Alison's Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup

Okay - I know it means an extra step but I first did a quick-fry w/ the beef in a LITTLE olive oil and some all-season salt. Then, I used 2 cans of low sodium beef broth instead of the water/bullion cubes. I also ommitted the salt and used half the basil. Finally, I added the frozen veggies during the last hour and a half of cooking (I didn't want them to get mushy by cooking all day) AND a small handful of macaroni noodles. Thick but very good! Served with dinner rolls and it was a nice "autumn" dinner. Thanks!

Loved this! Be sure to use a 5-quart slow cooker and sub in 6 cups of water with 6 cubes of bouillon but skip the salt and this will be the best vegetable soup you ever had!

This soup was delicious. I used 3 cups of water instead of two and also omitted the salt. I used crushed tomatoes w/ basil instead of the tablespoon of basil and it was wonderful. Thanks for submitting. I will be using this again

This is a very hearty soup. Great things come to those who wait. I followed the recipe as written, however I will omit the salt and cut back on the bullion the next time I prepare it. It was a bit salty for my taste, but the meat was so tender it just melt in my mouth. What a great meal to come home to and warm up with!

Okay - I know it means an extra step but I first did a quick-fry w/ the beef in a LITTLE olive oil and some all-season salt. Then, I used 2 cans of low sodium beef broth instead of the water/bullion cubes. I also ommitted the salt and used half the basil. Finally, I added the frozen veggies during the last hour and a half of cooking (I didn't want them to get mushy by cooking all day) AND a small handful of macaroni noodles. Thick but very good! Served with dinner rolls and it was a nice "autumn" dinner. Thanks!

This was so easy and good. I used chicken instead of beef. I did use all the cubes but did not add any salt. I also added some canned green beans and corn. Will make again!

Everyone that tried this thought that it was terrible. It was extremely too salty.

I found it to be an excellent soup. However, I did find ait quite salty. I would omit the salt, due to all the bouillon in it

I also omitted the salt and cut back on the boullion. But this is the real deal. Excellent taste. if you dont like this you dont like veg beef soup.

I am usually a wipeout when it comes to cooking with a crockpot. I was surprised and relieved at how well this stew turned out. Based on other reviews, I reduced the recipe down to 5 bouillon cubes. This is a great stew for when it is cold outside!

I originally rated this a 5 in 2004. I've been making it every couple of months since - so yes, it's still a family favorite. I do agree with those that say that there is way too much salt and pepper in the original recipe - use as much as suits your taste! I've also started using beef broth rather than water and bullion and it makes a big difference - great flavor without all the salt.

Delicious soup and a cinch to make with the crock pot.

I made a few changes to this recipe. Used a can of beef broth instead of water and 2 beef bullion cubes instead of 10. Added some cabbage. I took this soup to a covered dish dinner and it got wiped out, destroying the idea there that married men can not cook.

I rated this soup 2 stars,because the original recipe was like a salt lick, I changed this recipe as follows: Browned beef,1 onion,3 cloves of garlic, and then put in the crock pot. I then added fresh carrots, celery, frozen vegetables, and fire roasted tomatoes,and 2 boxes of beef broth. Also added fresh herbs,such as basil,oregano,thyme and rosemary.No added salt and a sprinkle of pepper. I feel that this recipe needs a complete make over. I rate my version 5 stars ! Definitely not salty or bland ! :)

This is an excellent recipe, but I think it needs more liquid. I'm wondering if it should be 2 quarts of water instead of 2 cups! I cooked it for seven hours on low in my slow cooker and it was more like stew than soup. After adding more water, it was delicious!

Yum! I cut the bouillon cubes to 8 as suggested. The soup was a bit to spicy for my daughter, but perfect for me. I also, used a 28 oz can whole tomatoes and slightly used the blender on them, because I didn't have crushed tomatoes. Very easy to make. Thanks for the great recipe. I used this recipe with left over roast and cooked it on the stove. It was easy and still very good. I still like the whole tomatoes in a blender better than the crushed ones. It just seems to taste better! Thanks for one of my all time favorite recipes!

I followed the others advice about less salt. I used V8 instead of crushed tomatoes. I also used onion powder instead of onions. I also left out the frozen veggies and added a bag of fresh baby carrots instead. I sliced them in 1 inch slices. When the soup was done cooking I added large cooked egg noodles to it. It was really good!!

