Best Ever Italian Beef Soup Recipe with Video
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Italian Beef Soup sure doesn’t cut corners! The meat is trimmed, seared, and simmered until it literally melts in your mouth. The vegetables are seasoned and cooked until just tender yet still crisp and full of flavor. Served in a mindblowing broth with savory Italian seasonings, this is my best hearty beef soup recipe to date!
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine the results. Check out the video below of this beef soup recipe being made for a look at what’s to come!
This hearty soup is one simple recipe that the whole family will love. It has the best flavor and is a great way to whip up a simple comfort food on a chilly day!
Italian Beef Soup
There’s just something about wholesome, hearty beef vegetable soup that no other recipe can replace.
It’s all classic, homecooked, and smells even better than it tastes – if that’s even possible!!
It’s a timeless dish you ate as a kid, that you serve to your kids, and that they’ll serve to their kids later down the line.
And I’m happy to introduce you to the beef soup recipe you’ll be making from here on out, because this really is the best vegetable beef soup out there!!
While we’re replacing childhood recipes… take some time to try my chicken noodle and French onion soup recipes!!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Beef Chuck Roast – This cut comes from the shoulder of the cow and has a super rich, fatty flavor. It’s my first choice for pot roast soup!
- Cabernet Sauvignon – This dark red wine is lending its moisture and deep, fruity flavor to our beef and vegetable soup.
Those who dislike cooking with alcohol can choose a non-alcoholic wine of their choice or a simple grape, pomegranate, or cranberry juice. - Beef Stock – Vegetable stock works just fine, too. If you’re using bouillon or beef base, then use 4 teaspoons of the base/bouillon mixed into 4 cups of water.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Sweet, sour, and even a little spicy!
Soy sauce is your best substitute, but you can add ketchup or apple juice to it to get some of that sweet acidity back. - Dried Italian Seasoning – Such a versatile combination of herbs!
You can mix your own with a teaspoon each of dried basil and rosemary, and ½ teaspoon each of dried oregano and thyme. - Shallots & Garlic – Aromatics play a big role in the overall flavor of a soup. Shallots and garlic are perfect!
Shallots can be replaced with an onion of your choice (for an even stronger flavor), but be sure to use fresh garlic instead of powdered.
Kitchen Hacks for Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup
- Don’t Forget To Deglaze – This is huge! There’s so much flavor cooked onto the bottom of the pot.
The wine scoops all of it up and makes a fantastic base for the soup. - Best Sides to Serve – Bread is never a bad idea! Cornbread, beer bread, and garlic bread.
And since Italian beef soup is rather rich and hearty, a crisp and refreshing salad would be a relief to bite into! - Thicken The Broth – There are two ways to do this. The first method is to simply use less stock – just 2 cups or so – for a thicker broth with a stronger flavor.
Alternatively, you can make a slurry with water and either cornstarch or flour. This won’t affect the flavor much at all, but will achieve a thick, silky consistency.
Storing and Reheating Italian Beef Soup
Keep any leftover beef soup chilled for 3 to 4 days.
Reheat it right back on the stovetop over medium heat until all warmed through!
Sometimes this hearty beef vegetable soup is even better the next day, after everything sits in the broth overnight.
Italian Beef Soup FAQ
The best cut of meat for beef soup is either a chuck roast, chuck shoulder, chuck-eye roast or top chuck – with chuck roast being my personal favorite.
These are the most tender cuts. Despite what the name suggests, stew meat is not your best choice in a beef soup recipe! The cubes in a stew pack can actually come from any combination of cuts, and you never know if they’ll be suited for simmering or not.
Yep!
Let it cool down first, and then portion into separate containers so that you can thaw just one serving at a time. If you plan on reheating all of it at once, then a freezer bag or other airtight container will do just fine for the whole batch.
It’s probably exactly what you think – a stew is basically a thicker, richer, heartier soup.
Stews simmer down the broth for maximum flavor, while soups tend to just cook and heat the liquid. Both are great in their own way, but stews are almost always more flavorful and satisfying than soups!
Since this recipe is made with simple ingredients, you’ll love all the toppings and flavors that you can add. Bay leaves are great for adding flavor (but not to eat), and fresh parsley is always delicious.
Add some black pepper and other fresh herbs to really enhance the wonderful taste. (garlic powder is great with the tender beef!) Crusty bread or croutons are a great choice, too!
When you have a homemade soup this delicious, the only thing that you have to really worry about is that you’ll want more because there is lots of flavor. Keep this simple recipe handy during the winter months because it doesn’t take a lot of time to make, but it’s going to stick in your mind for a long time.
Vegetable beef soup recipes like this are the best! It’s a simple good soup to share with family and friends!
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Easy Soup Recipes
Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup + Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 – 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 32 ounces beef stock, 4 cups
- 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 4 cups chopped red potatoes, bite-size pieces (about 1/2″)
- 3 cups chopped baby carrots, bite-size pieces
- fresh parsley to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Trim hard fat (which does not melt during the cooking process) and silver skin (white and silvery looking) from beef and cut into 1 – 1 1/2″ cubes. It takes about 5 minutes, but don’t skip this step. It is sooo worth it.
