Beef and Tomato Macaroni Soup
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Beef and Tomato Macaroni Soup
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When the summer starts to wane and most of the U.S. prepares for the end of daylight saving time, I like to “fall back” on old standby recipes, the comfort food that graces my table when the weather’s a bit cooler and changes in appetites seem to indicate there’s an impending hibernation!
This Beef Tomato Macaroni Soup is a fall standard at my house, and it’ll definitely get you in the mood for sweaters and dusting out your fireplace.
The soup starts with a lovely base of aromatics – onions, garlic, and bell peppers, sautéed a bit then browned along with ground beef.
Using an 80/20 combo instead of a leaner cut means maximum beefy flavor and a rich, meaty complement to this tomato-heavy soup.
I use both diced tomatoes and a condensed tomato soup in my recipe.
Adding condensed soup is a great trick for incorporating tomato flavor, of course, but it also has built-in thickeners that lend wonderful body to each spoonful.
The addition of pasta means even more texture and makes this hearty soup a really filling lunch or supper.
To season the soup, I like a combination of chili powder and oregano.
Chili powder brings a subtle heat and slightly bitter component that balances the sweetness of the tomatoes. It also deepens the rich red color of this soup. Oregano, which is a member of the mint family, has a peppery bite that always pairs well with tomatoes.
What we usually find in the stores is actually a Mediterranean or Greek variety, but definitely use Mexican oregano if you can find it. It has a slightly more pronounced licorice flavor that adds a little complexity to this dish.
We love to serve this up with a side of the BEST Cheesy Bread EVER and a side salad for a perfect meal!

- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion Finely Chopped
- 1 Green Bell Pepper Finely Chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 Pound Ground Beef
- 2 tsp Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 cans Condensed Tomato Soup
- 1 15 ounce can Diced Tomatoes Undrained
- 32 Ounces Beef Broth
- 4 Cups Water
- 2 Cups Elbow Pasta Uncooked
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Heat the oil in a large pot. Saute onions, bell pepper and garlic until the vegetables begin to softened, about 5-6 minutes.
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Add the ground beef, breaking it up and cooking until there is no longer any pink. Drain off excess fat.
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Stir in chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper.
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Add condensed tomato soup, diced tomatoes with their juice, beef broth and water. Bring to a boil.
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Once boiling add the pasta. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the pasta is just al dente.
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Adjust seasoning and serve.
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
My Beef Tomato Macaroni Soup comes together really quickly on the stove, but you can also let it work its magic in the slow cooker if you want it ready and waiting on you when you get home after a busy day. It’ll warm your insides, put smiles on your family’s faces, and give you plenty of leftover time for toasting some marshmallows!
Best recipe on pinterest by far. I cut recipe in half as i am one. So good that I am making second full batch to share. I am adding parboiled barley instead of mac. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing Claire! So happy to hear that you love this soup!
I plan to make this soup using ground round and Ditilini pasta. Some Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste too. And beans. It was fun reading all the comments. And suggestions.
Sounds perfect Sherry! Enjoy the soup.
Making this right now. Smells so good! I am curious if I did something wrong as there seems to way too much liquid. Lol! I followed the recent exactly. It still tastes good!
Some pasta brands do absorb less liquid as they cook, so that could be one reason. For this recipe, reduce the liquid to your liking. Enjoy, Vicki!
Hi,
Not sure if you know the answer to this. Can I use tomato sauce instead of the tomato soup? I have lots of tomato sauce.
Renee
Hi Renee, we haven’t personally tried that but it should definitely work. Since tomato sauce is thicker you will want to add more water to thin the soup out to your liking! Also if your tomato sauce is preseasoned you may want to reduce the seasonings in the recipe to taste! Let us know how it turns out.
Hi Holly,
It worked out fine. I did not add any more water other than the 4 cups that it said. the consistency looks similar to the picture. Thanks for helping me out!
Renee
So happy to hear that Renee! Glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for this recipe – you saved the day! I was planning on making meatballs and honestly just didn’t feel like it so I searched for a soup to make instead. I didn’t have regular tomato soup but I had a can of Progresso Basil Tomato soup so I used that. I also didn’t have a can of tomatoes but I had two kinds of salsa (hot and mild) so I put a large spoon of each in the soup. I used orzo for the pasta instead of macaroni.
I also used a teaspoon of worcestershire to give it a little flavor.
This is husband approved! I will used this recipe in the future!
Michelle
So glad you enjoyed it Michelle! Those sound like some delicious substitutions.
Would the nutritional numbers be per bowl or for the whole recipe. This looks delicious!
Nutritional information is for one serving Chris. Enjoy!
Made this last week and it was a hit.
