Poor Woman’s Soup is exactly the kind of old-school supper that stretches a little meat, a soup bone, and a handful of pantry staples into a big, filling pot. It takes time more than fuss, which is often the whole point.
You start by soaking the beans overnight, then simmering the soup bone in water for several hours to build the broth. After that, the beans, browned beef and onion, tomatoes, celery, potatoes, rice, and basil go into the pot and finish together into a hearty soup that feeds a crowd without acting fancy about it.
Because this soup contains cooked beef, beans, and vegetables in broth, leftovers keep best in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days in a covered container, or in the freezer for up to 3 to 4 months. For the safest texture and timing, cool the soup promptly and refrigerate soaked beans overnight rather than leaving them on the counter, a sensible habit backed by USDA leftover food-safety guidance.
Poor Woman’s Soup Recipe
You’ll Need:
- 1 soup bone
- 8 qt water
- 1 c dry pea beans
- 2 c tomatoes
- 1 c chopped celery
- 1 c diced potatoes
- 1/2 c raw rice
- 1/3 lb ground beef
- 1/3 c chopped onion
- Salt and pepper
- 1/8 ts basil
Pick over the beans and soak them overnight. Simmer the soup bone in the water for several hours. Add the beans and simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the ground beef and onion together, then add them to the soup with the tomatoes, celery, potatoes, rice, salt, pepper, and basil. Simmer for 1 hour.
Expert Tip: If your broth cooks down too far while the soup bone simmers, top it off with hot water before you add the beans. You want plenty of liquid here because the rice and beans both keep drinking as they cook.
To Use:
Serve the soup hot in big bowls once the beans, rice, and potatoes are tender. If you want to stretch it even farther, offer bread, crackers, or a simple pan of cornbread on the side.
This makes an estimated 16 one-cup servings, depending on how much the broth reduces while it simmers. It also fits right in beside other budget-friendly bowls like Four Corners Soup Mix or Dozen Bean Pot Soup Mix when you need hearty, pantry-based meal ideas.
Storage: Refrigerate cooled leftovers within 2 hours in covered containers and use them within 3 to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze portions for up to 3 to 4 months. If the soup thickens in the fridge, add a splash of water or broth when reheating.
Notes: Salt is left to taste here for a reason. The soup bone and tomatoes can shift the final flavor quite a bit, so season near the end instead of dumping it in early and regretting your life choices later.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Poor Woman's Soup
Ingredient |
Walmart Item |
Pkg Price |
Amount Used |
Cost Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Soup bone |
$3.98 |
1 ≈ 1 soup bone/count = 1 lb = 453.6 g for count-based costing |
$3.98 |
|
Water |
– |
8 qt |
$0.01 |
|
Dried split peas |
$1.98 |
1 C. |
$0.86 |
|
Canned tomatoes |
$1.28 |
2 C. |
$0.85 |
|
Chopped celery |
$1.68 |
1 C. ≈ 1 count ≈ 0.5 cup(s) |
$0.37 |
|
Diced potatoes |
$2.97 |
1 C. |
$0.12 |
|
Uncooked white rice |
$3.42 |
1/2 C. |
$0.14 |
|
Ground beef |
$4.28 |
1/3 lb |
$1.43 |
|
Chopped onion |
$1.68 |
1/3 C. ≈ 1 count ≈ 0.5 cup(s) |
$0.12 |
|
Salt and pepper |
$2.48 |
dash |
$0.01 |
|
Dried basil |
$1.24 |
1/8 t. |
$0.01 |
💸 |
Cost |
|---|---|
🧾 Total Batch Cost |
$7.90 |
👨👩👧👦 Cost Per Serving |
$0.49 |
📅 Walmart prices last verified August 26, 2026. Prices may vary by location and are subject to change. Learn how to calculate the cost of a recipe on your own!
Frequently Asked Questions about Poor Woman’s Soup
You can. Navy beans, great northern beans, or pinto beans are the easiest swaps because they cook on a similar timetable and keep the soup hearty without changing it into a completely different meal. If your beans are older and seem stubborn, give them extra simmer time before you add the rice and potatoes so those do not turn to mush while the beans play hard to get.
For this recipe, yes, that overnight soak helps the beans cook more evenly and keeps the total simmer time manageable. If you forget, use a quick-soak method instead by boiling the beans briefly, letting them stand about 1 hour, then draining before adding them to the soup pot.
The soup bone gives the broth body and a deeper beef flavor, which matters in a simple soup like this. If you do not have one, you can still make the soup with the ground beef alone, but the broth will taste lighter, so you may want to season a bit more carefully at the end.
The rice, beans, and potatoes all absorb broth as the soup rests, so a pot that looked brothy on day one can turn almost stew-like by the next day. Just stir in a little hot water or broth when reheating until it is back to the consistency you want.
You can, especially since the soup bone already brings some beef flavor to the pot. Browning the beef with the onion adds richness and makes the soup heartier, but if you skip it, the soup still works as a bean-and-vegetable soup and may need a little extra salt and pepper at the end.
Plain long grain white rice is the safest choice because it cooks in the stated time without making the broth gluey. Instant rice cooks too fast and can get mushy, while brown rice usually needs a longer simmer and more liquid than this recipe gives it.
Cut them into even, bite-size pieces, about 1/2 inch, so they finish cooking at the same pace. If you dice them too small, they can break down during that final hour and make the soup cloudier and thicker than planned.
Absolutely. Freeze it in meal-size portions and leave a little headspace in the container so the liquid can expand. The potatoes and rice may soften a bit after thawing, but the flavor holds up well, which is more than I can say for plenty of so-called convenience foods.
Keep it simple. Bread, buttered crackers, biscuits, or cornbread all work because they soak up the broth and turn the bowl into a full meal. If you want a second soup-night idea, pair your menu planning with Tortilla Soup w/ Black Beans for another inexpensive, pantry-friendly option.
Cook it until the beef is fully browned and the onion has softened, with no obvious pink left in the pan. Since ground beef should reach 160°F for safety, breaking it into small crumbles while it cooks helps it brown evenly and finish thoroughly before it joins the soup.
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🖨️ Print-Friendly Poor Woman’s Soup
Poor Woman's Soup
Ingredients
- 1 soup bone
- 8 qt water
- 1 cup dried split peas
- 2 cup canned tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup diced potatoes
- ½ cup uncooked white rice
- ⅓ lb ground beef
- ⅓ cup chopped onion
- dash Salt and pepper
- ⅛ tsp dried basil
Equipment
Instructions
- Pick over the beans and soak them overnight.
- Simmer the soup bone in the water for several hours.
- Add the beans and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fry the ground beef and onion together.
- Add the beef and onion mixture to the soup along with the tomatoes, celery, potatoes, rice, salt, pepper, and basil.
- Simmer for 1 hour.
- Serve hot.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
