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.
Anna
Made this with just a few modifications! I am not a fan of peas so I substituted with frozen corn! Awesome taste, tender beef! Thanks for the recipe!
Susan
I've been looking for a beef barley soup and your recipe has all the features I want except the barley. If I want to substitute barley for the potatoes so that it will freeze better, would I adjust the cooking time at all? I'm thinking of adding 3/4 to 1 cup of barley and no potatoes. Thanks for the advice!
Gary
Unfortunately, I'm not familiar at all with barley cook times.
Retta
My daughter said "This is GOOD! Save the recipe!" My husband and son both said it was "really good!" Thanks for posting!!!
Karen
This was very delicious and hit the spot on a cold, damp night! I used my 8 qt. IP and added heaping amounts of all of the ingredients. One thing I was surprised by is how truly delicious the CANNED peas are in it, as I'm not a fan of canned peas, but I thought, "why not?" It gives it, for me, a nostalgic, throw back vibe that I really liked. The worcestershire sauce complements all of these flavors so well! This will be my new go-to vegetable beef soup. In the future, I may throw in a little bit of barley, but it certainly is hardy enough without it. Thank you, Gary! Great recipe! Glad to have found your blog. 🙂
Gary
Thanks Karen! I'm glad you found us too 🙂
Jennifer
Yum! I've made this soup twice now and not only is it delicious but oh so easy to make. Preparing this recipe also has helped me to overcome my fear of the IP! Thanks!
Gary
Yah, they're not really scary at all, once you understand them. Glad you like the soup!
Angela N
It's learning to understand them! 😂. I will conquer this little gadget! This recipe is going to be tonight's trial haha wish me luck.
Katy S.
Making this tonight. I want to add frozen corn, but should I do that at the end (and let the soup just heat it through, or add it with all of the other veggies? I'm a newbie and have no faith in my own decision-making abilities as yet. 😉
Gary
I'd add it with all the other veggies.
Anne
Question - I'm still figuring out my instant pot. I have a High, Medium, and Low Saute function. Which one is right for browning the meat vs veggies? Thanks!
Gary
Medium
Melba M. Burson
Thank you for this very flavorful recipe! My husband is a true food critic, and he really liked this soup.... went back for another large bowl! I was glad there was no acid taste from the tomatoes. I will make this for company with a salad & cornbread!
Elizabeth A Boles
What size Instant Pot is used for this recipe?
Gary
All of our recipes are created using a 6qt. IP.
Larabee
Chicken broth? In beef soup?? Imma trust you. ?
Gary
Yes! You could certainly use beef broth, but we usually only use that for soups we want to have a more rich flavor. This is intended to be on the lighter side, so we opted for chicken broth - which actually has a neutral flavor that can pretty much be used at any time.
Rick
This soup was so delicious! I left out the thyme and basil leaves and used beef broth instead of chicken broth. Other than that I followed the instructions and the soup was amazing! I will definitely use this recipe again.
Cherie
Sounds delish! Going to make this for a sick hubby tonight. Can I use fried Lima beans or should I get a can?
Gary
Sure, you can use whatever veggies you like!
Sherri
Made this tonight. Excellent! Used Lima beans instead of peas, added corn, fresh squash and zuchini. Definitely a keeper recipe
Joan
Delicious! Shared with 4 friends at work and ALL declared it a keeper!
Gary
Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Sue Shedd
Do I drain grease from beef before putting in veggies for soup
Gary
There shouldn't be too much left, but don't drain it. Use it to sauté the veggies.
Trisha
What a surprise! This was "bowl licking" good! I followed the recipe as is minus the thyme just I didn't have any and used homemade chicken stock. I am thinking about adding some corn next time. Seriously was a hit!
Gary
Wow, what a great compliment! Thanks, Trisha!
Janette
Can I use a bag of frozen veggies?
Gary
Definitely!
Don Meek
I veganized this by using a "Meaty" mushroom steak (baked, chopped and added just before serving), vegan Worcestershire, and no beef stock. I sadly didn't have mushrooms, so I subbed in a can of no salt added corn and some frozen green beans. Outstanding flavor and a ton of veggies in a rich stock... it's a keeper. Great on GameDay as an "all day" meal
Anna Whitaker
Question- can I sub dry pasta for the potatoes? Trying to make alphabet soup for a 1st birthday party.
Gary
Dry pasta usually cooks in an IP in 2-4 minutes, so I would cook it separately and mix it in when ready to serve.
Maureen Glenn
This is a super easy and really delicious soup! I followed the recipe pretty much, with the exception of using diced tomatoes because that's all I had, and crushed thyme vs. sprigs. I also used less meat because I didn't have more than a pound, and it was still excellent. The broth is good enough to enjoy on it's own along with some good whole grain bread. This will definitely be put into the rotation.
Kerri Zayas
I made this last night and made a couple changes simply based on what I had in the pantry...I used diced tomatoes rather than crushed and added frozen corn, edamame, and sweet potatoes in place of the other frozen veggies and the potatoes. Oh and added zucchini after cooked and then did another 3 minutes of high pressure with natural release to cook that. It was amazing! Thank you for a great recipe that is so easily modified to what you have on hand!!