Mouthwatering Instant Pot Ground Beef Soup

If you ask me, there’s nothing quite like a hearty soup that practically makes itself.

This Instant Pot ground beef soup is the kind of comfort food that fits into a busy weeknight. Tender chunks of potato and ground beef simmer with diced tomatoes and aromatic garlic in a rich beef broth.

It comes together with basic pantry ingredients and a handful of fresh vegetables chopped into bite-sized pieces. The Instant Pot does most of the heavy lifting while you get other things done.

It’s a filling one-pot meal that warms you up from the inside out, perfect for those chilly evenings when you need dinner on the table fast.

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What Kind of Ground Beef Should I Use?

For this Instant Pot soup, you’ll want to use ground beef with a fat content between 80/20 and 85/15 for the best flavor and texture. The slightly higher fat content keeps the meat tender and adds richness to your broth, though you can drain off any excess fat after browning if you prefer a lighter soup. If you’re watching your fat intake, 90/10 ground beef will work too, but the soup might be a bit less flavorful. You can also substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if that’s what you have on hand, just know that the flavor profile will be a bit different and you might want to add a touch more seasoning.

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Options for Substitutions

This soup is really forgiving when it comes to swapping ingredients:

• Ground beef: Ground turkey, chicken, or pork work great here. You can also use ground Italian sausage for extra flavor – just skip some of the Italian seasoning since the sausage already has plenty of spices.
• Beef broth: Chicken broth or vegetable broth are both solid alternatives. The soup will be a bit lighter in flavor, but still tasty.
• Potatoes: Any type of potato works – russets, red potatoes, or Yukon golds. You can also swap them out for sweet potatoes if you want a slightly sweeter taste.
• Diced tomatoes: If you don’t have canned diced tomatoes, use crushed tomatoes or even tomato sauce. With sauce, you might want to add a splash more broth since it’s thicker.
• Italian seasoning: No Italian seasoning? Mix together some dried basil, oregano, and a pinch of thyme. Or just use whatever dried herbs you have on hand.
• Celery: Carrots make a good substitute if you’re not a celery fan, or you can use both for extra veggies.

Watch Out for These Mistakes While Cooking

The biggest mistake when making Instant Pot soup is not breaking up the ground beef properly during the sauté step, which leads to large clumps floating in your broth – take an extra minute to crumble it into small pieces with your spoon for better texture throughout.

Another common error is skipping the sauté step for the vegetables, as those few minutes of cooking the onion and celery before adding everything else builds a deeper flavor base that you can’t get by just pressure cooking.

Don’t forget to cut your potatoes into uniform, bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch cubes) so they cook evenly – too large and they’ll be hard in the center, too small and they’ll turn mushy.

Finally, always taste and adjust your seasoning after the quick release, since pressure cooking can mellow out flavors and you’ll likely need more salt and pepper than you think.

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What to Serve With Ground Beef Soup?

This hearty soup is pretty filling on its own, but I love serving it with some crusty bread or dinner rolls for soaking up all that beefy broth. A simple side salad with ranch or Italian dressing keeps things light and adds a nice crunch to balance out the soup. If you want to make it even more of a meal, garlic bread is always a winner, or you could throw together some cheesy breadsticks. For a cozy dinner, I’ll sometimes add a sprinkle of shredded cheddar or parmesan on top of each bowl and serve it with saltine crackers on the side.

Storage Instructions

Store: This ground beef soup keeps really well in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container. It’s actually one of those soups that tastes even better the next day once all the flavors have had time to hang out together. Perfect for easy weeknight dinners when you don’t feel like cooking!

Freeze: You can definitely freeze this soup for up to 3 months. Just let it cool completely first, then portion it out into freezer-safe containers or bags. I like to freeze individual servings so I can grab just what I need for lunch without thawing the whole batch.

Reheat: Warm it up on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it’s heated through. You can also microwave individual portions for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway through. If the soup seems too thick after storing, just add a splash of beef broth or water to loosen it up.