This is really a delicious stew-style soup. It is indeed very thick, but we personally love it that way. I found that mine was better cooking for longer than the 8 hours suggested in the recipe....my potatoes weren't quite done and the beef was a little tough at 8 hours. After 10 hours, it was perfect. I followed the advice and cut back on the bouillon cubes (I used 7) and did not add the extra salt, and I didn't find it too salty at all. Really, I think next time I'll bump it up to 8 or 9 cubes (that may help tenderize the meat some). Served with cornbread and my whole family ate it up (even the kids...4, 2 and 1)! A keeper that I will make many, many times this winter!

I thought this was a great, easy little soup recipe. My stew meat was a little tough, not sure why. I might have lessened the cooking time if it weren't for the potatoes. Make sure to chop them up very small, I think mine were too bulky. I used 3 cups water, 6 cubes boullion, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and just less than 1 tablespoon of dried basil. I omitted the salt.

This would have been good, except there was enough pepper in it to kill a horse. Seriously, I would make it again, but next time only 1/2 tsp of pepper. We ate one bowl & our mouths were on fire.

Excellent!!! I recommend reducing the bouillon a bit, it's very salty otherwise. Very quick and easy. A great weeknight meal for working moms.

Love this. Make it several times a year. Have made it as written, have substituted fresh for frozen veggies, substituted beef broth for the bouillon and I use a large onion. Have also used barley in place of potatoes. Hubby likes things a bit zippier so have added a few drops of hot sauce and a little Worchestershire sauce. Just a good basic soup recipe. It definitely needs more liquid than the 2 cups called for. We enjoy.

Excellent recipe. I did add some fresh carrots and celery instead of the frozen vegtables. Also it was more like stew then soup.

Just made this and it was SOOOO GOOD!!!! I used 2 small cans of beef broth in place of the water and cubes. I used 15 oz. of crushed tomatoes and 15 oz. of Hunt's tomato sauce for lasagna. I loved the basil in this (I used the freeze-dried) & I cut the salt and pepper back to 1 tsp. each and added a small bag of diced baby carrots and used 3 Lg. baking potatoes. I did add one packet of suagr in the raw to off-set the bitterness of the tomatoes. Mine was done and perfectly tender in 6 hours on low, but my crock pot does cook fast. I will be making this often! Thank you for sharing your recipe!!!

After a couple of changes, this is our new family favorite! Subbed beef broth (about 2-2 1/2 cups) for the water/bouillon combo and used 15 oz. can tomato sauce/14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes instead of the 28 oz. can crushed simply because that's what I had on hand. Cooked for 8 hours on low, then the Crock-Pot switched to 2 hours on warm until we were ready to eat. Absolutely delish! I will make this again and again, I'm sure. One thing to note; if you don't like basil, cut to 1/2 tablespoon. The basil/pepper seasoning was very noticeable and gave it quite a bit of a kick, but still not too strong for my kids to eat.

The can of crushed tomatoes didn't work well for me - it ended up giving the soup a heavy tomato base, which I wasn't expecting and didn't care for. If I made this again, I would use a can of diced tomatoes instead of the crushed, which I think would be much better.

Much too salty as originally written. Try low-sodium beef broth, beef stock, or beef stock powder. Also, browning the beef cubes first makes a tremendous difference.

Excellant. I seared the meat first. My family of guys loved it. Said it was filling. Would make often

my family loves this!! we deleted the salt though, it was too much. It is spicy so if you don't like spicy use less pepper too!! I make this all the time now. thanks for the great idea!

Delicious! This was really good w/ some 3-cheese sourdough bread. I did add 1 more cup of water to make it a little soupier, cut down the buillion by half, and added another potato just because I like them a lot.

This recipe was too salty and too much basil. I really did not care for this soup. I ended up putting it aside and making something else for dinner that night. Disappointing!

This recipe has an out of proportion of black pepper. When I made the recipe it was so peppery that we were unable to eat it. I should have reallized that it was way too much pepper.

I eliminated salt and reduced boullion to 5 cubes. I also added shredded cabbage & celery. It wasn't the best, but was much better the next day. By the way if soup becomes too salty just add a few more potatoes to soak up the salt.

This recipe was an excellent "base" recipe. I did take a few of the suggestions and modify the soup to fit my taste (3 cups water, no salt, less bouillon). My husband did the potatoes and he left them really in really big hunks. They didn't cook very well that way. I'll know next time to get him to make them smaller. We really enjoyed the soup and I will definitely make it again!

