Creamy Beef and Tomato Noodle Soup
This creamy beef and tomato noodle soup is a quick and easy recipe loaded with ground beef, noodles and tons of flavor! It is a family favorite!
This soup is INCREDIBLE. Not only is it super simple to make, it is one of the most delicious soups in my repertoire!
With some definite “lasagna soup” vibes, this creamy tomato noodle soup is less cheesy than classic lasagna soup, quite a bit more down-to-earth, and super family-friendly!
Making Creamy Tomato Noodle Soup
This soup begins by cooking the ground beef and onion and then adding:
- crushed tomatoes
- tomato sauce
- broth
- dried basil + dried oregano + garlic + thyme
A few notes: you can definitely leave out the ground beef for a meatless soup. Also, I prefer an ultra-smooth consistency to the soup, so I run the crushed tomatoes through a blender before using (but that isn’t necessary if you’re fine with some “tomato-y” texture).
The Perfect Pasta for This Soup
This creamy beef and tomato noodle soup needs a short squatty-shaped pasta.
Like, ditalini (my favorite pasta to use in this soup). Or elbow macaroni. A great option!
Even small shell pasta would work well here.
Tips for Perfectly Smooth Creamy Soup
Cream cheese lends the creamy factor to this soup.
If you’ve ever added a block of cream cheese to hot liquid, you know the chances of getting small little lumps of cream cheese THAT REFUSE TO GO AWAY are high.
So, to prevent that, we control the destiny of our creamy soup by taking a few simple extra steps.
- Place the softened cream cheese in a bowl.
- Ladle in 1-2 cups of the hot broth from the soup (try to avoid the noodles and ground beef – but it’s fine if a few find their way in – it doesn’t have to be perfect)
- Let everything sit for a minute or two so the cream cheese melts.
- Whisk everything together like your life depends on it and stir back into the soup.
If you want to live on the edge, you can skip the above step and just toss the cubes of softened cream cheese into the soup, let it sit for a minute, and then whisk the soup (ground beef, noodles and all) until it’s as smooth as possible.
I’ve made this soup a lot of times, and tested out every which way to get the cream cheese to meld into the soup as smoothly as possible.
As it happens, I’ve learned a lot about my personality in the process. For instance, it’s highly worth the extra steps for me to whisk the cream cheese in a separate bowl so I don’t sit and stare at my soup and obsess over the small specks of cream cheese as I take each bite.
But by all means, you do you! In fact, I hope not everyone is like me. 😉 No matter how you choose to cream cheese the soup, it’ll be delicious at the end!
The soup continues to thicken as it simmers…and as it cools.
For a thicker soup, remove it from the heat and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
One last note about the flavor: for anyone worried about the the cream cheese overpowering the soup, it doesn’t actually lend a strong cream cheese flavor to the soup. In fact, I’m guessing most people who eat this without making it don’t even know they have cream cheese to thank for the creaminess.
A Perfect Soup
I don’t know what it is about this soup, but while I’m over here just trying to get through each day, this soup is living its best life winning new friends and fans every single time it is served.
So many people I’ve made this for over the last few months have raved about it and immediately requested the recipe.
It also makes a fantastic, family-friendly take-in meal! Throw a batch of breadsticks in to serve alongside the soup, and you have an absolute slam dunk of a meal on your hands.
What to Serve With This
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Ten Years Ago: Delicious Ground Beef {or Turkey} Stroganoff
Creamy Beef and Tomato Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef (see note)
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of dried thyme
- 6 cups chicken broth or stock (I use low-sodium)
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (see note)
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar, optional (UPDATED: see note)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (8 ounces) short tube pasta, like ditalini or elbow macaroni
- Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the ground beef, onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent, 4-5 minutes. Drain excess grease.
- Add the basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, broth, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir well.
- Bring the soup to a simmer and add the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is just al dente (according to package directions). Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and lower (or increase) heat, if needed, to maintain a gentle simmer without scorching.
- Add the softened cream cheese to a bowl and ladle in 1-2 cups of the hot soup (do the best you can to avoid scooping up the noodles and small pieces of ground beef – doesn't have to be perfect). Let the cream cheese and hot soup sit for a minute or two so the cream cheese can melt then whisk until creamy, smooth and well-combined.
- Add the cream cheese mixture back into the soup and stir until evenly combined. Simmer for 1-2 more minutes, stirring often, until the soup is bubbling and slightly thickened. The soup will thicken as it cools (so if you want a thicker soup, let the soup rest, off the heat, for 5-10 minutes).
- Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: inspired by this recipe (used tomatoes + spices in place of the pasta sauce, changed the amounts of most of the ingredients, and altered the cooking method to simplify it a bit and prevent lumps of cream cheese)
How would you recommend turning this into a slow cooker or instant pot meal?
I did have a problem with the cream cheese. My house was cold so probably not the room temperature that is desired, lol. However, the flavor was so good. A really nice mix of tomatoes and spices. Not a fan of tomato soup but this was very tasty.
I’ve made this for multiple groups and someone asks me for the recipe everytime. It’s that good. But what’s an added plus is it is SO easy! Win win.
Loved this recipe! I halved it and froze the other half of the canned tomatoes and tomato sauce for another batch later. It still made enough for two adults and a toddler to eat for dinner, plus leftovers. It’s perfectly creamy without being heavy and kind of reminds me of spaghettios, but grown up!
I’ve wanted to make this recipe since you posted it and I finally made it for dinner tonight! It was delicious! I took it into a family as well and they loved it as much as my family. After reading through the comments I replaced the cream cheese with cream, the brown sugar with 1/4 tsp baking soda, and used 3 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes (drained and pureed in blender) for the 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes. The soup thickened up nicely as it rested off the heat and was the perfect consistency – hearty without being gloopy or heavy. It’s bursting with flavor and was such a comforting, yummy meal on this cold, wintery evening. Thanks so much!
I was wondering if you could use a jar of pasta sauce as I don’t have any cans of tomato sauce on hand and if so, how much should I use?
You could use a 32-ounce jar of pasta sauce in place of the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce (will be a bit shy on total amount, but it should work fine).
For the nutritional info, is a serving one cup?
Loved this! Super easy and great flavor!
I didn’t have cream cheese, so I just poured in a can of evaporated milk. Not quite the same flavor as the original recipe, I’m sure. But it was a great, easy and creamy substitute. And I didn’t have to worry about any curdling!
So easy and delicious!
Looks like your instructions miss the step of when to add the broth
Unless I am missing it
I assume it is added with the tomatoes
Hi Laurie, it is in step #2
I prefer to add baking soda instead of sugar to balance out the tomatoes! I picked up this trick from a recipe awhile back and I use it any time I make tomato soup or tomato sauce! Start with 1/4 tsp and taste then add more if needed. It actually neutralizes the acidity and brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, no added sugar needed!
Good and uses lots of pantry staples! Tip: after adding the broth and tomatoes, scoop back some of the broth (cold is fine) into the already dirty blender (from pureeing the canned tomatoes), drop in the cold cream cheese and blend.
My family loved it, even my picky kids! But, it was soup like when I served it, but as it cooled it became very thick almost like a pasta casserole. I’m wondering if when it was hot, I should’ve added more chicken broth to make it even thinner? It was good thick too, amazing flavor and my family love the pasta, as we’d never had that kind before.
Hi Amy, you can definitely add more broth, if needed, to thin out the soup if you want a thinner consistency as it cools.
So happy to find a recipe that my entire family will eat – that is so rare! and one that I crave! It comes together quickly with easy ingredients. The last time I made it I was out of cream cheese, so I stirred in about a cup of heavy cream instead, and it was delicious. (In fact, maybe suited a few of my picky non-cream-cheese-loving family members a little better). Thanks for sharing a great recipe that has made it into our recipe rotation already!
I haven’t seen this question: Would it work to make it ahead and keep it warm, or will the pasta get too soft? Or, make it the night before and heat it up right before serving?
Never mind. 🙂 I found your advice about keeping the soup warm and making sure the pasta is not overcooked! (Jan. 2023) Thank you for all the deliciousness! <3
You can really do either! If doing so, I’d undercook the pasta by a minute or so and it should help it not get too soft if it’s refrigerated or kept warm.
I rarely make something that every one of my family loves. This recipe has been bookmarked and printed because we never want to lose it! What an absolutely delicious recipe. I am excited to say I have leftovers and I’m not mad about it!! I will be trying many more recipes and am excited to get more rave reviews from my family!
Another AMAZING recipe Mel. Made this soup last night as we had our first real cold front. Its the perfect comfort food. I did want to bring to your attention that the recipe does not show in the instructions when to add the chicken broth. For most, this is common sense but for those inexperienced cooks it could be confusing. Love all your recipes!!