Beef Minestrone Soup

5 from 4 votes

At $1.70 a bowl, homemade Beef Minestrone Soup fills the kitchen with a delicious tomato aroma! The slow-cooked beef comes out fork tender.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2 30

Course: Soup, Stew

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Beef Minestrone Soup

Servings: servings

Calories: 143kcal

Author: Bernice

Cost: $1.70 a bowl

Equipment

Large frying pan
Large soup pot

Ingredients

1 pounds Lean Beef Stew Meat cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 cups Sweet Onions diced
1 can 28 ounces Diced Tomatoes
1 can 28 ounces Tomato Puree
4 tbsp Tomato Paste
7 to 8 cups Water
2 tbsp Dried Basil
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper
2 cups Carrots chopped
2 cups Potatoes chopped
1 can Garbanzo Beans rinsed and drained
1 cup Small Shells Pasta

Optional Toppings

Fresh Basil
Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
Parmesan Cheese
Soup Crackers
Blueberry Muffins

Instructions

Rinse and dry the Beef Stew Meat. Cut into bite size pieces.
In a large frying pan, brown the Beef Stew Meat.
In a large soup pot, heat the Olive Oil over medium heat and then add the sweet onions to cook for a few minutes.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste and 7 cups of water to the soup pot. Bing to a soft boil.
After browning the Beef Stew Meat, add it to the soup pot.
Add dried basil, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and carrots. Mix into the soup.
Cover and simmer for 30-minutes on medium low heat.
Add the potatoes, garbanzo beans, and small shells pasta. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 1 to 2 hours.
Take a taste test for any additional seasonings.
Before serving the soup, remove the bay leaves.
Ladle into soup bowls. Top with fresh herbs and grated Parmesan Cheese and serve with soup crackers.

Notes

Calories are approximate and depend upon serving size and ingredients selected. Optional ingredients are not included in the calories. Cost per serving can vary based upon the price of ingredients. Optional toppings are not included in the cost per serving.

Helpful Tips

Trimming Stew Meat: This recipe calls for 1 pound of lean Beef Stew Meat. You may need to purchase more than a pound of beef depending upon how much fat you need to trim.
Browning Stew Meat: If browning the Beef Stew Meat in a non-stick pan, I do not add Olive Oil; otherwise I add Olive Oil and preheat before adding the stew meat.
Carrots: The carrots take time to cook so add them earlier. Make sure the heat is higher than simmering otherwise they will take too long to cook.
Soup or Stew: You can make it thicker like a stew or thinner for a soup broth. If making thinner, you may need to add additional seasonings.
Reheating: The soup easily reheats in the microwave or on the stove-top.
Small Shells Pasta: When storing overnight, the pasta can soak up the tomato broth. Have extra Tomato Paste in case you need to thin out the broth with water and tomato paste.

Nutrition