions

1. In a medium frying pan, brown the ground beef, onion and garlic until ground beef is no longer pink. Drain the grease (I also like to rinse it with hot water to remove most of the grease) and place in a large crockpot.
2. Add the broth, cans of chopped and whole tomatoes, Worcestershire, ketchup,brown sugar (if wanted) and Italian seasoning. Add more sugar and Worcestershire to taste if needed. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
3. When you are ready to serve, either add the dry macaroni and let cook for 20-25 minutes OR add cooked macaroni. Let the macaroni heat through and serve!

Instant Pot Directions

1. Press the saute button and fry the ground beef and onions until the beef is no longer pink. Add in the garlic. Fry for another minute or so. Drain the grease.
2. Use the Instant Pot like the slow cooker,  using the slow cook button and the instructions above OR
3. Add in the remaining ingredients except for the macaroni. Cook on the SOUP setting for 10 minutes. ( this really helps get the beef flavor going.) Release the pressure manually.
4. Add the DRY macaroni, (not cooked or it will be mush!)  then cook for 10 minutes on the SOUP setting again. Release manually or with the NPR ( naturally)
5. Serve and enjoy!