Hearty and delicious, this homemade vegetable beef soup is savory, comforting, and easy to make. Filled with tender beef and a variety of vegetables, this is the best vegetable soup that is perfect for the cooler months!
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✔️ Quick Recipe Overview
What Makes This Vegetable Beef Soup So Good: What sets this soup recipe apart from the rest is the tomato base broth. Instead of using a beef based broth, this beef & vegetable soup combines tomato juice and the natural beef flavors from the stew meat. It's incredibly flavorful!
How Long It Takes: 20 minutes to prep, 3 hours to simmer and cook
Equipment You'll Need: Large Stock Pot
Learning how to make vegetable beef soup is essential, not only because it's a classic recipe but because it's delicious and super easy to make! Filled with simple pantry ingredients, this homemade vegetable beef soup recipe is filled with hearty vegetables and tender chunks of beef. Rich and comforting, everyone should learn how to make this soup and this recipe couldn't be more simple! Just add in the ingredients and let it cook.
There are lots of different variations of vegetable soups out there to choose from, like this butternut squash soup, homemade vegetable soup and this "everything but the kitchen sink" hamburger soup, but this particular vegetable beef soup is the one I grew up on. It's my dad's recipe and he taught me how to make it at an early age. Tried and true, this version doesn't call for beef broth or beef bouillon like other versions. The beefy flavor is naturally derived from the stew meat. When it simmers with the tomato juice, it provides a rich and hearty flavor.
ℹ️ Here's Exactly Why This Recipe Works
1. Simmering the beef stew meat with the tomato juice is key to creating a hearty and delicious soup base.
2. Just about any type of vegetable tastes great in this soup. It's a great recipe to use up vegetables left in your refrigerator that need to be used.
3. It feeds a crowd and can be made ahead of time. It can also be used for meal prep and freezes well, too!
Unlike other beef vegetable soup recipes, I don't sear the stew meat before adding it to the soup. While searing adds flavor, it also adds a crispy outer layer on the meat. The beef in vegetable soup should be fork tender and it should melt-in-your-mouth with every bite. You won't get those results when searing the beef beforehand.
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
If you ask what's in vegetable beef soup, you'll probably get a different answer every time. It's a very versatile recipe, but the base ingredients tend to be the same with most recipes. Mixed vegetables including chopped carrots, kernels of corn, peas, green beans, and potatoes are most commonly used. For this recipe, I use either canned or frozen mixed vegetables. I also add extra carrots and chopped celery. Any type of potato can be used, but I find that red potatoes provide a slight creamy texture that helps naturally thicken the broth.
Chopped onion, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce adds a depth of flavor to the tomato and beef broth base. With the addition of these ingredient, it adds even more flavor to vegetable beef soup and makes it taste better. Slowly simmering the beef stew meat also adds a tremendous amount of flavor.
🔪 Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
Start by slicing the carrots and celery with a sharp knife. Rinse, drain, and set aside.
Next, wash and rinse the red potatoes. Chop into bite-size chunks and set aside. Finely chop the onion and set aside.
Expert Tip! For even more added nutrition, leave the peelings on the carrots. The carrot skin contains a concentrated layer of vitamin C. The red potato skins contain iron, fiber, and vitamin B. And after a couple of hours of simmering, you won't be able to taste the difference of leaving the peelings on!
It's now time to make the homemade soup broth base. Place a large pot on the stove top. Add in the tomato juice, cut beef stew meat, and chopped onions. Stir until well combined.
Next, add in 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and 1 Tablespoon of chili powder.
Then, add in 6 cups of water.
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Stir all the broth base ingredients, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat to low and simmer covered for 2 hours. The simmering process using these ingredients is what adds so much flavor to vegetable beef soup. Slowly simmering allows the juice from the meat to slowly release and combine with the other base ingredients, which results in a rich and savory flavor.
After the beef and broth simmers for 2 hours, add in the fresh cut carrots, celery, and potatoes.
Stir well and then add in the mixed vegetables. Add another 2 cups of water, stir again until well combined and let the beef and vegetable soup cook on medium-low heat for 1 more hour.
Expert Tip! Cover the soup with a lid while simmering the broth and while the soup finishes cooking for the last hour. Not only does it keep the heat in, it helps meld the flavors and keeps the liquids from evaporating.
After the final hour of cooking, the soup is done and ready to eat! Grab some crackers or a piece of fresh crusty bread and dive in! This quick to make peppery cheese bread pairs really well and so do these sourdough ciabatta rolls! I've been known to eat 2-3 bowls of this beef vegetable soup. It's that good!
