This steak and vegetable soup is healthful comfort food. Big, tender chunks of savory beef, with a blend of hearty vegetables in a rich tomato broth full of flavor. It’s a tried-and-true family recipe that signals the arrival of winter.
Is it just me, or does it seem like the family packs of steaks at the grocery store are always packs of four? Well, as an only child, in a household of three, this meant leftover steak.
And leftover steak, meant my mom’s famous steak and vegetable soup.
(You carnivores out there (you are my people) are looking at each other like, “What does she mean “leftover” steak?”, right?)
Big, tender chunks of savory beef, with hearty vegetables in a rich tomato broth… It’s a very satisfying meal all on it’s own, but it’s even better paired up with cornbread, beer bread or even garlic toast.
Key Ingredients
- The Meat – I typically use leftover beef for this recipe – I mean it IS “Steak and Vegetable Soup” (pot roast, steaks, fajita meat, etc…), but you start with fresh beef as well. I recommend using sirloin as it’s tender and relatively lean, which keeps the soup from becoming greasy.
- The Veg – Growing up, we called this “Refrigerator Soup”, because it was a way for my mom to clean out the fridge – throw it all in a pot, add the seasoning and let it meld. This is a great place for “sturdy” vegetables potatoes, lima beans, carrots, etc…
- The Seasonings – You might notice that I’ve kept the seasonings pretty minimal. I like to the let the beef and tomato broth do the talking and really develop the flavor. Feel free to tweak the seasoning to your taste.
The Process – Using Fresh Beef
If you’re starting with leftovers from Sunday’s pot roast, see below…
If you’re starting with fresh beef you’ve just purchased or thawed out, let’s begin!
First off, make sure your beef is of good quality and free of any little bone fragments – give it a once over.
(True Story: I broke a tooth on a a bit of bone hiding in some ground beef – thumbing through your bits of steak is way less of a hassle than a crown or oral surgery…trust me. It’s cheaper too!)
Start with a large soup pot, add your oil, and heat it over medium heat. You want to brown the beef and start cooking the onions through.
Plus it’ll smell like Heaven…
Once the beef is browned, you can add the celery, carrots and potatoes, and let them start to soften/brown a little. Finally, you can add the remaining ingredients to the pot, and let everyone hang out and get to know each other.
The Process – Using Leftovers
If you’re starting with leftover beef, then the name of the game is reheating, maybe adding a little color to the meat by browning it. Use your best judgement.
Follow the recipe more-or-less as it is written, knowing you don’t have to cook your meat through.
If you’re starting with fresh beef, but leftover vegetables – same story. Keep in mind you vegetables won’t take as long to cook, so you may want to turn the temperature down and keep an eye on things.
A Note for Using Leftovers:
- Keep in mind what seasoning your leftovers are bringing to the pot – were they salted, heavily peppered, or do they carry a flavor profile that may not work here (ie: curry powder)?
- Food Safety – I’m VERY big on food safety. The rules I follow at work, are the rules I follow at home. Be sure to reheat your leftovers/soup to at least 165° F measured with a food thermometer. A rolling boil should get you there, but a food thermometer is the gold standard.
- For more information on leftovers and food safety from the USDA – click here!
Steak and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tbsp canola oil
- ½ small yellow onion diced
- 1 12oz sirloin steak cubed
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 large russet potato peeled and diced
- ½ cup green beans fresh/trimmed, or frozen
- 2 14oz cans tomato sauce
- 1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar optional
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat.
- Add chopped onion and diced steak. Sauté until onion is tender and beef is beginning to brown on the surface. Add chopped celery, carrot, and potato. Cook about 5min more.
- Next add the green beans (no need to thaw frozen beans first), tomato sauce and enough water or broth to achieve your desired consistency. I like my soups thicker, so I tend to use less water/broth – only about 1-2 cups.
- Add sugar, if using, and salt/pepper to taste.
- Simmer on medium-medium/low heat until the vegetables are tender and meat is cooked through and tender.
Recipe Notes
- Can I use leftovers in this soup? Yes, just keep in mind the quality of your leftovers (if you have mushy green beans on hand, you might not want that in your soup). In fact, the last time I made this I used 1 leftover grilled 6oz sirloin, about 1 ½ cups of leftover cooked green beans, about a cup of cooked carrots, about roughly 2 cans’ worth of homemade tomato sauce. I reheated the leftovers in a soup pot in some olive oil, added the seasonings and then let everything ride on low heat until the flavors came together.
- What kind of meat can I use? Just because I called it Steak and Vegetable soup, doesn’t mean you have to use steak!
- Fresh Beef: Steaks (remove any bones and cut into bite-sized pieces), ground beef, stew meat (again, may take longer to become tender)
- Leftover Beef: Hamburger patties, grilled steaks (remove bones and cut into bite-sized pieces), Pot Roast, etc…
- Non-Beef: Chicken/Turkey (light or dark meat, fresh or leftover), ground poultry, pork tenderloin (cut into bite-sized pieces), leftover pork chops…
- How long can I store it? This soup makes FABULOUS leftovers. In fact, it’s often better the next day (hello meal-preppers!). You can safely store this soup for up to 3-4 days in your fridge, depending on the age of your leftovers. If my meat was 1-2 days old when I made the soup, then I only keep the soup around for 1-2 days after. For more information on safely keeping leftovers, click here.
- What can I serve with this soup? See Finishing Touches below for ideas!
Finishing Touches
This soup is hearty and filling on it’s own, but it’s even better served alongside warm crusty bread, or corn bread, to soak up all that flavorful goodness. See below for more ideas:
- Fresh, crusty bread – French loaf, Italian loaf, Sourdough, etc…
- Cornbread or Corn Muffins
- Crackers
- Sharp cheeses – Sharp Cheddar, Parmesan, etc…
- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
- Garlic Bread/Toast
You get the idea… Enjoy!