This Busy Day soup recipe is perfect if you're looking for a quick and easy meal to make. It's a steaming bowl of comfort food that's loaded with hearty and comforting flavor. It's a great meal to make on busy weeknights.

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Why you'll love this recipe
✔️It has a wonderful, savory flavor that everyone will love.
✔️It requires pantry staples that are all easy to find at your local grocery store.
✔️It's a hearty, filling, and budget-friendly meal that requires little effort and only a few minutes of prep time.

Ingredients
For the exact measurements, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- ground beef
- Lipton onion soup mix
- beef broth
- stewed tomatoes
- tomato sauce
- frozen mixed vegetables
- uncooked macaroni noodles
- salt and pepper

Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. For the complete directions just scroll down to the bottom!
- In a large stock pot brown ground beef. Once ground beef is fully cooked, drain excess fat.
- Add the Lipton onion soup mix to the ground beef and sauté to combine.
- Add the beef broth, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce to the ground beef and onion soup mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. If desired, break up the stewed tomatoes using a potato masher.
- Add the frozen mixed vegetables and pasta. Bring to a boil and cook until the pasta is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Equipment
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- large soup pot
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FAQ's
Yes, soup is great when it's frozen, however I recommend that you freeze soup without potatoes and pasta.
This soup is called busy day soup because it's easy to make and quick to prepare. It can be made in just one pot, so you don't have to spend a lot of time cleaning up after yourself.
Yes, this soup can easily be made vegetarian by substituting the ground beef with your favorite meatless crumbles and the broth with vegetable broth.

Deb's tips
- If you want to add celery, and onions to this recipe, I recommend that you saute them with the ground beef until they are crisp tender.
- Want to use a dutch oven for this recipe? Make sure to use an enameled one so that the acid from the tomatoes doesn't eat into your cast iron.
- If you want to make this soup even heartier, feel free to add a can of drained and rinsed beans like kidney or pinto.
- If you are using extra lean ground beef, add a little olive oil to the large pot so that the beef doesn't stick.
- Make sure that drain fat from the pot before you add the remaining ingredients.
Variations for Busy Day Soup
- Instead of the pound of ground beef, you could also use ground turkey or Italian sausage.
- If you don't have stewed tomatoes, crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes work great as well!
- Any small shaped pasta noodles can be used as a swap for the elbow noodles. However, you may need to adjust the cooking time depending on the pasta that you use. So, check for tender pasta according to the package directions.
Storage
Refrigerate - Leftover busy day soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezer - Soup can also be frozen in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat on the stovetop.
Reheat - Reheat leftovers in a pot on the stovetop over medium heat stirring occasionally until heated through. You could also reheat in the microwave for one or two minutes.

Related recipes
- The next time that you are in the mood for a delicious meal that is creamy and comforting then next time give this Potato Soup recipe a try.
- If you love simple recipes that don't require a lot of prep time or effort than you may want to add this Ham and Bean Soup to your next meal plan.
- When you are in the mood for a stick-to-your-ribs meal, that will warm you up from the inside out, this Chicken and Dumplings Soup recipe is what you need to make.
Serve with
- I love to serve a hearty soup like this one with a side of these Homemade Rolls from Bread Dough. This recipe is one of my favorite easy recipes to make when I need a quick bread side.
- This Outback Wedge Salad is a great option to serve with this soup if you love a soup and salad combo.
- My family loves when I end a hearty meal like this one with a creamy yet sweet dessert like this No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie.
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Busy Day Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 package Lipton onion soup mix
- 4 cups beef broth
- 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- ¾ cup macaroni noodles
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- In a large stock pot brown the ground beef. Once ground beef is fully cooked, drain excess fat.
- Add the Lipton onion soup mix to the ground beef and sauté to combine.
- Add the beef broth, stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce to ground beef and onion soup mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. Beak up the stewed tomatoes using potato masher or a spoon.
- Add the frozen mixed vegetables and pasta. Bring to a boil and cook until the pasta is tender 6-8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
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