Poor Man's Soup - Cheap and Tasty!

Poor Man's Soup is a great budget-friendly meal that is full of hearty, satisfying flavors. Made with common pantry ingredients, it comes together easily and turns out perfect whether you use the stove top or slow cooker. It's the cheap soup recipe you'll want to make again and again!

Poor Man's Soup is a recipe that, at its core, is about stretching a grocery budget. But it's also so delicious that it has remained on our meal plan rotation even as our grocery budget has grown. I've loved this recipe for years and have been making it with some consistency since my children were small.

3 Reasons Why You Will Love Poor Man's Soup

Reason #1: This soup is a budget friendly recipe. Both fresh or frozen vegetables work equally well in this recipe, so make it using the produce you have on-hand. I recently made a Mexican version using frozen corn, diced bell peppers and topped it with grated cheese and tortilla chips. Delicious!

Reason #2: It is quick and easy to make. The soup comes together in just minutes, and then you simply can walk away while it simmers. If you use the slow cooker, it becomes a true set-it-and-forget it recipe! And since it freezes well, why not whip up an extra batch to stick in the freezer? It's always a relief to know you've got a meal ready to go "just in case".

Reason #3: You can customize it. Feel free to swap out the ground beef for turkey. Shredded chicken also works well. And for those who like to spice things up, try using hot Rotel instead of original. Or toss in some extra peppers if you really like to bring the heat.

Remember, a recipe is merely a starting point. Don't be afraid to veer a little off-script. You know your own tastes and likes better than I do.

Key Ingredients & Substitutions

• Ground beef or ground turkey. Either one works. I love using a combination of beef and turkey to keep the beefy flavor while getting the benefit of the lower fat in the turkey. Shredded chicken or sliced kielbasa are tasty swaps too.
• Diced tomatoes and green chilies. A 10-ounce can of Rotel adds tomato flavor and a gentle kick. Use hot Rotel for more heat, or a can of plain diced tomatoes if you want it mild.
• Frozen mixed vegetables. A 16-ounce bag of the classic carrot, corn, pea, and green bean mix is inexpensive and needs no chopping. About 3 cups of fresh chopped vegetables work just as well.
• Potatoes. Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes both hold up well. Yukon Golds keep their shape a little better, while russets break down slightly and thicken the broth.
• Beef bouillon and water. Beef bouillon cubes dissolved in water are the budget choice. You can use 8 cups of beef broth instead and skip both.
• Tomato paste (optional). A few ounces stirred in near the end gives the broth a richer, deeper tomato flavor.

How to Make Poor Man's Soup Step By Step

Step 1: Brown ground beef or ground turkey, drain and then return the meat to the pot.

Step 2: Add diced tomatoes with peppers and frozen vegetables.

Step 3: Dice potatoes and onions and add them to the pot. Cover with beef broth or add beef bouillon and water.

Step 4: Heat on stove top until lightly boiling and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 60 minutes. If you'd like more of a tomato flavor, add in a small can of tomato paste and stir.

Serve and enjoy! The full ingredient amounts and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Helpful Tips

Use a big enough pot. With 8 cups of liquid plus the meat, potatoes, and vegetables, this soup fills a pot quickly. A large stock pot or Dutch oven of at least 6 quarts gives you room to stir without spills.

Make it healthier. If you want to make this soup even healthier, use lean beef or turkey and keep the salt to a minimum. One of the things we love about Poor Man's Soup in particular is that it is loaded with vegetables. While it does have ground beef (or turkey!) in it, the amount per serving that you get really isn't that much.

Let the slow cooker do the work. Toss all of the ingredients into your slow cooker after you've browned the meat and let it cook all day long. You'll be amazed at how delicious and filling a bowl of inexpensive ingredients can be. Cleanup is a breeze if you use slow cooker liners like we do.

Serve a crowd with ease. Once this soup is in the slow cooker, it is perfect for serving to a crowd. No need to worry about dinner getting cold or food being left out too long since you can set your cooker to Keep Warm.