This was okay. I used a box of beef broth instead of the water and cubes. I also seasoned with garlic powder and worchesire sauce instead of the herbs. The only thing that kept it from being 5 stars was that the potatoes didn't cook all the way and the onions were still hard. Next time I make this I may zap in microwave for a few minutes prior to adding to pot.

Recipe called for too many cubes of beef bouillon. It was pretty salty.

Family loved it. I made a few changes by using diced tomatoes and beef broth from can.

Much too salty--even cutting back on the bouillon to 6 cubes, and using less salt. Nobody would eat it! I'll stick to my old recipe.

I liked this a lot!! MY husband and his friend ate it right up. I reduced the boullion to 6 cubes, added more carrots, cut the salt requirement in half..increased to 3 potatoes. I found a can of crushed tomatoes that had an italian taste to it...it included oregano and basil in it. It was yummy!!

This is a Keeper, however I would leave out to salt for the bouillon cubes add enough salt, and the 1 tablespoon salt makes it a bit to salty

This was the easist soup I've ever made. It was excellent except for the fact it was way to salty, the second time I made it I left out the salt and only used 8 boullion cubes. It came out perfect.

This is a delicious recipe, but next time I am going to use less bouillon cubes or leave the salt out, it came out a little too salty soo I had to add more water. But overall, I think I will make this again. This is also a great recipe to make in a larger batch and then freeze.

very good but too salty, too much beef boulion

This "soup" is much more of a stew, but I absolutely loved it! I read in one of the other reviews that it was very thick and that's why I chose it. I wanted it to be thick. Although I would recomend cutting the boulion in half. I doubled the recipe and only used 10 cubes of boulion. Also, i do recommend using a little more beef than was called for. I think it makes it a little thicker. Thanks Allison!

I love this soup!! I made some small changes though, I used fresh veggies instead of frozen and next time I will only use half the pepper.

Very good and easy soup to make. A little spicy so next time i'll cut down on the pepper.

Very easy and good. I used beef broth instead of bouillon cubes, and halved all the spices (especially the salt) and it still had plenty of flavor.

This was a good recipe! I did make a few changes. I added 1 tbsp of Worchester sauce, 1 tbsp of Heinz 57, 1/2 tsp basil. For the canned tomatoes, I used diced Italian style. Instead of using frozen veggies, I used canned with the juices plus the required 2 cups of water. I also added a 15oz can of tomato sauce. Goes great with homemade cornbread.

Flavorful. Hubby loved this as well as my grandsons, 4 and 8yrs old. Quick to fix in the morning before work, ready when hubby gets home. I love easy!

This is a very easy soup to make and tasty. I make it often during cold weather and freeze it for easy meals to take to work. I cut down on the beef boullion because of the salt content. I use from 6-7 cubes of beef boullion and do not add salt. The aroma of this soup will draw a crowd!!

This was an excellent recipe. I not only will make it again, I already made it again.

delicious and easy. I actually added some beef boulion cubes and lipton onion soup mix for extra flavor.

I like this recipe BUT the amount of black pepper in the recipe makes the soup not edible. Especially for kids. I will try this again but with 1/4 to 1/3 of the pepper and check seasoning at the end of cooking. When I remake this the rating could change. I gave the beef pieces a quick browning before adding to the pot which enhanced flavor and tenderness a bit.

Not for those folks who are watching their sodium intake.

Absolutely loved this recipe. I made a few changes, omitting the onions, using 3 potatoes, instead of 2, and using only 3-5 bouillon cubes. It takes nothing away from the great flavor but cuts down on sodium. I will also add whatever veggies I have on hand, such as carrots, peas, etc. I usually don't like frozen veggies but you can't even tell frozen from fresh, they taste great. I like the thick consistency, so I use the 2 c. of water called for in the recipe. It's been a great way to get my kids to eat their veggies!! Also very popular at potlucks!! Thanks!

This is a very easy vegetable beef soup! Made for a friend that just came out of the hospital - perfect comfort food. I added two cans of V8 and used the best italian crushed tomatoes I could find (with basil added) for the sweetness of their tomatoes. Turned out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe. Will be using this one again.

I thought this was great though I used some fresh veggies and some frozen. Didn't add the extra salt and added some small pasta to the left overs the next day. Will make this again for sure.

