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★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
Everyone loves the tender chunks of stew meat and how it's packed with healthy veggies — all in a light, beefy-tomato broth.
Make this vegetable beef soup in your crockpot or on the stovetop.
Easy Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup
This vegetable beef soup is made from scratch but it's very easy to make. Do you remember the mixed veggies that your mom made you eat when you were little? Well, they're back. And your adult-self will love how they add to the health and flavor factor of this soup.
Tastes Like Grandma's Recipe
This homemade, old-fashioned vegetable beef soup brings back warm, nostalgic vibes for many. It's a tried and true recipe.
Hearty and Healthy
This hearty vegetable beef soup is packed with tender stew meat, rustic potatoes, and vitamin-rich mixed veggies. Simmered in a light beefy-tomato broth, it’s a filling, nourishing meal perfect for a chilly day.
A One-pot Meal
You can make this soup in a slow cooker—use the sauté feature if it has one. If not, you can still sear and saute slowly in the crockpot, it takes about an hour.
I usually use a Dutch oven so I can sear the beef, sauté the veggies, and simmer everything in one pot.
Pack leftovers for lunch.
This soup stores well and makes a great to-go lunch. Just pack it in a glass container and reheat in the microwave for a quick, hearty meal.
Enjoy with fresh-baked bread.
Frozen bread dough is a nice little cheat for quick and easy fresh-baked bread on weeknights. You could also grab a loaf of bakery bread or try my 5-ingrdient milk and honey bread.
Add a salad and dessert.
This vegetable beef soup goes great with my quick and easy cranberry-apple blue cheese salad and why not a giant Twinkie bundt cake for dessert?!
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
The beauty of my vegetable beef soup recipe is that you don't need a ton of ingredients to get a ton a flavor.
Here's everything you'll need:
- Beef broth and beef bullion. For more flavorful stock we are using both.
- Diced potatoes. Leave the skin on for added flavor, texture and vitamins.
- Frozen mixed vegetables. Easy! Healthy!
- Canned diced tomatoes. The beef and tomatoes create a lovely broth as the base for this soup.
- Stew meat. You can buy this packaged, already cut into bite-sized pieces or you can use ground beef.
- Butter. I like to sear the meat in butter for added creamy flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce. This brings out the "meaty" flavor of the beef.
- Onion, bay leaves, salt and pepper all add layers of flavor to finish off this soup.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
This soup is easy to prepare using one pot. Here's a look at the steps.
- First, sear the stew meat.
- Add chopped onion, frozen mixed vegetables, and diced potatoes.
- Add diced tomatoes.
- Add Worcestershire sauce, beef broth and beef bullion.
- Add bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil then simmer until vegetables are soft and flavorful.
Simple and easy!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
How to Tenderize Meat in Soup
- Sear First: Brown the meat before simmering to lock in juices and boost flavor.
- Simmer Low and Slow: Cook the soup over low heat for at least 2 hours (up to 4 for tougher cuts like stew meat). This breaks down connective tissue and makes the meat tender.
- Keep It Covered: Cover your pot to trap moisture and maintain a steady simmer.
Just remember: Sear + Simmer = flavor-packed, juicy beef. Totally worth the extra step!
I like pre-cubed stew meat for its tenderness and hearty texture. Ground beef works too for a similar flavor at a lower cost. For a natural option, try grass-fed beef—I recently found some at a local market and loved it.
Make this as a one-pot meal in a Dutch oven. First sauté the meat for flavor, then add the rest and simmer. If cooking ahead, sauté first, then transfer to a slow cooker.
Yes! You can sear the meat on the stovetop, then finish the soup in a slow cooker. It’s perfect for busy days—just prep in the morning and come home to a ready meal. If buying a crockpot, look for one with a built-in timer that switches to “keep warm” to avoid overcooking.
Yes! With an Instant Pot, you can sauté and cook in one pot. Sear the meat and onions on sauté, then add the rest and pressure cook on high for 12–15 minutes until tender. Follow your Instant Pot’s directions for sautéing and releasing pressure.
Here’s the secret to super flavorful soup: bouillon! For extra flavor, add a little bouillon to your broth—start with a teaspoon and adjust to taste. You can also deglaze your skillet with ½ cup broth after sautéing, then pour the rich liquid into your soup for a big flavor boost.
Stew meat adds some juice, but for a rich broth use bouillon + water, canned broth, or stock paste. I like starting with bone broth for flavor, then adding bouillon for an extra boost—you’ll want to sip it on its own!