👩🍳 Variations and Substitutions
While beef stew meat (chuck roast) yields the best flavor in this beef & vegetable soup, other types of meats can be used. Ground beef works well and is more cost effective if you are looking for a more inexpensive beef of this soup. Other cuts of beef that work well in this recipe is sirloin and top round.
For the vegetables, use whatever type are in season or that need to be eaten before they go bad. I always use either a bag of frozen mixed vegetables or cans of mixed vegetables. In the summer, I love adding fresh vegetables. These vegetables work really well and taste so good in this beef vegetable soup recipe:
- zucchini
- peas
- squash
- fresh tomatoes
- onions
- carrots
- potatoes
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
You can easily make this vegetable beef soup recipe in a crock pot by putting in all the ingredients, setting it to a low temperature setting, and letting it cook for 8 hours.
Yes! It freezes really well. Once the soup has completely cooled, add the soup into either a large freeze safe container or individual smaller containers. Freezer safe plastic bags work well and will last for 3-4 months. When ready to eat, place the container in the refrigerator and let it slowly thaw. Reheat in a pot on the stovetop or in the microwave.
💭 6 Tips For Success
- While this vegetable beef soup can be made in the crockpot, you'll get best results when cooking this on the stove top.
- Simmering the beef with the chopped onions, tomato juice, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce is key and is an important step to making this soup rich and savory. Don't rush or skip this process.
- You can buy pre-cut beef stew meat at your local grocery store or butcher shop. Or, you can cut a chuck roast into bite-size chunks. If you ask the butcher at the grocery store to cut the meat for you, they typically will.
- If using ground beef, use a higher fat content. This will add additional flavor.
- Store leftovers in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
🥣 More Soup Recipes You'll Enjoy!
I eat soup all year long. It's so hearty and delicious, why save it just for the cooler months! This Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of my favorite soup recipes because not only is it delicious, but it's also full of protein. It makes the perfect lunch and pairs well with this Summer Corn Salad. This Southwest Stew is another one I eat all year long. It's similar to chili but with a lighter southwestern flair. Full of ground beef, pinto beans, and corn, this one is a huge fan favorite!
If you're ever craving grilled cheese sandwiches, make them and dip them into this Creamy Tomato and White Bean Soup! The white beans not only provide a ton of flavor, but they are healthy and help to naturally thicken tomato soup! And this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is another one you have to try! Made with roasted fresh tomatoes and fresh basil, this homemade soup is easy to make and is the perfect comfort food!
Looking for more soup recipes? Check out all of my soup and stew recipes where you will find some that are thick and creamy, as well as some broth based soups. The variety is endless!
Easy Vegetable Beef Soup
Ingredients
- 2 lb beef stew meat
- 46 ounce can of tomato juice
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tablespoons chili powder
- 8 cups water, divided
- 24 ounces mixed vegetables, canned or frozen
- 3-4 red potatoes, diced
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- ¾ cup celery, sliced
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, slice the carrots and celery on a cutting board. Rinse, drain, and set aside.
- Next, wash and rinse the red potatoes. Chop into bite-size chunks and set aside.
- Peel the onion and finely chop. Set aside.
- Put a large pot on the stove top. Add in the tomato juice, cut beef stew meat, and chopped onions. Stir until well combined.
- Next, add in 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tablespoon of chili powder, and 6 cups of water.
- Stir all the broth base ingredients, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer covered for 2 hours.
- After the beef and broth simmers for 2 hours, add in the fresh cut carrots, celery, and potatoes. Stir well.
- Add in the mixed vegetables, another 2 cups of water, and stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Cook covered on medium-low heat for 1 more hour and then stir.
Notes
- For added nutrition, leave the peelings on the carrots and potatoes.
- While this vegetable beef soup can be made in the crockpot, you'll get best results when cooking this on the stove top.
- Simmering the beef with the chopped onions, tomato juice, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce is key and is an important step to making this soup rich and savory. Don't rush or skip this process.
- You can buy pre-cut beef stew meat at your local grocery store or butcher shop. Or, you can cut a chuck roast into bite-size chunks. If you ask the butcher at the grocery store to cut the meat for you, they typically will.
- If using ground beef, use a higher fat content. This will add additional flavor.
- Store leftovers in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
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Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in April 2012, but was re-published with updated step-by-step instructions, pictures and tips in October 2022.
Janice
I’m going to make this soup today. I grew up eating this soup only Mom used ground beef. Mom called it vegetable soup. Just carrots celery potatoes and onions. Mom sometimes used V8 juice but it was always delicious. 😋❤️
Amanda Mason
Awe such wonderful memories, I'm sure! Let me know how it turned out!!