I always make sure I have the ingredients on hand to make a pot of this nourishing, comforting Vegetable Beef Soup! This soup is packed full of flavor, and thanks to a few shortcuts (hello, frozen veggies), it comes together in just a few minutes.
Combine this soup with some crusty bread and a wedge salad for a perfect nourishing meal. For me, there is something about this combo that makes me all kinds of nostalgic—it just feels cozy. Neither of these recipes are particularly fancy, and you probably wouldn’t serve them to guests. But they are warm, comforting, and über-tasty (like the best comfort food always is).
What kind of beef is in this soup?
To make things easy, we’re using ground beef here—it’s easy to source, affordable, and it helps you get nice beef flavor in each bite. If you prefer, you can use beef stew meat for meatier chunks.
What kind of vegetables will I need?
The biggest shortcut here? Frozen mixed veggies! They save you tons of chopping and cooking time on the soup—and bonus, they are mega-affordable. You can grab a bag of organic frozen mixed veggies for less than $2. Steal.
You can use any kind of frozen mixed veggies that sound good to you, but the classic combo of peas, carrots, corn, and green beans is what we tested this recipe with. This mix is readily available in the freezer section of most grocery stores, and it tastes great!
What can I add to vegetable soup to give it more flavor?
A few ingredients in this soup recipe take vegetable soup from meh to wow!
- The tomato paste (or ketchup) adds richness to the broth.
- Browning the beef gives the meat more flavor.
- Sautéeing the onions and garlic makes them more aromatic and gives them a deeper flavor.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes give the soup some smokiness.
- The herbs (dried thyme and bay leaf), salt, and black pepper add more complexity to the soup and bring out the flavors of the other ingredients.
How do I make vegetable beef soup?
This soup honestly couldn’t be easier. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Brown the ground beef and drain off most of the fat.
- Add the onion and garlic, and sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Add all the rest of the ingredients, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Look at that—soup’s ready, in about 20 minutes! Whatever we don’t eat right away, I stash in pint size mason jars, so it is super easy to warm up individual servings.
What if I can’t find fire-roasted tomatoes?
No problem! A regular can of diced tomatoes will do the trick just fine—the fire-roasted tomatoes just add a touch of smokiness to the soup. In fact, I often use regular diced tomatoes for this recipe because I always have some on hand from my summer canning.
How do I reheat leftover vegetable beef soup?
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. It is easy to reheat this vegetable beef soup in the microwave or on the stove. To warm it on the stove top, heat in a small saucepan over medium until hot, stirring occasionally.
If you want to use the microwave instead, cover the soup loosely with a paper towel to avoid splattering the inside of your microwave. A two-cup serving will take 2-3 minutes to warm up.
Can I meal prep this soup?
Sure can! As seen in our Mason Jar Soup and Salad Lunches how-to, soup is a great meal prep lunch! Just fill up a pint-size mason jar with your soup, and then stash it in the fridge or freezer (if freezing, make sure to use wide-mouth pint canning jars, as those are freezable). When it’s time for lunch, just remove the lid and warm the entire jar in the microwave—easy-peasy.
What should I serve with vegetable beef soup?
This soup is begging for some homemade bread! Try our Drop Biscuits or 30 Minute Focaccia alongside. If you’re looking to add something fresh to the meal, try our Wedge Salad!
Easy Vegetable Beef Soup
A few pantry staples come together to make a nourishing pot of Vegetable Beef Soup! Serve this soup with salad and crusty bread to make it a full meal.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 10-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
- 4 cups beef broth or chicken broth
- 1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup, optional, see notes
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium high heat. Add in the ground beef and cook until browned and cooked through. Drain off all but about 3 tablespoons of the grease.
- Return the pot to the heat, and add in the onion and garlic. Cook until the veggies are just tender and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the frozen mixed vegetables, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste or ketchup (if using), potatoes, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Out of onion and garlic? Sub 1 tablespoon onion powder or dried minced onion for the onion, and 2 teaspoons garlic powder for the garlic.
- To stretch this meal into six servings, add two more peeled and diced potatoes and an extra can of diced tomatoes.
- To reduce the amount of ground beef used, add an additional peeled and diced potato in place of half of the ground beef.
- The tomato paste or ketchup isn’t necessary, but it does give the base of the soup a richer body. If you don’t have it, just leave it out!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 568Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 1560mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 10gSugar: 11gProtein: 42g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