Spice up beefy vegetable soup by adding heat with hot sauce, jalapeños, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
Sautéing veggies first helps release flavor, aroma, and softens them so they cook faster and aren’t crunchy later. It’s optional, but if you have time, try it and taste the difference!
This soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. it can also be frozen and reheated.
Store in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months.
★ More Beef Recipes ★
Love soup? Browse my other easy soup recipes to Pin for later.
Have a craving for beef? Browse all my beef recipes.
This old fashioned vegetable beef soup was featured on South Your Mouth!
Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lb stew meat diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cup mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans and peas)
- 3 large potatoes diced
- 3 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon beef bullion
- 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes not drained
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Sear beef. Heat butter in a dutch oven or large pot over high heat. Add stew meat and sear so that outside edges are brown, turning over as needed to brown all sides of the meat.
- Sauté aromatics. Add diced onion and saute while searing the beef. Continually stir onions to prevent sticking. Cook for about 3 minutes total.If finishing in a slow cooker*, transfer onions and beef to your crockpot set on low once fully seared.
- Add veggies and create broth. Add mixed vegetables, cubed potatoes, diced tomatoes, beef broth, beef bullion, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves.
- Simmer. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours or until potatoes are soft all the way through and meat is desired tenderness.If using a crockpot, cook for 2 hours on high (or 4 hours on low). Check potatoes to be sure they are fully cooked through, then serve.
- Season and serve. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Video
Notes
- Pre-heat your crockpot to reduce cook time.
- For more tender beef and vegetables, simmer soup for up to 4 hours or start with a tender cut of beef like a steak.
- I leave the skin on my potatoes like my grandma did for extra vitamins and flavor but you can peel them if you prefer.
- For extra flavor, deglaze the pan after cooking the meat. Remove the beef, add ½ cup broth, boil, and scrape up the browned bits. Then pour the flavorful liquid and beef into your soup.
marsha says
garlic celry none in these ?
Jackie says
Easy and absolutely delicious!!
Angela G. says
Thanks for the review, Jackie! So glad you liked it!!
Marlene says
Great recipe - I am a fan!
Angela G. says
Hi Marlene, Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Denise Tilley says
Loved this recipe! So easy and reminds me of my mom’s!!!
Angela G. says
Hi Denise, that makes me happy! Glad you enjoyed it and found it easy. 🙂
Conchita says
Will chicken gravy enhance the flavor of oxtail vegetable soup?
Angela G. says
I would suggest using beef broth with oxtail instead of chicken gravy.
Betsy says
Can we use fresh carrots and celery? If so how much longer would I need to cook and would I need to add extra broth?
Angela G. says
Hi Betsy, yes you can use fresh carrots and add celery. Just chop them small and you should not need extra cook time or extra broth. To soften the carrots faster, you could sauté them (and the other vegetables too) with the meat. This adds a little extra flavor too!
Tina says
If I have roast do I just cube it all?
Angela G. says
Hi Tina, yes! You can cube the roast into bite sized pieces and follow the same directions. Thanks for asking!
Diana says
This was delicious!! Even my husband went back for more. All I did was add beef broth because we like to have more juice. Definitely try this!
Angela G. says
Hi Diana, so glad you and you husband enjoyed this soup! Thanks for the feedback.
Becca says
Do we add water to this as well?
Angela G. says
Hi Becca, No water is needed, just the beef broth.
Dee says
Delicious m!
Dee says
Made this soup for supper tonight! Omg it was delicious. Nice & Hearty! A wonderful soup on a Fall Day.
Angela G. says
Hi Dee, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thelma says
I made this soup in my instaPot it was delicious. I made twice the amount and my family said it was amazing!
Angela G. says
Hi Thelma, I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the soup and that you were able to make it in the Instapot. Thanks for the feedback!
Maribeth Smith says
Will the cubed beef for super tender after sautéing and one hour on high in the slow cooker?
Angela G. says
I think so. Just make sure to sear all sides of the cubed beef during the satire step to lock juices in.
Sue says
How long do you cook this soup in the instapot?
Angela G. says
Hi Sue, thanks for asking. Once you sauté, this soup needs just 12 minutes on high pressure to cook the vegetables and be ready to eat. Follow the directions provided with your Instapot for sautéing, heat up time and for releasing pressure safely. I'm not an expert with the Instapot, so be sure to defer to the instruction manual for proper use of your particular model.
Erin says
Thanks for sharing at the Fabulous Friday Linky Party Angela!
Hope you can join us again this week >>https://abiggreenhouse.com/the-super-fabulous-friday-linky-party-5/