Slow Cooked Vegetable Beef Soup

Slow Cooked Vegetable Beef Soup is a hearty, old-fashioned favorite filled with tender beef, wholesome vegetables, and savory broth. Let the slow cooker do the work for an easy, comforting Southern supper the whole family will love.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword slow-cooked-vegetable-beef-soup, vegetable-beef-soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 8

Total Time 8 15

Servings servings

Calories 396kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb cubed stew beef bite-size chunks
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion diced
1 medium red bell pepper diced
2 medium celery stalks sliced
4 medium garlic cloves minced
1 12 oz package frozen mixed vegetables unthawed
2 14.5 oz cans Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can pinto beans, drained.
1 32 oz beef stock or beef broth
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
5 medium russet potatoes 1" cubes
Seasonings:
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp seasoned salt adjust to taste
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dry Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 medium bay leaves
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
4 Tbsp tomato paste to thicken

Instructions

In a skillet brown the stew beef in a couple of drizzles of olive oil over medium high heat. Season with seasoned salt and black pepper to your taste.
Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Saute until softened and beginning to brown. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute. Pour into slow cooker.
Directions for Cooking on the High Setting: Arrange the browned stew beef and sauteed vegetables on the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover with beef broth.
Add remaining ingredients and seasonings to the slow cooker. Reserve the diced potatoes, tomato paste and parsley to add later. Stir well. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
After 4 hours, add diced potatoes and continue to cook for another 1 1/2 hours or until the potatoes and stew beef are fork tender.
At the end of cooking, thicken broth with tomato paste, then stir fresh parsley into the soup just before serving.
Directions for Cooking on the Low Setting: Arrange the browned stew beef and sauteed vegetables on the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover with broth.
Add remaining ingredients and seasonings to the slow cooker reserving the chopped parsley and tomato paste to add at the end of cooking. Stir well.
Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Thicken the broth with tomato paste then stir the parsley into the soup just before serving.

Notes

Protein - Can I use a different cut of beef for Southern vegetable beef soup? While I like stew beef for this recipe you can adapt using chunks of beef chuck roast. Both will result in a delicious, rich broth. When using chuck roast, I still recommend browning the chunks of beef before adding to the slow cooker for depth of flavor. In a pinch, you could use cooked ground beef.
Potatoes - I recommend using russet potatoes due to the fact they are better suited for prolonged cooking. You could use Yukon gold potatoes just add them later in the cooking process so they don't turn to mush.
Beans - You can use pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, baby lima beans or great northern beans.
If you prefer the tomatoes to have a finer texture, mash with a fork or rough chop in a food processor prior to adding to the slow cooker.
Tomatoes - If you prefer the tomatoes to have a finer texture, mash with a fork or rough chop in a food processor prior to adding to the slow cooker.
Why brown the stew beef prior to slow cooking? Browning the stew beef adds a depth of flavor that you won't get otherwise. If prep time is an issue, you can skip it.
Serving Options - When I make this vegetable soup, there's always crusty bread and butter or a skillet of honey-cornbread fresh from the oven to serve on the side. The kids will flip for a basket of cheesy garlic bread, too.

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