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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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!!!)
Oh Nagi, this soup is wonderful!! You’re right, it’s even better the second day, and I can easily cut my bigger chunks of beef with the spoon! So delicious! Just one note about the recipe, though – I think you left out when to add the browned beef back to the pot!? I added it along with the other ingredients in Step 8. Thank you, as always, for another amazing recipe!
Thanks Jamieanne, I’ll fix it now!!
Hey from SA. If done in 6L slow cooker, how long would one cook it for?
Winter.? 16 degrees, that’s a summer scorcher here in Ireland. Lol!
😂 It’s still too cold for me!!
Hi Nagi I cooked this soup yesterday and it was awesome!! always a hit with your recipes I{m a great admirer. thanks for your expertise!
Wahoo!
Hi Nagi,
Love your recipes; thank you very mush for emphasising well-balanced, delicious and hearty flavours and sensible techniques.
One request: could you please ask your editors not to put a space before each comma. When I copy a recipe into a document, The auto-correct function goes haywire. Cheers.
OMG – made this today – Nagi – you certainly didn’t disappoint – absolute sheer DELICIOUSNESS!! Thank you for the recipe – another repeat winner – just like your lamb shanks in port and wine – HEAVEN ☺
Editors?? No editors over here, just me! 🙂 I’m sorry about that, I will see if I can get it fixed, it’s a default thing in the recipe card 🙂 N x
Oh Wow. I didn’t have enough carrots so subbed in a parsnip and finished off with an orange/parsley/garlic gremolata. Complete silence around the dinner table! Rare at our house. You nailed it Nagi- just delicious. Thank you.
Ooh I love hearing that Nicole! Thank you for letting me know! PS Gremolata – that’s such a great idea N x
Sure looks yummy! I make soup a lot, I will be trying your recipe. I like the idea of the thicker broth. Soup/stew “stoup”
Have a great day and weekend.
Dozer has a beautiful smile
Cathy
STOUP! That’s gold! N x
He is Happy. But look at foot prints he is leaving and claiming his piece of beach. Soup time and am in ASAP. we are having Artic blast so for the last 3/4 days am having thick roast chicken soup with different VEGES. Keep warm.
His paw prints and my small feet! Keep warm Vera, I did hear it was freezing cold down there! N x
Uhuh! ‘Lihasupp’ ! Not being rude am translating yours into my birth language Estonian! Kind’of grew up on it ! Make my own broth . . . one of the benefits of working from home . . . put stuff in a pot at breakfast and forget about it . . .Guinness naturally – one tin for the soup and one for me whilst waiting . . . Dozer – must have been quite a treat waiting in Mom’s hands to make you so eager . . . !!
Ha! You’re lucky Eha, beef broth is something I only make for very special occasions! N x
I just wanted to say thank you Nagi for using “aggressively” to describe the browning process. I first read this in your beef short ribs recipe and it made me realise that I have not been browning my meat enough! Since then I’ve noticed a huge improvement in the finished results of these types of dishes – so, thank you!!!
I love hearing that Lauren! I’m glad it makes sense, I wasn’t sure it would! N xx
Morning Nagi…update on Dozer’s diet..my Setter is doing very well no more vomiting etc.heaps more energy.Once again thank you for sharing…could you maybe do a day a week with dog goodies please as my friends are now coming on board with a new look at their dogs diet. Nagi what makes CREOLE seasoning??
I’m so happy to hear that Roslyn! I know how worrying it is when our pooches are sick 🙁 I am working really hard on learning how to make doggie treats, and also gathering information to be 100% confident in the homemade dog food recipes I share. I’m actually getting advice from professionals, getting them to review my recipes 🙂 Gives me extra confidence that I’m feeding Dozer the right food! I promise they will be coming soon – treats and meals for dogs. N xx
Really looking forward to all that…thank you for your hard work. Eleanor sends all the best to Dozer.
wow, I love all yr recipes and it suits us the working mums when we have to rush home and cook, especially with yr easy to cook and wonderful healthy ingredients to choose……Dozer is absolutely adorable….xx
Thank you Connie! I am planning to organise my recipes a bit better and pull together a special “Emergency Food” collection, I have my working mum friends in mind, especially those times when their husbands are away! I can’t think of a catchy name for that collection though 🙂 Anyway, I will let everyone know by email when it’s ready, in the meantime if you have a name suggestion would I love to hear it! N xx
Just made this using a Cabernet, and didn’t use the water. Browned beef and veggies as directed but bypassed the 1 1/2 hr simmer and did that step in the Instant Pot in about 20min.(no water evaporates, so I didn’t think it was needed. Then after slow release of pressure added the potatoes & brought back up to pressure for 6min. Mushrooms and peas added and just warmed through before serving Excellent!
I meant to check the recipe in my pressure cook but you beat me to it! So 20 minutes then 6 minutes 🙂 Can I quote you on that?? Thank you for sharing! N xx
Yes! Like many others, I’m keeping this recipe for another day — I’ve just had to go out and buy a larger 3-ringed binder for your recipes, Nagi!
Dozer is ever adorable!!
I love that you use binders! I actually miss my binder days! N x
Yes! Like many others, I’m keeping this recipe for another day — I’ve just had to go out and buy a larger 3-ringed binder for your recipes, Nagi!
Give a pat to Dozer for us!
So! Another Nagi dinner tonight. The beef stew/soup is simmering away and I have the makin’s for the cheesy bread. Guess I will just have to drink the remainder of the Guinness. Aw shucks!
I will probably add some barley near the end. Love me some beef vegetable soup with barley. Yum!
It’s in the 90’s here, but that won’t stop me from enjoying a big bowl of this soup. Thanks!
Oooh! I hope you enjoyed it Kris!! N xx
This Vegetable Beef Soup is pretty much a Beef Stew, but a bit more soupy.
Yes to that! Just had to tweak the broth strength 🙂 N x
I love all of your “people” recipes but I was wondering if you have considered sharing some of your “Dozer” recipes with us. I, too, am becoming more concerned with the quality of dog food that is available and was wondering what you are now serving Dozer. I really enjoy your website and love seeing Dozer enjoying life.
ABSOLUTELY! it’s the project I’m currently working on 🙂 In the meantime, I’ve got a draft post in which I’ve written up the recipe for his meals which might be of interest to you. 🙂 -> https://discountspot.info/tachyon/2019/05/Dozers-natural-food-diet-RecipeTin-Eats.pdf%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
This is going into my “Must Try” folder, because the best beef stew I ever made used Guinness, and I love me some thick broth.
I also want to thank you for giving us several different photos of each finished recipe, in addition to the photos of the various steps involved in the recipe. My recipe software (Paprika) lets me choose the most appealing cover photo for my recipe, and it’s not always the default. It also allows me to include photos in the directions, which is so helpful to illustrate a new technique or to show what the food should look like at a given stage. Thanks!
I hear you Sandy! Guinness Stew is my favourite too! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi! This does indeed look like my beef stew as I load it up with vegetables, even cabbage. I also make it with red wine and mushrooms. Like other commentors it has been in the mid 90’s here but that doesn’t stop me – when I want something I want it!!
Cabbage in stew! How have I never thought of that?? Enjoy the summer Dorothy! N x