This was very nice. I'm not sure where the dividing line between a soup and a stew is, but I sure thought this was a lot more like a stew. Not complaining, though. There was a decent amount of broth, but lots of chunks of meat and veggies in comparison. I made it exactly as written, using a yellow onion and 2 medium-sized red potatoes. I did forget to stir everything together before starting the slow-cooker, but even the veggies still on top cooked nicely after the full 8 hours. One complaint, though - this was much too salty. Considering that the ingredient list on the bouillon cubes I used showed salt as the primary ingredient, I'd skip the recipe's "1 tablespoon salt" next time. In fact, I think I'll make this again in the next several weeks, since I have 10 more bouillon cubes to use up. I liked this recipe a lot (despite the salt).

Very...very good recipe. The only thing I changed was adding two cans of beef broth and a half cup of water instead of the cubes. I also browned the meat in a pan of olive oil before cooking. It was great and will be using again.

great to fix on a Sunday afternoon for Monday's dinner. I did reduce beef bouillons to seven and didn't add salt. Also used crushed tomatoes with basil flavoring. Also added extra cup of water. Everyone enjoyed...will definitely make again...don't forget the cornbread!!

I followed the recipe instructions to a "T" and found that the finished product was very spicy and not as tasty as I thought it would be. It would be nice if the recipe creator would forewarn people of that fact, so as not to upset peoples stomachs. I will not try or recommend this recipe to anyone with a delicate stomach.

halved the recipe, 3 cups water, 2 bullion cubes, 1 can crushed toms, half a 16 oz pack of mixed veggies, raw baby carrots (cut in half), 1 potato, 1 tsp basil, s&p to taste

My family loves this recipe. Changes: 6 bouillon cubes, 1tsp pepper, and no salt. I also add a couple of fresh sliced carrots.

this soup is a salt fest. i don't think the submitter tested it. are you kidding me? I agree with the other submitters' comments. Good revisions.

This really was very good, and after reading reviews, here is what I did : I used big chunks of carrot and potato, so they wouldn't get mushy...used a whole bag of frozen grn beans instead of mixed veges...only used 5 bullion cubes and omitted the salt..used a little more than 2 cups water...i was out of crushed tomatoes, so I ran two cans of stewed tomatoes thru the blender..also browned the meat in olive oil with a little garlic powder....the only reason I didn't give more stars was that I feel 2tsp of pepper is WAY too much! I used 1 1/2 and it was still to peppery! Almost ruined the dish! Good basic recipe and obviously lends to a lot of creativity according to taste

I made this tonight but it tasted a little spicy. Next time I make this I am not going to add the black pepper.

A bit spicy and salty. Next time I'll cut down on the bullion cubes and pepper. Very easy to make.

I LOVE this recipe! It is so quick and easy and inexpensive to make. Everyone loves it.

This is my favorite recipe on this site. Very easy, and positively delicious, especially served with a hearty bread for dipping. I like to use frozen "vegetables for stew," which makes the soup chunkier. Also, I use two packages of frozen vegetables, and don't put in the potatoes (there are potatoes in the frozen veggies). As a side note, make sure to cook this one for 8 hours on low, and don't try and do it for 4 hours on high -- the meat will turn out tough.

Very easy & good. My whole family enjoyed this soup!

I am always looking for new recipes for beef and for the crockpot. They are so helpful to me because I work full-time and do many other activities. My husband and I both agree that this recipe is a "keeper". Thank you!

My husband and I were very happy with this stew (it is definitely more of a stew than a soup). I was lazy, though, and instead of using one bag of frozen veggies and two potatoes, I just used two bags of frozen stew vegetables (including potatoes). Turned out great! I thought there was a bit too much pepper in here, though my husband disagreed.

this soup is awful. its way WAY too salty. use like half the cubes suggested and no salt at all.

EXCELLENT!! But you canNOT include all that salt. I'm convinced it's a type-o. Bouillon is normally one cup of water to one bouillon cube. I added 3 cups of water and 3 bouillon cubes and a PINCH of salt (not a Tbsp!!). It was soooo good on this cold fall night!

This was great! I followed the ideas of others and omitted the salt and reduced the boullion. I added 2 carrot, 3 stalks of celery. 1 cup frozen corn and a can of green beans for the vegetables. I have already given this recipe to 3 people who tasted it!

