Hamburger soup
75 min · 24 g protein · 271 cals / serving
The Canadian church-cookbook classic that every family makes a little differently: browned lean beef in a rich tomato and beef broth with carrots, celery, green beans, cabbage and a handful of barley, simmered until it all tastes of itself. One pot, a week of lunches.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) extra-lean (95 % lean) ground beef ground beef (95% lean)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (796 ml) whole tomatoes whole canned tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 1.25 litres (5 cups) beef broth, low-sodium
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 75 ml (1/3 cup) pot or pearl barley barley
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 200 g (2 cups) green beans, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 250 g (3 cups) shredded cabbage
To serve
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) chopped fresh parsley
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and let it brown undisturbed 3 minutes before breaking it up, then cook until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F, about 6 minutes.
- Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook 5 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute until it darkens.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire, barley, thyme, bay leaves and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 35 minutes, until the barley is almost tender.
- Add the green beans and cabbage and simmer 15 minutes more, until everything is tender.
- Fish out the bay leaves, taste for salt and serve with parsley on top.
Good to know
Macaroni instead of barley?
Yes, plenty of families use it. Stir in 1/3 cup small macaroni for the last 10 minutes instead of the barley at the start; it's about the same score.
Can I freeze it?
Up to 3 months. The barley soaks up broth as it stands, so add a splash of water or broth when you reheat.
What about a can of tomato soup?
Older recipes add one for sweetness. The tomato paste, browned well, gives the same deep tomato flavor with less sugar.
Can't fill you up alone — pair it with protein.
Per
- Calories
- 48
- Protein
- (38%)
- 4 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (39%)
- 5 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 186 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1625 kcal goes into the pot and 3679 g of ingredients comes out as about 3400 g of food: 48 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.