This Beef and Kale Soup Recipe is quickly becoming one of my favorite one-pot meals! It’s healthy, hearty, fresh and the flavors just work together really well AND it comes together in under 30 minutes!
I use precooked ground beef that I cook up and freeze ahead of time to really speed this up. I HIGHLY recommend doing this – it makes getting a fresh dinner on the table on busy nights way easier since some of the heavy lifting is already done for you!
🍽️ Why This Recipe Works
Healthy – It feels great to serve a healthy dinner that also tastes amazing. This dish is loaded with ground beef, kale, cilantro, onions, and seasonings.
Low Calorie – If you are trying to watch your calories, you’ll be happy to know that this soup only has 310 calories.
Quick and Easy – It takes five minutes for the prep work and 25 minutes cook time. So simple and fast to cook.
🥬 Ingredients
The combination of ingredients in this soup is wonderful. You probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen right now. This will save you time not having to run to the grocery store! Let’s take a look at some of the main ingredients you need.
Ground Beef: To keep the soup extra hearty, we like to use ground beef. Beef is the perfect combination with kale and I think you’re going to love it. Ground chicken or ground turkey would also work well.
Kale: Kale is usually found by the bag at your local grocery store. It’s simple to work with.
Seasonings: For the seasonings, we use chopped fresh cilantro, onion powder, salt, and a little bit of pepper.
🍲 Instructions
Step One: Heat up a large pan on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add chopped onion, sprinkle with salt, and sauté for three minutes. Add garlic. Sauté for an additional two minutes.
Step Two: Stir in pre-cooked ground beef and the broth. Add kale and cover for five minutes while kale wilts slightly.
Step Three: Stir in cilantro, lime juice, two tablespoons of olive oil, onion powder, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce it to simmer for five minutes. Serve warm and top with cilantro.
📌 Expert Tips
- You can always add in more garlic. We usually stick with three cloves.
- Swap the kale with spinach if you can’t find it.
- Letting the soup simmer after it boils really brings all the flavors together.
Recipe FAQs
We love eating this as-is and find that sides aren’t necessary. But, it’d be great to serve with some rice, fresh rolls or warm crusty bread for dipping into the awesome broth!
This beef and kale soup recipe serves 4 to 6 and it’s GREAT for leftovers. In fact, I think it tastes better the next day.
Sure! Ground turkey, ground chicken, and shredded chicken are all pretty tasty. Another idea would be to use sausage. Just make sure you precook the meat before adding.
Yes, it is. There is nothing in this recipe that can’t freeze easily. So go ahead and make extras for this cold winter nights ahead.
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Beef and Kale Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil 1 tbsp for pan, 2 tbsp reserved
- 1 Onion chopped
- 3 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 lb Ground Beef cooked
- 10 oz Kale bag of precut
- 64 oz Beef Broth
- lime juice of one lime
- ½ cup Cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up a large pan on medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add chopped onion, sprinkle with salt, and sauté for three minutes. Add garlic. Sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked ground beef and broth. Add kale, cover for 5 minutes while kale wilts slightly.
- Stir in cilantro, lime juice, the reserved 2 tbsp of olive oil, and onion powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Top with fresh cilantro and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Wow! So easy and surprisingly tasty. I substituted leek for onion as it was handy and is full of flavonoid antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. Also, because my husband is not a fan of kale, before adding the ground beef, I decided to blend the soup broth, kale and leek to make it smooth (very green lol). The result is a perfectly satisfying cream-like texture with man-size chunks of ground beef in every spoonful.
Oh I love the blending idea you have! That is awesome. Leeks are a fantastic addition as well, they are often overlooked at the produce department!
I’m a big fan of cooking up that ground beef and popping it in the freezer. You are so right that it just expedites dinner time and you’re finished in a flash. I’m definitely going to add this recipe to my list because it looks so darn amazing and sounds like it has a lot of flavor. Soups are perfect in helping to deal with these crazy weather swings here in SC…
Thanks, Latoya! It DEFINITELY makes a difference in saving time on busy nights!