One thing I remember very fondly from my childhood is those cans of tomato soup with the teeny tiny ravioli. My mom didn’t get them for us very often so when she did it felt almost like a special occasion. Who knew a can of soup could be a special occasion? But my sister and I loved the sweet tomato broth and beefy, cheesy, chewy ravioli so we really looked forward to it. So I figured it was high time for a grown-up version. Here’s Beef Ravioli Soup — a more homemade version that hits all the same tasty notes as the nostalgic version.

And this is easssssssssy. Ready?

You just need:
ground beef, some cheese ravioli (I’m partial to the mini ones), beef broth, tomato paste, garlic, onion, crushed tomatoes, some Italian seasoning, and some parm. Simple! And it comes together quick.

You brown the ground beef and season it with salt, pepper, and that Italian seasoning, and when it’s barely still pink you’ll add the onion to soften. The garlic heads in right before you add the other components.

Which are all the tomatoe-y, brothy things. Tomato paste goes in next, followed by the crushed tomatoes and the broth. Bring it to a nice simmer and let it bubble away for about twenty minutes.

When you’re just about ready to eat, add the ravioli and let them simmer until they’re cooked. (That only takes three minutes.) If you’re planning to store this for a while, you might want to boil the ravioli separately and just add them to the soup when you reheat a portion as they have a tendency to plump up and fall apart with repeated reheatings.

Let me tell you — this soup is every bit as good as I remember that canned soup being, probably even better. It’s a little sweet, but full of hearty, beefy flavor and comforting cheese ravioli. It feels like just as much as a special treat as it did in my childhood!