Blenditarian Challenge Series
Everyone has their own favourite soup recipe, whether brothy or thick and chunky. My favourite at this time of year is the thick, wholesome variety. This Blenditarian Hamburger Soup is all of that and more. My version is chock-a-block full of mushrooms, aromatic vegetables and also includes lentils and barley for a hearty bowlful of comfort food – a complete meal in a bowl.
To backtrack a bit: Blenditarian.Com has initiated a monthly challenge for anyone to incorporate their Blenditarian approach into interesting and fun themed dishes. Just to clarify for my readers, a Blenditarian is “one who believes the mighty, meaty mushroom makes meals more delicious, nutritious and sustainable.” This approach stretches ground meat with finely chopped mushrooms to create a flavourful and more nutritious dish. The theme for the March Blenditarian Challenge is to cook up a “family favourite” dish and include ‘The Blend’. For this reason, I am sharing my recipe for Blenditarian Hamburger Soup, which is our family favourite.
Skip to Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend
The first Blenditarian recipe on this blog was my Blenditarian Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend. I use my Blenditarian Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend to create recipes that are easy, nutritious and quick to prepare, including this Blenditarian Hamburger Soup. Look for more Urb’n’Spice recipes upcoming in this Blenditarian Challenge Series.
Blenditarian Hamburger Soup
Yield: 10 hearty servings (approximately 3 litres )
CHEF TALK: For this Blenditarian Hamburger Soup, I use one 1 lb. package of my Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend. This blend (or base) can be used in a number of different recipes, such as last month’s Date Night Spaghetti Sauce and many upcoming recipes such as Blenditarian Lasagna, Sloppy Joes, Blenditarian Meat Turnovers and more. You will find the recipe for Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend following this featured Blenditarian Hamburger Soup recipe.
To practice knife cutting skills, I have included a different way to cut the rutabaga, which is called paysanne cut – they look a lot like scrabble pieces and give the soup an interesting combination of textures and appearance. Follow this link to learn how to do it. The soup freezes very well. For a gluten-free version, omit the barley. Substitute whole sorghum grain or brown rice for the barley. I can assure you that you will enjoy making this hearty soup and enjoy eating it even more. I like to make this Blenditarian Hamburger Soup for #soupitforward events.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 – 1 lb. (454 g) package Blenditarian Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend (see recipe below)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cups, diced)
- 2 large carrots or 3 medium, diced (1 1/2 to 2 cups, diced)
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon, minced)
- 2 cups chopped rutabaga, paysanne cut, or chopped
- 2 cups shredded cabbage (about 1/4 small head of cabbage)
- ¾ cup red lentils, rinsed
- ¼ cup pearl barley, rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 – 4 tablespoons (30 – 60 ml) tomato paste
- 1 – 2 beef bouillon cubes (or 2 teaspoons beef bouillion paste)
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 6 – 8 cups (1.5 – 2 litres) beef broth
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground black pepper
- Garnish: 1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped fresh parsley
METHOD:
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the vegetables: onion, carrots, celery, garlic, rutabaga and cabbage. Cook over low to medium heat until the vegetables are translucent (about five minutes).
- Add the lentils and barley, bay leaves, dried herbs, tomato paste, beef bouillon paste, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Cook over low heat (simmer) for 1 hour. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Taste the soup for seasoning and tweak (see LEARNING TIPS below) adding salt and pepper, as necessary, according to your taste.
- Serve immediately, refrigerating any leftovers. The soup tastes even better the next day. For longer storage, freeze the soup in well-sealed containers or vacuum-sealed bags.

Blenditarian Hamburger Soup Ingredients

Toss all of the vegetables together in the pot, then add the Blenditarian meat blend and beef broth
Following is the original recipe for my version of Blenditarian Blend. The meat, mushroom and vegetable blend is portioned into 1 lb. bags ready for the freezer reserve and for making dishes such as this Blenditarian Hamburger Soup.
