A perfect dump-and-go recipe, this slow cooker Italian vegetable beef soup is perfect for those busy winter weeknights when you need dinner to be ready when you get home. It’s a one dish meal packed with healthy ingredients that works just as well for potlucks and entertaining a crowd.
This easy crock pot soup is the perfect solution to a fridge loaded with a lot of odds and ends of vegetables that you’d like to use up. It’s flavored with beef, broth, red wine, garlic, and Italian seasonings so I call it Italian vegetable beef soup.
Served with a crusty bread and topped with parmesan, it’s just a perfect cold weather meal that’s waiting for you when you get home.
What makes this recipe so great for menu planning is that it’s a very flexible soup so you can use whatever you have on hand. If you’re trying to combat food waste, this is a good recipe to have in your arsenal.
Plus, it’s my favorite kind of slow cooker recipe: dump everything in a pot and leave it to cook. I’m so thankful for my slow cooker!
Update: I’ve now added Instant Pot instructions in the recipe card, so you’ve got choices.
Italian Vegetable Beef Soup Ingredients
The list of ingredients may seem long, but they are essentially beef, vegetables, seasonings, and liquid. As mentioned, its very flexible so if you don’t have one of the vegetables, leave it out or replace it with something else.
For example, I didn’t have sweet red peppers when I made this recipe so I just left them out. There are so many vegetables in this soup that leaving out one or two isn’t going to matter.
While some of the vegetables are flexible, there are some ingredients I’d say you have to have:
- beef (maybe obvious, ha!)
- broth
- onions
- garlic
- tomatoes
- seasonings
To this you can add whatever vegetables you have to be used up and you can include the wine for flavor (or use all broth).
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Soup Recipe
You simply add all the ingredients to the bowl of your crockpot (or Instant Pot – see recipe for variation), give it all a good stir and let it cook all day.
If you are into browning meat before making a stew or soup, go for it! For me, I appreciate a dump-and-go slow cooker recipe on busy days so I don’t usually take that step.
The one thing I wait to add is the frozen green beans – they are added in the last hour of cooking just so they aren’t too mushy. If you won’t be home in time to do that, you could add them at the beginning – they are still okay, I just prefer them a little firmer.
Some of the ways I’ve changed this recipe up include using different beans and vegetables and using venison in place of the beef. I’ve even used pork and chicken stock, just switching to white wine and keeping the same seasonings.
Anyway you make it turns out great.
Even though it makes a lot, it also freezes well, so this is a great meal prep plan: make a big pot, serve it that night, and freeze in single serving containers for lunches and quick dinners.
What to serve with Italian Vegetable Beef Soup
- Easy Artisan Bread
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread
- Simple French Baguettes
- Homemade Hummus Made With Sesame Seeds (Homemade Tahini)
- Best Homemade Ranch Dressing and cut up vegetables
Slow Cooker Italian Vegetable Beef Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker or Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked beans white, red, garbanzo, etc.; canned or frozen
- 3 carrots diced (or parsnips)
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 sweet red bell pepper chopped, fresh or frozen
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 1/4 head red or green cabbage chopped (about 3 cups)
- 2 14- ounces cans diced tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ pounds beef cut in 1/2-in. pieces (or cooked hamburger, pork or chicken)
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup dry red wine or more broth
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- 3 teaspoons salt or to taste (adjust if using a salty broth)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 2 cups cut green beans frozen or fresh
- grated parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Place the first nine ingredients, beans through beef, into the bowl of a large slow cooker (or Instant Pot pressure cooker).
- Stir together the broth, red wine if using, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Pour over the ingredients in the cooker. Stir well and push the ingredients down into the liquid - if the everything's not covered with liquid, add enough water or broth to cover (do not go over the MAX line if using an Instant pot, though).
Slow Cooker:
- Cook on LOW for 7 hours or HIGH for 3½ hours.
- Add the green beans and cook for another hour, 8 hours total on LOW, 4½ hours total on HIGH.
Instant Pot:
- Lock the lid and set to MANUAL, cooking on high pressure for 20 minutes (Note on timing: it takes about 20 minutes to come up to pressure). Let the steam release naturally, which should take another 10-20 minutes. (Total time will be about an hour.)Green Bean Note: it would take too much time to add the green beans in, let it come back to pressure and cook for just 2-3 minutes, so I either leave out the green beans or add them in the beginning. Try it and see what you like.
- To Serve: Adjust seasonings and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Soups To Try
- Black Bean and Sausage Soup Recipe (Slow Cook or Instant Pot)
- Mexican Chicken Corn Soup – 30 Minute Recipe
- Harvest Vegetable Ham Bone Soup Recipe (Crockpot, Instant Pot, or Stovetop)
- Amazing Cauliflower Cheese Soup in 30 Minutes
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in March of 2010.
the country cook says
Elk meat! Nice!
Heather says
Looks delicious, this is my kind of recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Mrs. P. says
This looks delicious!
Blessings!
Gail
Brenda says
I make lots of soups out of leftovers, they often turn out to be the best kinds 🙂
Jane Anne says
I wish I had leftovers like that. The soup looks delicious.
I’m visiting from Tasty Tuesday. Here’s my post: Monster Cookies. (Oh, I’m in Oregon, too.)
Headmistress, zookeeper says
Looks delicious!