Hearty cowboy soup made with ground beef, mixed veggies, and creamy potatoes in a tomato based broth. This easy and cozy soup is ready in less than 45 minutes.
This cowboy hamburger soup is comforting, nutritious, and best of all, easy to make! It's jam packed with two types of beans, ground beef, mixed veggies, creamy potatoes, and diced tomatoes in a savory, rustic broth.
It's hearty, kid-friendly, and made with pantry staples like spices, canned beans, and beef broth. I love to make cowboy soup in the wintertime, when I need something to warm up my frost-bitten face and soul.
Top with sour cream, cheese, and chives!
Ingredients
The ingredient list may seem long, but cowboy vegetable soup is mostly pantry items like spices, canned goods, and frozen veggies.
- Ground Beef - I used ground chuck, but lean ground beef or hamburger meat both work too.
- Onion & Garlic - Aromatics add a depth of flavor to the soup.
- Tomatoes & Rotel - Any tex mex soup or chili worth its salt needs tomatoes, and plenty of 'em! Rotel is a combination of diced tomatoes and green chiles.
- Beans - I used one can of kidney beans and one can of pinto beans. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand. Ranch beans is another popular option.
- Potatoes - I used honey gold potatoes, but any gold variety is perfect. Gold potatoes have a creamy center, but hold their shape during extended cooking times.
- Spices - Garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and chili powder to be exact.
- Beef Broth - I stock up when broth is on sale. I use it in soups, stews, and sauces on a daily basis. Beef broth is high in salt, so I chose reduced-sodium.
- Mixed Veggies - Frozen mixed veggies cover all the bases with corn, carrots, peas, green beans, and lima beans.
- Chipotles in Adobo - My love for chipotles is unparalleled! This simple ingredient is spicy, sweet, and flavorful. Omit if you don't like spicy food.
- Worcestershire Sauce - For a bit of umami tang. This condiment is a staple in our house.
How to Make Cowboy Soup
It's super simple! Here's what you need to do.
Brown the ground beef:
- Add the ground beef to a large heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven set over medium-high heat.
- Cook, stirring, until completely browned.
- Drain all but a tablespoon or so of the fat. The fat adds flavor so we don't want to get rid of it all. Add the diced onion, garlic, & spices to the beef mixture.
- Stir and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients & simmer:
- Add the potatoes, mixed veggies, beans, beef broth, chipotle, and Worcestershire sauce, sugar.
- Stir until well combined.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat. Let simmer for 20 minutes to intensify the flavors and cook the potatoes. Stir in the tomato paste.
- Let the cowboy stew cool for a few minutes, then serve with sour cream and cheese!
Recipe Tips
- I recommend a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, because it heats more evenly without any hot spots.
- The secret is in the simmer! Don't skip simmering the soup. Not only does it cook the potatoes, but it intensifies all the flavors and marries them together.
- This recipe can be doubled, but you will need a very large pot! This cowboy soup recipe filled up my entire dutch oven.
Variations
- Meat - Try swapping the ground beef with ground turkey or ground sausage.
- Veggies - Any blend of frozen veggies work great! Just choose your favorite.
- Spice - For more heat, add an extra chipotle or two, or a dash of hot sauce like tabasco or sriracha.
- Toppings - Don't skimp on the toppings! They're the best part. My faves are shredded cheese & sour cream, but crushed fritos, chives, diced avocado, cilantro, diced red onion, pickled jalapenos, or crushed tortilla chips all taste great!
Storage & Freezing
Refrigerate:
- Transfer the soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Reheat individual servings in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave until hot throughout.
- To reheat an entire pot of soup, transfer back into a dutch oven over medium heat, and cook until hot throughout.
Freeze:
- It freezes well too! Transfer the soup to a freezer-safe container and freeze up to 4 months.
- Thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat on the stovetop over medium heat.
FAQs
Cowboy soup is a Tex-Mex style soup with ground beef, beans, veggies, spices, and usually potatoes in a tomato-based broth. It's a no-fuss soup made with pantry staples like canned beans, canned tomatoes, and pantry spices. Each recipe is slightly different with small variations like the type of beans, veggies, and spices.
Yes, this recipe should work great in the slow cooker. Just brown the ground beef, onion, and spices as directed, then add to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.
Yes, just be sure to buy gluten-free beef broth. Some brands contain sneaky gluten-containing ingredients. Swanson beef broth is labeled gluten-free.
More Soup Recipes
Cowboy Hamburger Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot
- Spatula
- Measuring cups & spoons
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 1 10 ounce can of rotel
- 1 15 ounce can of kidney beans, drained
- 1 15 ounce can of pinto beans, drained
- 12 ounces honey gold potatoes, small diced
- 32 ounce carton of beef broth reduced sodium
- 2 cups frozen mixed veggies
- 1 chipotle in adobo, minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Toppings:
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, over medium high heat, cook the ground beef until browned.
- Drain the excess fat, leaving about a tablespoon or so in the pot with the meat.
- Add the diced onion, spices, sugar, and garlic to the pot. Cook & stir for another 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot except the tomato paste, and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender and the soup is thick.
- Stir in the tomato paste. Serve hot with shredded cheese and sour cream!
Angela
I have made this twice now. I love it. I can mash the potatoes in my moms bowl and its like shepherds pie soul. The sour cream and cheese really turn it into a cream soup. If i had one complaint, its white people hot. Which is great for my mom. But when i want to take it to my friends for a party and i want to gently kick up the heat. Any ideas?
Carolyn
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. You can add more chopped chipotles and some cayenne pepper to kick up the heat! I prefer spicy too, but my family's a bit more sensitive.