A hearty Vegetable Beef Soup with melt-in-your-mouth slow cooked chunks of beef, potato and vegetables simmered in a herb infused savoury broth. You’ll love how the broth of this beef soup recipe is slightly thickened so it’s like gravy and has extra flavour from a secret ingredient!
Vegetable Beef Soup
So many beef soups are watery and dull. Not this one!!! The thing that sets this beef soup recipe apart from the rest is the broth. It’s slightly thickened so it’s more like a thinnish gravy. It’s infused with herb flavour and also gets an extra depth of flavour from the secret ingredient: red wine. Or beer or stout. (They’re all good)
It’s not about boozing up our soup! It’s about adding complexity and character to the soup broth flavour without simmering for hours up hours like we do with Beef Stew and Pot Roast.
Without the wine, the broth still tastes very, very good.
With the wine, it’s stellar! (And in care you’re concerned, the alcohol gets cooked out, just leaving behind flavour.)
What goes in Vegetable Beef Soup
Here’s what you need.
Stewing beef – anything economical, in small bite size pieces (remember, we’re making a soup here, not a stew)
Red wine, stout or guinness – all of these work great here. Red wine gives it a classic beef stew flavour, Guinness or stout will give the soup a more intense, deep flavour like Irish Guinness Stew. I use wine most frequently because I always have some on hand, and because I prefer not to just use part of a can of beer that I wouldn’t choose to drink!
How to make Beef Soup
The key step here is to brown the beef well – aggressively is the term that I use. This adds a ton of flavour to the beef itself and the broth, from the brown bits on the bottom of the pot that dissolves into the broth.
I like to sauté the mushrooms in butter and add them towards the end – but this is optional. Because golden brown buttery mushrooms vs mushrooms just simmered in the broth? There is no contest! (But really, it is optional 🙂 )
Fall-apart slow cooked beef!
I promised you fall-apart beef, and fall apart beef you shall get. And you will see just how tender the beef is in the recipe video below using the most ridiculous method – chopsticks of all things!!
I know, I know, it’s soooo Asian.
But right at that moment while I was filming, it was the first thought that came to me as the easiest way to show it on camera! 😂 I mean, how else can I pry a piece of beef apart using one hand??
What Beef Soup goes with
There’s a ton of veggies in this soup, and you could add even more into the soup. Green beans would be ideal, but they were extortionately overpriced on the day I shot this and I just couldn’t do it.
So it’s an ideal meal-in-a bowl that doesn’t need anything more. But I’m pretty sure no one would say no to a side of quick Cheesy Garlic Bread!!! Or try one of these soup dunkers:
Soup Dunkers
Also, this soup just gets better with time and freezes 100% perfectly. So make a double batch! ~ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Vegetable Beef Soup (Fall apart beef!)
Ingredients
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 500g/1 lb stewing beef , cut into 1.75cm / 2/3″ cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 onion , chopped
- 3 garlic , minced (1 tbsp)
- 2 celery , cut into 0.8 cm / 1/3″ slices
- 3 carrots , cut into 0.5 cm / 1/5″ thick slices (halve larger ones)
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 1/2 cups (625ml) beef broth/stock , low sodium
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) dry red wine, Guinness beer or stout (Note 2)
- 1.5 cups (375ml) water
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 potatoes (any), cut into 1.5cm / 2/3″ cubes
Buttery mushrooms (optional):
- 1 tbsp (15g) butter or oil
- 200g/ 6oz small mushrooms , quartered or halved
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp oil until very hot in a large, heavy based pot over high heat.
- Pat beef dry with paper towels, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Brown beef aggressively in 2 or 3 batches, adding more oil if needed. Remove browned beef into a bowl.
- If pot looks dry, add a touch more oil.
- Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add carrot and celery, cook for 2 minutes or until onion is translucent.
- Stir in flour, then slowly pour in beef broth while constantly stirring.
- Add beer, water, tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme, stir well. Then add the beef back in.
- Cover, adjust heat to medium low so it’s bubbling gently. Simmer 1 hr 15 min or until beef is pretty tender.
- Add potatoes and peas, simmer for a further 20 minutes without the lid. Add cooked mushrooms in the last 5 minutes.
- The soup is ready when the potatoes are cooked and beef is very tender (see video).
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper in this!).
- Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with crusty bread if desired. Try quick Cheesy Garlic Bread or super easy Irish Soda Bread!
Buttery Mushrooms (optional):
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until browned. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes:
- Red wine – any dry, full bodied red wine. Cab Sauv and Merlots are ideal.
- Guinness Beer and Stout are dark beers, labelled as such on the cans. You should find these at most liquor stores. Use some, drink some – or tip the whole can in an simmer for longer with the lid off!
- Non alcoholic sub – add 400g/14 oz can of crushed tomato, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce. This will add alternative flavour to compensate.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2019. Updated for housekeeping matters March 2020, no change to recipe.
More chunky, hearty soups
Life of Dozer
This is what a doggy smile looks like.
(And we’d be smiling too if we had Life of Dozer!!!)
This recipe is AMAZING!!! The texture and thickness of the soup is just sublime. I love the buttery mushrooms add-in. This will become a regular in our house! ps I added a bit more meat just because I prefer it more meaty. Great recipe!
Got to stage of putting potatoes in and meat still not that tender but smells divine. Not really thickened either oh dear what have I done
Hi Kerry, sounds like it needed to simmer a little longer to reduce and get the meat to fall apart stage! N x
Hi Nagi, this was just delicious!! Relatively simple to make and the flavours were amazing. I have never cooked with Stout before and I do think it made all the difference. Another recipe of yours that is a “keeper”. Well done, you have made me a much better cook, thanks.
WOOT! Thanks so much for the feedback Raelene! N X
Hi Nagi!
Newbie with slow cooking beef here. My question is apart from chuck, Woolies has diced beef casserole and oyster blade. Will one or the other work? 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Helen, yes these will both work fine. N x
Cooked this recipe last night and OMG it was so delicious. Thank you so much.
I like my soup thick and very meaty, so I decided to add an extra 1/2 kilo of diced meat with the same amount of liquid as the recipe says. It was amazing and altering the recipe with extra meat I learnt how to make Beef Goulash,
Got some leftover just enough for two without going back for seconds, so tonight I’m having that beautiful soup that ticked up amazingly in the fridge over night and became Beef Goulash. Brilliant recipe, Thank you so much.
The only thing I will do different next time is to add the carrots and the celery at the end. So step 6 i will join with step 10. So the carrots and the celery won’t over cook.
Looking forward to the next dish.
xx
Your recipes never disappoint! This was amazing! Full of flavour! I’ve never tasted stout or Guinness so I used shiraz just to be safe…oh my! 😋😋 I’m adding this to the growing list of your recipes I’ve used and loved, your crispy fried chicken is a weekly request in our house! 🍗🍗
Thanks so much! Such a delicious recipe and so easy.
Butter mushrooms is a must. The soup was great. No substitutions on this recipe, we loved it. Will definitely do this again.
Hi Davinia, I’m so glad you loved it!! N x
making this right now and waiting for the beef to be tender. the gravy already tastes so delicious. thank you for such an easy recipe
I can’t have tomatoes. Can the tomato paste be omitted?
Hi,
Do you think i can make this recipe with ground beef mince? As i am not a fan of chunks of beef.
Hi Sarah, you could – I would brown the beef off first, you wont need to simmer for the full 1 hour 15 – but I would still simmer at least 30 minutes before following up with step 10. N x
Absolutely awesome soup Nagi. I made it non-alcoholic though and it is delicious. Thank you. You are without a doubt my ‘Go – to’ chef. If I’m in the mood for something I go to your website first. I already have your website bookmarked.
Also may you recommend a good Italian Cookbook? I’ve purchased the Thai and Mexican books that you mentioned in your relevant posts. I loooove Italian. I used to have the Women’s Weekly Italian Cook book, but it’s gone walk-about.
I love your website Nagi, thank you for all the work you do, to make my time in the kitchen an enjoyable and satisfying experience for myself and my family xxx
Made this and loved it! what is the cooking time for a double batch and do all the seasonings double up?
OMG Nagi – this is about the tenth time – without a lie – that I’ve made this soup – absolutely of my favs. Unfortunately with social distancing my friends won’t be getting any – oh well – lucky it freezes beautifully! 😄
Soup was excellent! I have made it twice in the last ten days. Of any recipes I have tried of yours I have liked them all!
That’s fabulous PAM, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Hey Nagi, can I adapt this for the slow cooker? Wanting to put it in tomorrow before work. I guessing brown beef as normal but the transfer to the slow cooker? or will I miss out on all the yummy caramalised goodies at the bottom of pan?
Hi Kim, technically you could at step 9, but then you’d need to transfer it back to a pot at a later stage to reduce the sauce – N x
I have this simmering on the stove right now. The timing is perfect for the cooking of the spud. Added a swede when potato added, because we found one still at the supermarket after the panic buying. O..M..G. Smell, taste everything is stunning. Had to use heart-smart (Lean) beef. All that was left. Nagi, all your recipes are awesome. THANK YOU for your dedication to creating such yummy and practical food! And sharing with us mere mortals. x And I used beer and red wine – awesome – because I could.
I made this soup for my girlfriend and I. And we both absolutely loved it. I added a splash of Worcestershire sauce too.
Such a great hearty soup. Will make it again for sure.
Absolutely love your site!!
I use a dark non alcoholic beer for this recipe and it turns out wonderful
You used all 3 at the same time wine beer and stout?
Hi Deb, you can use any one of the three (not all of them) – N x