• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Thrifty Frugal Mom
  • Home
  • Welcome!
    • Contact
  • Frugal Living
    • Money Saving Tips
    • Frugal Gift Ideas
    • Meal Plans: What We Eat on $200 a Month
    • Our $200 Grocery Budget {Series}
    • Our $200 Grocery Budget: What I Spent & Saved
  • Frugal Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Soups
    • Make Your Own
    • Desserts
    • Snacks
    • Beverages
    • Canning & Freezing
  • Homemaking
    • Frugal Remodeling | Home Decor
    • Organization
  • Family
    • Baby
    • Kids

Easy Vegetable Beef Soup

by 30 Comments

Pin12.4K
Tweet
Share43
Yum4
Email
12.4K Shares
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This 30 minute Easy Vegetable Beef Soup is the perfect quick, healthy meal! It’s loaded with vegetables and is a comforting dinner that our whole family loves- even the non-veggies lovers.

vegetable beef soup made with ground beef and cabbage in a blue bowl next to crackers and a spoon

There are affiliate links in this post – please read my full disclosure policy.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I started making this recipe last fall.  It came about like so many of my recipes do.  I had found a tasty looking recipe for vegetable soup that I wanted to try for dinner, but I didn’t have some of the ingredients that it called for.

So I started substituting ingredients and also tweaked some of the seasonings and things to get it to taste like a recipe that I thought we would love.  And the result?

An easy vegetable soup recipe that my husband raved over and my children gulped down as fast I remember gulping down my own mom’s vegetable soup!

Why We Love This Easy Vegetable Beef Soup

Quick to make. Takes just 30 minutes from start to finish.

Healthy. Full of nutritious veggies plus a bit of protein from the hamburger and black beans!

Makes a Lot. Perfect for cooking once and enjoying twice. Also works well for nights when you are having extra people at your table!

Freezes well. Pop leftovers into the freezer to pull out on a busy day!

easy vegetable beef soup in a blue bowl next to a silver spoon and five saltine crackers

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup Ingredients

  • Ground beef. Can substitute with ground turkey if preferred.
  • Onion.
  • Carrots.
  • Celery.
  • Green beans. I use frozen, but canned would probably work just as well.
  • Water.
  • Broth. You can use chicken, beef or vegetable broth.
  • Diced tomatoes with juice. Any diced tomatoes, including seasoned ones, will work great.
  • Tomato or spaghetti sauce. Use your favorite!
  • Black beans.
  • Chicken bouillon. Beef bouillon can be used instead.
  • Salt, basil, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper.
  • Cabbage. You’ll want to use green cabbage.
ground beef vegetable soup in a blue soup bowl next to spoon and crackers sitting on a plaid table cloth

How To Make Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup

STEP 1: Brown the ground beef and onions together in a large stockpot until it’s no longer pink. Drain off the grease if needed.

STEP 2: Add all of the other soup ingredients except for the chopped cabbage.

STEP 3: Cover the pot with a lid and bring the soup to a boil.

STEP 4: Stir and reduce the heat to simmer once it boils. Keep it uncovered until the carrots are tender. You can simmer longer if you would like, the flavor will be even better!

STEP 5: Add the cabbage and stir. Continue cooking until the cabbage has wilted. Enjoy!

top shot of homemade vegetable beef soup in a small blue bowl

Helpful Tips

Save Time. I like to use this awesome chopper for recipes like this- it literally cuts my vegetable chopping time in half! 

Freezing. To freeze, allow the soup to cool completely then transfer to a container, mason jar, or plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Reheating from Frozen. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or cook on the stovetop over medium heat until it’s warm all of the way through.

Frozen Vegetables. If you don’t have fresh veggies on hand you can use frozen, it may just take a little less time to cook.

To Thicken. Since this is a broth-based vegetable soup it will not be super thick. If you want to thicken it up more, make a cornstarch slurry and pour it in. Then simmer until it is the consistency you would like.

Pair With. This soup is perfect for serving with rolls or biscuits. I love pairing with my easy Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits!

