Vegetable Beef Soup

This hearty Vegetable Beef Soup is packed with tender chunks of beef and fresh veggies, all simmered in a deeply flavorful, herb-infused broth. My family absolutely love it, we crave it multiple times a week. I always make an extra batch and freeze it, so I have a warm, comforting bowl ready whenever I need it.

I can tell you that we are a soup family through and through, once the cold weather hits, we’re making and eating soup at least twice a week. If you’re anything like us and love a warm bowl, you’ve got to try my lentil soup or another classic in my house is my Minestrone soup.

Vegetable Beef Soup

My vegetable beef soup is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food, packed with tender cooked vegetables and roasted-braised beef in a flavorful broth. I basically make and eat this soup almost all winter long.

It’s a fantastic meal that I jam-packed with nutrients and just about anything I have left in the fridge and pantry. The best part? This beef soup recipe is pretty versatile, you can switch up the veggies, beef cuts, and herbs to make it exactly how you like it.

While this beef vegetable soup has no origin story, it can be traced back to early cuisine when people simmered meat, vegetables, and grains in liquid. Vegetable soup was first mentioned in print in the 5th-century Roman cookbook Apicius de re coquinaria.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Beef – For this recipe, I used a previously cooked meat, my New York strip roast, but you can use any raw piece of meat like a chuck roast, top round, bottom round, flank steak, skirt steak, brisket, or ribeye.  
• Onions and Garlic – A yellow, white, red, or sweet onion will work. I also added some finely minced fresh garlic cloves.
• Vegetables – This is entirely subjective, but I used celery, carrots, parsnips, green beans, potatoes, corn, peas, and mushrooms. You could also add turnips, rutabaga, celeriac root, or beans. All vegetables but beets and bell peppers are good to use.
• Fat – I used unsalted butter for my beurre manie. I also use olive oil to sear the beef and mushrooms.
• Seasonings – Besides coarse salt and ground pepper, I finished the soup with Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce. Both of these are optional.
• Herbs – The vegetable beef soup is finished with fresh parsley, rosemary, and thyme. If you use dry herbs, use half the fresh ones I use in the recipe.
• Pasta – This is entirely optional, but I love pasta in my soup. In addition, I prefer to use smaller pasta like ditalini or acini di pepe.
• Flour – All-purpose or bread flour will work when making the thickening agent.
• Tomatoes – I used tomato paste and canned San Marzano tomatoes, which I crushed by hand. You can also use fresh or canned of any cut.
• Wine – This is optional, but dry red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Shiraz will work.
• Liquid – Beef stock is best, but brodo or just water will also work.

How to Make Vegetable Beef Soup

Prep the Beef: I cut the beef into bite-sized pieces, making sure they’re evenly sized.

Heat the Oil: I add olive oil to a large rondeau or pot and heat it over high heat until it’s hot and shimmering, ready to sear the beef.

Sear the Beef: I add the beef to the hot pot, season it with salt, and let it sit undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes. Then, I stir and sauté for another 3 to 4 minutes until it’s browned on all sides.

Sauté the Onions: I set the beef to the side, add the onions to the pot, season with salt, and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Caramelize the Onions: I reduce the heat to low and let the onions cook slowly for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the Garlic: I stir in the garlic and let it cook for about 30 to 45 seconds, just until it becomes fragrant.

Add the tomato: I mix in the tomato paste and pince by cooking it for 3 to 4 minutes or until it becomes a rust-like color.

Deglaze: Then I deglaze with red wine and cook until it is almost completely absorbed into the paste and onions.

Build the Broth: I pour in the stock, then add the seared beef, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. I bring the mixture to boil.

Simmer the Soup: I cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and let it simmer for 60 to 75 minutes.

Prep the Ingredients: While the soup simmers, I make the beurre manie by mixing equal parts butter and flour until smooth. At the same time, I chop and prep the vegetables, getting them ready to add to the broth.

Thicken the Broth: Once the beef is tender, I stir in the beurre manié, mixing until the broth thickens slightly.

Add the Vegetables: I stir in the carrots, celery, parsnips, potatoes, green beans, crushed tomatoes, and corn, letting them simmer over low to medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes.

Cook the Pasta: While the soup simmers, I boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Then, I strain it under cold water, toss it with a little oil to prevent sticking, and store it separately until it’s ready to serve.

Sauté the Mushrooms: In a large frying pan over high heat, I add the oil and wait until it lightly smokes. Then, I add the mushrooms, gently season with salt, and let them sit untouched for 4 minutes.

Finish Sautéing: I stir the mushrooms and sauté for another 3 to 4 minutes, allowing them to brown evenly.

Finish the Soup: I stir in the sautéed mushrooms, peas, thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt, and pepper, along with a splash of Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce.

Serve: I ladle the hot soup into a bowl and add the desired amount of pre-cooked pasta, letting it soak up the rich, flavorful broth.

Garnish: I top it with optional finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano and minced parsley. Now, it’s ready to enjoy!

Chef Tip + Notes

My #1 tip for making my vegetable beef soup extra rich and flavorful is to always cook the tomato paste before adding the broth. I used to just toss it in, but once I started cooking it first, I noticed how it deepened the umami flavor and added a subtle, balanced acidity to the soup.

