Name: Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 15
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat; 2 Tbsp. ghee or high heat oil, divided; 1 tsp. salt and pepper, plus more to taste; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped; 3 medium stalks celery, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed; 6 cups beef broth or chicken broth; 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings (or plain); 2 tsp dried basil; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1/2 tsp white pepper (optional); 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce; 1 lb potatoes, chopped into 3/4-inch cubes; 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables; 1 lb. mini grape tomatoes or cherry on the vine tomatoes; Chopped fresh parsley (to garnish)

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On chilly nights, you need the best Instant Pot vegetable beef soup recipe to warm you to your toes! Made with tender chunks of beef, a variety of veggies and potatoes, plus super-sweet cherry tomatoes, this soup is cold weather comfort food at it’s finest. Cooking it in the Instant Pot makes the flavors meld together fully and the meat fall-apart tender.

Instant Pot vegetable beef soup in a white bowl with title text.

What’s so great about vegetable beef soup?

Being totally honest here – tomato-based vegetable soups aren’t my favorite thing. I’d rather curl up with a bowl of broccoli cheese soup, potato soup, Cullen Skink chowder, or Chuy’s copycat chicken tortilla soup any day.

Vegetable beef isn’t usually on my radar. That is, until I tried making it in my Instant Pot!

It really is true that the IP melds flavors together more thoroughly than other cooking methods (not to mention how it tenderizes meat). The pressure cooker locks in all the hearty flavors and enhances them somehow. It’s like magic! I like how Tiffany from Don’t Waste the Crumbs puts it,

I think it’s how everything stays inside – the ingredients, liquid, aromas – that makes the flavor of foods so concentrated. Everything I’ve made has come out SO GOOD. It’s like good food, on steroids.

Thanks to this feature, IP veggie beef soup is giving my other soup favorites a run for their money!

Plus, it’s even better because I’m adding the sweetest cherry tomatoes from Pure Flavor. They really are the most flavorful tomatoes I’ve ever tasted and they make this soup even yummier!

This soup is one of the coziest Instant Pot recipes for cold weather, so put it high on your to-make list!

How to make vegetable beef soup in the Instant Pot

It’s so simple to make veggie beef soup in the Instant Pot, because after a few minutes of sauteing you just set-and-forget this soup! And it’s ready in just 20 minutes of cook time, while tasting like it’s been cooking all day.

(Here’s the Instant Pot I use – I recommend getting the 8-quart version if you have more than 3 people in your family. It’s worth having the extra space.)

First, heat some ghee or other high heat oil on the Saute setting. Brown stew meat (don’t forget to season), then remove and set aside. You could probably get away with just dumping in the stew meat with all the other ingredients instead of sauteing if you’re in a hurry.

Next, add some more oil and saute onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for a few minutes.

Then, dump in all the other ingredients (except frozen mixed veggies and cherry tomatoes). Set Instant Pot valve to sealing and turn on Manual, high pressure for 20 minutes.

When timer goes off, quick release pressure and open the lid after pin drops down. Stir in frozen mixed vegetables and cherry tomatoes and lock the lid back in place.

Set IP to MANUAL high pressure for an additional 3 minutes. If you want your meat even more tender, allow the IP to naturally release pressure for 20 minutes before serving.

What’s the best cut of beef to use for this veggie beef soup?

While this is typically an Instant Pot vegetable beef soup with stew meat, there are other types of beef you can use too! This soup is extremely versatile and lends itself to many types of beef, including ground beef or chuck roast!

If you use fresh chuck roast, cut it into small pieces and cook. This soup is also a great way to use up leftover roast beef you’ve made at a prior meal. Just add leftover beef pieces during the last 3 minutes of cook time, when you add the tomatoes and frozen mixed veg.

It doesn’t really matter what cut of beef you use, because the Instant Pot will get it all nice and tender. Personally, I’m using beef stew chunks for this recipe. These have a tendency to be tough in many cases, but not in the trusty IP!

What types of herbs and spices should I use in this hearty soup?

Not only is your choice of beef versatile, the herbs and spices are too! You can use whatever you like that complements beef.

Today, I chose dried basil & oregano, garlic, white pepper, and fresh parsley. A bay leaf or thyme would be wonderful additions, too! You could even add some crushed red pepper flakes if you like things spicy. It’s really whatever strikes your fancy.

Instant Pot vegetable beef soup cooking tips

There aren’t many cooking tips to add here, because easy soup recipes for instant pot don’t need lots of fancy instructions! But here are a few things to keep in mind:

While browning the meat before adding the other ingredients helps deepen the flavors, it’s not totally necessary. If you feel like skipping this step, I won’t tell. And your soup will still be delicious.
You can use any type of potatoes you like: russet, yukon gold, or red potatoes.
I use the 12 oz. bag of regular mixed vegetables, but you could use any variety of vegetables. This soup is so easy to mix and match!
You can use beef broth or chicken broth for this recipe – homemade is best but use whatever you have on hand.
If you don’t have any cherry tomatoes, this soup still works without them. But I love the richness they add, and how they burst and release all their flavor into the soup.
Maybe you’re wondering, “How long do I cook soup in the Instant Pot?” Most soups (including this one) are done in 20 minutes on manual HIGH pressure. You might need to add a few extra minutes if you’re not browning/cooking the meat beforehand. Even though cook time is short, IP soups taste like they’ve been simmering all day!
If you’re in a hurry, you can do a quick release when the soup is finished cooking in the Instant Pot. But, natural pressure release tenderizes meat even further.

Can I adapt this soup recipe for the slow cooker?

Absolutely, yes! Just saute your veggies, brown your meat (optional) and add all your ingredients (except cherry tomatoes and frozen veggies) to the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 8 hours, or HIGH for 4 hours. Add cherry tomatoes and frozen veggies during the last 30 minutes of cook time.

What to serve with electric pressure cooker vegetable beef soup

There are lots of things you could serve with this hearty soup! Try over rice, cauliflower rice, or (even better) with a slice of 5th generation crispy southern cornbread.

We also like eating ours with shredded sharp cheddar or paremsan on top. The grown-ups also like adding a couple dashes of hot sauce. A dollop of sour cream would be nice, too!

Vegetable beef soup Varaitions

This recipe is an Instant Pot vegetable beef soup with potatoes, but if you’re doing low carb, you may omit the potatoes and use a different type of mixed veggies without corn/peas.
To make this a Paleo vegetable beef soup, omit the corn. Use mixed veggies without corn – or just use your own favorite fresh chopped veggies.
For an Instant Pot vegetable beef barley soup, just add 3/4 cup pearl barley to the pot while cooking.
You may omit the frozen vegetable mix and simply add a bunch of different fresh chopped veggies.
To make this an Instant Pot vegetable beef soup with noodles, add your favorite type of noodles like egg noodles or gluten free noodles when you add the cherry tomatoes and mixed veg.
To make this an Instant Pot vegetable beef stew (instead of soup), reduce the amount of broth to half. The main difference between a soup and a stew is the amount of cooking liquid.

15 servings