Many people associate a certain food or drink with a season. Such as pumpkin and apple cider in the fall. Hot cocoa and a bowl of hot soup in the winter. Lemonade and potato salad in the summer. You get the picture. But to me, a bowl of hearty beef vegetable soup is good any time of the year. This soup is really more like a stoup. Not as thick as a stew and not as thin as a soup. Therefore, stoup. I first heard this term from a popular television cook and it fits the description of this hearty beef vegetable soup quite nicely.
I always make too much no matter how I try to cut it down. But that is okay because I know it will get eaten. I have one granddaughter that absolutely loves this soup so I know I can always send some her way.
Slow Cooker Or Pressure Cooker
Depending on your schedule for the day, this “stoup” can be made in the slow cooker or the pressure cooker.
Many times I have not had the time to prep the ingredients to go into the slow cooker for that all-day cooking, and have found it was just as easy to ready this recipe and cook in the pressure cooker for a meal on the table in one hour. After prepping of course 🙂
I have found that the taste is the same no matter which way you decide. Slow cooker or pressure cooker.
The Meat For Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup
My favorite meat to use in this soup is lean beef stew meat. I love my meat and a soup should have meat that you can bite into. I use to work in long-term care and the cooks have to shred the meat for the residents that cannot chew. I dread the day that I can no longer bite into a nice piece of meat. Personally, I think that’s what makes the soup, besides the broth of course.
Vegetables, Fresh, Frozen or Canned
I have used all three. Fresh, Frozen, and canned.
Buying fresh vegetables can be expensive. If you have a garden, that’s great, but many do. There is always the farmers market, but depending on where you live and the season, this may not be an option.
The next best thing is frozen vegetables. I do not buy a bag of mixed vegetables. I buy individual bags of corn, green beans, and peas. Depending on how much you want to make, it may not take the whole bag.
With my children gone and on their own, I have had to downsize my cooking to two. And let me tell you it is not always easy. Even after 15 years, I still find myself cooking too much for just me and my husband. My son and his family get quite a bit of our leftovers. But with four kids, they welcome grandma’s leftovers.
The last choice is canned vegetables. In a pinch, I have used canned vegetables. The thing you have to remember is to drain and rinse them. You don’t want all that extra liquid diluting that wonderful hearty soup. The thing about using canned vegetables is that they can make your soup “mushy”. But honestly, I have used all three at one time or another. I just prefer The frozen:)
The Ingredients For Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup
- 1 pound lean stew meat
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 head of a large cabbage, cut up
- 1 cup frozen green beans
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 3 medium potatoes, cubed
- 46 ounce can of vegetable juice*
- 1 packet McCormick beef stew seasoning
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon ground rosemary
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions For This Amazing Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup
In a small bowl, mix flour, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Rinse stew meat and then dredge the stew meat with flour mixture. Yep dredge. I didn’t know what this term meant. Thought I needed a certain kitchen tool to perform this task. lol
Go here for some explanations of common terms used in recipes and cooking.
Brown stew meat in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil. Brown meat in batches. Do not overcrowd the meat.
In your crockpot or pressure cooker, add all the vegetables, browned meat, vegetable juice, and a packet of McCormicks beef stew seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste and 1 tablespoon parsley flakes. Mix well and if in a crockpot, cook on low for 6-8 hours.
In a pressure cooker, I used the stew setting. This will cook for 30 minutes after the cooker has come up to pressure. In order for more tender meat, you may have to do this twice. I did.
Substitutions and Add-Ins
You may have noticed that carrots were not included in the ingredients. I don’t like cooked carrots and omit them. But if you like carrots then by all means add them. 1 cup of frozen carrots should do the trick. You may have to add a little more liquid to accommodate the additional vegetable. You can also substitute the vegetable juice for beef broth. Whatever taste profile you are after. I have done it both ways.
I hope that you give this hearty beef and vegetable soup a try.
Do you have a favorite soup? Please leave me a comment below and let me know.
Have A Wonderful Day!
