This Instant Pot hamburger soup is easy and flavorful! It's a healthier comfort food that uses simple everyday ingredients. The whole family is sure to love it!
I made a regular stovetop version of hamburger soup, so I figured I'd also test out an Instant Pot version. Soup leftovers for days, folks. Good thing this is a yummy soup! 🙂
This soup is great because you can throw in extra veggies if you have them on-hand, and you don't have to worry too much about measuring anything out, in my opinion. I love forgiving recipes like this. In my "real life" I rarely measure anything. I think there's a certain freedom in cooking when you ditch the measurements. Just don't try it with baking. And that is why I rarely bake.
I digress.
As always, I like using my Instant Pot to build flavor in a relatively short amount of time. I'm typically someone who is totally fine making most recipes on my stove, but sometimes it's nice to use the Instant Pot. It frees up the stove, it's hands off when you close that lid, and it's nice to use a gadget that may be collecting dust in a dark corner of the kitchen. 😉
I love how the Instant Pot makes everything fall-apart tender after only a short period of cooking. And you don't have to mess up the stove. But you do have to clean your Instant Pot... sorry.
This electric pressure cooker hamburger soup is delicious without being creamy. Like I put in the write-up of the stovetop version of this recipe, creamy soups are typically my favorite kinds of soups, but this one is a new favorite for me even sans cream.
The tomato broth is flavorful, and the beef and potatoes make it nice and hearty.
Pro tip: I like to use extra lean ground beef because it's a bit less fatty, so you can skip the step of draining the fat once you've browned it. There's still a bit of fat left, but I find it adds a nice flavor to the soup. If you do use a fattier ground beef, I would definitely drain some of the fat so the soup doesn't end up excessively oily.
Other delicious ground beef recipes you may like:
- Crockpot Beef Chili
- Easy Beef Bowls
- Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Instant Pot Beef Chili
Let me know in the comments below if you'll give this easy Instant Pot hamburger soup recipe a go.
Questions? Talk to me!
Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 1 pound extra lean (95% lean) ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (28 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 large Russet potatoes diced
- 1 dash Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, onion, and celery to your Instant Pot. Press the sauté button and cook for 4 minutes.
- Stir in the beef and garlic. Cook until the beef has browned, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes). You shouldn't need to drain much fat if you're using extra lean ground beef, but feel free to drain some/most of it if desired (I didn't drain any).
- Stir in the tomato paste, then add in the diced tomatoes, beef broth, potatoes, and Italian seasoning.
- Close the lid, make sure the valve is on "sealing", press the "manual" button and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Once the countdown has finished, carefully do a quick pressure release.
- Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- Serves 4-6.
- Anything from about 1 to 1.5 pounds ground beef will work.
- Use low-sodium beef broth if you're sensitive to salt.
- I use this 6-quart Instant Pot.
- Inactive time indicates the time it takes the Instant Pot to get up to pressure.
- Try the stovetop version if you don't own an IP.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Katrina B. says
This soup is amazing!! This is our 3rd time making it because we all love it so much!!!
Natasha says
That's great to hear!! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!!
Mary-Clare says
Will red potatoes work in this recipe as well?
Natasha says
You bet 🙂
Shelli Williamson says
Delicious. And sooo easy. I used my IP. recipe is perfect
Natasha says
Fantastic!!
Kristen says
Does this freeze okay?
Natasha says
You bet!
Yogagrill! says
Made with ground Elk...Yummy!
Natasha says
Awesome!
V. says
Super good.
Natasha says
🙂
Froofy says
I wouldn't change a thing, but wondering for people that are cholesterol conscious... Did you ever try ground turkey?
Natasha says
Hello! You could for sure try ground turkey. You may also like this soup that uses ground turkey: https://bit.ly/3jR2jEE
Marie says
This is delicious, made it a few times and making it again today Thanks for sharing.
Natasha says
So pleased you like it, Marie! 🙂
Becky Alexander says
I loved this soup and it was my first experience using the high pressure cooking feature on my Crockpot Express Crock Multi-Cooker. If you’re using this cooker, the “manual” feature doesn’t exist, per the instructions, just use the Beans/Chili button and adjust pressure and cook time.
I made this just as the recipe detailed. I did add fresh spinach into my own bowl since my son hates spinach. It wilted very quickly. I then added grated Parmesan to the soup, as well. Very yummy!!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you liked it!! Thanks for including the tips for your electric pressure cooker. 🙂
Emily says
I have yet to make this recipe because I’m wondering how I’d make it with frozen ground beef? I always keep ground beef in the freezer but I’m not sure how I’d cook it using this recipe! Help please!!
