Busy day soup

They don’t call this soup a Busy Day Soup for nothing! I literally took less than 30 minutes to put everything together. And mind you, I had a long day and was super tired, but still managed to get dinner on the table — all thanks to this easy Busy Day Soup recipe.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of ground beef. Honestly, I could eat it from Monday through to the next Monday without getting bored. If you love beef recipes like this one, you’ll definitely want to check out another favorite of mine — Rainbow Soup. It’s packed with colorful veggies, ground beef, and loads of flavor. It’s healthy, delicious, and a hit with my kids, so I’m pretty sure your little ones will love it too.
And listen, I know nowadays it’s hard to trust every recipe you see online, but I promise you — I’m as real as they come. No AI-made recipes here, just honest home cooking. So, make sure to bookmark this one, and if you enjoy it, I’d love for you to share how it turned out. Tag me on TikTok and show me how you recreated it — I can’t wait to see your version!

Ingredients I used

1. Ground beef
2. Celery
3. Canned of tomatoes (I love the aroma they bring to soup!)
4. Beef stock cube
5. Mixed veggies
6. Elbow macaroni
7. Onion
8. Water : You can use beef broth instead
9. (Optional) garlic

How to make Busy day soup

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1. Prep the veggies. Chop your onion and celery.
2. Heat the pot. Switch on your stove to medium-high and use a deep pot (the soup gets bulky, so don’t go small.
3. Cook the beef. Once the pot is hot, add your ground beef — it should sizzle when it hits the pot. Let it brown. This might take 5 to 10 minutes
4. Add the veggies. Once the beef has started to brown, add in your onion and celery. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. If your beef has some fat, drain it. Don’t drain it into your sink, it’s easier to dispose of rendered fat in a solid form into a trash bag than hot liquid fat that can end up blocking your sink.
5. If you’re adding garlic, this is the best stage to toss it in.
6. Season. Add in your beef stock cube, crumble it in, and stir.
7. Tomatoes & veggies. Pour in your canned tomatoes, stir, then add the mixed veggies.
8. Macaroni. Add 1 cup of elbow macaroni and then pour in 2 cups of water.
9. Simmer. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, until the macaroni is cooked.
10. Serve. Switch off the stove, dish up, and enjoy — I went straight to watch my series with a warm bowl of this goodness, ground beef soup.

Common mistakes to avoid & tips

Measuring liquids:

• Use the same cup you use to measure your macaroni for your water or broth.
• Example: I used one cup to measure my macaroni, and then I used that exact same cup to measure my two cups of water.
• If you want more liquid in your soup, you can add another half cup. So instead of just two cups, you might add two and a half cups.

Don’t overcook your macaroni:

• Nobody wants mushy macaroni in their soup, girl.
• Tip 1: Cook your macaroni separately, then add it to the soup once it’s done. If you do this, adjust your liquid. For example, instead of adding two cups of water, you might just add one cup.
• Tip 2: Add your liquids to the soup and bring them to a boil. Then, reduce the stove to medium heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
  • If the macaroni tastes al dente (not fully cooked), switch off the stove and let the heat of the soup finish cooking it.
  • This method works perfectly—I use it myself.

If you’re using 70% lean, 30% fat ground beef:

• Drain the excess fat.
• Do not drain it into your sink—it will clog it.
• Instead, drain it into a cup and let it sit overnight. By the next day, it will solidify.
• Scoop it out with a spoon and toss it in the trash.
• Never pour hot greasy liquid straight into your bin—it’ll be messy and greasy everywhere.

Thickening your soup:

• Your number one go-to is a cornstarch slurry.
• Mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 1–2 tablespoons of water. Stir well, then add it to the pot.
• The soup will thicken.
• If it’s still not thick enough, repeat with another teaspoon until you get the consistency you love.
• I share this tip in almost every recipe—it’s my go-to way to thicken soups.

More easy soup recipes to add to your rotation

Storing leftover ground beef and macaroni soup

Fridge storage:

• Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Mine lasted a good three days, and honestly, the flavor on the third day was still so good that I’m pretty sure it could’ve gone another day.
• So, plan for about 3–4 days in the fridge.

Freezer storage:

• For longer storage, use airtight containers or Ziploc bags.
• I personally love Ziploc bags because they save so much freezer space.
• Just scoop out single portions into the bags, remove excess air, seal them, and stack them flat in the freezer.
• They’ll last up to 3 months this way.

Reheating:

• From the fridge: just pop it straight into the microwave and you’re good to go.
• From the freezer: thaw first, then reheat.

Macaroni tip for freezing:

• I don’t like freezing this soup because the macaroni tends to lose its shape the longer it sits in the liquid.
• If that doesn’t bother you, freeze it as-is.
• Otherwise, cook and store the soup and macaroni separately in different containers, then mix them together after thawing.
• That way, the texture stays much better.