Ronald Reagan’s Hamburger Soup

(Recipe from PR Newswire, March 11, 1986)
Original Source: SoupSong.com

There’s been speculation that this first made news after President Reagan innocently announced his liking for fancy French soups… and was immediately accused of being elitist. Whatever.

It’s definitely a homespun, plain soup, and not as bad as you might think when you see that there’s hominy in it. This corn product—with an Algonquin Native American name—was an important food to early U.S. pioneers. It’s a nice firm little ball in the soup—almost dumpling-like. Serve the soup as a lunch meal to 4-6 people with lots of cornbread, cold milk, and maybe a big American pie for dessert.

Here’s the recipe… note the non-elitist allowance for canned foods and bouillon cubes.

2 lb. lean ground beef
2 T. butter or margarine
2 c. diced onions
2 cloves chopped garlic
1-1/2 c. sliced carrots
2 c. sliced celery
1 c. diced green peppers
3 qt. (12 c.) beef broth, beef stock, or water with 8 beef bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
16 oz. (1 lb) chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh)
10 oz. canned hominy, drained


Brown ground beef in butter (or margarine) in 6-quart sauce pan or soup pot. Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and green peppers. Simmer 10 minutes with the pan covered.

Add beef broth/stock or water with bouillon cubes. Add chopped tomatoes and black pepper. Simmer soup on low heat for 35 minutes. Add drained hominy. Boil hamburger soup for 10 minutes more.

Makes 4 quarts.

Serves 4-6.