Tons of potential, but I made some changes for my family's tastebuds. I used all 10 broth cubes but skipped the extra salt. I used 2 t. of pepper and it was way too peppery, so will cut down to 1/2 t. next time. Very easy! Thanks for the base recipe.

After reading the reviews I decided to use 5 bouillon cubes and left the salt out. After four hours of cooking I sampled and it lacked taste. I added the additional 5 bouillon cubes uncrushed. I’m so glad I did. This turned out great it wasn’t over salty.

This was very good and super easy. My hubby's a meat eater and I'm always looking for the quick and dirty recipe that will satisfy him...and hopefully I don't have to handle the meat much...bleeck.....liked this alot...

I made a 30 serving portion for a party of 24. People came back for seconds. Everyone loved it. I omitted the salt and it was perfect. I didn't have a crock-pot large enough so I used a large stock pot. I sauted the beef in a little bit of olive oil. Added all the ingredients ,Except the mixed vegetables, and cooked it on simmer, with a tight lid, from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. I then added the mixed veggies and continued to simmer until 6:30 p.m. It was cooked perfectly. Everyone loved it!

This was easy and delicious--my family devoured every bite! After reading the other reviews, I also omitted the salt, reduced the beef boullion cubes to 4, and added 1 cup of beef broth. I also substituted a 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes for the crushed tomotoes. I used fresh basil and rosemary, along with some dried oregano and parsley. Before serving, I stirred in a small amount of cornstarch dissolved in water to the bubbling soup to thicken the mixture slightly. It was a perfect meal for a chilly day and I will definitely be making it again!

My rating is deceiving since I, like many other reviewers, changed the base recipe, so I guess I'm giving my version 5 stars haha. I omitted the salt and used 5 bullion cubes instead of 10. I added 3 bay leaves and used fresh veggies instead of frozen ones. It was absolutely delicious!

I tried this for a inservice day for teachers. They loved it. My teenaged daughters wanted me to leave it at home so they could eat it, not a group of teachers. I liked how easy it was, as I do not have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.

This soup was so so... there was entirely too much basil in this, (and I like herbs). I would try this again but make some revisions.

This is delicious. I used Wyler's sodium-free instant beef flavor bouillon granules and added a little salt at the end of cooking. Will definitely make this again.

If I ever made this again I would use maybe three or four boullion cubes at the most.

This stew has far too much salt and pepper. Even after reducing the amounts as suggested in other reviews it was awful. It was a was a waste of time and the food budget.

See reviews for suggested alterations

Very good and spicy! I adjusted as others had suggested, 8 boullion cubes and no salt. I also added 2 cups more water as it was very thick. Next time I will cut the pepper to 1 teaspoon. This ones a keeper!

Too salty. I used less than the TBS called for, and it was still too much, plus I added 3 extra cups of water. Try 1/2 tablespoon next time. Used 1/2 of the pepper called for as well.

I'll try it again without all that boullion. 10 CUBES!! That's WAY too much. Isn't the rule of thumb 1 cube/cup of water? Even with the water from the tomatoes, this isn't justifiable b/c canned tomatoes have their own salt.

spicy

Yum! We really enjoyed this. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I altered it somewhat. I reduced boullion to 6 cubes and left out the salt because I don't usually cook with salt. I also reduced pepper to 1 tsp so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids. It turned out really great. I think next time I'll only put 5 cubes of boullion in or maybe try reduced sodium beef broth. This is purely a personal choice. My husband's family usually adds salt to whatever I cook. As far as salt goes, I just feel like it's better to put in too little and add to it then to put in too much and no one will eat it. Thanks for the recipe. I will definately make this again.

This is one of the easiest recipes I have made for soup. I used venison rather than beef, and it came out great. I also left out the salt, for the beef cubes have enough salt after making the broth.

Yuck! Way too salty! Couldn't even eat it!

It great the kids loved it

I found this recipe a month ago and have made it twice!! Everyone loves it. So nice to literally throw the ingredients into the crockpot in the morning and come home to wonderful vegetable soup...even my kids like it!!

Couldn't eat it. Way too much salt. Next time I'll only put in the bullion and not the TABLESPOON of salt and try again. Sorry

SO EASY AND GOOD. We really enjoyed this recipe. The only change was to decrease the amount of pepper (hot/spicy, otherwise).

I added an additional 2 cups of beef broth and omitted the salt completely. With those changes I would rate this recipe as great.