Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup is the ultimate cozy-comfy, super satisfying meal when you’re short on time but want that slow-simmered taste of a soup that’s been cooking for hours. Filled with veggies and tender hunks of meat, it’s easy on the budget and sure to be a family favorite.

Seriously Satisfying Without the Wait

If you’re craving a big hearty bowl of soup that will warm you from the inside out but didn’t plan ahead to make it happen, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with this Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup. Thanks to the magic of pressure cooking, what would take hours to accomplish on the stove (read: tender chunks of beef and vegetables swimming in a rich broth) takes less than an hour start to finish with the Instant Pot.  And most of that time is hands-off time so you’re free to catch up on those life tasks that never seem to end or just relax and take a moment to breathe or create or read. Do what you like knowing dinner is handled.

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5 Reasons to Buy an Instant Pot

If you’re one of the select few who has yet to get on the Instant Pot train, don’t fret. We have a recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Root Vegetables that’s remarkably similar to this Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup recipe. But if you’re on the fence about taking the plunge and getting yourself an Instant Pot, let us give you a little nudge:

1. It’s more than a pressure cooker – Though most people use their Instant Pot almost exclusively for pressure cooking, it’s actually a ‘multi-cooker’. This means it has many functions that allow you to do everything from sauteing, steaming, making yogurt, slow cooking, and more. You can even get an air fryer lid for 6-quart models.
2. It’s efficient – Believe it or not, the Instant Pot uses surprisingly little energy because cooking times are significantly reduced as compared to slow cooking or using your oven.
3. It’s safe – All of the Instant Pot models have 10 or more built-in safety mechanisms making them the safest way to pressure cook.
4. It’s easy to clean – Both the inner stainless steel pot and the lid are dishwasher safe making clean up a breeze. The pot can be washed in the bottom rack of your dishwasher and the lid and seal can be washed on the top rack.
5. You forgot to take the meat out of the freezer – It happens to all of us! Thankfully, with an Instant Pot, you can go from frozen to ready-to-eat in very little time. Check out these 5 foods that can be cooked from frozen.

Vegetable Beef Soup Ingredients

• Beef stew meat – ‘Stew meat’ or any tougher cut of meat that benefits from slow (or in this case fast but under high pressure) moist-heat cooking. It is typically made by cutting beef chuck (or shoulder) or round (rump) roast into cubes. Buying a large roast and cutting your own stew meat at home is a great way to save money. Wrap the meat in freezer paper or place in a zip-top bag from which the air has been squeezed out and freeze for up to 6 months. 
• Cooking fat of choice – We use avocado oil or olive oil (such as Primal Kitchen) but ghee or coconut oil will also work
• Onion
• Potatoes – You can use red, Yukon Gold, or Russet potatoes, leaving the skin on to increase the fiber while cutting down on prep time. Sweet potatoes, rutabaga, or butternut squash would also work well
• Carrots
• Celery
• Garlic
• Green beans – You can use fresh or frozen green beans
• Frozen peas – Peas are now considered Whole30-friendly in case you were wondering
• Diced tomatoes
• Beef broth
• Thyme – Use fresh or dried thyme
• Dried Italian seasoning
• Salt & Pepper

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How to Make Homemade Vegetable Soup in Your Instant Pot

Step 1: Cut the meat into cubes if not already done so (i.e. stew meat). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step 2: Select the ‘saute’ function on your Instant Pot. Add cooking fat of choice and when fat just starts to shimmer, add half of the meat and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned. Flip the cubes of beef over and repeat on the other side. Remove meat to a plate and repeat with the remaining beef cubes. Press ‘Cancel’ when the second half of the meat has been browned. Return all meat to the Instant Pot.

Step 3: While the beef is browning in the Instant Pot, prep the vegetables.

Step 4: To the meat in the Instant Pot, add the onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, diced tomatoes, broth, thyme, and Italian seasoning (reserving the frozen peas and green beans for later). Stir, lock the lid into place, set value to ‘Sealing’ position then set cooking time for 20 minutes at high pressure.

Step 5: After cooking time is up, allow for 10 minutes of natural pressure release before flipping the vent valve to ‘venting’ to release any residual pressure. Remove the lid. Press ‘Cancel’ then select the ‘Saute’ function.

Step 6: Add frozen peas and green beans to the soup. Stir then cook for 5-6 minutes or until they are heated through. Taste your homemade vegetable beef soup and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

How to Freeze Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

Allow soup to cool before placing it in the refrigerator to cool completely before transferring it to the freezer or individual containers (these half-gallon Stasher bags are our favorite) for freezing. Ensuring that the soup is not only cool but chilled before freezing reduces the number of ice crystals that form on the surface of the soup when it is frozen. Ice crystals on the surface increase the chances of freezer burn during long storage periods (over 1 month) so take the time to cool and chill before you freeze for best results.

To help your vegetable beef soup cool faster, we suggest placing in a large, shallow glass container like this one and stirring it occasionally. A shallow container creates more surface area for cooling to happen and stirring brings hot soup from the bottom of the container to the top where it can cool faster.

What to Serve with Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup

While a hearty soup like this vegetable beef is basically a meal in a bowl, it never hurts to serve it with a biscuit to mop up all that goodness. These gluten-free Garlic Cheddar Biscuits (pictured below) are one of our favorites for the soup season.

Note: Biscuits are not Whole30-friendly – but this soup is! Yes, even the peas. You can read more about that here.

More Recipes to Make in Your Instant Pot

• Instant Pot Taco Soup 
• Instant Pot Veggie Loaded Turkey Chili
• Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup
• How to Make an Instant Pot Whole Chicken

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Let's Get Cookin'

Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

• Author: Jessica Beacom
• Prep Time: 15 mins.
• Cook Time: 30 mins.
• Total Time: 45 mins.
• Yield: Serves 6 1x
• Cuisine: Whole30, Paleo, Dairy-Free

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb. beef stew meat
• 2 Tbsp. cooking fat of choice
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 lb. potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes, skin on (Red, Yukon Gold, or Russet will work)
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (may substitute frozen green beans)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Select ‘Saute’ on the Instant Pot. Melt 1 Tbsp. cooking fat in the pot. Season the beef cubes with a little salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and cook until browned, 2-3 minutes, then flip and repeat until browned on all sides. Transfer meat to a plate and repeat with remaining cooking fat and beef. Press ‘Cancel’ when the second half of the meat has been browned. Return all meat to the Instant Pot.
2. Place remaining ingredients in the Instant Pot (with the exception of green beans, frozen peas, salt, pepper). Stir, lock the lid into place, set the vent valve to the ‘sealing’ position, and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. 
3. Allow for 10 minutes of natural release before flipping the value to the ‘venting’ position to release any remaining pressure. 
4. Press ‘Cancel’ then select the ‘Saute’ setting. Add the green beans and frozen peas and cook for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Notes

SLOW COOKER: For a slow cooker beef soup cook on low in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours. Add the frozen green beans, peas 30 minutes before serving. Add more broth if needed.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/6th recipe
• Calories: 410
• Sugar: 5g
• Sodium: 275mg
• Fat: 24g
• Saturated Fat: 9g
• Carbohydrates: 19g
• Fiber: 5g
• Protein: 28g

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Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter.