This homemade vegetable beef soup is easy to make with ground beef and nutritious veggies simmered in a flavorful tomato based broth. It’s hearty, healthy, and the perfect comfort food to enjoy during winter!
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Hearty and Filling
This vegetable beef soup recipe is one of my favorite cozy soup recipes! It’s similar to my delicious hamburger soup or even this albondigas soup with meatballs, but with a few more veggies and seasonings.
It’s one of my all-time favorite soups to make during the winter to serve with homemade rolls or sweet cornbread. It’s perfect on a cold snowy day and one of my favorites to make this time of year!
This beef and vegetable soup is a Whole 30 recipe that I made often when I was doing the challenge because it’s made with wholesome yet hearty ingredients.
It’s versatile, freezes well, and is in our monthly rotation too, because the whole family loves it!
Why You’ll Love This Soup Recipe
- Easy. No complicated steps or ingredients and this vegetable beef soup is easily made on the stovetop!
- One pot. Brown your ground beef, add your colorful vegetables and then let it simmer away.
- Adaptable. Adjust the spices and veggies to what your family likes and you have on hand.
- Freezer friendly: Just place in a freezer safe bag, thaw, and reheat!
Recipe Ingredients
The best thing about this beef and vegetable soup is that you can add in any veggies that you have on hand and it always tastes delicious!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Meat: I used lean ground beef, but ground turkey or a combination of the two could be used.
- Vegetables: I used onion, bell pepper, potatoes, celery and carrots.
- Tomato broth: Rotel, or a can of diced tomatoes and green chiles, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar and water.
- Seasonings: Simple yet flavorful chili powder, salt and black pepper.
Favorite Vegetables to Add
In addition to the ones I list above , here are a few more that I love to add to vegetable beef soup! Note that if you plan to add in any frozen vegetables, add those near the end of cooking time.
- Cauliflower
- Zucchini
- Squash
- Peas
- Green beans
- Corn
- Chopped cabbage
How to Make Vegetable Beef Soup
This beef vegetable soup is a must make a for a chilly day and can be prepped in only 15 minutes.
- Chop vegetables: Prep your veggies by dicing onion and potatoes and chopping carrots, celery and bell pepper.
- Sauté meat and veggies. Heat oil over medium heat in large pot. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Then stir in ground beef and cook until browned. Drain remaining fat.
- Simmer. Add in potatoes, celery, carrots, rotel, tomato sauce and water and bring to a simmer. Then add balsamic vinegar, chili powder, salt and pepper and stir. Turn heat to low and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until root veggies are fork tender. Stir occasionally.
- Serve. Top vegetable beef soup with fresh basil, fresh parsley, and Parmesan cheese if desired.
5 star review
“My family LOVES this soup! It’s one of our all time favorite recipes. So delicious and easy to make!”
-Misty
Variations
- Stew meat: You could make vegetable beef soup with beef stew meat, like I do in beef stew, but you will need to simmer your beef in the tomato broth mixture for about 30 minutes until tender before adding the remaining ingredients.
- More vegetables. For even more veggie goodness, feel free to omit the ground beef and add an extra cup of vegetables. You can also add in some kidney or white beans to bulk it up even more.
- Ground turkey. Substitute lean ground turkey instead of beef for a lighter vegetable beef soup. You could also use a mixture of both.
- Greens. For even more veggies, mix in a handful of spinach or kale right before serving.
- Spice. Add a dash of hot sauce or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for a little heat.
Expert Tips
- Consistency. Add vegetable broth or beef broth to thin out the consistency and make this vegetable beef soup stretch even further.
- Scrape sides of pan: When adding your liquids, scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate the browned bits from your meat and onion for even more flavor.
- Time-saving tip: Look for pre-cut onion, carrots and celery in your produce department or use frozen, no need to thaw first.
- Garnish. Top with fresh herbs for more flavor (basil, oregano or parsley taste great). Freshly grated Parmesan cheese or avocado slices also taste delicious on top.
FAQs
That should work. You will still need to brown your meat first, than add all ingredients to your crock pot and cook on low 6-7 hours until your potatoes are tender.
Soup refers to your ingredients being cooked in liquid until tender, it is usually thinner and contains more broth or liquid. Stew on the other hand means stewing your ingredients which includes submerging your ingredients in just enough liquid to cover them. The result is that your stew is very thick.
Russet potatoes are a popular choice for vegetable soup, but red potatoes or Yukon gold also work.
This vegetable beef soup recipe is great with some fresh bread to soak up all the juices! Try some garlic bread, breadsticks, or rolls. Grilled cheese is another favorite!
How to Store and Freeze
Store: This veggie beef soup will keep for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Freeze: Vegetable beef soup also freezes beautifully! Let cool, then pour into a zip top bag or freezer container (leave about an inch of room from the top). It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheat: When you’re ready to eat, thaw in the fridge overnight. Then reheat in a pot in the stove until warm. You may need to add in a little water or broth to thin out the consistency.
Looking for more easy soup recipes? Try this corn chowder, chicken tortilla soup, or creamy sweet potato soup!
More Easy Soup Recipes
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Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small onion , diced
- 1 bell pepper , chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic , more if desired
- 1 pound lean ground beef , or turkey
- 2-3 small potatoes , peeled and diced
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 14.5 ounces rotel , or can of diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 ½ -2 cups water , more as needed (can also use broth)
- 1-2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons chili powder , more or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt , more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper , more to taste
For serving (optional): Fresh basil or parsley, parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain any remaining fat. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper.
- Stir in potatoes, celery and carrots, rotel, tomato sauce and water (or broth). Bring to a light simmer and then stir in the balsamic vinegar, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add more water or broth as needed, depending on preference.
- Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about 30-45 minutes (or until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender), stirring occasionally. Add more water as needed. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with fresh basil or parsley and parmesan if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
My whole family loved this! It is simple and has a lot of great flavor!
So glad to hear your family enjoyed the vegetable beef soup!
Just wanna say that this has been my go-to soup for YEARS. I follow the recipe exactly as written, and I love breaking this out in the colder months. Thank you!!!!
You are so welcome, Lindsay! It makes us so happy to hear you love the recipe :) Thank you for your nice comment and review!
Delicious! Recipe is excellent as written, but we did use chicken broth instead of water and increased the amount to 4 cups to get more soup consistency. We will definitely make it again. Don’t forget to top your soup with fresh avocado!
Thanks for sharing your substitutions, Nina :) Fresh avocado is a must!
This is great! I’ve made it numerous times. I use zucchini and cauliflower (and 1lb of local ground beef) along w/ carrots and celery. This really chunks it up, so I end up adding about 3 cups of chicken broth, and after I pour in the tomato sauce, I fill the can with water and add that. I would hold off on the additional salt until the end due to the chicken broth (unless it is low sodium). Also, if I have it on hand, I break off a piece of dark chocolate (88% very dark, about a 1″ square). I learned that from another recipe for chili that called for 1 C. coffee, 1 bottle of beer, and some chocolate. Adds a bit of depth! (I do not add coffee or beer to this recipe tho).
Can I use my crockpot for this? :)
Sure! Brown the meat, onions and garlic on the stove first, then transfer to the crockpot with the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 3-4 hours or 5-6 hours on low.