This Vegetable Beef Soup is packed with veggies, tender beef, potatoes, herbs, and spices in a rich tomato beef broth. It’s hearty, packed with flavor and so comforting.
We love cozy and satisfying soups like Beef Stew, or Chicken and Rice Soup, and of course this Vegetable Beef Soup. Pair it with Soft Dinner Rolls and dinner is made!
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What is Vegetable Beef Soup?
Vegetable beef soup is a hearty soup with a combination of vegetables, potatoes, and beef stew meat. It is essentially a Vegetable Soup with tender chunks of beef that are infused with flavor from the veggies, herbs, and spices in the broth.
This soup is ready in about an hour and a half, but make it once and enjoy it for lunch or dinner throughout the week. Similar to our Slow Cooker Beef Stew, this just gets better as the flavors meld together.
Ingredients
This vegetable beef soup recipe uses simple ingredients that may already be in your pantry and refrigerator. Isn’t it great when you don’t need to run to the store for special ingredients? Here’s what you’ll need (scroll down for exact measurements in the print-friendly recipe card below).
- Oil: Olive oil (or avocado oil) is used to saute the beef and aromatics.
- Beef stew meat: Use beef stew cuts with fatty marbling. The more marbling, the more tender and juicy the beef.
- Veggies: There are loads of vegetables in this soup including yellow onion, green onions, canned diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, and green beans (see substitution ideas below).
- Beef broth: Use a low-sodium beef broth to limit the amount of salt in the soup. However, you can also replace it with Chicken Stock.
- Potatoes: The potatoes make the soup extra-filling. Use red or russet potatoes for the best results.
- Herbs: Bay leaves and fresh parsley add important flavor to the soup. Instead of parsley, feel free to use dill.
- Spices: Season the soup to taste with classic salt and pepper seasoning. For even more flavor, add thyme or oregano.
How to Make Vegetable Beef Soup
Vegetable beef soup is easy to make and it all comes together in one pot (hooray for fewer dishes!). Add the ingredients in the correct order so they cook through properly.
- Saute the beef: Preheat a heavy soup pot with oil on medium-high heat, then saute beef until browned on all sides.
- Cook the onions: Add the onions to the beef and cook until the onions are soft and golden.
- Pour in liquid ingredients: Add beef broth, canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to mix. Boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the beef is tender, about 50-60 minutes.
- Add hard vegetables: Add potatoes, carrots, and celery and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add soft vegetables: Add green beans and green onions, then simmer for 10 additional minutes.
- Serve: Add parsley and serve with extra herbs if preferred.
Tips for the Best Soup
This recipe is easy and straightforward but there are ways to make your soup taste it’s best. Follow these tips for the most flavorful results.
- Brown beef in small portions: If your pot is not large enough, brown the beef in small portions. It’s important to get a good sear on the meat which flavor to the soup and also prevents the beef from steam cooking and becoming tough and chewy.
- Scrape the pot: After browning the meat and adding in the liquid ingredients, scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze and release the delicious brown bits into the soup. This is why it’s best to make the soup all in one pot.
- Cut ingredients into even pieces: For even cooking and a better texture, cut all ingredients into bite-sized pieces.
- Adjust the seasoning: Depending on the brand of canned tomatoes and the type of broth used, adjust the salt and pepper seasoning to taste. Some canned tomatoes and broths are saltier so wait until the end to add more seasonings to taste if needed.
- Remove bay leaves: Bay leaves are vital for flavor while the soup is cooking, but remove them after the soup is ready.
- Add herbs: For more freshness, add the parsley to the soup pot at the end and garnish with more freshly chopped parsley to serve.
How to Serve Vegetable Beef Soup
Vegetable beef soup is filling and wonderful on its own, but like most soups, it’s perfect with bread. Try our Cloverleaf Rolls, Focaccia Bread, or pair it with a slice of Crusty French Bread.
The soup is best served warm, but if you want to pair it with a cool and crisp side dish, make a fresh Chickpea Salad, or a classic Caesar Salad.
Common Questions
The best way to ensure a flavorful soup is to brown the beef and onions in the beginning. If the soup tastes bland at the end of cooking, add more spices and herbs. After adding, allow the soup to cook a little longer so the flavors to meld together.
You can change up the vegetables depending on what you have on hand. For even more variety, add fresh garlic, canned corn, frozen peas, and asparagus. Just be sure to add soft vegetables towards the end when you would add the green beans.
This vegetable beef soup can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months. However, due to the potatoes, the consistency may change and get mushy after thawing.
Stew meat is the easiest option because it doesn’t require any additional prep. Chuck roast or another well-marbled steak are good alternatives if you prefer to cut your own chunks of beef into 1-inch cubes.
Make-Ahead
- To Store Soup – Once the vegetable beef soup has cooled to room temperature, store the soup in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating Soup – You can reheat a large portion of leftovers in a pot on the stovetop over medium heat, or reheat a smaller portion in a saucepan, or in the microwave until hot.
