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)
We had this tonight so good!!! Do you think you could do this in an instant pot too?
Probably! I haven’t tried it, but usually for pasta, you want to take the cooking time on the package, cut in half and subtract two more minutes.
I’ll never be surprised when a recipe from Mel turns out wonderful! They all do, this one included. So comforting on a cold night. Thank you!
This is a delicious and easy soup. I made with ground Turkey and elbow noodles. Hearty and satisfying on this cold snowy Vermont day.
We had this yummy soup for supper last night, & it was Devine for a cold Winter’s Eve. I served it w the recommended bread stix, which came together VERY easily, I might add. It’s been years since I’ve jumped on the bread making band wagon, but these were delicious & very do-able. I was out of lettuce, so I subbed in froz mixed veg. The kids are grown now, but I still make two family size meals each week & just alternate between the two, which works like a charm. I rely heavily on the serving suggestions listed above most recipes. As a two-time cancer survivor, Mel, you’ve helped me Beyond measure to keep food on the table in a very yummy way. Thank you!
My kids are the pickiest eaters and they all loved this recipe! My tomato sauce hating husband even had seconds My daughter asked if we can have this every night. To me, that’s a solid 5 star recipe!
We had this for supper tonight, with a few minor changes (2 lbs meat, 7 oz alphabet pasta, 6oz cream cheese and added a splash of heavy cream) only because I just made do with what we had.
We all loved this and all the kids and my husband made comments about how delicious it was and requested that it be put on our regular rotation – thanks for another win Mel!
This soup is delicious! Can it be frozen?
The pasta will likely be a bit softer and the soup thicker if frozen and defrosted.
Have you made this with Italian sausage before?
I haven’t, but I bet it would be delicious!
I have about 5 “I really like that” from my husband of 41 years! This is one if ‘em! I should of drained the liquid off the tomatoes to make thicker, but was great on this cold Arizona evening.
Also I am lactose intolerant and used plant based cream cheese.
Mel, use an immersion (stick) blender) to fully incorporate the cream cheese. If you do this in the bowl you put the cream cheese in and 2c of the hot liquid. Works like a charm!!
Oh yeah! We’d enjoyed this soup! The whipped cream cheese worked very well, too. Thanks again… great recipe!
Mel,
Best Wishes to you and all your family for a wondrous, wonderful, and highly successful New Year! I’m amazed how much your kids have grown since I’d first visited your blog years ago!!! It’s shocking! You and your husband must be so proud of them!
You’ve saved my day by featuring the Beef & Tomato Noodle Soup at the very top of your post, because it will be on the menu for dinner tonight! And, likely as leftovers for tomorrow night too! Think I’ll be using whipped cream cheese to see if that can reduce the manual labor part, since cooking has become more difficult for us this past year so we look for work arounds these days! It’s not been particularly cold in New England so far, but it’s been rainy & gloomy so an ideal soup-day, regardless! Thanks for all the great recipes!
This soup is so delicious! I made it last night for dinner and everyone kept asking for seconds!
I didn’t have cream cheese, so I used what I had on hand – cottage cheese. I blended that until smooth and then continued on to the recipe. (I ladled hot soup into the blended cottage cheese to temper it before adding it to the soup.) It came out great!
Fantastic sub for the cream cheese, Jena – thanks for sharing!
Made this again tonight and it’s awesome! If you have a soup-averse husband you can leave out like a cup and a half of the chicken broth. Then it’s this delicious pasta-roni situation and can be eaten with a fork. Thanks for another good one Mel!!
This soup is SO delicious! It’s creamy, flavorful, and the perfect comfort food! It made a lot for two people so I’m sharing it with a friend.
Hi Mel!
I don’t have cream cheese but I do have heavy cream. Could I sub the heavy cream for the cream cheese? Thank you!
You could definitely try that! I haven’t made the same sub so I don’t know how it will work exactly, but worth a try.
Delicious and hearty soup! Followed the recipe exactly – makes a very large batch!
I made this last night. I used ground turkey (just what I had in the freezer), and added some fresh baby spinach in (about 3 cups) during the last two or three minutes of cooking and some red pepper flakes. Simply delicious!
This looks so good! What a great lunch meal prep for the week!
Okay, was sceptical of the cream cheese…but I am a convert. Totally delicious! Only changes were to add a few chili pepper flakes, and a tbsp Worcestershire for umami. I used the light cream cheese. And mixed it in small amount of soup per directions. Next time will half the recipe – makes a lot for 2 people and from what I read in comments it won’t freeze well because of the pasta.
PS… I used two 680ml bottles of strained tomatoes (passata) instead of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce.
One of my family’s favorites! It’s so so good – like lasagne in a bowl. I simmer the soup for a bit longer to deepen the flavors before adding the noodles, but otherwise I make it exactly as written. It’s the ultimate comfort food!
This recipe is soooooo yummy. I’ve made it several times and it has yet to disappoint. My one year old approves of it too! 🙂
Really love this soup. It’s almost like a grown-up Spaghetti-O’s, definitely a keeper! Thanks for the recipe
I made this for the first time a couple months ago, and have made it several times since then! So yummy and easy.
I made this tonight and it was SO GOOD. I used ground turkey instead of beef because it’s what we had, and I didn’t blend the crushed tomatoes. And I used shell pasta, which was really good. I undercooked the pasta enough that it was al dente when serving.
I loved it that way, but next time I will try blending the tomatoes (and maybe onions since I have kids that don’t like them), and I’ll use beef.
I started out with no brown sugar and it was really delicious, but then added a tiny bit to compare and I think it was even better with it. It does make a difference in the acidity level.
