Vegetable Beef Soup

Why you’ll love this recipe:

This quick and easy beef and vegetable soup is incredibly versatile.

If you’re an avid meal prepper, like me, and have all the vegetables already chopped and ready to go, you could be serving this soup in less than 30 minutes!!
You can swap out the vegetables to what you have on hand… A perfect fridge clean-out dish!
Choose your beef from three different options, you’re bound to have one in your fridge or freezer.

Key Ingredients:

Beef – Stew meat is the most common cut for making vegetable beef soup. Make sure to cut it into smaller pieces. Cheap lean steaks, like sirloin steak, are also a great option, especially if you don’t have lots of time for cooking.
Beef stock – Every other week, I make my homemade beef bone broth in my Instant Pot and I just reserve the cooked beef to add it to the soup. But if you choose another cut of beef, use your regular beef stock, I like to use “Better Than Bullion” beef base.
Vegetables – You can literally use ANY vegetables on hand. This soup recipe is highly customizable and a perfect fridge clean-out dish! View some recommendations below:

Carrots and celery are a base for pretty much any soup I make. I usually chop and freeze bunch as my weekly meal prep routine.
Potatoes make this soup so filling and satisfying!! This’s the only thing that I prepared for this soup right before cooking. Wonder which potato is best for soups? Learn all about potato varieties.
Cabbage – You can use any kind of cabbage here. I had Napa cabbage and red cabbage on hand (also shredded and frozen), so that’s what I used here. But regular green cabbage works just as great. One thing to note though: If you’re not adding beets, I don’t recommend using red cabbage, because the soup will turn out kind of weird blueish color. 🙂
Beet – I used roasted beet here in this soup, that’s why it’s added at the end. You can use raw beet, but add it with the potatoes, so it gets time to cook through.

How to make this soup recipe:

1. Prep the veggies and brown the meat:

Prepare all the vegetables you’ll be using and brown the stew meat.

Sear the meat in the Dutch oven until nice and brown. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.

Side by side images of chopped vegetables and seared stew meat.

I’ve meal prepped, so all of my vegetables are frozen (except for the potatoes).

2. Saute the veggies and cook the soup:

Saute the garlic and shallots in a little bit of oil. Then add the carrots and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Then add the potatoes, meat, beef stock and salt and bring it to a boil. Once the potatoes are fork tender, add roasted beetroot, cabbage, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, season to taste and enjoy!

4 step by step photos of making the soup.

Expert Tip:

The secret to a well-rounded soup is lemon juice! If your soup tastes like something is missing, try adding a little bit of acidity before adding more salt! As soon as you squeeze in some lemon juice, the flavors round up so perfectly and it’ll just make sense.

Storing Instructions:

Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
This vegetable beef soup also freezes well. Cool it slightly and then freeze it for up to 3 months.

A bowl of vegetable beef soup with crusty bread on the side.

FAQs:

How do I spice up beef vegetable soup?

If you prefer more flavor, you can add some spices like basil, parsley, and onion powder. You can also add more garlic.

Should vegetables be sauteed before adding to soup?

Yes, it will seal in the flavor and help keep the vegetables firm after they are added to the soup.

What order do you put vegetables in soup?

You need to place the vegetables in that take longer to cook first, that’s usually your root vegetables.

Enjoy a bowl of this satisfying beef and vegetable soup along with crusty bread now! I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Let me know once you’ve tried it by leaving a comment below or sharing a photo and tagging @busy_cooks on Instagram!