There’s nothing quite like a steaming bowl of homemade soup to warm your family’s hearts on a chilly evening, and Shawn from EyeWashyDrive.com has shared the perfect recipe to do just that. Her hearty ground beef vegetable soup has become a favorite among home cooks because it’s packed with wholesome ingredients, incredibly easy to make, and flexible enough to accommodate whatever vegetables you have hiding in your fridge.

This comforting one-pot wonder combines tender ground beef with colorful vegetables like carrots, celery, potatoes, and green beans, all simmered together in a rich beef broth base. What makes this recipe especially appealing to busy families is that you can have it bubbling away on the stove any day of the week without any guilt – it’s that nutritious and satisfying.

Key Takeaways

• This hearty soup combines ground beef with fresh vegetables in a flavorful beef broth base that simmers to perfection in about 20 minutes
• The recipe is wonderfully flexible, allowing you to swap vegetables based on your family’s preferences or what you have available
• A simple freezing trick with leftover tomato paste helps reduce waste and saves time for future cooking projects

Why You’ll Love This Hearty Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

This warm, comforting soup brings together everything families crave on chilly evenings. Shawn creates a meal that feels like a big hug in a bowl, packed with tender vegetables and rich flavors that make the whole house smell amazing.

What makes this soup special:

• Uses simple ingredients most moms already have on hand
• Takes just one pot to make the whole meal
• Feeds a crowd without breaking the budget
• Gets kids eating vegetables without complaints

The beauty of this recipe lies in its flexibility. Don’t have celery? Leave it out. Kids prefer baby carrots? Cut them in half and toss them in. Some families might want to swap the potatoes for pasta, and that works perfectly too.

Shawn uses extra lean ground beef to keep things healthier, but any ground beef works fine. Just drain off extra fat before adding the garlic and vegetables. The combination of beef broth, diced tomatoes, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce creates a rich base that tastes like it simmered all day.

The vegetable lineup includes:

• Diced yellow onion for sweetness
• Russet potatoes for heartiness
• Sliced carrots for color and nutrition
• Fresh or frozen green beans
• Frozen corn and peas
• Fresh parsley for brightness

The seasoning blend keeps things simple but flavorful. Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of tomato paste round out the taste. Those bay leaves add depth, but remember to fish them out before serving.

This soup pairs beautifully with grilled cheese sandwiches or buttery garlic bread. It’s the kind of meal that makes everyone gather around the kitchen table, asking for seconds and compliments.

Bonus tip: Shawn shares a clever trick for saving leftover tomato paste. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions onto parchment paper, freeze them, then store in plastic bags. No more wasted tomato paste cans sitting in the fridge.

Getting Your Ingredients Ready

Choosing Your Ground Beef

Shawn uses one pound of extra lean ground beef for this recipe. The lean beef works great because there’s hardly any fat to drain off later.

If you use regular ground beef, just drain the extra fat after browning. Your family will still love it either way!

Fresh Veggies That Make It Special

This soup gets its hearty goodness from simple vegetables that most families keep around. Shawn chops up these fresh ingredients:

• 1 small yellow onion, diced small
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups of sliced carrots (or baby carrots cut in half)
• 2 cups of diced celery
• 1½ cups fresh or frozen green beans
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen peas

The potatoes make this soup extra filling. You could swap them for pasta if your kids prefer that instead.

Don’t worry if someone in your family doesn’t like celery. Just leave it out! That’s what makes vegetable soup so perfect – you can add whatever your family enjoys.

Building the Flavor Base

The broth and seasonings turn this into something really special:

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Beef broth	8 cups	Forms the main base
Diced tomatoes	2 cans (petite)	Adds richness
Minced garlic	2 teaspoons	Gets fragrant quickly
Italian seasoning	1 teaspoon	Homemade or store-bought
Salt	1 teaspoon	Adjust to taste
Black pepper	½ teaspoon	Fresh ground works best
Worcestershire sauce	1 tablespoon	Creates that savory depth
Tomato paste	1 tablespoon	Just a small amount

Don’t forget the 2 bay leaves – they add so much flavor while it simmers!

Easy Swaps and Fun Extras

Shawn finishes her soup with ⅓ cup of fresh chopped parsley. This bright herb makes everything taste fresh and homemade.

The beauty of this recipe is how flexible it is. Your family might love different vegetables, and that’s perfectly fine. Some moms add green peppers or zucchini when they have them on hand.

The frozen vegetables work just as well as fresh ones. Sometimes that’s exactly what busy families need!

Preparing and Cutting Your Vegetables

Working with Onions, Potatoes, and Carrots

Start by dicing one small yellow onion while your ground beef browns in the pot. Add the diced onion right to the beef so it gets tender and sweet as everything cooks together.

For the potatoes, peel two russet potatoes and dice them into bite-sized pieces. These hearty chunks will make your soup filling and satisfying. You could swap in pasta instead, but potatoes give that cozy, stick-to-your-ribs feeling that makes this soup so comforting.

