This Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup recipe with tender beef and vegetables in a flavorful broth is a classic homemade comfort food adapted from a 1972 Betty Crocker recipe.
It's an easy recipe on the stovetop or in a crock pot, perfect for the heartiest appetite. Plus, it is healthy—low in calories, fat, and sodium.
🐄Ingredients
Beef—beef stew meat or cut your own with a sirloin tip or chuck roast
Vegetables—carrot, celery, green beans, onion
Beef broth
Tomatoes—diced
Salt and pepper
Optional spices—thyme, marjoram, bay leaf
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Featured Comment from Dorothy:
"Made you veg. Beef soup today. It was delicious! Easy to follow step-by-step instructions, and I liked how you gave suggestions."
It is an old-fashioned vegetable beef soup recipe with all that 1950s taste. With exceptional tasty tomato-based broth, you can use pre-cut beef stew meat or cut your own from a sirloin tip or chuck roast and the vegetables you choose.
You may enjoy some of my other crock pot soup recipes. Check out the Beef Barley Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Cheeseburger Soup, Ham and Bean Soup, or Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup.
This is a highly modified recipe from the 1972 Betty Crocker's Cookbook with the crock pot adoption added.
👨🍳How to Make Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup
- Trim and prep beef stew meat or trim a sirloin tip or chuck roast.
- Prep onion, carrot, celery, and green beans
- In a large pot, brown beef in oil over medium-high heat and move the browned beef to a crock pot if using.
- To the pot or crock pot, add the vegetables, diced tomatoes, beef broth, and spices.
- Simmer covered until carrots and the meat are tender — about 90 minutes on the stovetop. If using a crock pot, 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
This is a summary of the steps and ingredients. See the recipe card or the step-by-step photo instructions below for complete instructions.
✔️Tips—make it perfect every time
- Use pre-cut stew beef meat or trim a beef roast into 1-inch cubes. Chuck roast trimmed, or a sirloin tip roast is good.
- Brown the meat on the stovetop, even if doing the crock pot method adds a lot of flavor. You can skip it, but you will lose some taste.
- I frequently dust the beef with flour before browning. It adds taste and helps the browning.
- Use traditional carrots, celery, and green beans for the vegetables. The carrots and celery should be fresh. The green beans can be fresh or frozen.
- Other options would be potatoes and frozen peas. If you do potatoes, do not add a lot since it can overwhelm the other veggies. Peas should be added near the end of the cooking.
- For spices, salt and pepper are enough. The original recipe includes thyme, marjoram, and a bay leaf. I feel all three of those are optional, but add them if you want that old 1950s taste.
⬇️How to make this a "for two" recipe
This is a very easy recipe to cut in half. The full recipe is 8 servings (about 12 cups with the low-end amount of broth) and needs a 4 quart or larger crock pot. Cutting more than half will waste more ingredients.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- It will fit in a 2-quart crock pot (with the lower end of broth). Cook for the same amount of time. Or cook on the stovetop.
- You can add more broth near the end of cooking if you wish.
Serving
This soup is a complete meal, but a side of green salad or a nice bread, like Lunch Lady Rolls or Old Fashioned Cornbread are good
❄️Storage of leftovers
This is good refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 4 months. Like many soups and stews, the flavors come together and are even better the next day.
❓FAQs
Marjoram is a cousin of oregano but not as strong. It was a common spice years ago but is not seen much anymore.
The customarily recommended substitutes include half the volume of oregano, sage, or thyme. There is very little marjoram in this recipe, and I would skip it if you don't have it or bump up the thyme a little if you like thyme.
But, to me, the substitutes are not the same. The marjoram is part of that "old-fashioned" taste. I keep some in the pantry.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Photo Note: Images from multiple cookings may not match but are provided for illustration.
Note to previous users: I have added options to double the broth, carrot, celery, and optional spices. This is how we now cook this recipe.
Trim and prep about 2 pounds of beef stew meat or cut your own from a sirloin tip or chuck roast.
Prep your veggies. 1 medium onion chopped, 1-2 large carrots peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices, ½ lb green beans cut into ¾ inch pieces (substitute frozen if you want), and 1-2 ribs of celery cut into ½ inch pieces.
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat with a teaspoon of oil. Add the beef and cook until well browned about 10 minutes. Transfer to a crock pot if using one.
To the crock pot or the large pan, add the vegetables and 32-64 oz of beef broth. Add spices: 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Optional are ¼-1/2 teaspoon thyme, ¼-1/2 teaspoon marjoram, and 1-2 bay leaf.
Add one 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, including the liquid, and mix well. Simmer covered until carrots and the meat are tender — about 90 minutes on the stovetop. If using a crock pot, 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup—Stovetop or Crock Pot
Ingredients
- 2 pounds stew beef - or cut from a sirloin tip or chuck roast
- 32-64 oz beef broth
- 15 oz diced tomatoes - do not drain
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 carrot - large
- 1-2 rib celery
- ½ lb green beans-fresh or frozen - cut into ¾ inch pieces
- 1 onion - medium chopped
Optional Spices
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon thyme
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon marjoram - seen notes
- 1-2 bay leaf
Instructions
- Trim and prep about 2 pounds of beef stew meat or cut your own from a sirloin tip or chuck roast.
- Prep your veggies. 1 medium onion chopped, 1-2 large carrots peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices, ½ lb green beans cut into ¾ inch pieces (substitute frozen if you want), and 1-2 ribs of celery cut into ½ inch pieces.
