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!
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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.
“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.”
samantha
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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Nutrition
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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!
Thos was great for a quick lunch! I swear my family would starve to death without your awesome recipes!
First time using ground beef in soup, and it was delicious! So easy to make and inexpensive. I’ll def be making this one again.
It looks great!!! I can’t wait to make and try.
I use couple of different recipes to make soup with chuck roast. But I didn’t have any on hand and needed something quick. I actually prefer this recipe! I find chuck roast to taste too beefy, but ground beef was just right. I accidentally used 1 can of diced tomatoes (14 oz), but found it to be just the right amount. Next time I’ll double potatoes because I love them in soups. Thank you for your recipe! Never thought about using ground beef but it will be my go-to for vegetables/beef soups.
This was so good – I’ll definitely be making it regularly this fall and winter. I was really surprised how much I like the ground beef in the soup, I can’t say that’s ever appealed to me, but it is lovely and an easier/cheaper option than just beef. My husband loved this too and just asked if I’d try making it with shredded chicken for supper tonight! Thank you, Budget Bytes. Another winner.
This soup was excellent and I’d definitely make it again. I didn’t have any canned tomatoes (oops) and it was still very tasty without it. I used the remnants of the end of a ketchup for some tomato-y taste. For part of the beef stock, I used leftover juices from our beef roast the other night. Husband and I both loved it and I will definitely make this again in the future.
It blows my mind that I have never made a single Budget Bytes recipe that wasn’t a hit! This was super easy and forgiving of my subbing tomato sauce for canned tomatoes and onion soup mix and water for beef broth. I used fresh potato, carrot and turnip and tossed in a can of corn and a can of green peas at the end. Thank you!
Made this for supper tonight. I knew I would have limited cooking time today, so I precooked some barley and browned the ground beef with the onions and garlic last night. It was delicious. Easy to make too. I like how chunky the soup was too.
We call this recipe hamburger soup. It is almost identical to one I make. It is also very forgiving. I usually use a bag of frozen soup vegetables but you can sub in just about anything you have on hand. If I don’t have a potato on hand I throw in a can of drained and rinsed kidney beans. That lone zucchini in your fridge – yep it can go in there too. Thank you for posting it.
I made a veggie beef soup in my crock pot using leftover frozen tough beef fajita meat slices, i added a can of undrained corn, sev shots of worchesertire (?) sauce, squirt of sambal, 1/2 cup of hot chili picante sauce, 2 cups baby carrots, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/3 large can of tomato puree, handful of sliced cherry tomatoes, 4 tblspns cajun seasoning, 2 cups fresh frozen green beans, 1/3 cup chopped celery, 1 small diced jalapeno pepper, 1/2 cup of dry black beans, I also used 6 cups of homemade beef broth I made the night before in my crock pot (amazing), plus all of the other ingredients u listed. I think this was the BEST ever beef veggie soup I have made – it was AMAZING!! We’re trying to eat out less and eat healthier. We have a lot of projects going on right now…I also put 7 individual containers of this soup in the freezer for future eats.
Looks good,my sister’s are planning to come visit soon,it would be a good time
I substituted the potatoes with barley and ditalini noodles. It mixed in well with the stewed tomatoes and Italian seasonings and ground beef. We loved it!
I’m obsessed with this recipe. We did add some fresh carrot and celery in the beginning, a little chili flake while cooking, and some lemon juice just before serving. But I could happily eat this weekly and not get sick of it, which is rare for me. Thank you so much! It’s going in regular rotation.
Could you use ground turkey in this instead of ground beef?
That’s fine!
Love this flavorful easy recipe 😋!
Manwich bold flavor has the built-in richness and thickness of tomatoes and other veggies plus the seasoning in it adds quite nicely to everything and boosts up the nutrition and saves on adding alot of your own rather pricey herbs and spices.
My 12 year old loves this soup! I am making it weekly now, and it’s very easy. Sometimes I use ground turkey instead of beef.
Soup was ok but thinner than what I was hoping for and the flavor was a little bland. Not a bad freezer meal though.
In lieu of beef broth I have used V8 juice and the results were tasty wasty!
That’s what my grandma would use and she always made the best soup ever. Was already planning to substitute V8
Easy to make, filling and made for good leftovers. Simple home cooking
Delicious and super easy to make! Served it with homemade butter rolls and it was the perfect weeknight meal.
