Soups & Stews

Serving

Vegetable Beef Soup

Name: Vegetable Beef Soup
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Soups & Stews
Ingredients: 1.5 lbs beef stew meat, cubed; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 yellow onion, diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 8 cups beef broth; 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes; 3 carrots, sliced; 3 potatoes, cubed; 2 cups green beans, trimmed and cut; 1 cup corn kernels; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp dried thyme; salt and black pepper, to taste

A homestyle soup of tender beef and a garden's worth of vegetables in a tomato-beef broth.

90 minutes

Serves 6

Dinner

31 min prep

50 min cook

No common allergens detected

Based on this recipe's ingredient list. Always verify with your own brands and labels.

Good to know

One-pot

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners

Instructions

7 steps

1
Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and brown beef in batches; set aside.
2
Sauté onion in the same pot until softened, then add garlic and cook 1 minute.
3
Return beef to the pot, add beef broth, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme; bring to a boil.
4
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 45 minutes until beef is tender.
5
Add carrots and potatoes and simmer 20 minutes.
6
Stir in green beans and corn and simmer 10 minutes more.
7
Remove bay leaves, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Vegetable Beef Soup — plated and served — Serving moment. How Vegetable Beef Soup looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

69/100

Works for many families

Allergen-friendly 100

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 51

Budget-friendly 80

Great leftovers 87

Pantry-friendly 25

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

485

Calories

39 g

Protein

31 g

Carbs

23 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Vegetable beef soup sits in the practical North American soup tradition: a pot built from tougher beef cuts, pantry broth, canned tomatoes, and vegetables that can stand up to simmering. It overlaps with older European beef-and-vegetable broths, but the tomato-beef profile and mix of potatoes, corn, green beans, and carrots feel especially tied to everyday home cooking and garden-preserving habits.

Listahan note

This version keeps the method straightforward and puts the flavor work into browning the beef before the broth goes in. The vegetables are staged so the potatoes and carrots soften fully while the green beans and corn keep more shape and color.

Technique cues

Brown the beef in batches, leaving space between pieces. The browned bits on the bottom of the pot are what make the broth taste cooked-in instead of flat.
Add the potatoes and carrots after the beef has had time to tenderize. If they go in at the beginning, they can break down before the meat is ready.
Green beans and corn only need the last stretch of simmering. Adding them late keeps the soup from turning muddy and gives each spoonful clearer texture.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: While the beef browns, dice the onion and mince the garlic; slice the carrots and cube the potatoes during the first 45-minute simmer.
Make-ahead: Cook the soup through, cool it, and reheat gently later; the broth tastes more settled after resting.
Leftover move: Spoon leftover soup over cooked egg noodles or rice to turn it into a thicker next-day bowl.
Cleanup rhythm: Use the simmer time to wash the cutting board, knife, and vegetable prep bowls, leaving only the soup pot and ladle after dinner.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

Beef stew meat, cubed

Main protein

Purpose: Stew meat becomes tender with a steady simmer and gives the soup its hearty, broth-rich character.

Handling: Pat the cubes dry and brown them in batches so they sear instead of steaming.

Adaptation: Cubed chuck roast works well if you want to cut the meat yourself; smaller cubes will cook faster.

Yellow onion

Aromatic base

Purpose: Onion sweetens as it softens and helps connect the beef, tomato, and vegetables.

Handling: Dice it evenly so it melts into the broth rather than leaving large sharp pieces.

Adaptation: A white onion gives a cleaner bite, while a small amount of leek makes the base softer and sweeter.

Beef broth

Soup body

Purpose: The broth carries the browned beef flavor through the vegetables and keeps the soup from tasting like plain tomato water.

Handling: Scrape the bottom of the pot after adding liquid so the browned bits dissolve into the soup.

Adaptation: Use part chicken broth for a lighter pot, or a richer beef broth if you want a deeper stew-like taste.

Diced tomatoes

Acid and color

Purpose: Tomatoes brighten the beef broth and give the soup its familiar red-gold homestyle look.

Handling: Add the tomatoes with their juices so the broth gets both acidity and body.

Adaptation: Crushed tomatoes make the broth smoother; fire-roasted diced tomatoes add a slightly smoky edge.

Carrots

Sweet root vegetable

Purpose: Carrots bring sweetness that balances the tomato and thyme.

Handling: Slice them thick enough to hold their shape through the simmer.

Adaptation: Parsnips can replace some carrots for a woodier, less sweet flavor.

Potatoes

Hearty starch

Purpose: Potatoes make the soup filling and absorb the beef-tomato broth as they cook.

Handling: Cut them into even cubes so they finish at the same time.

Adaptation: Yukon gold potatoes give a creamy bite, while russets soften more and slightly thicken the broth.

Technique notes

Do not move the beef too early when browning. Let each side develop color before turning so the pot builds a savory base.
Ease off to a slow, quiet simmer once everything is in the pot. Boiling hard toughens the beef and turns the potatoes to mush.
Season at the end, not just the beginning. Broth and tomatoes vary, and the soup needs its final salt and pepper adjustment after the vegetables have cooked.

Ingredient swaps

Frozen vegetable shortcut: Use frozen cut green beans and corn straight from the freezer during the final simmer; give them a few extra minutes if they cool the broth down.
Richer broth direction: Replace 1 cup of beef broth with tomato juice or a splash more canned tomato liquid for a more tomato-forward soup.
Leaner texture path: Trim visible fat from the beef before browning, but keep enough surface for searing so the broth still has depth.
Root vegetable variation: Swap one potato for a turnip or parsnip if you want a less starchy bowl with a slightly earthy note.

Serve alongside

Buttermilk biscuits
Skillet cornbread
Toasted sourdough with butter
Apple-cabbage slaw
Unsweetened iced tea
Amber ale
Sparkling apple cider

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate leftovers in covered containers with enough broth around the beef and vegetables to keep them from drying out.
Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of broth or water if the potatoes have thickened the soup.
Freeze in meal-size portions, thaw overnight, and simmer slowly so the potatoes warm through without breaking apart too much.

Equipment

Large heavy pot or Dutch oven
Tongs for browning beef
Sharp chef's knife
Ladle

Make this household-aware

Listahan Pro checks this recipe against your household's allergens, finds pantry-aware swaps, builds the shopping list, and helps you plan the week around it.

Get the app