Easy Hamburger Potato Soup

This Hamburger Potato Soup is thicker than the average soup, full of hamburger and yummy vegetables in a creamy base. It’s rich and flavorful, and so easy to make. Starting with a few frozen foods, it can be ready in about 30 minutes!

I used several staple items I keep in the freezer:

• frozen Southern-style diced hash brown potatoes – I use these in my Slow Cooker Potato Soup, Vegetable Beef soup, in homemade pot pies and for breakfast fried potatoes.
• frozen mixed vegetables – the bag includes corn, carrots, green beans and peas cut in the perfect size to use in soups, casseroles, pot pies and as a simple vegetable side dish.
• cooked ground beef – frozen in approximately 1# portions, good for a quick spaghetti, chili, hamburger casserole or pizza topping.
• shredded cheese – I buy huge bags and divide it into quart freezer bags, then put a bag in the fridge as needed. Shredded cheese is used on omelets, quesadillas, salads, in or on some casseroles, in some soups and vegetable dishes.

The rest of the soup ingredients are standard staples found in most kitchens, so this recipe is ideal to keep handy for a spur of the moment dinner.

Now, I do have to say that I was concerned about whether Hubby would like this soup, but I know two things for sure:

1. He’s agreeable to try new recipes if the obligatory hot dogs are in the freezer for a backup meal. A pact made before we got married.
2. Everything tastes better with Johnny Cakes, and he loves Johnny Cakes!

So I did what any good wife would do and made up a batch of easy Johnny Cakes. They were done and ready to serve by the time the soup was ready to serve. I use a large counter top griddle to get the Johnny Cakes done quickly.

Another awesome thing about this soup recipe is that with a few little tweaks, it can be an entirely different soup! Switch out the chicken broth for beef broth and replace the cornstarch, milk and cheese with a couple of cans of diced tomatoes and Voila! An amazing Hamburger Vegetable Soup! How cool is that? (Directions are included with the Hamburger Potato Soup printable recipe)

Easy Hamburger Potato Soup

Print recipe

Prep 5 mins Cook 30 mins  Serves 8

Ingredients

• 4 cups frozen Southern-style diced hash brown potatoes
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 pound cooked ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4 cups of chicken broth (or bouillon & water per package directions for 4 cups)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• Optional for garnish: shredded cheese, chopped chives

Directions

1. Measure the diced potatoes, mixed vegetables, cooked hamburger, diced onion, minced garlic, Italian Seasoning, salt & pepper and chicken broth into a large soup pan.
2. Bring to a soft boil, then cover and turn the heat down to simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add the cornstarch to 1 cup of milk and stir to dissolve, then stir into the soup mix.
4. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes to thicken.
5. Stir the shredded cheese into the soup until melted.

Garnish with a little shredded cheese and chopped chives, if desired.

Enjoy!