Granny’s Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
This vegetable beef soup recipe is one of my go-to easy soup recipes. It’s even quicker and easier if you use a pressure cooker to cook the beef. Based on my Granny Gray’s recipe, this soup can’t be beat for nutrition and flavor.
Granny always said, “the key to my homemade soup is fresh ingredients.” The thing is that you can’t always find fresh corn, tomato, okra, and butter beans at all times of the year. So she’d preserve her own to use in her vegetable soups all year long. She’d work so hard canning all the ingredients she would bring home from the farmers’ market and any extra from her backyard garden.
To her, this was just a way of life: work in the summer and reap the benefits all year long. I know one thing — I got to dine on mighty fine soup and cornbread all year at her house.
This vegetable beef soup recipe is the meaty version of my granny’s homemade soup. I’ve gotten as close as I can to her original recipe. Simmered with tender chunks of beef chuck roast and lots of veggies, this soup reminds me of my childhood. It still tastes like a grandma’s love to me.
Check out my Garden Vegetable Soup recipe for more tips. I include info on using frozen vegetables and canning vegetable soup.
NOTE: To can the meat version, you must use a pressure canner to make sure the temperature gets high enough.
Ingredients for Vegetable Beef Soup
Beef vegetable soup is a wonderful way to use up garden vegetables while still getting your protein. My recipe uses the same vegetables my granny used, and the soup is always delicious. However, feel free to vary the veggies.
The beauty of a vegetable soup is that you can use what have on hand. For example, you can add carrots, peas, green beans, or russet potatoes. Just be sure to chop all the vegetables the same small size. That’s what give this soup such a beautiful texture. The veggies and herbs I like to use are:
- finely chopped celery and onion
- okra, which thickens the soup while adding that unique Southern flavor
- butter beans, also known as lima beans
- peeled, crushed tomatoes – watch the video for a tomato peeling trick!
- light yellow corn off the cob
- garlic, basil, thyme, and a few dashes of hot sauce
How do you keep beef from getting tough in soup?
I’ve found the main trick to keeping the meat tender is to cook it separately from the rest of the soup.
- First, I brown the entire beef chuck roast or brown 2-inch pieces of chuck roast.
- Then I add beef stock or water and allow it to simmer very slowly over low heat in a Dutch oven on the stovetop. Sometimes, instead, I will set the oven to 300°F and place the covered Dutch oven into the preheated oven for a few hours, checking every hour and then every 30 minutes for fork-tender meat.
- Alternatively, when I’m short on time, I will pressure cook the meat with a little water and onion and then add it with the juices to the vegetables for the remaining cooking time.
Pressure Cooker Method to Cook Beef Chuck
Some people like to use a slow cooker to cook their meat. I love using a pressure cooker to cook the beef chuck because it takes half the time to create succulent, tender meat and rich flavor.
- To use the pressure cooker for this meat in this recipe, place the pressure cooker over medium high heat.
- Brown the floured and seasoned meat on all sides in batches, removing it to a plate.
- Once the batches are browned, add the meat back to the pressure cooker.
- Add ¾ cup beef broth, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper and place the lid on the pot, according to directions.
- Bring the pressure cooker up to full pressure over medium-high heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. You will hear the valve jiggling.
- Release pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Test for fork tenderness and add meat to the soup using a slotted spoon.
- Once you add the meat to the soup, allow the soup to simmer for at least 30 more minutes.
More Tips for Your Vegetable Beef Soup
Choose the Right Cut
Opt for cuts of beef that are well-suited for slow cooking and braising. These cuts have more connective tissue that breaks down during cooking, resulting in a tender texture. I use beef chuck for this soup. Other options are brisket, stew meat, and shank. You can use venison as well for this dish.
Trim Excess Fat
While a bit of marbling can enhance flavor, too much fat can result in greasy soup. Trim off any large pieces of fat before adding the beef to the soup.
Sear the Beef
I brown the beef in a hot Dutch oven first. Searing creates a flavorful crust on the meat’s surface, sealing in juices and enhancing the overall taste. You may want to brown the beef in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan, which can lead to steaming instead of browning.
Use Low and Slow Cooking
Cooking the beef slowly over a longer period of time allows the connective tissues to break down, resulting in a more tender texture.
Cut into Uniform Pieces
Cut the beef into uniform, bite-sized pieces. This ensures that the beef cooks evenly and that all the pieces become tender at the same rate.
Add Beef at the Right Time
After you cook the beef chuck and add it to the soup, 30 minutes of simmering gives the beef ample time to infuse its flavors into the soup.
Avoid Overcooking
Overcooking can result in tough meat. Monitor the soup and check the beef’s tenderness periodically. Once the beef is easily pierced with a fork and is tender, it’s ready.
Acidic Ingredients
Avoid combining the meat with acidic ingredients like tomatoes or citrus too early in the cooking process, as they can toughen the meat.
Rest Before Serving
Once the soup is cooked, allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving. This gives the beef a chance to reabsorb some of its juices, resulting in a more succulent and tender bite.
Granny Gray’s Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
Here is the step-by-step recipe. Let me know in the comments how it turns out!
Vegetable Soup with Beef Chuck
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for browning
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 2-inch cubes
- 3 cups beef stock
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 pound okra sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- 8-10 tomatoes peeled and crushed
- 3/4 cup butter beans
- 4 ears light yellow corn 1 cup, cut off the cob
- 1 tablespoon basil finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon thyme chopped, plus more for garnish
- 3 dashes hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- In a shallow bowl, add the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and mix with a fork until well combined. Add beef cubes to the plate and cover with flour, shaking any excess flour off before browning.
- In the Dutch oven, add half the beef in a single layer and cook on the stovetop until browned on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the beef to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining beef. Add all the beef and the beef stock to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, cover, and lower the heat to simmer for about 3 hours, or until fork tender. Or instead of on the stove, you can cook the meat for 3 hours in a 300 degree oven.
- Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add celery and onions and cook for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and heat for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add okra, tomatoes, beans, corn, basil, thyme, hot sauce, salt, and pepper to the pot. Squeeze the lemon over soup. Add enough water to just cover the soup.
- Bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce to simmer. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the beef from the Dutch oven and add to the soup. Allow to simmer for another hour, adding a little stock if the soup gets dry.
- Serve immediately with fried jalapeno cornbread.
