Simple Beef and Vegetable Soup With Beef Liver
‘Tis the season for soup! This simple beef and vegetable soup with beef liver checks all the boxes. With everyday soup ingredients and the added goodness of beef liver, you’ll create a nourishing and delicious dish that everyone will love and be deeply nourished by.
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This is truly a soup for the soul. It has everything you want in a bowl – beef, vegetables, a nourishing broth, and nature’s multivitamin – beef liver. The best part? You can make it with almost any vegetables you have in your fridge or pantry.
It’s hot, hearty, and healthy – what’s not to love? This soup is the perfect comfort food that warms you up while providing all the nutrients you need.
I think most soups can be made from the heart and this is one of them. I find it fun to experiment with different vegetables that follow a general ratio.
Why Beef Liver?
Beef liver is highly valued in many cultures around the world. In traditional diets and indigenous cuisines, liver was often prized as a nutrient-rich food that provided essential vitamins and minerals, including iron, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and folate. Because of its nutritional value, it was commonly used to support general health, a healthy pregnancy and the development of robust babies.
The Benefits of Beef Liver for General Health
Beef liver is often called a superfood because it’s packed with nutrients that can greatly benefit your health. Here are some simple reasons why adding liver to your diet can be a good idea:
- Loaded with Nutrients: Liver is full of important vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, vitamin D, and B vitamins. Liver especially high in vitamin B12, which is great for your energy and helps keep your blood and nerves healthy .
- Great Source of Iron: Liver is rich in a type of iron that your body can easily absorb. This can help prevent and treat iron deficiency anemia, which makes you feel tired and weak .
- High in Protein: Liver provides a lot of high-quality protein, which is essential for building and repairing tissues, making hormones, and supporting your immune system .
- Good for Your Brain and Liver: Liver is one of the best sources of choline, a nutrient that supports brain function and helps your liver process fats effectively .
- Contains Antioxidants: Liver has antioxidants like glutathione, which help protect your cells from damage and support your body’s natural detox processes .
- Supports Vision and Skin Health: Liver is extremely rich in vitamin A, which is important for maintaining healthy vision, skin, and immune function.
How Much Liver Should I Eat?
A healthy and sustainable amount of liver consumption for an adult would be around 2-4 oz a week and 1-2 oz per week for a child. These liver cubes are around 2oz which makes it easy to calculate your intake. Aim to use 1-2 liver cubes per adult that you’re cooking for per week. If you want to add liver to your children’s diet, simply share your liver-enriched food with your children and they will reap the benefits from their usual portion of the meal!
Beef Liver Cubes
To make this recipe, I would first recommend you make some beef liver cubes. Making these ahead of time makes the process a whole lot easier and cleaner! I always have a bag of beef liver cubes on hand to add whenever I cook a dish with ground meat. Simply add a 2oz beef liver cube per pound of ground meat. This ratios allows you to reap the benefits of beef liver without it overpowering your meal, no one will even know it’s in there!
The Vegetables
This is a pretty flexible soup, and “beef and vegetable” really means just that – beef and whatever vegetables you have on hand. This time, I used carrots, potatoes, celery, bell pepper, onion, kale, and garlic.
I prefer to dice the vegetables to a medium size, but you can adjust based on your preference. For a chunkier soup, dice the vegetables larger, or chop them smaller if you want to speed up the cooking process. The beauty of this soup is that it’s easy to adapt to what’s available!
I would also add a can of white beans, red kidney beans, or maybe even garbanzo!
Instant Pot
Once you go Instant Pot for soups, you never go back—at least I don’t! I love using the sauté setting to get the meat browned and vegetables sautéed. Then I turn it to the meat/stew setting, turn the knob to sealing, and cook for 35 minutes.
If I’m making the soup early in the day, I’ll set it to low and let it slow cook for the rest of the day until we’re ready to eat. The flavours meld beautifully, and the meat turns out perfectly tender. It’s a game changer for easy, hands-off soup making!
Serving Suggestions
Soups and stews are always best served with something for dipping.
My favourites include plain sourdough bread, seedy sourdough bread, herb and cheddar biscuits, or cornbread!
