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
One Year Ago: Cinnamon Roll Blondie Bars
Two Years Ago: Quick and Easy Greek Lettuce Wraps
Three Years Ago: Easy Flaky Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Four Years Ago: Chicken and Vegetable Dumpling Soup
Five Years Ago: Healthy Yogurt Oat Blueberry Muffins
Six Years Ago: Yum Yum Bowls with Knockoff Cafe Yumm Sauce
Seven Years Ago: German Pancake {Whole Grain Option} with Butter Syrup
Eight Years Ago: Amazing Romaine Salad with Light Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Nine Years Ago: Chocolate Molten Fudge Cakes {Lower Fat Version}
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)
Delicious! My husband said it was one of the best soups he’s ever had and several kids wanted leftovers in a thermos for school lunch the next day! I did add one teaspoon of brown sugar.
I loveeeee a Mel recipe but this just didn’t work for me. It was a little too tart. I added some broth because the noodles soaked so much up and more Seasonings and parmesan cheese.
My family loved this soup! My teenage daughter who can be picky especially loved it! Thanks for the great recipe. I have been looking for more ways to use ground beef so this was fantastic!
My picky little little humans gobbled it
up! We can always count on Mel!
I am a die hard Mel’s fan…about 75% of the meals I make come from this site! I just made this for the first time, but I used 70/30 ground venison/pork since we just got our deer meat back from being processed, and it turned out great! My kids enjoyed it–they said it tastes like expensive Spaghetti-O’s.
Made this using rotini since I didn’t have the suggested pasta. We loved it! Even my husband who is not a huge pasta fan really liked it. I’m going to use the recipe minus pasta & meat as my go to tomato soup from now on. Really easy, fast & tasty. What more can you ask for in a soup! Thanks for another winner Mel.
So good! And for anyone like me who gets ahead of herself (and didn’t read the recipe right), it still cooks up just fine if you add the cream cheese to the cooked beef/onion mixture, then everything else. I was worried the cream cheese might get weird, but I just kept stirring (penance, I suppose) and it turned out fine. Also, I did not blend the crushed tomatoes and my soup was still smooth as silk – a winner for sure!
In a happy accident, I used sausage instead of beef. Almost all of my kids gobbled it up- the ones who have any sense of what good food is.
Looking forward to the left overs!
Delicious! Since my blender was out anyway, I blended the cream cheese with about a cup of crushed tomatoes I reserved. Didn’t even wash it in between- and had no lumps and also no sore arm:)
This simple soup is truly amazing! Right now, I have to eat gluten free and dairy free . So I used a good GF shell pasta and Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese, and it was still absolutely delicious .
Mel, you said that you like to take this soup to friends when they need a meal. How do you transport it? I like to deliver food in containers that the recipient can throw out, or at least one that they don’t have to return to me. Thanks for your advice and great recipes!
Hey Belinda, I actually keep some disposable soup containers on hand for when I take soup to people. I grab them at a local store (used to be called Cash and Carry, now I think it’s called US Foods/Chef Store). But you can also get them on Amazon (like these ones).
Thanks Mel! Those containers look perfect!
Definitely going in my recipe book of keepers! It was smooth, creamy, and delicious on a cold snowy day! Thanks Mel
Wow! I made this for my family last night and they really loved it! I have been burned out with cooking lately so I have been looking for new and easy things to make for dinner. This recipe was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
I’m coming back to rate again (still 5 stars) and to report that using part sausage part beef for the 1.5 lbs of meat really did add something delicious. Also, our leftovers froze well! This makes a LOT of soup. Also, this is not the recipe to skimp on the tomato products. Go with name brand for a better flavor. Also, I’m going to try and add a little sugar the next time I make it to help cut the acidity. Such a solid weeknight family recipe. Thanks Mel!
Delicious! We just finished eating this soup. I used a tip that I read in the comments, which was to put the cream cheese in the blender. I cooked the noodles with 5 cups of the broth, then I put a cup of hot water and the cream cheese in the blender, blended it, and then added it at the end (with a spoonful of bouillon paste). It turned out perfectly! Thank you!
This is really, really good! But y’all don’t be like me and think it doesn’t look like enough pasta and then add an entire additional 8oz. It wasn’t until I was looking at the mostly pasta leftovers that I remembered pasta gets bigger after it’s cooked lol. I also used turkey because I like that more than beef and that worked great.
Hello Mel! Simple but delicious recipe! I changed procedure a bit by putting the cream cheese in a pot with half the stock and warmed it up. Then I used my immersion blended on it then poured into the beef and noodles. That worked very well! I decided that it needed more pepper so I added ground red and black pepper to add a touch more kick! Yum!
Now to make some grilled cheese sandwiches!