More Easy Soup Recipes You’ll Love

  • 30 Minute Curry Chicken and Rice Soup
  • Easy Tomato Basil Soup with Parmesan
  • Cream Cheese Potato Soup with Ham
  • Creamy Italian Sausage and Pasta Soup
Print Recipe
4.67 from 33 votes

Easy Italian Vegetable and Beef Soup

The perfect quick, healthy meal! This Easy Vegetable Beef soup is loaded with vegetables and is a comforting dinner that our whole family loves.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Lydia @ ThriftyFrugalMom.com
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 c. carrots, thinly sliced
  • 2 c. celery, diced
  • 1 c. frozen green beans (canned would probably work too)
  • 5 c. water
  • 14.5 oz. can chicken or beef broth (or scant 2 cups if not using a can)
  • 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 2 c. tomato or spaghetti sauce
  • 15.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon (or beef bouillon)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 c. cabbage, chopped

Instructions

  • In a large pot, cook ground beef and onions together until beef has browned.
  • Add remaining ingredients, except for the cabbage.
  • Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil.
  • Once soup is boiling, stir and then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until carrots are tender. If you can simmer longer, do! The flavor will become even better!
  • Stir in the cabbage and simmer a few minutes more until the cabbage has wilted.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Freezing: This soup freezes really well!
Save Time: This awesome chopper cuts my vegetable chopping time in half! A favorite kitchen tool of mine!
Pin12.4K
Tweet
Share43
Yum4
Email
12.4K Shares

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes, Soups

Previous Post: « $225/MONTH MENU PLAN FOR OUR FAMILY OF 6 (POST #44)
Next Post: The Best Money Saving Apps (that you’ll use every week!) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alicia

    February 19, 2022 at 12:19 PM

    Could you sub marinara for the pasta sauce and get the same result?

    Reply
    • Lydia Beiler

      February 19, 2022 at 12:32 PM

      I’m pretty sure that would work fine, Alicia. It will be slightly different, but not in a bad way.

      Reply
  2. Sherilyn

    November 15, 2021 at 7:37 AM

    5 stars
    I have made this recipe many times because it has become a favorite in our house. I love the simplicity of the recipe, yet it is so tasty. I always use pizza or spaghetti sauce rather than juice. I think that takes it from good to delicious.

    Reply
    • Lydia Beiler

      November 15, 2021 at 7:44 AM

      So happy that you love the recipe, Sherilyn, and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I love your suggestion of making it with pizza or spaghetti sauce. That sounds delicious and would not only give more flavor but also make it a bit thicker too. I can’t wait to try it! 🙂

      Reply
      • Nicole Maddock

        November 15, 2021 at 5:36 PM

        Is this a good freezeable recipe?

        Reply
        • Lydia Beiler

          November 16, 2021 at 3:45 PM

          I’ve never frozen it but I think it would be fine to freeze. The only thing that I’m not sure about is the cabbage. It might get a bit soggy/extra soft from freezing, but I can’t imagine it would be terrible. Everything else should be totally fine.

          Reply
  3. Cathy Staerkel

    November 25, 2018 at 9:55 PM

    5 stars
    2nd time to make your soup! Added potatoes and corn so cook time is much longer but WOW!
    So good and it makes so much. Shared with neighbors and they wanted your recipe.
    Thanks so much! Cabbage is key here.

    Reply
    • ThriftyFrugalMom

      November 27, 2018 at 5:02 PM

      I love your additions, Cathy! The potatoes especially would make it more hearty, for sure. So glad you are enjoying it and I’m honored that it won the neighbor’s approval too. 😉

      Reply
    • Hannah

      September 17, 2021 at 9:43 PM

      When do you add the potatoes?

      Reply
      • Lydia Beiler

        September 18, 2021 at 5:42 AM

        If I was adding them, I would do it when you add the rest of the vegetables.

        Reply
  4. Candi Elm

    October 10, 2018 at 10:05 AM

    5 stars
    I adore soup. I think it should be the new food group. It is so comforting, filling, and delicious

    Reply
    • ThriftyFrugalMom

      October 10, 2018 at 11:57 AM

      I couldn’t agree more, Candi! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Denay DeGuzman

    October 8, 2018 at 1:32 PM

    5 stars
    This fabulous comforting vegetable beef soup is just as delicious as it looks in the images within your post! Thank you so much for sharing such a scrumptious recipe! I’ll be making it again next week.

    Reply
    • ThriftyFrugalMom

      October 8, 2018 at 1:52 PM

      So glad you loved it, Denay!

      Reply
  6. Christina

    October 8, 2018 at 1:25 AM

    5 stars
    There is nothing like a big bowl of soup to warm you up in the fall! This is a great recipe!

    Reply
    • ThriftyFrugalMom

      October 8, 2018 at 8:56 AM

      Thanks, Christina!

      Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Welcome! I’m Lydia. I want to help you find ways to live well and enjoy life on a budget! Read more…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright ©2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Privacy Policy