Creamy Ground Beef Tomato Soup–an easy Instant Pot or slow cooker soup with seasoned beef, tender pasta, and a rich, creamy tomato base. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
Creamy Ground Beef Tomato Soup
Today’s recipe is made with some pantry and refrigerator staples and comes together quickly in the Instant Pot or you can simmer low and slow in the Crockpot. It was one of those dinners that I just kept grabbing one more ladle of because it was so cozy and yummy! I was thinking this would be a fun recipe to add some veggies to…like green pepper, mushrooms and maybe even carrots and corn. Get creative and enjoy this soup for dinner this week!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Onion–or a shallot
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- Garlic powder–or 2 tsp minced fresh garlic
- Dried thyme–or poultry seasoning
- Crushed tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Brown sugar
- Elbow macaroni–or any small pasta like ditalini
- Cream cheese
- Balsamic vinegar–or red wine vinegar
- Parmesan cheese–or Pecorino Romano
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion and cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt and pepper.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Let the broth heat up while grabbing the other ingredients.
Add in the basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, brown sugar, macaroni and cream cheese.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set soup button to 1 minute. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Stir in the vinegar, if using. Ladle into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with garlic bread or bread sticks. A green salad is also a nice, fresh option. I like the Olive Garden brand of Italian dressing.
- Want a little kick? Add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- After cooking, give the soup a really good stir to fully incorporate the cream cheese (it may look slightly separated at first but will smooth out).
- In the slow cooker version, if the pasta isn’t quite tender after 30 minutes, you can go another 10–15 minutes depending on your slow cooker.
- Use about 2–3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken in place of the ground beef (skip browning) for a quick and easy shortcut version.
- If you don’t have the soup button you can just cook on the low pressure for 1 minute.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. This recipe makes quite a bit. You can easily halve the recipe.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This soup can be frozen, but for best texture, freeze it without the pasta and add freshly cooked pasta when reheating.
- Other recipes you can make with balsamic vinegar are Instant Pot Chicken Gloria and Instant Pot Chicken Margherita Pasta.
- Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Creamy Ground Beef Tomato Soup
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
An easy Instant Pot or slow cooker soup with seasoned beef, tender pasta, and a rich, creamy tomato base. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 16 oz lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Pinch dried thyme
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 6 oz elbow macaroni
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, optional
- Parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion and cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt and pepper.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Let the broth heat up while grabbing the other ingredients.
- Add in the basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, brown sugar, macaroni and cream cheese.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set soup button to 1 minute. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the vinegar, if using.
- Ladle into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion and cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker
- Stir in the broth, basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and brown sugar.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. Add in the macaroni and cream cheese and cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir well.
- Stir in the vinegar, if using.
- Ladle into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.
- Category: Beef, Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
More recipes with elbow macaroni…
Beachcomber Casserole
Instant Pot beef and macaroni with Rotel, corn and cheddar.
Instant Pot Next Level Bacon Mac
Cheesy, smoky macaroni and cheese with big, crispy pieces of bacon.
Amish Supreme Casserole
A one-pot Instant Pot pasta made with tender chicken thighs, elbow macaroni, and a rich blend of cheeses and savory seasonings.
Winter Carnival Casserole
One-pot pasta dish made in the Instant Pot with ground beef, elbow macaroni, crushed tomatoes, a touch of spice and topped with melty cheddar cheese.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I agree with cooking the pasta separately…I used the one minute recommended and let it sit 10 minutes but my macaroni was definitely mushy, though the flavors were excellent .
I appreciate you sharing this! Pasta can go soft quickly in the Instant Pot, especially with a longer rest time.
Can I fix this in my airfryer
An air fryer isn’t a good fit for soup, but you can easily make this on the stovetop or in a slow cooker 😊
Karen, my friend. How do I adjust the liquid in the recipe if I want to cook my pasta separately & add to bowls when serving? Thanks. This soup looks soooooo good, can’t wait to make it.
Great idea! Just reduce the broth by 2 cups and cook the pasta separately. Add it to each bowl when serving…this keeps it from getting mushy 😊
WOW! Was perfect. Also followed your suggestion to add some crushed red peppers. Used ditalini pasta & cooked it separately. Besides the fact that hubby had TWO bowls of this for dinner he also informed me “don’t even try to hide the leftovers, I’ll find them!” Proof positive he’ll be asking for this again real soon (not that he needs to ask, it was delicious!). Thanks again, Karen. You rock!
This made me laugh! I love that he’s already calling dibs on the leftovers 😂 So glad you both loved it, Kim!
Hi Karen,
I’m curious about the addition/option of the balsamic vinegar. What does it do to the flavor as opposed to a typical tomato soup taste? Looks very good.
Thank you.
It just adds a little depth and balances the tomatoes. it won’t taste like vinegar 😊 Totally optional!