This was no my favorite, or my families. It needs something to curb the acidity of the tomato flavor without making it thicker. Also it really gets thick as it cools down and becomes more of an unsatisfying pasta dish rather than a soup. I think with some adjustments to flavor and consistency this could be really good. But for now, this goes in my “don’t make again” pile.
It really makes a difference what canned tomatoes you use, using a high quality brand of crushed tomatoes makes a world of difference. Sound like you used too much pasta to begin with. I ended up adding some extra broth to the leftovers & it was just as good as the first night.
Add more brown sugar!
A new family favorite! Even the young kids loved it. Thanks for sharing!
So. Good. Even my kiddo who doesn’t like pasta or tomato sauce liked it! So quick and hearty, it will definitely become a staple in our dinner rotation.
Made this tonight and we enjoyed it! I used ground chicken instead of ground beef. For the blending I microwaved the cream cheese for 30 seconds then put it with hot broth in the BlendTec – which made it super creamy then added it back in!
Just made this for dinner! Happy it makes a lot, perfect to pack in a lunch and share with the grandparents. I didn’t change a thing and it was delightful. The fresh Parmesan sprinkled on the top gives it an Italian flair. Thank you for sharing, it will be added to our soup rotation.
My husband was dubious when I described this soup to him, but then called it “fabulous” and had three servings and took it for lunch today 🙂
I myself don’t like tomato soup, but this was the best tomato soup I’ve ever had. My take was that the ingredients didn’t really come together into something greater than the sum of the parts, but all the parts were fine.
Also, I used the trick of blending the cream cheese into the crushed tomatoes and that worked very well. And it’s quick and easy so I bet it’ll be showing up again.
This was a huge hit! Hearty, delicious. Thanks Mel! 🙂
Delicious! Perfect for a cold snowy night. I added a sprinkle of peppered gouda (grated) to give the soup a bit of heat. I served the soup with a small Caesar salad. Very filling and just as good the next day!
This is one of those great recipes that will be in solid rotation at our house in the winter. It tastes a lot fancier than you might guess from the recipe. Pros: Common ingredients, simple to make, freezes well, kid friendly. I made it exactly as written (genius cream cheese hack!). Next time I will probably try subbing half the ground beef for some sausage just to punch it up a little. Use a big pot – it makes a lot!
Do you think this soup could freeze well?
Definitely worth a try – the pasta will likely absorb even more liquid after freezing and thawing, so if you’re going to freeze, I’d wait to add the pasta until after thawing or undercook the pasta a bit before freezing.
When do you add the chicken stock?
Never mind clearly I can’t read.
Haha you read both crushed tomatoes and not broth. Me too.
This was an instant hit for us! I paired it with your 1 hour breadsticks as you suggested…yum! Even my tomato hater said she liked it a little bit and that is saying something! The rest of us gobbled it down and went back for seconds. Thank you, Mel! I don’t know what we’d do without you.
Making this tonight my dear! This looks so good! I think some sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches would be amazing with this!
I am so happy to get this tip about melting the cream cheese! The clumping ALWAYS happens to me when I make soups with cream cheese! This will be a game changer. So excited to try this soup. Thanks Mel!
Thank you for this delicious, easy recipe. I made this for dinner last night but forgot to buy cream cheese. I substituted plain Greek yogurt for the cream cheese. Very smooth and no need to let it melt in the broth.
NOT A HEALTHY SOUP AT ALL…. CHECK THE SUGAR & THE CARBS WAY 2 HIGH.
I don’t recall her marketing it as being a healthy soup. Feel free to not make the soup if it doesn’t fit your nutritional guidelines.
Odette, I made it with just one cup of macaroni instead of two, and that cooked up to be plenty. I might use even less pasta next time, to keep the carb count down.. It really is a delicious soup, and easy to tweek to suit your individual preferances.
Delicious! Thank you for dinner! Your recipes never disappoint!
This was amazing! And a soup each person in my family not only actually sure without complaining but most asked for more! Thanks for another awesome recipe!
I love it when that happens!
I always love your ideas and often make the recipes on the days you post them. I made this one today after seeing it in my feed this morning. It’s delicious and I do like it more than lasagna soup. Lasagna soup has it’s place, but you’re right that I like the smoothness of this one (and I nearly always have cream cheese in my fridge and almost never had ricotta unless I’ve planned ahead). I also think it’s less fussy overall and easier to eat. I made it with your breadsticks and it was perfect for a chilly Colorado Monday. Thanks for always being the best!
PS – I did what another poster had suggested and just immersion blended the crushed tomatoes and cream cheese in the early prep stages. I added the creamy mixture near the end after the pasta we nearly done and before the last few minute simmer. Worked great. The lazy man’s way of incorporating cream cheese 🙂
Thanks so much for the review, Wendie! I appreciate all the details and am really happy you liked this soup! Thank you!