Each one offers a perfect texture and flavour to soak up all the delicious broth. Whether you’re in the mood for something hearty, tangy, or a little cheesy, these sides will take your soup to the next level.
What You’ll Need For Beef and Vegetable Soup
You can pretty much use what you have on hand but make sure you have liver cubes on hand before you begin!
Materials
Sharp knife & cutting board
Ingredients
Fat: For sautéing vegetables in. You can use olive oil, butter, tallow, lard, ghee, or avocado oil.
Garlic: Never too much garlic.
Onion: Finely diced and delicious.
Bell Pepper: A big one for sweetness and colour.
Carrots: Usually found in the kitchen, a soup staple.
Potatoes: Kind of essential and a pantry staple.
Celery: Another soup essential.
Kale: I threw some kale I preserved in the freezer for extra texture, flavour, colour, and nutrition.
Tomato Paste: To add tomato sweetness and thicken the texture.
Ground Beef: Grass-fed is king but any ground beef will do.
Ground Liver: I highly recommend making liver cubes but just ground liver is fine if you don’t mind the mess.
Beef Broth: Beef bone broth is best but you can use beef bouillon base stock.
Salt & Pepper: To taste.
Spices: I like a blend of a little thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, chili flakes, chili powder, paprika, or onion powder. The world is your oyster with the spices, have fun with it and spice from the heart.
Substitutions
If you don’t have the exact ingredients, you can substitute for other vegetables.
Tomatoes, corn, beans, turnips, parsnips, zucchini, sweet potato, leeks, spinach, cabbage, green beans, or mushrooms. Have fun with it and trust your soupy instincts.
How To Make a Simple Beef & Vegetable Soup with Beef Liver
- Heat the Pot: Heat a large pot on medium-high heat.
- Sauté Onions and Garlic: Add diced onions and garlic to the pot. Sauté until soft and fragrant.
- Cook the Meat: Add ground beef and liver cubes. Cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
- Add Tomato Paste and Vegetables: Stir in tomato paste, then add your chosen mix of vegetables. Cook everything together for 2-3 minutes. Add your spices of choice (such as salt, pepper, cumin, or paprika).
- Add Broth: Pour in the broth and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for at least an hour (the longer it simmers, the better the flavour).
- Adjust the Seasoning: After simmering, taste the soup and adjust the spices to your liking.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and serve it up hot!
Notes
Instant Pot Method: Turn on the ‘sauté’ setting and cook all ingredients in the order provided, add broth. Place the lid on, turn the knob to sealing, and set to ‘meat/stew’ for 35 minutes. Let it naturally release and keep on ‘slow cook’ until you’re ready to serve.
Top with sour cream and fresh herbs and serve with a side of bread!
Simple Beef & Vegetable Soup with Beef Liver
Equipment
- Instant Pot or large pot
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
- Sharp knife & cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Fat butter olive oil, tallow, lard, ghee
- 4 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Onion diced
- 1 Bell Pepper diced
- 2 Large Carrots diced
- 2 Potatoes diced
- 1 cup Celery chopped
- 1 cup Kale chopped
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 2-4 oz. Ground Liver or 1-2 liver cubes
- 4 cups Beef Broth
- 1 tsp Salt add more if needed
- 1/2 tsp Pepper add more if needed
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
- Any more additional spices of your choice oregano, basil, chili flakes, chili powder, onion powder
Instructions
- Heat the Pot: Heat a large pot on medium-high heat.
- Sauté Onions and Garlic: Add diced onions and garlic to the pot. Sauté until soft and fragrant.
- Cook the Meat: Add ground beef and liver cubes. Cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
- Add Tomato Paste and Vegetables: Stir in tomato paste, then add your chosen mix of vegetables. Cook everything together for 2-3 minutes. Add your spices of choice (such as salt, pepper, cumin, or paprika).
- Add Broth: Pour in the broth and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for at least an hour (the longer it simmers, the better the flavour).
- Adjust the Seasoning: After simmering, taste the soup and adjust the spices to your liking.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and serve it up hot!
Notes
The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please consult your health care provider before making any health care decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition.
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