Last week, I made the most delicious vegetable beef soup ever. It was so tasty that I knew I needed to share the recipe with you.
Before I go any further, I should note that this vegetable beef soup is a stay-at-home, simmer-all-day kind of recipe, which is fabulous for cool, rainy days when you’re staying home anyway, since your kids are sick. (Don’t you just love spring colds?) 🙁
If you never find yourself at home that long, you might want to research how to make this vegetable beef soup in the Crock Pot. Or just wait for me to convert it to the Crock Pot for you, because we have plenty of days when our kids aren’t sick (thank the Lord!), and we’re running them to activities. On these days, Crock-Pot meals are a life saver!
To make the vegetable beef soup on the stovetop, you’ll need about 4 – 5 hours and the following ingredients. (Note that you need to use pre-cooked beef and a small quantity of green beans, making this soup an excellent choice for beef or green bean leftovers!)
Ingredients:
2 quarts water
2 beef bullion cubes (Note: you could also use 6 – 8 cups of beef broth, but I never have any on hand, and this method way is cheaper, anyway!)
3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup sliced baby carrots
½ cup green beans
¼ cup dried onion
1 cup cooked and shredded beef (I highly recommend cooking the beef in the Crock Pot using this quick and easy recipe. You’ll have enough beef for the soup plus another dish. I had already made Hearty Steak Pie and needed to use up the remaining beef, so I experimented with this soup recipe. So glad I did. It was yummy!)
1 tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. pepper
3 sprigs of parsley
1 cup tomato juice
½ – 1 tsp. salt
½ cup alphabet noodles or instant barley
Instructions:
1. Fill a large stockpot with water and beef bullion. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Add vegetables, beef, thyme, pepper, and parsley springs. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 4 – 5 hours.
3. About ½ hour before serving, bring soup to a boil again. Add tomato juice, salt, and alphabet noodles or barley.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until noodles or barley is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with biscuits or a crusty loaf of bread.
Here’s the handy dandy printable version:
- 2 quarts water
- 2 beef bullion cubes
- 3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 cup sliced baby carrots
- ½ cup green beans
- ¼ cup dried onion
- 1 cup cooked and shredded beef
- 1 tsp. thyme
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 3 sprigs of parsley
- 1 cup tomato juice
- ½ - 1 tsp. salt
- ½ cup alphabet noodles or instant barley
- Fill a large stockpot with water and beef bullion. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Add vegetables, beef, thyme, pepper, and parsley springs. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 4 – 5 hours.
- About ½ hour before serving, bring soup to a boil again. Add tomato juice, salt, and alphabet noodles or barley.
- Reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until noodles or barley is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with biscuits or a crusty loaf of bread.