This isn’t just soup--it’s dinner that smells like home. This Instant Pot vegetable beef soup is my take on a classic -- tender beef, real vegetables, and a broth that tastes like you worked all day… without actually working all day. The Instant Pot does the heavy lifting. You take the credit.
My mom never used recipes (and would laugh if I handed her one), but the memory of her vegetable beef soup stuck with me. This is my version--same soul, cleaner process, faster finish.
Why This Works
- Browning = flavor. We sear the beef hard, then borrow every bit of fond for the broth.
- Instant Pot efficiency. Fall-apart tender in a fraction of the usual time.
- Flexible veggies. Keep the onion-carrot-celery base; swap the rest to fit your fridge or freezer.
- Optional umami boost. A parmesan rind quietly levels up the broth--highly recommended.
What You’ll Need
- 3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided: 2½ teaspoon for the beef + ½ teaspoon for the vegetables
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2.5 lbs stew beef (or chuck roast cut into bite-size pieces), near room temp
- ¾ cup yellow onion, large dice
- 3 carrots, roughly chopped
- ½ cup diced celery
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic (or paste)
- 8 oz mushrooms, finely chopped
- 6 thyme sprigs (bundled)
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1.5 lbs potatoes (red, gold, or russet), rough chopped
- 8 oz frozen green beans, no thawing needed
- 8 oz frozen sweet peas (recommended; no thawing needed); one 15-oz can sweet peas, drained, also works
- Parmesan rind (optional, but do it)
For a gluten-free soup, use broth and Worcestershire sauce labeled gluten-free.
Technique Highlight:
Dry-Brine the Beef (Optional)
Toss the cubed beef with 2½ teaspoon kosher salt and rest on a rack in the fridge for 1-24 hours. If you skip the dry brine, season the beef with the same 2½ teaspoon kosher salt immediately before searing. The salt seasons deeper and helps the meat brown better. But even more than that, the tenderness changes, and the beef will almost melt in your mouth. Pull it out while you prep veggies so it’s not ice-cold going into the pot.
How to Make Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
Pressure stages: 10 minutes on High Pressure, then 25 minutes of natural release. Prep, searing, and the time to come up to pressure are additional. Open only after all pressure is gone; dry brining is optional.
Step 1:
Season the beef with the listed 1 teaspoon black pepper. If you skipped the dry brine, add the 2½ teaspoon kosher salt now. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Add 2 tablespoon olive oil and sear half the beef for 5–7 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Repeat with the remaining beef and 1 tablespoon oil. Do not wipe the pot. This is the foundation.
Step 2:
That golden stuff? Fond. Don’t clean it-scrape it into the broth later.
Step 3:
Add the onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 bay leaves, and the remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Sauté for 5 minutes, scraping up the fond.
Step 4:
Return the beef. Add 4 cups chicken broth, 28 oz crushed tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, and 8 oz frozen sweet peas (or one 15-oz can sweet peas, drained). Stir well.
Step 5:
Drop in a parmesan rind for quiet umami. Not mandatory--just smart.
Step 6:
Before sealing, keep the ingredients below your cooker's pressure-cooking fill limit; use the lower limit if its manual requires one for these foods. Lock the lid and cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 25 minutes, and open only after the pressure indicator has dropped and all pressure is gone. Fish out the thyme, bay leaves, and optional rind. Stir and serve.
Pro Tips
- Don’t crowd the pot. Brown in batches so the meat sears, not steams.
- Room-temp beef. Cold beef cools the pot and kills your crust.
- Keep the mirepoix. Swap other veggies as you like, but onion-carrot-celery is the base note.
- Be patient with the release. The 25-minute natural release = tender beef and better flavor.
- Herb cleanup. Pull out thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving. They’ve done their job.
FAQs
Yes. Use what you like--just keep the mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery).
Cook the pasta separately according to its package directions and stir it in at the end.
Toss them straight in. No time change needed.
