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!!!)
Best vege, beef soup I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve made it about 10 times. I use a cheap cab sauv instead of Guinness and it’s absolutely delicious.
Oh my goodness – this soup is SO flavorful and beautifully thick. I used bone broth for the stock, the wine only and added the mushrooms, it was so much goodness in a bowl. Went down a treat with some crusty sourdough. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
This is the first time we didn’t care for a recipe -and we have tried many of Nagi’s (&Dozer’s) creations.
It was way too bland for our taste and rather on the sweet side.
I added a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, frozen corn, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dried parsley, and 1 tsp dried basil as well as some oregano and 2 beef cubes (plus more beef broth).
Made this stew tonight according to the recipe. Was super delicious and super simple. Perfect for a cold and blustery winters day.
I don’t understand why you would give us all your edits to the recipe and then give it 3 stars. Rate the recipe as given next time.
Not only did you alter it but you altered it with stuff that will absolutely sweeten any soup, like corn. ( think: corn syrup)
I think you should make it again and this time do it without the corn. I have a feeling it’s going to be a totally different experience for you.
You altered the recipe that much then were surprised it didn’t work out?
Genius.
Excellent recipe with wine substitute instead. Fun and simple. Time consuming unless you buy pre cut veggies but that’s to be expected. Any alcohol added to recipe is just overpowering so I just go with tomato paste etc and it’s perfect!
Excellent! I made a few adjustments 1/2 cup white wine (didn’t have red wine) substituted tomato paste for 1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
Nagi I owe you my life
Hi Nagi,
I wanting to cook this in my slow cooker. If so, do I do the same measurements of liquid and would I cook it on low for 8hrs
Or high for 4-5 hrs
Thank you so much
Xx Sarah
I’d like to make in a slow cooker too. Any adjustments needed to the recipe?
Made this recipe yesterday and let it rest in the refrigerator 24+ hours. Tonight it was great! Used Merlot wine and added a handful of green beans. There is just the two of us so we’ve got enough for two meals. It’s a keeper!
Super delicious recipe and easy to adjust for favorite veggies! Not sure when/where to add in the water, probably with the broth but still so super amazing!
Recipe says for liquid re red wine, Guinness, or Stout that you use all three- so 1/2 cup each?
Nagi.
Do you have a recipe for a braised beef tendon? Whether it is cantonese/chinese style or the japanese style that you can find in an izakaya
This is now one of my go-to recipes for dinners and work lunches, so so nice!
Hi Nagi,
You are my go-to when my wife asks, “what’s for dinner.” It’s usually a sauce for salmon or chicken, or what can I make with the last bit of XYZ in the fridge?
But the winner is the beef in Guinness, and it just works every time. Big chunks of beef are the key, then low and slow.
Thank you,
Bagpuss
Shropshire UK
Delicious. I used the red wine and beer instead of water. Rich
Forgot to mention 5 stars!
Amazingly good! You can taste each ingredient separately while all at the same time! Thank you for an easy recipe with such great flavor
This is a great recipe! Of course, you can modify to your hearts content with a stew, but I followed the instructions this time—mushrooms and all—and it was appreciated by the whole family. I went with the Guinness beer and the aromatics were wonderful and the taste was nuanced.
I followed the recipe except we love rice I added a half cup of white rice to the simmer 50 minutes before serving and stored several times. The starch in the rice helped the soup to thicken a bit more and it was delicious.
Made this delicious recipe this morning for tonight’s dinner! Just had dinner Awesome! Naji I only cook with your recipes now. Always Winning! Thank you so much XX
You weren’t kidding. Fall apart beef. Absolutely delicious!!!!
Thank you, this was a wonderful Beef soup! I didn’t have beer or wine so used just the beef broth and it was great! Can’t wait to try it again with red wine or beer! Nice way to make your house smell warm and cozy on a brisk Sunday afternoon!