This looks so good! I’m in the everyone-is-going-in-different-direction-at-dinnertime phase of life and wondering if this would still be good if it sits in a crock pot for a few hours so it’s warm when people are available to eat? I’d cook it as directed in the afternoon then let it stay warm on low on the counter. Would it separate beyond the point of re-combining?
Hi Brett – I don’t think it would separate, and I think the crockpot set on warm or low is an excellent idea. If it will be in the slow cooker for a couple hours, I’d add the pasta dry to the slow cooker with the rest of the soup and let it cook there instead of the pasta cooking on the stovetop and then sitting in the slow cooker (I think the pasta will get over cooked that way). OR you could greatly undercook the pasta on the stovetop and then transfer to the slow cooker for a few hours.
I made this tonight for dinner. Super easy and my kids LOVED it!
Yay! Love hearing that! Thanks, Daria!
My son said “if there was one soup in heaven I would want, this would be it.” My kids all LOVED IT! I used ground turkey instead of beef because that’s what I had and it was delicious. And the whole process was SO easy and it makes a lot of soup! Will definitely make again!
Ok, your son is the cutest! That made my day!
This soup was just perfect for a cold winter’s night: delicious, and it made for a hearty and warming supper. It was also easy to put together. The addition of cream cheese is a nice touch!
Thanks so much, Lois!
My whole family loved this!! I used ground sausage because that’s what I had on hand and would do it the next time I make this! Served with a side salad and bread sticks!! This is definitely going into our soup rotation!!
I’m loving the reports of you awesome cooks who made it with sausage! I’ll try that for sure! Sounds like a tasty meal. Thanks for letting me know, Melissa!
Made it for dinner! I wanted something warm on this cold January day. Delish as always! Understated, simple and yet oh so yummy! Thank you!
I only had an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and five cups of chicken broth so it was on the thicker side but still tasty.
I scooped up the soup in my two cup measuring cup and strained it over the cream cheese. I did this a couple of times to gather enough of the tomato juices/broth. It made it easy to mix the cream cheese up without the ground beef and macaroni getting in the way.
Thanks again!
Love the details! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
And somehow my five stars didn’t come through…we have been enjoying the leftovers all week. I will be making this soup again and again!
Made this with your breadsticks tonight for dinner! So simple and delicious!!
What a fabulous combo! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Could this be made with leftover roast?
Definitely worth a try!
I made this tonight and it was really good! It was a bit too acidic for me. What do you suggest to combat the acidity?
Hi Katie – what brand of tomatoes did you use out of curiosity? You can try adding a teaspoon of brown sugar and/or a pinch of baking soda to help balance the acidity.
Amazing! Once again, I consider you a true miracle worker. Inside the kitchen and out!
Love you, friend. You are always WAY too generous because you actually know me in real life and see all my flaws. 🙂
Making this tonight with some homemade crusty bread, looks de-lish! Love the tip on the cream cheese. It would bother me to no end having cream cheese bits floating around in my soup. Thanks again for a fabulous recipe!
Yep, I was right, delicious
Thanks for reporting back, Tiffany! You’re awesome!
Dont often leave a review but this soup is excellent! Flavour, consistency , ease of process is spot on. Not too rich, not too watery… everything is great! Makes up quickly with minimal cleanup! Thank you for this recipe..❤️
Thank you so much, Raynell! So appreciate you taking the time to comment and let me know!
Yum…im so excited to make this tonight. What about instantpot? Maybe saute meat and pressure cook about 8-10 min do you think?
when I make IP Mac n cheese, I only cook the noodles for 4 min. Comes out perfect every time. 8-10 min for noodles would make them mush.
Thank you! I ended up doing 7 minutes because i used bigger penne, and 1 less cup of stock and came out perfect! I also used sausage and was delicious Mel!
Thanks for reporting back on making it in the IP! Awesome!
I know what to make for dinner tonight, thank you
Ever tried this with grounds sausage? Bet that would be good too!
You’ve done it again, Mel! Another family favorite! As soon as I got your email this morning I knew I had to make this TODAY. It’s incredible! I did add more salt to taste at the end and served it with grilled cheese bites on top. Divine. My daughter who “doesn’t like soup” got seconds.
Grilled cheese bites!! YUM! Thanks, Catie, for letting me know what you thought of this one!
Hi Beth – I haven’t tried with ground sausage, but I bet that would delicious!
I think that tip about whisking the cream cheese with some of the broth before adding it to the soup is genius, maybe life altering 🙂 I never would have thought of that, I make a chili with cream cheese in it and it takes forever to melt and it drives me crazy. Thank you
I always blend the can of tomatoes with the cream cheese when something calls for cream cheese