This got two thumbs up from my husband and kids (8 & 9). I always appreciate a true 30 minute meal. I made it exactly as written and sweved it with cornbread. It will definitely go in my regular rotation!
I added half Italian sausage and ground beef. Top with shredded or grated Parmesan… thank me later.
I made a pot it’s looking amazing cooling down, I already know it’s so good, tasted thanks so much for easy recipe, May God bless you
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. 😥
I used V8 juice instead of broth. Then seasoned to taste.
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 🍂🍁🧡🍁🍂
I’m in Australia and work in grams. I can’t work out if the tomatoes in the recipe are a regular size tin/can or a larger one?
A regular one is about 400grams here.
Hi Rebecca! A 28-ounce can will be almost 800 grams. Here is a link to a calculator that can help you convert measurements: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/weight/ounce-to-gram.html XOXO -Monti
Thanks so much for getting back to me. We had it tonight – it was delicious!
Almost like a bolognese soup with veggies!
Cheap and easy.! Will definitely be having again :)
This dish was a complete winner with my family. Will be making this again … often :)
Loved this yummy simple recipe! I definitely want to make it again with wild rice instead of potatoes. Thanks Beth!
Delicious and easy! I gave this one a try in the Instant Pot and it turned out great. Sauteed the onions and garlic, then tossed in the beef for browning. Once that was done, I added in everything else except the frozen vegetables and cooked it on manual (high pressure) for 5 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes, manually released the rest, then added the salt and frozen veg at the end. Love how flexible this recipe is with ingredients, and it was perfect for lunch on a cold, rainy day.
This is a quick, easy and flavorful recipe. I didn’t have ground beef so I used ground turkey. The soup was still very good, although I think next time I will definitely use ground beef. Also, I didn’t have an onion, so I used onion powder. I also think I will season my meat with a little salt and pepper as it’s cooking. The ground turkey I used tasted a little bland to me, even after I added salt at the end. My husband enjoyed this very much and I will definitely make again, but with ground beef and a real onion. Looking forward to round two of this dish.
Big W! So delicious!
Absolutely delicious! I used beyond beef and it turned out great. After sauteeing the onions/garlic and browning the protein, I put those and all the rest of the ingredients (except for the frozen veg) to a slow cooker. Slow cooked on high for about 3 hours, with the veg for another half hour and it was perfect! Will definitely make again!
I have made this before and it is delish! Tonight, I am making it again but instead of ground beef I am using ground turkey (since that is what I have on hand). I have some “ultra-rich” homemade vegetable/chicken broth to use up and I am using that instead of beef broth.
I love this soup recipe! I make a variation of it every few weeks and my kids love it! So easy to do it in the slow cooker on the sauté setting and then cook it for a few hours. Warm for dinner on busy nights! Amazing. :)
Made this soup today as I had most of the ingredients and it helped clear my fridge. Substitutions were easy and my soup looks exactly like the pictures. Very satisfying and flavorful meal.
Made this soup today as I had most of the ingredients and needed to clear my freezer. Easy substitutions. Very satisfying and flavorful meal. A real treat on a cold day.
Excellent and quick to make. I always add a 12oz can of V-8 juice for extra umami.
I’m allergic to fish. What is a good substitute for the worcestershire fish sauce? Maybe soy sauce?
You could add some soy sauce, it will taste different than Worcestershire sauce, but it will still add some depth. You probably won’t need to add as much or any salt at the end if adding soy sauce.
I’m about to try this recipe I’m using stew meat as well as ground beef together going try make a bigger batch if you will.. I see some green peas among other veg in picture(I’m sneaking in a bag of mix veg also w. Peas. Other than that I can’t wait for taste time.. Thank you for recipe..
Wow, this sounds so good! I don’t eat beef – would this be just as good with turkey ground meat and chicken broth substitutions? Anything else to make this as flavorful? Thanks.
If I didn’t eat beef, but otherwise had no compunctious about red meats, lamb would be an excellent substitute.
I don’t think this one would be quite right with turkey meat or chicken broth, but you might like my Minestrone recipe!
Yum! This reminds me of my childhood – my mom would keep a ziploc bag in the freezer and anytime we had leftover veggies from dinner, she would dump them in that bag for an eventual vegetable soup! Can’t wait to try it myself!