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    🏠Home » Recipes » Soup Recipes

    Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup—Stovetop or Crock Pot

    Jan 19, 2023 · Modified: May 22, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 18 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.53 from 36 votes

    This Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup recipe with tender meat and loads of vegetables is a classic comfort food adapted from a 1972 Betty Crocker recipe.

    closeup image of vegetable beef soup in a large spoon
    Jump To:
    • 🐄Ingredients
    • 👨‍🍳How to Make Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup
    • ✔️Tips
    • ⬇️How to make this a "for two" recipe
    • ❓FAQs
    • ❄️Storage
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    It is an old-fashioned vegetable beef soup recipe with all that 1950's taste. Perfect for the heartiest appetite, it's an easy recipe to make on the stovetop or in a crock pot with tender meat and loaded with vegetables.

    With exceptional tasty tomato-based broth, you can use precut beef stew meat or cut your own from a sirloin tip or chuck roast and the vegetables of your choice. Just follow the simple step-by-step photo instructions for either stovetop or crock pot versions.

    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.

    Betty Crocker 1972 cookbook falling apart

    This is a highly modified version of a recipe from the 1972 Betty Crocker's Cookbook with the crock pot adoption added.

    🐄Ingredients

    • Beef—beef stew meat or cut your own with a sirloin tip or chuck roast
    • Beef broth
    • Tomatoes—diced
    • Vegetables—carrot, celery, green beans, onion
    • Salt and pepper
    • Optional spices—thyme, marjoram, bay leaf

    👨‍🍳How to Make Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup

    1. Trim and prep beef stew meat or trim a sirloin tip or chuck roast.
    2. Prep onion, carrot, celery, and green beans
    3. In a large pot, brown beef in oil over medium-high heat and move the browned beef to a crock pot if using.
    4. To the pot or crock pot, add the vegetables, diced tomatoes, beef broth, and spices.
    5. 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.

    ✔️Tips

    • Use pre-cut stew beef meat or trim a beef roast into 1-inch cubes.  Chuck roast trimmed or a sirloin tip roast are good.
    • Brown the meat on the stovetop, even if doing the crock pot method—it adds a lot of flavor. You can skip it if you want but you will lose some taste.
    • For the vegetables, use the traditional carrots, celery, and green beans. 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 cooking
    • For spices, salt and pepper are really enough. The original recipe includes thyme, marjoram, and a bay leaf. I feel all three of those are optional but add them if you really want that old 1950's taste.

    ⬇️How to make this a "for two" recipe

    This is a very easy recipe to cut in half. The full recipe is 6 servings (about 10 cups) and you can cut it in half or a third. Cutting more that in half will waste more ingredients.

    1. Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half.
    2. Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
    3. It will fit in a 2-quart crock pot. Cook for the same amount of time. Or cook on the stovetop

    ❓FAQs

    What is Marjoram, and Do I Need It?

    Marjoram is a cousin of oregano but not as strong. It was a common spice years ago but is not seen much anymore.

    The normally recommended substitutes include half the volume of oregano, sage, or thyme. There is very little marjoram in this recipe, and I would just skip it if you don't have it or bump up the thyme a little if you like thyme.

    But really, to me, the substitutes are not the same. The marjoram is part of that "old-fashioned" taste. I keep some in the pantry.

    ❄️Storage

    This is good refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months. Like many soups and stews, the flavors come together, and it is even better the next day.

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Comfort Food Recipes, Crock Pot Recipes, Mini Crock Pot Recipes, Small Crock Pots Recipes, Soup Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    Photo Note: Images are from multiple cookings and may not match but are provided for illustration.

    Trim and prep about 2 pounds of beef stew meat or cut your own from a sirloin tip or chuck roast.

    chopped onion with carrots and celery on a black board

    Prep your veggies. 1 medium onion chopped, 1 large carrot peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices, ½ lb green beans cut into ¾ inch pieces (substitute frozen if you want), and 1 rib of celery cut into ½ inch pieces.

    adding chunks of raw beef to dutch oven

    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.

    adding chopped vegetables to the pot

    To the crock pot or the large pan, add the vegetables and 32 oz of beef broth. Add spices:1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Optional are ¼ teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon marjoram, and 1 bay leaf.

    all the ingredients in the crock pot ready to cook

    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.