• Big Batch Cooking: I make this soup in a 3-gallon pot, so there’s plenty to go around, perfect for feeding a crowd or stocking up for later.
• Add More Protein: If you love beans in your soup, drained canned kidney beans make a great addition.
• Thickening Options: If you like a thicker broth, try using a roux or a slurry.
• Swap the Wine: For a deeper, malty richness, I sometimes swap the wine for a dark beer like Stout or Porter.
• No Alcohol? No Problem! If you don’t cook with alcohol, feel free to skip it.
• Potato Choices: Golden Yukon or red potatoes work great in this soup.
• Corn Options: Fresh, canned, or frozen corn all work, so use whatever you have available for a touch of sweetness and texture.

Serving Suggestions

I love serving this hearty vegetable beef soup with a side of my homemade artisan bread, perfect for soaking up every last drop of that rich broth. If I’m craving something fresh, I’ll pair it with a crisp classic Caesar salad for a balanced meal.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: If you keep the cooked pasta separate until it is ready to be served, you can make this soup up to two days before for freshness.

How to Store: This soup recipe will hold well in the refrigerator, covered up for up to 5 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating. It is best to store the soup separately from the cooked pasta.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of vegetable beef soup to a medium-sized sauce pot and heat over low heat until hot.

More Soup Recipes

• Ribollita
• Mulligan Stew
• Chicken and Wild Rice
• Italian Wedding Soup
• Carne en su Jugo

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Vegetable Beef Soup

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5 from 6 votes

This hearty Vegetable Beef Soup is packed with tender chunks of beef and fresh veggies, all simmered in a deeply flavorful, herb-infused broth. My family absolutely love it, we crave it multiple times a week. I always make an extra batch and freeze it, so I have a warm, comforting bowl ready whenever I need it.

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ½ to 3 pounds of precooked or raw strip roast
• 2 peeled small-diced yellow onions
• 4 finely minced garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine, optional
• 16 cups beef stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 recipe for beurre manie
• 4 peeled and sliced carrots
• 4 sliced ribs of celery
• 3 small peeled and sliced parsnips, about ¾ cup
• 2 peeled large diced russet potatoes
• 2 cups corn kernels
• 28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1” pieces
• 1 pound dry ditalini pasta
• 1 pint thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 ½ cups green peas
• 1 ½ tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary
• 1 ½ tablespoons finely minced fresh thyme
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce to taste
• coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

• Next, in a large rondeau or pot add in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over high heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
• Place the cut of beef, gently season with salt, and leave it untouched for 3 to 4 minutes. Then sauté it for 3 to 4 minutes or until well browned on all sides.
• Place the beef on a plate, and add the onions to the pot, gently season with salt, and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Turn the heat down to low and cook for 10 minutes while occasionally stirring or until well browned and tender.
• Stir in the garlic and cook it until fragrant, which only takes 30 to 45 seconds.
• Mix in the tomato paste and pince by cooking it for 3 to 4 minutes or until it becomes rust-like in color.
• Deglaze with red wine and cook until it is almost completely absorbed into the paste and onions.
• Pour in the stock, add the beef, bay leaf, salt, and pepper, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover it, turn the heat down to low to medium, and cook for 60 to 75 minutes or until the beef is extremely tender.
• In the meantime, make the beurre manie and prep the vegetables.
• Once the beef is cooked, stir in the beurre manie until it thickens. It should be like a thinner gravy. Not too thick, and not too thin, but just have enough viscosity to coat the back of a spoon or nappe.
• Add the carrots, celery, parsnips, potatoes, green beans, crushed tomatoes, and corn, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes over low to medium heat or just until the veggies are done cooking.
• While cooking, boil the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Strain under cold water, toss it with oil and keep it in a separate container until it’s ready to be used.
• In a large frying pan over high heat, add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and once it begins to smoke lightly, add in the mushrooms, gently season with salt, and leave them untouched for 4 minutes.
• Saute the mushrooms for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, peas, thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and Tabasco sauce to the soup and combine.
• Serve the soup in a bowl and add the desired amount of pre-cooked pasta. Garnish with optional finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano and minced parsley.

Notes

My #1 tip for making my vegetable beef soup extra rich and flavorful is to always cook the tomato paste before adding the broth. I used to just toss it in, but once I started cooking it first, I noticed how it deepened the umami flavor and added a subtle, balanced acidity to the soup.

• Big Batch Cooking: I make this soup in a 3-gallon pot, so there’s plenty to go around, perfect for feeding a crowd or stocking up for later.
• Add More Protein: If you love beans in your soup, drained canned kidney beans make a great addition.
• Thickening Options: If you like a thicker broth, try using a roux or a slurry.
• Swap the Wine: For a deeper, malty richness, I sometimes swap the wine for a dark beer like Stout or Porter.
• No Alcohol? No Problem! If you don’t cook with alcohol, feel free to skip it.
• Potato Choices: Golden Yukon or red potatoes work great in this soup.
• Corn Options: Fresh, canned, or frozen corn all work, so use whatever you have available for a touch of sweetness and texture.

Make-Ahead: If you keep the cooked pasta separate until it is ready to be served, you can make this soup up to two days before for freshness.

How to Store: This soup recipe will hold well in the refrigerator, covered up for up to 5 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating. It is best to store the soup separately from the cooked pasta.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of vegetable beef soup to a medium-sized sauce pot and heat over low heat until hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 543kcalCarbohydrates: 66gProtein: 38gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 900mgPotassium: 1967mgFiber: 9gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 4076IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 140mgIron: 6mg

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, French, Roman

Author: Chef Billy Parisi