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Spoon scooping up bite of soup with tomatoes, noodles, and ground beef.

Creamy Beef and Tomato Noodle Soup

Yield: 7 -8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

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

Meatless: you can definitely leave out the ground beef for a meatless soup.
Tomatoes: 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). Different brands of crushed tomatoes vary in texture.
Acidity: UPDATE since different brands of canned tomatoes can vary greatly in flavor (as you can see from the comments), adding a teaspoon or two of brown sugar can help cut the acidity.