One of the first things I learned when I embarked on my budget-food journey is just how easy, filling, and inexpensive soup is. Homemade soups are a breeze to throw together and they’re always so much tastier than store-bought canned soup. This vegetable beef soup is a great example. It’s chock-full of colorful veggies, filling ground beef, and the most delicious broth ever. Serve it up with a nice crusty bread for dipping and lunch is served!
What’s in Vegetable Beef Soup?
This classic soup combines ground beef, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, corn, carrots, and green beans in a flavorful broth. To make this soup a bit easier, I’ve used a frozen vegetable mix to cut down on the amount of peeling and chopping needed to prepare the soup. That makes this Vegetable Beef Soup extra fast and easy. :)
To give this vegetable beef soup more flavor, we’ve added a healthy dose of Italian seasoning and some Worcestershire sauce to the broth for extra depth. Make sure you’re using a full-flavored beef broth for maximum deliciousness. I like to use Better Than Bouillon to make flavorful broth for my soups.
Beef Options
I used ground beef in my vegetable beef soup because it was the least expensive and the easiest to use. If you use a higher fat ground beef, you have the option to drain the fat off after browning, or leave it in for extra flavor and richness.
If you have room in your budget and would rather have chunks of beef in your soup, choose a chuck roast or bottom round roast, cut into 1-inch pieces. Simply brown the beef in the pot before adding the rest of the ingredients. No need to cook through during the browning stage, as it will cook through while the soup is simmered.
What Else Can I Add?
This is my favorite part of any recipe. What else can you add to vegetable beef soup to make it your own? Try adding some of these ingredients:
- Barley
- Chopped cabbage
- Celery
- Cauliflower florets
- Parsnips
- Crushed red pepper
- Finely chopped kale
Vegetable Beef Soup
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 lb. ground beef ($6.49)
- 1 russet potato (about ¾ lb.) ($0.79)
- 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes ($1.19)
- 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 4 cups beef broth ($0.52)
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.12)
- 12 oz. frozen vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans) ($1.00)
- salt to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a soup pot along with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the ground beef to the pot and continue to sauté until the ground beef is cooked through. If using a higher fat content ground beef, you can drain the excess fat, if you prefer.
- While the beef is cooking, peel and dice the russet potato into ½-inch cubes.
- Add the cubed potatoes, diced tomatoes (with juices), Italian seasoning, pepper, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce to the pot. Stir to combine.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and allow the soup to come up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Add the frozen vegetables to the pot and allow the soup to come back up to a simmer. Simmer the vegetables in the soup for about five minutes.
- Finally, taste the soup and add salt to help the flavors pop. Start with ½ tsp, if desired, and add more until it reaches your desired level.
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How to Make Vegetable Beef Soup – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion and mince 2 cloves of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a soup pot along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add 1 lb. ground beef and continue to sauté until the beef is cooked through. If you’re using a higher fat content ground beef you can drain off the excess fat, if preferred.
While the beef is browning, peel and dice one russet potato (about ¾ lb.) into ½-inch pieces. Add the diced potatoes to the pot with one 28oz. can diced tomatoes (with juices), 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, 4 cups beef broth, and 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and allow the soup to come up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Add a 12oz. bag of frozen vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans), stir to combine and allow it to come back up to a simmer. Simmer the vegetables in the soup for about five more minutes.
Finally, taste the soup and add salt to your liking. The amount of salt needed will depend on the salt content of the broth you used, but you’ll likely need at least a little to help the flavors pop.
I garnished with a little chopped parsley for color, but it’s not needed for flavor. I do tend to put a little freshly cracked pepper or each bowl for a little extra pop, though!
I made a double batch and swapped out black beans for ground beef in half of it to save money and increase nutrition. Didn’t have beef “better than bullion”, so I used chicken. Swapped crushed tomatoes because that what I had. It was incredible. Would make great, frugal meal prep, especially if swapping beans for half the beef.
I love the idea of adding barley. Will there be enough time to cook it if added with broth?
I tried adding barley, and it was great! I added 1/2 cup pearled barley in step 4 along with additional cup of broth. Simmered covered 20 minutes before adding potatoes. After adding potatoes, followed recipe from there. Delish! A little too much Worcestershire sauce for us – next time I’ll use just 1 tbsp. Will def make this again!
Hi there! We have a similar recipe for Vegetable Barley Soup that you could use as a guidepost for making the soup you’re dreaming of! Combining the ingredients and cooking methods of these two recipes should be pretty straightforward. The main difference is the amount of broth you will need to add. The barley soup calls for 6 cups (rather than 4) because the barley will soak up a lot of liquid as it hydrates and cooks. ~Marion :)
This soup rocks. Knock out of the park, one of my fave recipes. After trying it, my boyfriend immediately declared it his favorite soup ever
I followed the recipe as closely as I could, but did make some slight substitutions based on what I had, which I will document for anyone who has not had success:
– used 1.5lbs* 80/20 fat ground beef and didn’t drain the fat
– used fire-roasted diced tomatoes
– used 16oz* frozen veggies that also included peas
– a couple of red potatoes instead of a russet
– salted the beef added the spice and black pepper during the sauté stage (instead of adding them directly with the broth)
– added a bay leaf cause why not
*A note: using the increased amounts of beef and vegetables got this VERY close to boiling out of my 5.25qtDutch oven. It also made it more stewish.
Used up my fridge- 1/3lb organic grassfed beef, finely chopped white organic mushrooms 2oz, and a can of organic no salt kidney beans – seasoned with steak seasoning for “meat”
Added concentrated tomato paste before broth
Added one extra garlic clove- and only used half the bag of veggies because I had two zucchini to use
Otherwise I followed the seasoning. Tried to get away with only three teaspoons better than bullion – but it did need four.
Also, sprinkled in some quinoa I found at dollar store.
I made this soup for approximately 7 dollars – but I have a feeling most of my flavor came from the splurgey worcestshire Lea and something ….
Thanks for another great recipe!
This soup is so good! We made it with chuck roast and added some fresh diced tomatoes to use them up. We paired it with your hot honey cornbread and it was amazing! So easy, flavorful, and filling.
I always love your recipes, but for some reason this one missed the mark for me. I Needed to add a lot of salt, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano to give it some depth. Maybe I did something wrong. It’ll do for my meal prep but I probably won’t make this recipe again as a result. 😥
A very tasty soup. I swapped out the potatoes for spinach an it turned out delicious. Will be adding macaroni.
A very tasty soup. I swapped out the potatoes for spinach an it turned out delicious.
I can’t cook but did nail this recipe
Will be having soup for dinner for next three months
HAHAHAHAHA!
Usually I follow recipes and it doesn’t pan out. However I did here and this soup turned out awesome. (no, I did not use garlic but did use all other ingredients).
I think the Better Than Bouillon added to beef broth is necessary for a great hearty beef flavor. I used canned green beans and canned corn and it turned out perfect. I did prepare onions as directed but I did not with potatoes. I cut them up and cooked them in air fryer while I was cooking up onions and the beef. That solves potatoes being cooked.
I am not a cook, I am a soldier and I pulled this recipe off successfully. 5 Star Results and I hardly pull off cooking this good. Truthfully, almost never.
That’s awesome! Sounds like an easy recipe. I like your little tricks . Makes it a bit easier on a busy cold night . Be making this tonight .Bob Appétit 🍂🍁🧡🍁🍂