Natasha says
Hi Emily! Hmm... I have a couple concerns with that. It is safe to cook frozen meats in the Instant Pot, but since I have not ever done it myself, I am not sure how much extra time would need to be added on. Secondly, if you do add extra time, the veggies in the soup may become very overcooked and turn to mush. Also, you will lose flavor by not browning the beef. With all that said, you can definitely experiment, but I can't really advise you on timing, unfortunately. You could just thaw the beef as you would normally (safest to thaw it in the fridge) and then proceed with the soup as written.
Emily says
Bummer.. maybe I'll try thawing it and then carry on with the rest of the recipe. Thank you for your quick response! 🙂
Natasha says
You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know if you end up trying it. 🙂
Emily says
I just made this recipe and YUM!! The flavors are outstanding!! I ended up thawing my frozen ground beef in a bowl of hot water (changing out the water about 4 times until the middle wasn’t frozen anymore) and it worked out perfectly fine! I will definitely be making this again in the future. So delicious! 🤌🏼 **chefs kiss**
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that!!! 😀
Joy says
I sometimes thaw meat in the microwave on defrost setting.
Cyndi says
You can always cook the hamburger on sauté setting till it is cooked through. This is what I do. Scraping the cooked meat off as it browns. It take a few minutes longer to cook but we’ll worth the time. 😊
Madeline says
Hello, I am fairly new to using an instant pot but I want to try this recipe today. I am wondering when you cook the beef in the pot do you leave the instant pot? Or what setting do you have it on for this?
Thanks!
Natasha says
Hi! What you you mean by "do you leave the Instant Pot"? It's all cooked in the Instant Pot if that's what you mean. In step 1, press the sauté button. You don't close the lid or press a timer or anything... it's basically like sautéing anything on your stove. You add the beef to the Instant Pot in step 2. In step 4 you close the lid and then press the "manual" button and set the timer to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. I hope this helps... let me know if you need further clarification on anything. 🙂
Gail says
I’m making this recipe in my instant pot today😋 I followed recipe but...
I added whatever vegetables I had... yellow squash, fire roasted tomatoes, cut up cabbage, radishes, potatoes, onion, carrots, bay leaf, garlic, beef broth.
SMELLS GOOD COOKING can’t wait to taste it.
Thanks again for sharing
Natasha says
I hope you enjoy it, Gail! 🙂 You're very welcome!
Amber says
I made this tonight and my entire household enjoyed it! Including my picky 7 year old. We are vegetarian so I used impossible plant based meat. Added a can of corn like another commenter suggested and topped with freshly shredded cheddar cheese. Sooo good ! Will definitely be making again.
Natasha says
Fabulous!! Love it when everyone likes it! 🙂
jeff Hunter says
I have made this soup several times and it always turns out great. I follow the recipe exactly and it's delicious.
Natasha says
Wonderful!! Thanks, Jeff. 🙂
Jules says
This recipe looks delicious! What cooking times would you recommend for doubling the recipe?
Natasha says
The same. IP doesn’t recommend increasing time when you double most recipes. Just make sure you don’t go over the max fill line.
Candace Spencer says
We enjoyed this soup, and I am not a ‘soup person.’ I did put the tomatoes through the food processed to make it smooth. If I make again, I might use sweet Italian sausage and put fresh spinach in. To me it needed more substance, but my guy drowned homemade bread in his to sop up the juice.
My MIL just had oral surgery, so a quart is headed to her this morning.
Natasha says
I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! Fresh spinach would go great. Yes, it's a fairly light soup. I hope your MIL gets better soon! 🙂
Patty says
I love this kind of soup,when I bought my instant pot,I thought wow this is going to be fun,I never looked back,I made this last week with left over ground beef and now I’m doing it again by putting frozen mixed vegetables and black beans in thank you and is chicken good in this?
Natasha says
I think chicken would work ok! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
patty says
can i make this just like this but with chicken ? omg i made this and my kids loved it,now i want to try it with chicken,you think that would work?
Natasha says
Yes! I would say so.
Patty says
Do I make it same or with chicken broth because I love this flavor of beef but want to try chicken,just for the heck of it lol thanks let you know ok
Linda Knight says
I've made it with ground turkey, so I am sure ground chicken would work well. I didn't have any potatoes that were good, so I used Orzo. I used a bit too much, and it sucked up most of the broth.
Suzanne says
Made this recipe for my family. Will definitely be doubling this recipe. There was something in it for everyone. I really liked Dale’s idea of adding some carrots. I’m going to do that next time. Adding this to the family meal plan rotation. Thank you for such a great recipe, Natasha!
Natasha says
Fab!! You're very welcome! 🙂
dale says
The soup was so easy to make, and my wife and I really enjoyed. Very tasty! It should actually taste better after a day or two. I doubled the recipe and added two carrots, extra seasoning and 2 tsp of kosher salt and 1/4 tsp of black pepper. Thank you for sharing your recipe, it makes me look like a pro!
Natasha says
Good! Yes, it's definitely one that tastes better after a couple days. You're very welcome, Dale. 🙂