More Tasty Soup Recipes
It’s always nice to have a bowl of soup ready as a starter for a multi-course meal, or even for a casual no-fuss dinner for the family. These soup recipes are guaranteed to make it to your soup rotation.
- Creamy Carrot Soup
- Tomato Soup (don’t forget Grilled Cheese!)
- Potato Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Quick and Easy Wonton Soup
- Beef and Barley Soup
Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lb beef stew meat
- 1 medium onion, 1 1/2 cups finely diced
- 8 cups beef broth, low sodium
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled, and chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup green beans, cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat a heavy soup pot or dutch oven with oil over medium-high heat. Add beef in a single layer and cook until browned on all sides. Brown in batches if needed to get a good sear.
- To the beef add onions and continue cooking for about 3 minutes or until the onions are softened and lightly golden.
- Add beef broth, canned tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Partially cover and cook until beef is tender, for about 55-75 minutes.*
- Add in potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 20 minutes.
- Add in green beans and green onion and simmer for 10 more minutes.
- Add the parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, and take it off the heat.
I didn’t have any stew meat on hand so I used a pound of ground beef. I made 1″ meatballs, browned them in the pot and then added the vegetables and stock. I also added a cup of pre-cooked barley to further enhance the hardiness. Thanks Natalya for the great recipe! Keep up the great work!
Natasha, are you using fresh green beans or canned in this recipe and if using fresh, do you still put them in at the end for 10 minutes.
Hi Karen! Yes, they are fresh and cut into smaller bite size pieces. Adding them in for 10mins is long enough for them to be cooked through.
This is the third soup I made from your soup recipes. Delicious! I’m thinking I just might be able to cook. lol
Hi Carla! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the soups! Thank you.
This came out so good! Absolutely delicious!! Natasha is a genius!
Aw, thank you!
Seriously the best beef soup I have ever made! I used one quart of home canned broth with one store bought, organic version, and substituted fresh peas in the pods for the beans – it’s a winner!
As always: winner recipe! Impressed with you dishes every time!
So good! Mine came out a little salter than I like so next time I will probably use no salt added stock ans reduce the added salt to 3/4 tbsp. Recipe is delicious though and what I always want my beef veggie soup to taste like! Thank you for sharing!
Slava Ukraina!!!
This was DELICIOUS! Thanks so much—we’re having a cold spell here in upstate NY.
This is perfect for that type of weather. So glad you enjoyed it!
My husband said that this soup is the best thing I’ve ever made for him.
Aaaw that’s lovely feedback, thank you!
So good! Took me back to childhood. As a health and Fitness Coach this definitely got add to the list of top winter recipes.
Only change we did is using our homemade bone broth for stock (it is mostly chicken but delicious).
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you love this recipe.
While you can use stew meat, I would instead get a beef roast and cut it up. Stew meat is much more expensive per pound than a roast.
Thanks for sharing, Mark!
Absolutely the best vegetable beef soup recipe. The only thing I would do different next time is that I would use less broth so my soup would be thicker. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I received many compliments!
Hi Alice! I’m so glad it was enjoyed. Thank you for the feedback.
Made this for the 2nd time. It was AGAIN the best soup ever! Modified it by adding 8 cups of water, not stock, then used 2 tsp. of Better that Bouillon base. Substituted cabbage for beans.
Used fire roasted tomatoes. Absolutely delicious!
So glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for the feedback.
Great recipe! I used Rotel, which has become a favorite in my family for just about anything. The cabbage is a good idea. I’m always trying to sneak cabbage/spinach/kale into dishes so the kids get some leafy greens without being too obvious. ;>)
That’s so great, Brenda! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I followed this recipe to a T. Best vegetable beef soup I have ever had. Wife loved it, told me to not change anything about it (I experiment…) Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s going into the rotation for cold weather meals!
Hi Jeff! That’s wonderful to hear. Thank you so much for sharing.
I added a bit more of everything just to have good leftovers, along with okra, lima beans and shoepeg corn. This soup was the best vegetable beef I think I’ve made. Haven’t been disappointed in any of your recipes I’ve tried.
So glad that you enjoyed it and all of my other recipes!
Wow, wow, WOW! Such a rich, flavorful soup! Most vegetable beef recipes I’ve tried have been meh. Used a couple of beef soup bones in the instant pot for the meat & broth, and threw in a handful of frozen peas & corn. Otherwise, I followed to a T. Thank you for such a simple and delicious recipe!
You’re very welcome, Maren! Thank you for the wonderful feedback.
My veggie beef soups were always blah too Maren. I think this is so much better because you cook the beef, tomatoes and stock so long, then add the veggies. I used to dump it all in.
Best veggie soup ever!
Fantastic. It’s a keeper Natasha!
I used top sirloin roast and it was tender after the cooking time in the recipe.
So glad you loved the recipe, Elaine!