    ladel of vegetable beef soup
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    Recipe

    egetable Beef Soup in a spoon

    Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup—Stovetop or Crock Pot

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    This Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup recipe with tender meat and loads of vegetables is a classic comfort food adapted from a 1972 Betty Crocker recipe. 
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.53 from 36 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 4 hours hours
    Total Time: 4 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 6 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 2 pounds stew beef - or cut from a sirloin tip or chuck roast
    • 32 oz beef broth
    • 15 oz diced tomatoes - do not drain
    • ½ teaspoon pepper
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 carrot - large
    • 1 rib celery
    • ½ lb green beans-fresh or frozen - cut into ¾ inch pieces
    • 1 onion - medium chopped

    Optional Spices

    • ¼ teaspoon thyme
    • ¼ teaspoon marjoram - seen notes
    • 1 bay leaf
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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 large carrot peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices, ½ lb green beans cut into ¾ inch pieces (substitute frozen if you want), and 1 rib of celery cut into ½ inch pieces.
      chopped onion with carrots and celery on a black board
    • 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.
      adding chunks of raw beef to dutch oven
    • To the crock pot or the large pan, add the vegetables and 32 oz of beef broth. Add spices:1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Optional are ¼ teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon marjoram, and 1 bay leaf.
      adding chopped vegetables to the pot
    • 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.
      ladel of vegetable beef soup
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. As written, this makes about 10 cups of soup. It needs a crock pot of 3 ½ quarts or more. If you may double the amount if you have an 7-quart crock pot. For the more standard 6 to 6 ½ quart crock pot, it can hold a recipe increased by 50%.
    4. Instructions for a half recipe use a 2 quart crock pot or bigger.
    5. You can decrease the sodium by using low sodium broth and decreasing the salt somewhat.
    6. You can add some frozen peas or corn near the end of cooking if you wish.
    7. Like many soups and stews, the flavors come together, and it is even better the next day.
    8. 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

    Nutrition Facts
    Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup—Stovetop or Crock Pot
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 258 Calories from Fat 72
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 8g12%
    Saturated Fat 3g15%
    Cholesterol 94mg31%
    Sodium 772mg32%
    Potassium 1111mg32%
    Carbohydrates 8g3%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 4g4%
    Protein 38g76%
    Vitamin A 2079IU42%
    Vitamin C 14mg17%
    Calcium 76mg8%
    Iron 4mg22%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Soup
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor Note: Originally published October 11, 2011. This was my favorite soup as a child, and this is a wonderful rendition. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    1. Brian Mooney

      September 17, 2021 at 5:44 pm

      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!

      Reply
    2. Lois Meade

      October 23, 2020 at 6:55 pm

      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.

      Reply
    3. Dorothy E

      April 26, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 08, 2018 at 1:09 pm

        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

    4. Petrine

      March 17, 2018 at 1:44 am

      My daughter just had an operation so I am taking her this soup with tomatoes and cabbage. So yummy. Can’t wait.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        March 17, 2018 at 10:32 am

        I hope she is doing well. Good luck with the soup, it is our go-to recipe.
        Dan

    5. Colleen Boothe

      March 08, 2018 at 3:35 pm

      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.

      Reply
    6. Laura

      January 10, 2018 at 9:15 pm

      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!

      Reply
    7. Cindy D.

      January 10, 2018 at 4:30 pm

      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.

      Reply
    8. Meredith L. Eason

      February 18, 2016 at 7:43 pm

      Thanks for your article. I had to add a new food for my family.

      Reply
    9. Tawn

      January 05, 2016 at 12:16 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 05, 2016 at 10:01 pm

        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

    10. dave

      October 25, 2015 at 7:09 pm

      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

      Reply
      • DrDan

        October 25, 2015 at 7:17 pm

        It will probably come out great... A recipe is guidelines and not rules. Never be afraid to modify.

        DrDan

    11. Colleen Smith

      August 29, 2013 at 12:50 pm

      You left out the tomatoes?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell

        August 31, 2013 at 8:25 am

        Yep. It was missing from the ingredient list. Fixed... Thanks for the note.

    12. Dr Dan

      February 19, 2013 at 8:20 pm

      It is one of our favorites also. We have made it several times a year for decades and it never disappoints.

      Reply
    13. Dan Moody

      February 19, 2013 at 8:08 pm

      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!

      Reply

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