SAVOURY MEAT, MUSHROOM AND VEGETABLE BLEND
Yield: 1575 g cooked product (approximately 3.5 lbs.) These are portioned into 1 lb. (454 g) bags and frozen for further use, such as Blenditarian Hamburger Soup

Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend is portioned into 1 lb. (454 g) packages and frozen to use in many Blenditarian dishes
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb. (454 g) lean ground beef
- 1 lb. (454 g) ground pork
- ¼ cup dried vegetable flakes, optional but recommended
- 1 lb. (454 g) Cremini or Portobello mushrooms, chopped finely
- 1 large onion (250 g), chopped finely (about 1 ½ cups chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (15 g), minced finely
- 2 stalks celery (175 – 200 g), chopped finely (about 1 cup chopped)
- ½ small rutabaga(300 g), chopped finely (about 2 cups)
- 2 medium carrots (175 g), chopped finely (about 2 cups chopped)
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped finely
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 – 4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
METHOD:
- Place the ground meat into a 6 to 7-quart crockpot. Season with of the half of the salt and pepper.
- Using a food processor, chop the vegetables finely and add them to the slow cooker/crockpot.
- Add the remaining salt and pepper, in addition to the remaining ingredients.
- Stir the mixture very well.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or6 – 8 hours on low.
- Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. It should be seasoned well, savoury and flavourful. Remember that this is a base and other ingredients will be added to it to make other dishes (i.e.: diced tomatoes, chilli powder, etc.).
- Drain the mixture, if necessary. CHEF TIP: Refrigerate any drained liquid in a separate small bowl. The next day, de-fat the liquid by lifting off and discarding the hardened fat. The remaining liquid will be gel-like. Add some or all of the liquid back into the mixture for extra moisture.
- Portion the seasoned meat blend into 1 lb. (454 g) portions and place in a zipper bag or vacuum sealer bags. Close tightly or vacuum seal, date, label, and freeze on a flat baking tray.
Blenditarian Hamburger Soup
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 10 servings
Everyone has their own favourite soup recipe, whether brothy or thick and chunky. My favourite at this time of year is the thick, wholesome variety. This Blenditarian Hamburger Soup is all of that and more. My version is chock-a-block full of mushrooms, aromatic vegetables and also includes lentils and barley for a hearty bowlful of comfort food – a complete meal in a bowl.
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 lb. (454 g) package Blenditarian Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend (see recipe below)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cups, diced)
- 2 large carrots or 3 medium, diced (1 1/2 to 2 cups, diced)
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon, minced)
- 2 cups chopped rutabaga, paysanne cut, or chopped
- 2 cups shredded cabbage (about 1/4 small head of cabbage)
- ¾ cup red lentils, rinsed
- ¼ cup pearl barley, rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 – 4 tablespoons (30 – 60 ml) tomato paste
- 1 – 2 beef bouillon cubes (or 2 teaspoons beef bouillion paste)
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 6 – 8 cups (1.5 – 2 litres) beef broth
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground black pepper
- Garnish: 1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the vegetables: onion, carrots, celery, garlic, rutabaga and cabbage. Cook over low to medium heat until the vegetables are translucent (about five minutes).
- Add the lentils and barley, bay leaves, dried herbs, tomato paste, beef bouillon paste, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Cook over low heat (simmer) for 1 hour. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Taste the soup for seasoning and tweak (see LEARNING TIPS below) adding salt and pepper, as necessary, according to your taste.
- Serve immediately, refrigerating any leftovers. The soup tastes even better the next day. For longer storage, freeze the soup in well-sealed containers or vacuum-sealed bags.
Notes
For further details, photographs, tips and including the recipe for Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend, please refer to the post: Blenditarian Hamburger Soup
Did you Make my Recipe? Please Pin-It.
