Homestyle Beef and Noodle Soup (Instant Pot + Slow Cooker Friendly!)

There’s just something about a bowl of hearty beef and noodle soup that feels like a warm hug in dinner form. It’s cozy, comforting, and a forever classic in our house. This version is everything you want on a busy weeknight: simple ingredients, bold flavors, and ready in a flash thanks to the Instant Pot.

If you’ve ever had beef and tomato macaroni soup, this is its grown-up cousin — richer, more flavorful, and with the perfect balance of savory broth and tender pasta.

Why You’ll Love This Soup

• It’s FAST. We’re talking under 30 minutes from start to finish, thanks to a quick Instant Pot cook time.
• Family-friendly. Even the pickiest eaters tend to clean their bowls when this is on the table.
• Pantry staples. No fancy ingredients here — just classic kitchen staples like canned tomatoes, pasta, and ground beef.
• Total comfort. The kind of soup that makes you want to curl up with a blanket and a second helping.

✨ Pasta Tip: Elbow macaroni is hands-down the best pasta for this soup. It holds up beautifully and delivers that nostalgic, slurpable vibe.

Make It Your Own

This soup is super versatile. Swap elbow macaroni for small shells or ditalini if you’d like. Prefer it spicier? Add a pinch of red pepper flakes. Want to sneak in some veggies? Frozen corn or a handful of chopped spinach at the end works great.

Perfect For…

• A busy night when you want something quick and cozy
• Feeding a crowd (or stocking your freezer!)
• That moment when you realize you have ground beef and a can of tomatoes and need dinner ASAP

Homestyle Beef and Noodle Soup is the kind of meal that brings everyone to the table — fast, flavorful, and foolproof. Make it once, and I promise you’ll be coming back to it again and again.

Homestyle Beef and Noodle Soup

Hearty, comforting, and ready in under 30 minutes, this Homestyle Beef and Noodle Soup is packed with ground beef, tomatoes, and tender elbow pasta—all made in the Instant Pot. A weeknight classic your whole family will love.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:20 minutes mins

Total Time:30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 6 cups water
• 2 tbsp Better Than Bouillon Beef
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes high quality
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoons brown sugar to taste if you have a sweeter ketchup you may not need it
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cups dry macaroni
• salt and pepper as desired

Instructions

• Sauté the beef and aromatics: Set your Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add the onion, and let cook. Then add garlic for a minute. Now add ground beef, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
• Build the flavor: Pour in the water + bouillon, diced tomatoes, whole peeled tomatoes (crush them a bit with your hands or spoon), ketchup, Worcestershire, brown sugar (if using), and Italian seasoning. Stir everything together and season with a little salt and pepper.
• Cook: Lock the Instant Pot lid in place and cook on soup mode on high pressure for 10 minutes. Manual release pressure.
• Add the pasta: Stir in the dry elbow macaroni, then lock the Instant Pot lid in place and cook on soup mode again for just 2 minutes. Yes — only 2! That’s the sweet spot for perfectly tender pasta without it going mushy.
• Quick release + serve: As soon as the timer beeps, do a quick release of the pressure. Open the lid, give it all a good stir, and taste to adjust any seasonings. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Notes

Slow Cooker Instructions:

Start by sauteing your onion, once softened, add in garlic and saute for another minute. Then add in beef brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until fully cooked. Drain off the grease. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker.

Pour in 6 cups of water and stir in your preferred beef bouillon (use enough to equal 6 cups of broth—typically 6 teaspoons (2 tbsp) of paste or 6 cubes, depending on the brand). Add in the diced tomatoes, whole peeled tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and Italian seasoning. Stir everything together, crush up the tomatoes, and adjust sweetness or tang as needed with a little more brown sugar or Worcestershire.

Cover and cook on low for 8–10 hours or high 3-4.

When you’re ready to serve, stir in the dry elbow macaroni and let it cook right in the soup for about 20–25 minutes, until tender. Prefer cooked pasta? No problem—just stir in 3 cups of cooked macaroni and heat through before serving.

Servings: 6