Estimated Nutrition

Estimated nutrition for the whole recipe (without optional ingredients):

• Calories: 1200-1400
• Protein: 70-80 g
• Fat: 40-50 g
• Carbohydrates: 90-110 g

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion (diced into 1/2-inch pieces)
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (I use Hunt’s for the richest color)
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 4 cups beef broth (I prefer Swanson for a deeper flavor)
• 2 potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks)
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt
• pepper

Step 1: Prepare Ingredients and Build Aromatic Base

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 2 celery sticks

Dice the onion into 1/2-inch pieces, chop the celery into small pieces, peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks, and mince the garlic.

Set all prepped ingredients aside.

Heat the olive oil in your Instant Pot on the sauté function until shimmering, then add the diced onion and celery.

Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and become fragrant—this helps release their natural sugars and builds a flavorful foundation for the soup.

Step 2: Brown Ground Beef and Develop Depth

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic

Add the ground beef to the pot with the softened vegetables, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

After 3-4 minutes, once the beef has started to brown, add the minced garlic and stir constantly for another minute until fragrant.

This creates a deeply flavored base—browning the meat develops complex flavors that simple boiling never achieves, and adding garlic at the end of browning prevents it from burning.

Step 3: Build and Combine the Soup Base

• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 potatoes
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Stir the tomato paste directly into the meat and vegetables, coating everything thoroughly for about 1 minute—this toasting step deepens the tomato flavor significantly.

Pour in the diced tomatoes with their liquid, followed by the beef broth, and add the potato chunks.

Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over top and stir well to combine.

I always add the potatoes uncooked at this stage since the Instant Pot pressure cooking will cook them perfectly in just 8 minutes.

Step 4: Pressure Cook the Soup

Secure the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to the sealing position.

Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.

The pressure will build quickly, sealing in the heat that will cook the potatoes tender and allow all the flavors to meld together.

Step 5: Release Pressure and Season to Taste

• salt
• pepper

Once the cooking cycle completes, carefully perform a quick pressure release by moving the valve to the venting position.

Let the steam escape and wait 30 seconds before opening the lid.

Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper to your preference—start with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, then adjust as needed.

Mouthwatering Instant Pot Ground Beef Soup

Delicious Mouthwatering Instant Pot Ground Beef Soup recipe with step-by-step instructions.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Servings 6 servings

Calories 1300 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion (diced into 1/2-inch pieces)
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (I use Hunt's for the richest color)
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 4 cups beef broth (I prefer Swanson for a deeper flavor)
• 2 potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks)
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

 

• Dice the onion into 1/2-inch pieces, chop the celery into small pieces, peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks, and mince the garlic. Set all prepped ingredients aside. Heat the olive oil in your Instant Pot on the sauté function until shimmering, then add the diced onion and celery. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and become fragrant—this helps release their natural sugars and builds a flavorful foundation for the soup.
• Add the ground beef to the pot with the softened vegetables, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks. After 3-4 minutes, once the beef has started to brown, add the minced garlic and stir constantly for another minute until fragrant. This creates a deeply flavored base—browning the meat develops complex flavors that simple boiling never achieves, and adding garlic at the end of browning prevents it from burning.
• Stir the tomato paste directly into the meat and vegetables, coating everything thoroughly for about 1 minute—this toasting step deepens the tomato flavor significantly. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their liquid, followed by the beef broth, and add the potato chunks. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over top and stir well to combine. I always add the potatoes uncooked at this stage since the Instant Pot pressure cooking will cook them perfectly in just 8 minutes.
• Secure the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. The pressure will build quickly, sealing in the heat that will cook the potatoes tender and allow all the flavors to meld together.
• Once the cooking cycle completes, carefully perform a quick pressure release by moving the valve to the venting position. Let the steam escape and wait 30 seconds before opening the lid. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper to your preference—start with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, then adjust as needed.