Next, peel your carrots and slice them nice and thin – you’ll need about two cups worth. Here’s a mom-friendly shortcut: baby carrots work great too! Just cut them in half and toss them in. Kids love baby carrots, so this keeps everyone happy.

Getting Celery and Green Beans Ready

Dice up about two cups of celery for a nice crunch and fresh flavor. Don’t worry if your family isn’t crazy about celery – just leave it out! That’s the beauty of vegetable soup – you can add whatever your family loves and skip what they don’t.

For the green beans, you’ll add a cup and a half of fresh or frozen ones later in the cooking process. Fresh beans need a quick trim of the ends, but frozen ones are ready to go straight from the bag.

Quick Prep Ideas for Busy Nights

Smart shortcuts for hectic weeknights:

• Use pre-diced onions from the produce section
• Buy pre-cut vegetables from the salad bar
• Chop vegetables the night before and store in containers

Time-saving swaps:

• Baby carrots instead of whole carrots
• Frozen vegetables instead of fresh
• Pre-minced garlic from a jar

The key is getting all your vegetables prepped before you start cooking. This makes the whole process smooth and stress-free, just like having all your ingredients lined up before baking cookies with the kids.

Step-By-Step: Creating Your Perfect Bowl of Comfort

Getting That Beef Golden and Delicious

Shawn starts by adding one pound of ground beef to her pot. She lets it get nice and browned while she preps her veggies.

While the beef cooks, she tosses in one small diced yellow onion. This way, the onion gets tender right along with the beef. It’s such a smart time-saver that busy moms everywhere can appreciate.

Since she uses extra lean ground beef, there’s barely any fat to drain. If your beef has more fat, just drain it off before moving to the next step. Then she stirs in two teaspoons of minced garlic until it smells amazing.

Adding All Those Garden Goodies

Shawn preps her veggies while the beef browns. She peels and dices two russet potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Here’s what goes into her veggie mix:

• 2 cups of sliced carrots (peeled and cut thin)
• 2 cups of diced celery
• The prepped potatoes

She mentions that you could swap baby carrots if that’s what you have on hand. Just cut them in half and you’re good to go. If your family doesn’t love celery, feel free to skip it entirely.

The beauty of vegetable soup is that you can use whatever your family enjoys. These are just the veggies her crew loves and she keeps stocked in her kitchen.

Creating That Rich and Hearty Base

Time to build the soup foundation. Shawn adds eight cups of beef broth to get things started.

Next come two cans of petite diced tomatoes. She gives everything a good stir in her pot.

For extra heartiness, she adds one tablespoon of tomato paste. This gives the broth a richer, deeper flavor that makes the whole soup taste like it simmered all day.

She also adds one and a half cups of fresh or frozen green beans. Everything gets stirred together before bringing it to a gentle simmer.

Making It Taste Like Home

The seasoning blend is what makes this soup special. Shawn uses her homemade Italian seasoning, but store-bought works perfectly too.

Her seasoning lineup:

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

The Worcestershire sauce adds that savory depth that makes you wonder what the secret ingredient is. She drops in two whole bay leaves for even more flavor.

After covering the pot, she lets everything simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes get nice and tender. Right before serving, she stirs in one cup each of frozen corn and peas, plus about a third cup of freshly chopped parsley for brightness.

Don’t forget to fish out those bay leaves before serving. The finished soup pairs beautifully with grilled cheese sandwiches or buttered French bread with a touch of garlic.

Cooking the Soup to Tender Perfection

Combining All the Ingredients

Once Shawn gets the beef nicely browned with the onions, she adds in all those beautiful chopped vegetables. The celery, potatoes, and carrots go right into the pot with the seasoned meat.

Next comes the soup base. She pours in eight cups of beef broth along with two cans of petite diced tomatoes. The liquid transforms everything into what’s starting to look like real soup.

For seasoning, she adds her homemade Italian seasoning blend. Store-bought works just fine too. A teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper give it that classic flavor.

Key additions include:

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce for depth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste for richness
• 1½ cups fresh or frozen green beans

Checking if Vegetables are Done

After bringing everything to a gentle simmer, Shean covers the pot. She lets it cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes become fork-tender.

This timing is perfect for most vegetables. The potatoes take the longest to cook through. When they’re soft, everything else will be ready too.

She gives everything a good stir during cooking. The colors look amazing with all those different vegetables mixing together.

Adding Bay Leaves for Flavor

Two whole bay leaves go into the pot right before covering. These little leaves add so much savory depth to the broth.

Bay leaves work their magic slowly during that 20-minute simmer time. They release oils that make the whole soup smell incredible.

Remember to fish out those bay leaves before serving. Nobody wants to bite into one of those tough leaves. Shawn removes them carefully once the soup is done cooking.

The bay leaves make such a difference in the final flavor. They’re one of those secret ingredients that home cooks shouldn’t skip.

Final Steps

Stirring in Peas, Corn, and Parsley

Once the potatoes and green beans feel tender when you poke them with a fork, it’s time for the fun part. Shawn adds one cup of frozen corn and one cup of frozen peas right to the pot.