Taste before you salt. Bouillon cubes and Rotel both bring plenty of sodium, so wait until the potatoes are tender, taste the broth, and only then add salt and pepper.

Variations

• Mexican-style. Add frozen corn and diced bell peppers, then top each bowl with grated cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
• Kielbasa. One of our readers added sliced kielbasa sausage and some different seasonings. I LOVE that!
• Spicy. Use hot Rotel and toss in a diced jalapeño or a pinch of red pepper flakes.
• Chicken. Skip the ground beef, stir in shredded cooked chicken, and use chicken bouillon instead of beef.
• Extra hearty. Add a drained can of kidney or pinto beans for more protein and fiber at very little cost.

I don't make Poor Man's Soup nearly as often as I used to, but I love how easily I can pull a meal together with ingredients I have on hand. No need to run to the store for this recipe. If you don't have one of the ingredients listed in the ingredients list, don't be afraid to try something else. Adding a new ingredient can add both flavor and texture to a dish, making it something completely new!

If you want to get an idea of possible variations to try, check out the comment section to see what other people have tried. If you've added something to this soup that you think is amazing, share it with us in the comments! I'd love to hear how you've adapted our Poor Man's Soup recipe and I'm sure other readers would love to see your ideas as well.

Serving Ideas

Poor Man's Soup is delicious on its own, but when you add a yummy bread on the side - well, it's a phenomenal cheap meal! Pair this delicious dish up with Copycat Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread, Copycat Olive Garden Bread Sticks, or an Italian Chopped Salad, or finish your meal off with our budget friendly and somewhat healthy Fruit and Berry Kabobs with Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.

We love the Rosemary Bread. It's one of our favorite breads to eat, whether we're baking it up in our own kitchen or eating it at a restaurant. A simple grilled cheese sandwich or a sleeve of saltine crackers also makes this soup a filling dinner without adding much to the grocery bill.

Storing & Freezing

This soup makes great leftovers. Let it cool, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat individual bowls in the microwave or the whole batch on the stove over medium heat, adding a splash of water or broth if the potatoes have soaked up some of the liquid. And as we discussed before - make sure you are going to use the leftovers if you cook enough to have them! If this recipe makes too much for your family size, consider cutting the recipe in half. There is no shame in that.

OR if you are going to have more leftovers than you will use in 1-2 days, freeze a part of the leftovers. Just like our favorite chili recipe, this soup freezes well and reheats perfectly! Portion cooled soup into freezer-safe containers or bags, leaving a little headspace, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat on the stove until steaming hot. The potatoes may soften slightly after freezing, but the flavor holds up beautifully. What a great way to have a meal or two put up in the freezer for when you really don't have the time or inclination to spend time in the kitchen. Because let's face it-we all get busy sooner or later.

How to Stretch Your Grocery Dollar and Eat Well

Here's my take on stockpiling: If it is something that you will truly use - get it and save it, but only the amount you will actually use in a reasonable timeframe. If it is something that you can get for pennies that you probably won't use - get it and donate it.

But, here is where it really counts (in my opinion) when it comes to saving money at the grocery store: Buy produce that is in season and on sale. Get store circulars and buy meat, dairy, and other items when they are on sale.

Shop around! Look at grocery circulars and store apps! If you can save money by going to a couple different stores to do your weekly grocery shopping - do it.

And here is another thing - take note of how much you waste. We've all done it from time to time, whether it is produce we buy with the best of intentions or the leftovers we think we're going to eat, but don't.

So, shop from sales when you can. Use coupons if they are for products you already buy. And only buy and cook what your family will actually eat. I'm still working on the last one.

Learn How to Make Soup from Scratch

Making soup from scratch is a skill that gives and gives. Seriously. Once you learn how to make soup from scratch, you will not want to go back to serving soup from a can ever again. We're talking about super fresh flavor, amazing ingredients, and the ability to seriously cater to your own tastes.

I'm bringing it back-again-to the idea that if you don't like a specific ingredient or flavor, substitute, substitute, substitute! Once you figure out the basics of how to make soup-and you know the ingredients and flavors that you and your family like best-you are ready to start experimenting and creating soup recipes all on your own. The possibilities are limitless!