Tag @urbnspice on Instagram
Courses Dinner
Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 3.5 lbs. meat blend
For this Blenditarian Hamburger Soup, I use one 1 lb. package of my Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend. This blend (or base) can be used in a number of different recipes, such as last month’s Date Night Spaghetti Sauce and many upcoming recipes such as Blenditarian Lasagna, Sloppy Joes, Blenditarian Meat Turnovers and more. You will find the recipe for Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend following this featured Blenditarian Hamburger Soup recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. (454 g) lean ground beef
- 1 lb. (454 g) ground pork
- ¼ cup dried vegetable flakes, optional but recommended
- 1 lb. (454 g) Cremini or Portobello mushrooms, chopped finely
- 1 large onion (250 g), chopped finely (about 1 ½ cups chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (15 g), minced finely
- 2 stalks celery (175 – 200 g), chopped finely (about 1 cup chopped)
- ½ small rutabaga(300 g), chopped finely (about 2 cups)
- 2 medium carrots (175 g), chopped finely (about 2 cups chopped)
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped finely
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 – 4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Place the ground meat into a 6 to 7-quart crockpot. Season with of the half of the salt and pepper.
- Using a food processor, chop the vegetables finely and add them to the slow cooker/crockpot.
- Add the remaining salt and pepper, in addition to the remaining ingredients.
- Stir the mixture very well.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or6 – 8 hours on low.
- Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. It should be seasoned well, savoury and flavourful. Remember that this is a base and other ingredients will be added to it to make other dishes (i.e.: diced tomatoes, chilli powder, etc.).
- Drain the mixture, if necessary. CHEF TIP: Refrigerate any drained liquid in a separate small bowl. The next day, de-fat the liquid by lifting off and discarding the hardened fat. The remaining liquid will be gel-like. Add some or all of the liquid back into the mixture for extra moisture.
- Portion the seasoned meat blend into 1 lb. (454 g) portions and place in a zipper bag or vacuum sealer bags. Close tightly or vacuum seal, date, label, and freeze on a flat baking tray.
Notes
For further details, including photographs, chef tips and techniques, please refer to my original post: Blenditarian Hamburger Soup
Did you Make This Recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @urbnspice
Courses Dinner
You Might Also Enjoy These Recipes:
My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtiere
Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:
- Ice Baths
- Tweaking – Flavour Amendment
- Basic Tools – The Simple Spatula
__________
If you try my recipe for Blenditarian Hamburger Soup, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.
You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!
Denise Paré-Watson
The Urbnspice Chef
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Wow this soup looks so hearty and perfect for a chilly winter eve or to take camping!
Thanks, Kristen! It is a hearty soup, for sure, and since it freezes very well, great for camping trips.
What a great challenge for March and this soup looks filling and delicious. I eat a lot of pureed soups, but every now and then, I want a chunky, hearty bowl of soup! This bowl would hit the spot!
Thanks so much for your comments and kind words, Leanne. This soup is indeed filling and delicious – I hope you try it one day. I think you will enjoy it for a change from pureed soups. Cheers and Happy Weekend to you!
Hamburger soup is definitely up there in my top 5 fave soups and I love the idea of the blenditarian concept with this soup – so healthy! I am going to try it out!
Thanks, Terri! I love hamburger soup, too – this version is so versatile and very healthy. I make lots of the Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend and then I can make this soup in a flash! If you try it, please hashtag #urbnspice so I can see it 🙂
I hadn’t come across the Blenditarian challenge before, but the mushroom certainly is mighty! It’s one of my favourite things to keep in the kitchen…it’s delicious, easy to cook, and I have a personal love for it because I used to use mushrooms to practice my basic knife skills. (They’re small enough to encourage some cautiousness, but they’re easy to cut through so there was little worry of me using too much pressure on the knife!)
Mushrooms are certainly handy to practice knife skills, Riz. I remember doing just that in culinary training. Thanks so much for your support. I hope you will try one of the monthly Blenditarian recipes from my blog – I can assure you that there will always be mushrooms included 🙂