Beef and Bean Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What if my bean soup needs more flavor? ›

A few great choices are thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and rosemary. 4. Try adding some acidity. A splash of lemon juice or a tablespoon of white wine vinegar can brighten the flavors of the soup.

Brown or Sear the Meat

If you are adding meat to a soup, sear or brown it in a sauté pan before you add it to the soup. This adds a deeper savory flavor to the whole soup.

Milk or Half-and-Half: This is the other magical ingredient that turns your homemade chicken noodle soup into the creamiest soup ever. Use 1 cup of whole milk or 1 cup of half-and-half.

Herbs and spices add aroma, flavor, and intensity to soup broth. "Use fresh or dried basil in tomato-based recipes or fresh parsley to add freshness to clear broth soups," says Sofia Norton, RD. You can also go with more heat and spices.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot. Pro tip: Don't dump in the entire mixture at once.

Consider using methods like making a roux, blending beans or legumes, using bread, adding egg yolk, pureeing vegetables, incorporating heavy cream or coconut milk, adding potato flakes or starch, or making a slurry with cornstarch or arrowroot to thicken soups without sacrificing flavor or texture.

The most classic and surefire way to thicken a broth-based soup is with a cornstarch slurry. Whisk together equal parts cornstarch (or arrowroot) and water or broth, then whisk it into the pot of soup. A good ratio to get to a pleasant thickness without your soup tasting goopy or heavy is one tablespoon.

The best cut of meat for beef soup is either a chuck roast, chuck shoulder, chuck-eye roast or top chuck – with chuck roast being my personal favorite. These are the most tender cuts. Despite what the name suggests, stew meat is not your best choice in a beef soup recipe!

How do you fix bland beef soup? ›

The best way to ensure a flavorful soup is to brown the beef and onions in the beginning. If the soup tastes bland at the end of cooking, add more spices and herbs. After adding, allow the soup to cook a little longer so the flavors to meld together.

One way to boost flavour would be to roast some beef bones till they brown a little (you can get bones from your butcher) and then cook them with your soup. You can take them out when the broth is cooked. This will add a nice depth of natural 'beefy' flavour.

Keep in mind that this evaporated milk will make your dish taste richer, but it won't actually thicken the soup. You can always use a bit of flour or cornstarch if you're missing that added texture. Otherwise, you'll find evaporated milk the best dairy addition for your classic slow cooker favorites.

Many sauce and soup recipes need to be reduced and thickened, which means gently simmering to achieve the desired consistency. With sauces and soups that contain milk, boiling or simmering can cause the milk to curdle.

Always Add Aromatics to the Pot

It may sound too basic to be true, but aside from salt, there is no more drastic way to improve the flavor of your dried beans than to cook them with flavor-enhancing vegetables and fragrant, woodsy herbs. There's very little to the method itself, which I use no matter the bean recipe.

I would start with this, but some other ideas: saute or roast the vegetables rather than adding to the soup while still raw (if you are currently adding them raw); add a bit of Asian fish sauce/mushroom bouillon/msg to add some additional umami; beef up your stock by simmering some chicken feet/chicken backs/pork neck ...

The Bean Institute recommends cooking beans with aromatics to get the most flavor out of them. They advise adding onion, garlic, and fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or bay leaf. Love and Lemons also suggests adding kombu (dried seaweed), as it can help the beans become more digestible.