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat with a teaspoon of oil. Add the beef and cook until well browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a crock pot if using one.
- To the crock pot or the large pan, add the vegetables and 32-64 oz of beef broth. Add spices:1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Optional are ¼-½ teaspoon thyme, ¼-½ teaspoon marjoram, and 1-2 bay leaf.
- Add one 15 oz can of diced tomatoes including the liquid and mix well. Simmer covered until carrots and the meat are tender — about 90 minutes on the stovetop. If using a crock pot, 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Note to previous users: I have added options to double the broth, carrot, celery, and optional spices. This is how we now cook this recipe.
Pro Tips
- You can use pre-cut "stew meat" or just trim up a beef roast into 1-inch cubes. Use a sirloin tip or chuck roast.
- To make it Barley Beef Soup toss in about ⅓ - ½ cup of uncooked barley at the beginning of the recipe. The barley will be tender. If you like your barley a little firmer, add it about halfway through the cooking.
- As written, this makes about 12 cups of soup. It needs a crock pot of 4 quarts or more. See the recipe post above for a discussion of crock pot size and recipe size..
- You can decrease the sodium by using low-sodium broth and decreasing the salt somewhat.
- You can add some frozen peas or corn near the end of cooking if you wish.
- Like many soups and stews, the flavors come together, and it is even better the next day.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor Note: Originally published October 11, 2011. This was my favorite soup as a child, and this is a beautiful rendition. It is updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Brian Mooney
When do you add the vegetables? Are they sautéd for two or three minutes before adding the broth? Also, wouldn’t it be best to brown the beef in batches to avoid “steamed meat” and improve the degree and rate of browning?
Great recipe! It's simplicity allows the vegetables and resulting broth to shine. It begs for some crusty French bread. It will be a cool/cold weather regular here. Thanks!
Lois Meade
Best cookbook ever mine is from the 60's now it is falling apart. I use chuck roast and instead of cooking so long, I cut in small pieces and cook in my pressure cooker about 15 minutes. I then transfer to large pot and add the 32 oz of beef broth and 14.5 petite diced tomatoes and let that cook for awhile and then add whatever vegetables you like it takes carrots longer so I usually put them in first and simmer and then add the rest. I also keep extra tomato juice and extra beef broth in case I need to thin it out or want extra juice. Everyone loves my soup just use whatever vegetables you like such as frozen peas, frozen corn. I also love to put some macaroni sometimes. Don't skip the onions and potatoes and celery. Also put whatever spices you like, I usually put a little rosemary in mine.
Dorothy E
Made you veg. Beef soup today. It was delicious! Easy to follow step by step instructions, and I liked how you gave suggestions re: adding barley and if you did not have marjoram.
DrDan
Hi Dorothy,
Sorry for the delayed response.
The barley can be added. I have a beef barley crockpot soup that is this recipe modified. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/hearty-beef-barley-soup-a-la-crock-pot/
The marjoram definately identifies this recipe as an old timer. You can sub in oregano or skip it.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Petrine
My daughter just had an operation so I am taking her this soup with tomatoes and cabbage. So yummy. Can’t wait.
DrDan
I hope she is doing well. Good luck with the soup, it is our go-to recipe.
Dan
Colleen Boothe
Have been looking for this recipe for years, ever since i lost my cookbook in a move. Did add a little cabbage and a cut up potato.
My favorite veggie and beef soup.
Laura
Oh man this recipe looks good... it looks just like the beef soup my late grandmother would make for me when I came home from school and stayed at their house until my parents got off work. The tomato does it. I haven't made this, even though I have been making a similar beef stew with no tomatoes for years. Thanks for the recipe inspiration! Definitely putting this on the to do list very soon!
Cindy D.
Made this soup a few weeks ago by the recipe. The next time I make, will add extra beef broth with chopped vegs. Tasty and filling. Served with my southern cornbread. Plan to make again this weekend.
Meredith L. Eason
Thanks for your article. I had to add a new food for my family.
Tawn
I have that cookbook and it looks just like that! Going to try this recipe today...sounds like a great dinner for a cold day, like today.
DrDan
Mine is looking a lot worse the last few years... I'm considering eBay. I get some of my best recipes for that book.
DrDan
dave
i used your recipe however i figured i would do a little adding two it , i love cabbage so got a small head chopped it up threw it in the pot onion the celery i allso added two cans of diced tomatoes and 2 more cups of beef broth i allso added a 1 lb bag of frozen soup veggies . i may have wrecked this recipe but will will see allso got a can of tomatoe paste just in case its too watery my dad used to put parsnips in his and this was very good . we called it dragin it threw the garden . well i either screwed it up or it will be good i will let you know . i think the recipe should be a winner in it self thank you for the basics my mom and dad are gone know and i rember all the good stuff they used too cook just like this thank you for the head start dave
DrDan
It will probably come out great... A recipe is guidelines and not rules. Never be afraid to modify.
DrDan
Dan Mikesell
Yep. It was missing from the ingredient list. Fixed... Thanks for the note.
Dr Dan
It is one of our favorites also. We have made it several times a year for decades and it never disappoints.
Dan Moody
This is great vegetable beef soup! I made it & my wife said it was better than her recipe, which is a time honored family recipe.I cut the meat into smaller pieces and browned them well. I made this recipe easier by using about 12 oz. frozen stew veggies and 8 oz. frozen sweet corn plus a drained can of Del Monte cut string beans. Even my finicky four year old granddaughter gobbled it up. Can't get a better recommendation than that!