1 of my kids loved it and two didn’t, which is about par for the course around here. No telling who will be the one to like something on any given night, even if we’ve made a recipe a hundred times.
Anyway, try thumbs up! Thank you for what you do, Mel. You truly do improve our quality of life.
Have made this at least half a dozen times now. It’s become a go-to for missionaries, casual company, or any busy weeknight! So easy and delicious every time. I add Trader Joe’s mushroom/umami powder while sauteing the meat, extra dried herbs, and a sprig of fresh rosemary from my yard. I find it easiest to blend the cream cheese/broth mixture in a mini food processor. Truly a great recipe to have in your back pocket!!
Love this!! I now make this WEEKLY. So easy to put together and usually have all ingredients on hand. Makes for a great dinner and leftovers pack and heat nicely for workday lunches.
Winner winner!! Very quick, easy, kid and husband friendly meal. Served with cheese garlic bread and we were all scraping our bowls clean! Yum! Thanks mel!
I made this soup tonight and it was a huge hit. The cream cheese is magical. Thank you for sharing. ♥️
I love the single pan option! It’s really easy to make and so, so good!
Loved this SO much! I ended up using my immersion blender in a tall cup to blend the cream cheese and broth. The only other change was that I used 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar instead of brown sugar to cut the acidity. One of my new favorite soups!
Since spring is never ever coming, I made this tonight with your one hour breadsticks. It was great. Thanks for another great budget friendly recipe.
I am cradeling the pot of leftovers while slapping away the hoards of spoons coming for the leftovers because they are too good to share!
Loved this soup! SOOO delicious! Very easy to make following Mel’s great instructions, and it makes enough for 2 meals for multiple people, even better reheated! I’ve yet to make a recipe from Mel that wasn’t a repeat type of recipe!
Yummy! This was a crowd pleaser and so easy. I will make it again!! Thank you!
Made this soup today (I know its Friday and Lent) but I used Impossible hamburger and nobody knew, until bowl #2 and I was asked “why are we eating hamburger on Friday”? I confessed to the meat and she said who cares this soup is great. My only change (beside the meat) was I only had shells in the macaroni closet but they were wonderful. I also made Lion House dinner rolls along with it and what a fast easy bread to make they are great!
Thanks for sharing (the other 1/2 says thanks for no fish today)!
Everyone loved it. I loved the soup part, but didn’t love the ground beef. But I feel I always struggle with ground beef in soups. Will for sure try sausage next time. Soup looked exactly as pictured! I added brown sugar when I puréed the tomatoes. And I creamed the cream cheese with two ladles of soup in the blender. Worked great. Also I used approx 15oz more broth than called for- because I can’t math- but a happy accident. We had plenty for seconds and will have it tomorrow night as well!
My brain was too tired to think of dinner tonight, so I made the first simple thing I saw on your homepage. The whole family loved it. So tasty, but simple ingredients and easy for my tired brain to throw together!
So yummy! Served with your buttermilk drop biscuits. Family scarfed it up.
Loved loved loved this soup. Even picky eaters loved this one. My tomato hater son took his required one bite of this soup and said, “I don’t like it…oh wait maybe I do.” Then he ate the whole bowl. Awesome.
I give it a legitimate perfect score. I added cheese tortellini- and basil. Just added to the lasagna in a bowl appeal. And guess what? It was even better the second day! Win win. Imma bout one excellent recipe away from announcing myself the President of the Mel’s Kitchen Cafe Fan Club.
Hahaha, this legitimately made me laugh out loud. You are the greatest. 🙂
My family really liked this one, even with some changes. I didn’t have any tomato sauce, so I omitted it and used a cup of extra homemade chicken stock. I also had family eating at different times, so I cooked it in my Instant Pot using the saute setting and left it on keep warm for a couple hours.
I just made this for my family and it was so good I had to leave a review immediately. I followed the recipe exactly except for the pasta type, my store was out of ditalini so they substituted Rotelle in my grocery order. That isn’t what I would have chosen but it was excellent. I made Mel’s Butter Swim Biscuits to go with it and oooooooh my goodness. So delicious. I especially appreciated the tip on how to incorporate the cream cheese. It’s absolutely worth the extra step to whisk it into the hot broth in a separate bowl. This is going into the rotation. Thank you Mel!
Wanted to join others to say this was delicious, and I was sneaking tastes while cleaning the kitchen after dinner! I used Kroger Simple Truth organic tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of brown sugar and found it cut the acidity without being too sweet. I used a little over a cup of penne because I had it on hand and found it to be a good ratio of noodle to soup. Willl try smaller pasta next time!
This was really good. A new family favorite!
I was really so pleased with this tonight. I blended the tomatoes and tossed in the teaspoon of brown sugar, and it was perfection. This also made TONS! It was us and our five children, and I still had so much left over. I’m excited to be able to use the recipe as an option for a future church soup potluck. I know it would be a hit.
This was AMAZING! Easy to make and SOOO good!
Does anyone recommend a particular brand of tomatoes and of sauce? My soup tasted very acidic/metallic, and I think it might’ve been the brand. I used an enamel lined pot, so I don’t think that was the problem.
I forgot to add stars!
This soup is amazing. One of the best things I’ve ever made.
What brand of ditalini is pictured, and if you know, where is it sold? I love the idea of ridges!
I got it from Amazon – here’s a link. The price fluctuates so you might keep an eye on it.
This was a big hit with my 4 & 7 year olds (and me). Do you think it would freeze well? I’m guessing no because of the cream cheese…
I think the pasta is more the culprit for not freezing well – after freezing and thawing, it’s likely the pasta will be very, very soft (and not much liquid left in the soup), BUT, it’s always worth a try!