My hubby loves Water Chestnuts and asked if I could add them next time, I reheated it with a can of sliced ones and he was right….Yummy!
Added a nice crunch
One question though…what serving size is the nutrional value based on, a one cup serving?
This recipe makes 8 servings. Each serving would be approximately 2 1/2 cups. Enjoy Judith!
I PUT MINE IN SLOW COOKER COOKED PEPPPERS AND HAMBURGER ON STOVE THEN ADDED TO THE SLOW COOKER AND THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS. ONCE IT GET GOING HAVENT DECIDED TO PUT NOODLES IN OR COOK ON STOVE THEN PUT IN
If you’re making it in the crockpot, you may want to cook the noodles separately and add them as you serve the soup Dawn. Enjoy!
I would love to make this but there is way to much sodium in it. How can I cut the sodium count down?
Try using no sodium ingredients for the tomatoes, broth and soup.
How can I make this without using tomatoes? I don’t mind the tomatoe taste( I love ketchup and marinara, etc) but don’t want chunks of tomatoes.
I have only tried the recipe as written. You could use crushed or strained tomatoes in place. You could also try a tomato sauce, which may change the taste slightly.
Made this today and the only thing different is I doubled the recipe, added jalapeno peppers along with the green ones. It was a hit, delicious and will be making it again.
Great additions Shari! So glad to hear you love this soup!
I absolutely love this recipe! Not a fan of green peppers, so I left them out and added a can of Kidney Beans. I also ended up subbing one can of tomato soup for tomato sauce on accident, but it turned out great! It’s so easy to make, I’m adding it into my regular dinner rotation!
The only odd thing about it, was it takes FOREVER to cool after serving (might be because of those beans I added). We were waiting a good 20 minutes before it cooled enough to eat. But it was well worth the wait!
So glad you loved it, I love the idea of adding beans to this soup! Thanks for sharing.
omg i just made this for dinner my family loved it!! im definitely working it into my soup rotation, lol very very good recipe!!
So glad you loved it Kelly!
im making this recipe right now it smells so good!! i know my family is gonna love it!!!
So glad you loved it!
Found and made this today. It was awesome! I only had ground pork so used that instead of the ground beef. Also I did not have a green pepper so I added a cup of finely diced carrot and a cup of diced mushrooms to use them up. Followed the rest of the recipe to a “T”. It was a great soup. It was even better after it had cooled and the pasta had absorbed more of the broth and flavors. It was then like a one pot pasta dish. So yummy in rainy Oregon today.
Sounds so delicious DeAnna! Glad you loved this soup!
Why do you pretend that you made these recipes up? This soup recipe , I was making working in a restaurant 49 years ago. Just curious
I’m sorry Lynn, I don’t see where we stated we made this recipe up. On this blog we share recipes we make for our families, this is one of them.
It’s a classic, so glad you’ve been loving it for 49 years! 🙂 Have a great day.
Why would you be like that . You either like it or not , don’t need to try to embarrass someone .
Look everyone I know has a recipe for this soup, where I come from in Canada, we call it goulash, I have been following Holly for a long time and nowhere does she say that she made these recipes up. Check her blog and you will see that a lot of the recipes are from other bloggers. So check your facts before you start accusing someone of doing something that they didn’t do. Just relax and make some great food.
I added a can of corn
Is there a substitution for the tomato soup?
I’m going to try using a can of tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce. I can adjust from there
We only added 21/2 cups water And a 3rd can of tomatoe soup !! I️t was delicious like a ghoulish the spices were excellent and Day 2 even better !!
Sounds great Vicky!
Can the condensed soup be replaced with something else?
I love this recipe! Perfect, cheap and filling, especially for me as a single mom to a picky toddler. I use crushed red pepper as a substitute for the chili powder and fire roasted tomatoes.
Sounds delicious Hannah! So glad you love this recipe.
How long and what temp would I use on the slow cooker? Thanks & can’t wait to try this soon!
I’ve only made it as written so I can’t say for sure. Let us know if you try it Jackie!
Did you use the small or large can of tomato soup?
This is made using the small cans of tomato soup.
Hannah you an always use ground turkey instead of beef like I did and I am diabetic also but then I also added some black beans for a lil more substance for my husband
I am putting in black beans because they are so good in soups!
This soup was so great my whole family enjoyed it.
Do you know what the carb count is for the tomato & Beef soup? Looks great but husband has diabetes so I have to be very careful.
I wish people would give fat/calories & carb info along with the recipes when posting.
I’m sorry I am unable to provide nutritional information. You can enter your ingredients here to calculate your information.
Hi – I’m diabetic. Use DreamField brand pasta only has 5 grams of carbs.