- Combine flour, paprika, pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large 1-gallon resealable bag. Seal and shake to combine. Add beef and shake until well coated.
- Warm olive oil in a large dutch oven (or heavy bottom pot), over medium-high heat, once you can feel the warmth when holding your hand 6 inches from the pot, add butter. Once butter is melted, carefully add beef. Do not crowd the pot, only add about 1/2 of the beef at a time.
- Remove beef from flour and shake gently to remove loose flour. Place coated beef in the pan, one piece at a time, brown on all sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Cook in two batches, about half each time. Turn pieces until all sides are browned and remove them and place them in your upside-down pot lid. Once the first batch is cooked, add the second batch and repeat.
- Meanwhile, prepare shallot and garlic. Shallot should be diced and garlic minced. Set aside.
- Once all beef is browned, add shallots and garlic. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add wine and deglaze the pan by scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add beef stock, Worcestershire and Italian seasoning, remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine. Return beef to the pot.
- Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Allow soup to simmer 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare potatoes and carrots. Cut vegetables into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
- Add potatoes and carrots. Stir to coat vegetables and cover. Simmer 40-50 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender. Taste broth. If necessary, add additional salt to taste (mine was perfect).
- Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published September 2014, updated and republished December 2023
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I hate garlic so I've skipped it. The soup still tastes amazing btw. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Saved as a favorite, I really like your site!
Appreciate this post. Will try it out.
So yummy! My 5 year old and my husband loved it and basically licked their bowls clean. I used grape juice instead of the wine.
Appreciate the recommendation. Will try it out.
Just made this with Milk and Honey White Bread. So good. And relatively easy to time well. Started the stew while the bread was on its first rise. Finished at the exact same time.
BEST STEW EVER. I HAVE MADE IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!
I made it tonight and I'm blown away! I normally make stew in the Crockpot and it's always okay but this is absolutely amazing. I will never make it any other way again! I simmered for 20 and 20 instead of 40 and 40 because we're impatient, haha, but everything was perfectly cooked. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Has anyone had success with freezing this? I want to make a double batch.
it freezes very well.
Am I missing something here? My husband and I tried this last night and it was definitely amazing, but we didn't end up eating our dinner until 10:30 at night because the carrots and potatoes definitely did not cook in 50 minutes. More like two and a half hours. No one else served to have trouble in the comments… Did I do something wrong?
Carrot and potatoes should be well cooked in less than 50’. You may try to cut them smaller than what you did to see if it works for you.
Could this recipe be canned? Maybe not precook everything, but an the sauce be canned?
We have not tried that but I would love to know how it goes if you give that a try!
Happy Cooking,
Donna
What a wonderful tasty soup! I used hamburger instead of roast and subbed angel hair cabbage for the potatoes. Baked 4 hours and thickened with xanthan at the end. Yum!
Your customizations sound scrumptious, Rose! We’re so happy that you love the recipe.
TSRI Team member,
Becca
Amazingly awesome!! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Karen,
Thanks so much! Enjoy your day!
TSRI Team Member,
Holli
I cook this every fall / winter for my little family. My husband doesn’t like soups but loves stews so I add more potatoes and carrots to soak up the stock. We love this recipe and look forward to having leftovers!
I don’t like buying ingredients for dishes that I don’t routinely use for anything else. I don’t drink wine, so I was wondering if there is a substitute.
More beef broth!
I don’t drink wine either, but I buy the small little bottles of the red, and white wines to cook with. they’re perfect.
Me too!
I saw this recipe last year and I love it! I’ve made it at least 8 times since. All my family enjoys it.
I do clean off the fat pretty well, and use cabernet wine. It is actually pretty easy to make.
Hi Kate,
We are so happy to hear that!! Have a great day!
TSRI Team Member,
Holli
Could I slow cook this recipe? How? Thank you!
Prepared the recipe last night. First time cooking with wine, and shallots. Turned out great. I will be making it again.
I have made this several times everyone loved it baked homemade rolls with it it was wonderful
This is one of my family’s favorite meals! So good!
Hi Vicki!
We’re so glad you enjoy it!!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
This soup was amazing! I followed the recipe almost to the T, I only had to sub a yellow onion for the shallot. It was so delicious! I served with homemade yeast rolls. I had nothing left over!
Hi Julie!
We’re so glad you enjoy it.
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
my family LOVES this recipe. I have made it exactly as written and also subbed yellow onion for shallot–both are delish! thank you for sharing!!
Hi Dee!
We’re so glad that you enjoy the recipe!!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
I just made this and it is amazing. I’m not much of a cook but was so in the mood for stew. This is different. It’s better. Even a non-cook can make this. Delightful!
Hi Teri!
We’re so glad that you enjoyed the recipe!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
I don’t generally leave a review. This is amazing. We used 2 cups beef broth so it was “stewish”. Also used Herbes de Provence in place of the Italian seasoning. We simmered all ingredients together for 40 minutes so the beef would not overcook. Spectacular!! Awesome recipe!!
Hi Ranne!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
I made this recipe for dinner one evening when our daughter and SIL were visiting. Everyone enjoyed the recipe immensely as it was so full of flavor.
Hi Nancy!
We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe!!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn