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.
Ruth Kaplan
While I was reviewing the recipe, the pressure dropped so I was able to take the pressure lid off. I added some tomato sauce, thyme, potatao cubes and a bag of mixed frozen vegetables. I wasn't sure what type of potato it was because I bought it in December to make potato latkes during Chanukah. I only had one potato in the house so I pealed it anc cut it into small cubes. I turned the pot on to come up to pressure and set the timer for 4 minutes while I took the dog out because she was getting edgy. When we came in, the timer was going down from 7 minutes so I turned it off and opened the vent. We finally ate some and it did not have enough salt. I used my usual cooking salt shaker and did not add enough salt. I have usually used boullion for the beef flavor when I made soup in the past and it added a lot of salt. I have added kosher salt to my shopping list so I can add some when I reheat the soup for another meal or 2.
Ruth Kaplan
While I was reviewing the recipe, the pressure dropped so I was able to take the pressure lid off. I added some tomato sauce, thyme, potatao cubes and a bag of mixed frozen vegetables. I wasn't sure what type of potato it was because I bought it in December to make potato latkes during Chanukah. I wasn't able to eat anything fried at the time so I didn't make them and had one potato left in the house. I turned the pot on to come up to pressure and set the timer for 4 minutes and took the dog out because she was getting edgy. When we came in, the timer was going down from 7 minutes so I turned it off and opened the vent. We finally ate some and it did not have enough salt. I used my usual cooking salt shaker and did not add enough salt. I have usually used bouillion for the beef flavor and salt when I made soup in the past. I have added kosher salt to my shopping list so I can add some when I reheat the soup for another meal or 2.
Ruth
I plan to add larger pieces of carrot, potato and onion and possibly celery after the meat and mirapoix are sauted. If I add the bag of frozen vegetables then, won't they get over cooked? Should I add them toward the end for a few minutes only?
Gary White
The frozen vegetables should be fine to add at that time. They usually hold up surprisingly well.
Ruth
I was going to make beef vegetable soup in the crock pot and let it cook overnight for dinner tomorrow. Think I'll try your recipe in the Ninja Foodi instead, if I can lift it out of the box. The advantage of the NF or instant pot is that the meat can be sauteed in the same pot and not involve washing another one after scraping out the browned bits on the bottom. I remember a mirapoix being small diced vegeetables and I will try that, then add larger pieces of carrot and onion when I add the potatoes and frozen vegetables. Vegetable soup is the only time I eat lima beans so I bought a mixed bag of veggies, including corn, peas, green beans and a few limas. Passed up the bag of frozen veggies with carrots because I wanted bigger pieces than their small cubes. Should the onions, carrots and celery for the mirapoix be finely diced?
I've seen other vegetable soup recipes that use tomato sauce and/or tomato paste instead of crushed or diced tomatoes. Next summer, when I have a vegetable garden again, I'll freeze some Roma tomatoes to add to the soup. The skins pop off in the hot liquid and are easy to retrieve and they can be frozen whole with little effort other than washing them. and are great for cooking.
I'm thinking of adding a soup bone if I can find one to buy. Have always added one when cooking beef soup on the stove top but this recipe might not need the extra flavor.
Gary White
You can view the picture tutorial for the sized of dice I prefer for this recipe. It really is just a preference though, as you can do them how you like.
Deb McDonald
This is our favorite recipe for beef vegetable soup. Easy and super delicious!!!! We don't use mushrooms (just our preference), and use a bag of frozen mixed veggies in place of the frozen green beans and canned sweet peas. DELICIOUS!!!!
Donna Matthewdon
Hi, I used leftovers , porterhouse steak and the bones, some left over pot roast, rice leftover onions and mushrooms that had been edited in bacon fat. Sautéed the rest of my vegetables as you said but then forgot the Worcester, and Thyme. Oh well it’s still delicious.
Edie
I have been making veggie soup for many years (mom’s receipt) And all I can say about this receipt is simply amazing!
Sharon Carson
Hi Gary - Thank you so much for this recipe. You weren't kidding when you described the end result as 'Amazing' - it truly IS amazing! I had an awesome Beef Vegetable soup at Kitchen Kettle Village in Lancaster PA at their Harvest Cafe, a few weeks back, and as I was eating it, I kept thinking, "This is the perfect beef vegetable soup", not too tomato-y, with a rich beef flavor to the broth. I have been looking for years, to find a soup recipe like that, and I am thrilled to say that your recipe IS THE BOMB, and it is equally as good as KKV's, if not better! It truly is THE perfect beef vegetable soup, and it will be my go-to from now on. I love that it is prepared in the Instant Pot, because I have found that the Instant Pot makes the best soups - the broth is richer and the meat is so tender. As I am typing this, I have your recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Stew cooking in my Instant Pot right now - I can't wait to try it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Erika
Instant pot is doing it’s work as we speak! What’s the serving size for the nutritional info given? Thanks!
Gary White
Sorry for the delayed response. Each serving is 1 cup. I hope you liked the soup!
SueKitchen
Delicious. Used beef broth...was rich. Will try w chicken broth next time. Yum!
Ingrid
Delicious.
I added a few tablespoons of peach chutney after soup was cooked . Added a lovely flavour.
Sandra
I've made this before in my crockpot, but this is so much quicker. I'm making this right now, almost done! Smells so good! We can't wait. Thank's so much for this recipe!
Melissa Baucom
Still new to my IP.. mine is in there as we speak but just to be clear, I am cooking this on “High Pressure” correct?
Gary White
Yes, high pressure. 🙂
April
This is only the 3rd time I’ve used my instant pot because it still makes me a bit nervous. This recipe actually made me shed a couple tears. Reminds me of the soup my gramma used to cook on the stove for hours. It was so delicious and simple and I think it’s made me an instant pot convert. Thanks so much, it’s delicious!
Joan Vance
I can't wait to try this soup in my new pressure cooker. My Mom added cabbage and rutabaga. She also used browned short ribs along with some stew beef. It was so good,I hope I can come close to hers. Thank you for this recipe.
Emilie Wilkerson
Do we sauté for 30 mins? Or how long do we sauté meat for?
Gary White
Cook time for this part of the recipe will vary based on many factors. How large the chunks of beef are, how cold they are when placing in the IP, how cold the house is, can all affect it. Sauté in two batches until the beef is browned on the outside, and no longer red. It does not need to be cooked through. 🙂
Kat
I added 1/4 cup of wine to the beef as it was sauteing, and consumed the remainder of the bottle while completing this recipe. It turned out wonderfully! Easily the best dinner I ever made! (The soup was none too shabby, too! 🤤 )
Seriously though, this is a 10-star recipe in a 5-star world!
Judy Silvas
I haven't made this yet but doesn't the beef take longer to become tender than the vegetables? It seems like the beef should be cooked then add the vegetables. Won't the vegetables be mushy if cooked the same amount of time as the beef? Please answer ASAP so I can cook this delicious looking soup.
Michael
I've made this several times and each time I use different vegetables. I have made it with chicken broth as well as beef. I like to make a big pot so I add 1/2 to 1 cup of V8 to give a little kick. LOL great base receipt for any beef soup.
Michele
A great recipe! I used a local favorite spaghetti sauce from a restaurant in place of the crushed tomatoes, and no thyme. I used beef broth, and I highly recommend it!
Leif Epperson
Awesome recipe. I just made this earlier but used a more robust Worcestershire sauce and forgot to buy the peas. Will make it again!