No need to thaw them first! The hot soup will warm them up perfectly. Then comes about a third of a cup of fresh chopped parsley. This bright green herb makes the whole soup taste fresh and light, even with all those hearty ingredients.

Just stir everything together gently. The colors look so pretty at this point – like a rainbow in a bowl!

Checking the Flavor

After everything gets mixed in, Shawn takes a taste to see how the soup turned out. This is your chance to make any tweaks.

Maybe it needs a pinch more salt or pepper. Trust your taste buds here. Every family likes things a little different, and that’s perfectly okay.

The broth should taste rich and savory from all that simmering time. All those flavors have had time to get to know each other and create something really special.

Important: Fish Out Those Bay Leaves

Before you serve this soup, you absolutely must remove those two bay leaves. Shawn fishes them out with a spoon and tosses them in the trash.

Bay leaves can be sharp and aren’t meant to be eaten. They did their job adding flavor during the cooking process. Now they need to go!

Take a minute to look through the soup and make sure you got both leaves. Sometimes they like to hide under the vegetables.

Ways to Enjoy This Hearty Soup with Your Family

Combining with Toasted Bread and Melted Cheese

Shawn knows exactly what makes this vegetable soup even better. She loves pairing her hearty beef soup with a warm grilled cheese sandwich. The creamy, melted cheese balances perfectly with the savory broth.

Try these bread options:

• Classic grilled cheese made with your family’s favorite cheese
• Toasted French bread brushed with butter
• French bread topped with minced garlic and butter
• Crusty dinner rolls warmed in the oven

The combination creates a complete meal that fills everyone up. Kids especially love dipping their grilled cheese right into the soup bowl.

Great Choice for Cold Weather Meals

This soup shines when the weather gets chilly. Shawn mentions it’s perfect for those unexpected snow days when you’re stuck at home with hungry kids.

The soup works well for:

• Cold winter evenings when everyone wants something warm
• Snow day lunches that keep the family cozy indoors
• Rainy weekend dinners that bring comfort

The hearty vegetables and beef make it filling enough to satisfy everyone. Plus, it warms you up from the inside out on those really cold days.

Making the Most of Extra Soup

When you make a big batch like this, you’ll likely have soup left over. Here are some smart ways to use it up:

Next-day meals:

• Heat it up for quick weekday lunches
• Serve over rice for a different twist
• Add fresh herbs to brighten the flavor

Storage tips:

• Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days
• Freeze portions for busy weeks ahead
• The vegetables stay tender when reheated

The soup actually tastes even better the next day. All those flavors have more time to blend together overnight.

Grandma’s Tomato Paste Saving Hack

You know how it goes – every recipe calls for just one tablespoon of tomato paste, but that little can has so much more inside. Don’t toss the rest! There’s a simple trick that’ll save you money and keep waste out of your kitchen.

Here’s what to do:

Grab a tablespoon and scoop out portions of the leftover tomato paste. Each scoop should be about one tablespoon – the perfect size for most recipes.

Drop each spoonful onto a sheet of parchment paper. Space them out so they’re not touching each other. Keep going until you’ve used up all the paste from the can.

The freezing process:

Pop that tray right into the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. The little tomato paste portions will freeze solid and harden up nicely.

Once they’re frozen through, you have two storage options:

• Wrap each portion in plastic wrap
• Drop them straight into a zip-top baggie

Using your frozen portions:

When a recipe calls for tomato paste, just grab one frozen portion from your stash. You can unwrap it and toss it right into whatever you’re cooking. No need to thaw first – it’ll melt right into your dish.

This little trick means you’ll always have the perfect amount of tomato paste ready to go. No more buying new cans every time you need just a tablespoon. Your wallet and your pantry will thank you for this smart kitchen hack.

Keeping and Preserving Tips

This hearty soup tastes even better the next day. The flavors have time to blend together overnight in the fridge.

Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Make sure to let it cool completely before putting it in containers. Glass containers work great because you can see what’s inside.

For longer storage, freeze portions in freezer-safe containers. Leave about an inch of space at the top since soup expands when frozen. This soup stays good in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Individual serving containers make weeknight dinners so much easier. Just grab one from the freezer and heat it up when someone needs a quick meal.

Smart Tomato Paste Storage

Shawn shares a clever trick for saving leftover tomato paste. Most recipes only need a tablespoon or two, but cans come with much more.

Here’s what to do with the extra paste:

• Scoop tablespoon-sized dollops onto parchment paper
• Place the tray in the freezer for 20-30 minutes
• Once hard, wrap each portion in plastic wrap
• Store wrapped portions in a freezer bag

This method gives you perfect single-serving portions ready to use. Just grab one frozen dollop and add it straight to soups, stews, or sauces. No waste and no measuring needed.

The frozen tomato paste portions keep well for several months. Label the bag with the date so you know when you made them.

This trick works for other ingredients too, like leftover herbs mixed with oil or stock that you won’t use right away.