Lighter, more neutral. Beef broth is richer--use it if that’s your vibe.
Chuck roast or any stew meat, cut bite-size.
Divide the soup into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly, within 2 hours of cooking (1 hour if the room is above 90°F). Keep refrigerated for 3 to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months for best quality. Reheat leftovers to 165°F; bring soup to a rolling boil.
Let’s turn that pile of ingredients into the best bowl of beef soup you’ve had all year.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs. stew beef near room temperature
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt divided: 2½ teaspoon for beef, ½ teaspoon for vegetables
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil separated
- ¾ cup yellow onions large dice
- 3 carrots roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp. garlic minced
- ½ cup celery diced
- 8 oz. mushrooms roughly chopped
- 6 thyme sprigs tied in bundle
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
- 1.5 lbs. new potatoes quartered
- 8 oz. frozen green beans
- 8 oz. frozen sweet peas or one 15 oz. can sweet peas, drained
Instructions
- Optional dry brine: Toss beef with 2½ teaspoon kosher salt and the 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rest on a rack in the refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours. Pull out while prepping vegetables. If you skip the dry brine, season the beef with the same 2½ teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper just before searing.
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté. Add 2 tablespoon oil, sear half the beef 5-7 mins, turning to brown all sides. Repeat with remaining beef + 1 tablespoon oil. Do not wipe pot.
- Add onion, carrots, garlic, celery, mushrooms, thyme, Worcestershire, bay leaves, and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté 5 mins, scraping fond.
- Return beef to pot. Add broth, crushed tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, peas, and parmesan rind (if using). Stir well.
- Lock lid. High pressure for 10 minutes.
- Natural release for 25 minutes.
- Remove thyme, bay, and parmesan rind. Stir. Serve hot with crusty bread.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- Batch searing matters. Crowding the pot = steamed beef, not seared.
- Room temp beef browns better than cold.
- Veg swaps work -- just keep the onion/carrot/celery base.
- Beef broth = richer; chicken broth = lighter.
- Refrigerate promptly in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking, or 1 hour above 90°F. Keep refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months for best quality. Reheat to 165°F and bring the soup to a rolling boil.
FAQs
Nutrition
If you try this Instant Pot vegetable beef soup, let me know how it turned out -- it’s the kind of comfort food worth making again and again. And I love seeing your kitchen wins. And if cozy beef dinners are your thing, try my Instant Pot Pot Roast next.
Sheri
Made this recipe for the first time this morning and had a bowl for lunch! I sprinkled a little grated Parmesan on it & had a slice of my homemade sourdough bread with it! It was so good, and we will be having it for dinner as well! It's a keeper!
Jones
Turns out great every time!
Susan Greene
Gary!!!
This soup is amazing! The flavors are so well rounded you would have thought Grama made it and it had simmered all day. BRAVO!
This one is definitely going in my file 🙂
Gary White
Thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed it.
Marcia Osborne
This is a very flavorful recipe with lots leftover. In fact, my 6 qt. pot was so full that I could only include 1/2 of the broth. I cut up a chuck roast to use instead of stew meat, but the only real change I made was to hold out the mushrooms until the pressure dropped, then stir them in and let them set for about 10 minutes before serving. I'll definitely make this again. Thank you for a great recipe.
Brianna
I tweaked this recipe once for what I had in the house and it is now my go-to soup! The kids love it and don't even realize how many veggies they are getting 🙂 I love that I can add so many kinds of veggies and it tastes just as amazing! One thing we did that changes it up is take the potatoes out to make it "carb free" so we can have as many crackers and grilled cheese sandwiches as we want with it 😉 It does change the consistency a little... and hubby wanted it more tomoto-ey so I added 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce. Also used ground beef because it's a bit cheaper, but have plans to try it with stewing beef as well. Everyone I serve this to LOVES it! Thanks for such a tasty recipe!
Elaine J Williamson
Love the tips of searing meat and using chicken broth !! Delicious