Hearty Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup
This recipe delivers a classic, soul-satisfying Vegetable Beef Soup using tender stew meat and fresh vegetables. It is an easy, filling meal perfect for family dinners or meal prep.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 2 hr 15 min
- Total Time: 2 hr 35 min
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Fat
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups beef broth (use homemade beef broth for best flavor)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 cup chopped potatoes (Yukon Gold or Russet)
- 1 cup frozen green beans
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (optional, for thickening)
Instructions
- Pat the beef stew meat dry with paper towels. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches, ensuring not to overcrowd the pot. Remove the browned beef and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add the chopped onion, carrots, and celery to the pot. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
- If you prefer a thicker soup, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for 1 minute to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Return the browned beef to the pot. Pour in the beef broth and add the diced tomatoes (with juice).
- Stir in the potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the beef is very tender.
- Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the frozen green beans and corn. Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes, or until the frozen vegetables are heated through.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if needed before serving this filling lunch idea.
Notes
- For a quicker weeknight meal, substitute the stew meat with 1.5 pounds of ground beef. Brown the ground beef first, drain off excess fat, and then proceed with adding the vegetables.
- If you do not have stew meat, you can use boneless chuck roast cut into cubes.
- To achieve a deeper, richer flavor, use high-quality, low-sodium beef broth or homemade beef broth.
- This soup freezes well. Cool completely before transferring to airtight containers for meal prep.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 650
- Fat: 14
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 9
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 35
- Fiber: 7
- Protein: 30
- Cholesterol: 75