A favorite childhood soup, Noodles and Ground Beef Soup (Campbell's Copycat Recipe) is filled with three noodle shapes, ground beef, finely diced carrots, and green peppers in a flavorful beef broth.
Growing up Campbell's Noodles and Ground Beef Soup was my absolute favorite. I didn't know it by that name, though, my grandmother always called it "Three Kinds of Noodle Soup" because it had three different shapes of noodles. I don't remember what kind of noodles it had exactly, just that they were thin, medium, and thicker noodles, so that's what I used. You can use any kind of noodles you want in this recipe, though I do recommend home style noodles.
Campbell's Noodles and Ground Beef Soup was discontinued sometime in the late 90's or early 2000's from what I can remember. I found one article that says it was 2005, but I don't remember having eaten it for years before that. It's a pretty simple soup to make, and great for both kids and grown-ups!
My version makes a lot of soup, but it freezes well so you can easily have it for dinner twice in one month. You can also use the new recipe card feature below to adjust the serving size and amount of ingredients easily. Normally I would cook the noodles for soup separately to prevent them from becoming mushy, but in this soup I wanted the noodles soft, just like my childhood favorite.
Noodles and Ground Beef Soup
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Noodles and Ground Beef Soup (Campbell's Copycat)
Ingredients
- 3 pounds lean ground beef (80% lean)
- 2 cups finely diced carrots
- 1 cup finely diced green bell pepper
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes , undrained
- 12 cups beef broth (reduced fat and sodium)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups assorted dried noodles , uncooked (pictured are store-bought home-style Cicatelli, Fileja, and Busiati
Instructions
- In a large, heavy pot with a lid, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain and return to the stove.
- Stir the carrots, green pepper, and diced tomatoes with the juice into the cooked ground beef. Pour in the broth, then stir in the tomato paste. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, stir in the noodles. Adjust heat to remain at a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the noodles are tender, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat if needed.
Glenda says
Okay people if you want more flavor we added a little McCormick stew seasoning and we cook are hamburger with onions in it no bell pepper . Also spaghetti noodles.
Robert says
why did campbells quit making it we need to complain to campbells
Cindy Combs says
I tried. They said not enough people want it back. We need a petition. They take this away but keep chicken noodle. Really!
Judy says
Hello, I too loved this original soup from Campbells.
I hate to disagree with so many, but my experience with this recipe is not good. I've tried it twice now and it's extremely bland. I'm wondering if onion should be in it? Funny, I don't like onion, but maybe that's what I find it lacking? Plus I've had to add salt but still it's missing something.
Please advise!
Bernadette says
Hi Judy, sorry it took me a few days to get back to you. Although you are right, most have liked this recipe, I just recently received the same complaint via an email. I haven't thought of anything else, so I'll just repeat what I said in my email reply. Since there aren’t any spices in the original Campbell’s soup, I didn’t add any, but my suggestions would be to add some cooked minced garlic (in this case jarred garlic would work), fresh parsley or thyme, salt and pepper or a seasoning blend you love. Another thought would be for another time, change the brand of beef broth you use. They are not all the same, but for us I use reduced sodium and fat because it’s healthier.
I hope that helps!
Sonya Szoczei says
Hi I am going to make this soup today. I TOO ate this often with mt mom. I am surprised there is no added spice whatsoever.
Are you sure? No garlic, salt pepper? I am going to follow the recipe, i just wanted to double check
Bernadette says
Hi Sonya,
I'm sure I didn't add any spice while cooking, I do usually add salt and pepper right before eating. I hope that helps and that you enjoy the soup!
Lisa B says
What is the bigger noodle in your recipe? That is a lot of soup! But this was always my favorite soup and I so wonder why they stopped making it 🙁
Bernadette says
Hi Lisa, I'm so sorry I missed your question. The bigger noodles are fileja and cicatelli pasta. I just happened to find them in my local Price Chopper that week.
Sandra says
Thank you for the recipe! It was my favorite Campbell’s soup as a child. I cut the recipe in half and used what I had on hand….too lazy to run to the store. I used both beef broth and chicken broth. Pasta on hand was angel hair, linguine and lasagna. It was very satisfying and brought back memories.
Jeanne Palmer says
Best soup ever same it’s not in the store anymore by this recipe is great made it a couple of times and I use different noodles each time but it’s still great……….
Lesley says
Campbell's Noodles and Ground Beef soup was my all time favorite growing up in the 60's & 70's. I've been making this recipe for the past few years and I love it! I like adding different noodle types. It's so good and low cal.
Kimm says
This was my favorite soup growing up! Can’t wait to make it!
Suzie says
This was my favorite Campbell's soup growing up. Thanks so much for sharing!
Janeth says
Mine too! I grew up on an Army Base in Italy and every so often, this would be one of the two daily soups offered in the Mess. I loved it! When we moved to Connecticut, the Campbells version was at our local market (the old A&P). Never could find it anywhere afterwards in California, Washington or Arizona. SO happy to have this recipe and will be making a pot for lunch today!! YAY!!
Suzie says
Beef noodle soup is yummy but it is not the same as noodles & ground beef. Growing up, I would buy both & they were very different. Noodles and Ground Beef is a thick, rich, hearty soup, similar to a beef stew with a variety of noodles.
Kim says
This was one of my favorite soups when I was growing up- thrilled to try it again - it turned out wonderful! I doubled the tomato paste to give it an even richer tomato flavor. Perfect for a cold winter night !
Mike says
I’m down to my last two cans of Beef Noodle soup. I purchased them sometime earlier this year and was upset when the last local supplier removed the label marking its spot from the shelf. Now that I’ve found a replacement recipe I’ve got to test it against the original. Thanks for this.
Tim L says
I made the soup a few years ago from this recipe. I used to eat the canned version from Campbell's with my Grandpa, it was his favorite. This recipe was spot on. Delicious!! Brought me back to the good ole days. Thank you very much for the recipe, and I'll definitely be making it again!!!
Bernadette says
Great, I'm so glad you liked it!
Dottie. W. says
I too remember enjoying this soup with my Grandmother back in the 60's and have made this recipe for it. Thank you for this recipe however I found it a bit to tomato'y Next time I will only use 1 Tbs of paste in the hopes it is closer to the original.
Lynn says
I just saw this recipe a few days ago. But I have already made my first pot of soup. And I was delighted. It was delicious. The only problem I had, was finding different noodles. But even with only one type of noodle, it brought me back to my childhood. I had been eating noodles and ground beef my entire life. I am 66 years old. Now I can again enjoy my favorite soup. Thank you again.
Lynnette Gittens says
I just saw this copycat recipe a few days ago. But I have already made my first pot of soup. The only problem I had was finding different noodles. But with only one type of noodle, it was delicious. I had been eating this soup as a child and all my life. Now, I can again enjoy noodles and ground beef soup.
Celia Rhodes says
When my daughter was small, this was her favorite soup! She called it 'Smackin' Noodle Soup,' because she love to slurp up the noodles like spaghetti! I was thinking about this today, so I Googled the soup, which led me to your recipe. I am definitely making this as a surprise for Noelle some day soon!! Thanks so much!!
Lynn says
I was absolutely devastated when Campbell's discontinued making my favorite soup of all time. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will be making it often.
Mike L says
I haven't made this yet, but I sure will. Same as you - I thought my favorite soup was gone forever! It's so simple too. Thank you!