My own experience cooking soup from scratch started when I watched my mother-in-law make her famous homemade broccoli soup. And, I say famous because this was the soup that I requested nearly every Thursday night that we went to their house while we still lived in Arkansas.

I would watch her cook the soups, starting with melting butter and then adding flour to make a thick roux. Then, she'd add milk, chicken stock, and later broccoli and cheese-and of course seasonings.

The thing I learned that stuck with me and changed the way I cook was the basis of making a roux. It wasn't something I'd experienced before because my own mom has always used cornstarch to thicken gravy. And it was always added later on in the process of cooking rather than at the beginning as a roux is done.

What is a Roux?

Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and cooked to the desired level of brownness.

The knowledge of how to make a roux for gravy or soup has enabled me to comfortably create a variety of soup recipes using the same roux base. This is perfect for creamy soups. And creating new recipes by trial and error is always so much fun.

Ladle Your Soup Up in Style

These colorful soup bowls with handles are on my wish list, and I'm hoping that the next time I make Poor Man's Soup (or any other soup for that matter), I'll be dishing it up in style.

Not to mention the fun Nessie Soup Ladle that I saw ALL OVER the internet. We're talking about a great gift idea for the soup lover!

Easy Soup Recipes Make an Easy Weeknight Meal!

Soup recipes are easy to make, and they are even easier to eat. With soup, I'm talking about a meal that not only warms you from the inside, it warms your soul. And this Poor Man's Soup delivers.

Soup is comfort food at its finest, and if you've scrolled around Zikug for any length of time, you probably know that I love comfort food. If you take a look at our most popular recipes, they are all comfort foods. Pure and simple. And, in reality, any food you like could become a comfort food. Here are the recipes we see consistent, daily, high traffic to - which means they are great recipes that appeal to the masses:

• Poor Man's Soup - Hey! That's the post you're already on!
• Best Chili Mac - Yum, Yum, and Yum! And Chili Mac n Cheese while we're on a chili mac kick!
• Best Copycat Zuppa Toscana - Restaurant Quality and DELISH!
• Ground Beef Goulash - Easy Peasy Meal!
• Fried Pickles - Oh My!
• Copycat Crab Alfredo - Yes, Please!
• Stuffed Mushrooms - PERFECT Appetizer!
• Weight Watchers Banana Bread - Why Not?

Delicious Dessert Recipes

Now that you've got dinner covered, you'll want to check out these delicious dessert recipes. They are amazing! And I'm not just saying that because I made these desserts in my own kitchen first.

We're pretty sure you'll love our Hazelnut Cheesecake Icebox Cake. This is one recipe that I will make over and over again. It has a gentle coffee flavor that is perfect for coffee lovers and non-coffee lovers alike. I'm not a huge coffee drinker (seriously, I'll order a Mocha from Starbucks and request half a shot of coffee instead of the full shot!) but I adore the flavor in this dessert. It's delicious!

Or try our Banana Cream Dessert. Again, this dessert has phenomenal flavor. If you like banana pudding, you will love this dessert, because it definitely has the same sort of taste to it. It's an easy layered dessert to make: graham crackers, our secret concoction of yummy creamed layer, more graham crackers and repeat. Absolute perfection!

When I make desserts, especially during the summer months, I often stay away from baking. Baking certainly has its place, but I really think that there is so much more in the grand scheme of quick dessert recipes that can be created when you take baking out of the equation. Think easy. Think refrigerator desserts. Think no bake desserts. In this realm there are even cookies and bars like our delicious No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal cookies that are a family favorite.

More Budget-Friendly Soups

If you loved this recipe, here are a few more hearty soups you might enjoy:

• Crazy-Easy Cowboy Soup (with Beef, Beans & Potatoes)
• Homemade Ham and Potato Soup
• Weight Watchers Taco Soup
• Slow Cooker Potato Soup with Tuscan Sausage

Don't forget, come back and comment with your favorite variations of this recipe. We're always excited to hear about what you're trying in your kitchen!

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