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It’s that time of year, where all you want to do is stay cozy in your PJs all day, and take down your holiday decor with the smell of a fresh batch of homemade soup filling the your house. Am I right or am I right?
I can only blame the time of year for making me want this kind of vibe and possibly some nostalgia feelings of my midwestern roots growing up with cold/snowy weather, because here in Dallas we’re having the MOST BEAUTIFUL weather every day. 60-70 degrees, sunny and seriously the kind of weather you would expect to have in early spring. But that isn’t stopping me from wanting some cozy, homemade soup!
Some good homemade soup sounds extra appealing after the holidays when all you want to do is eat a salad and rid yourself of all the extra sugar, carbs and all the other things consumed while enjoying friends and family gatherings.
It also helps that my mom got me a new Le Creuset dutch oven for Christmas, just begging for something delicious to break it in…
Now, if you aren’t convince yet that soup should be on the menu for dinner tonight then here are a few other reasons you’ll absolutely love this recipe:
- It’s hearty and will fill you up, but won’t weight you down in calories, fat or Weight Watchers points. It’s only 4 points per serving in fact!
- I made it with beef bone broth which is really good in healing your body from the inside out, especially after some extra eating and drinking over the holidays.
- It’s easy to make and full of natural flavors.
- It makes a ton! Perfect to make for a Sunday evening dinner and enjoy for the upcoming week.
The Benefits of Using Flank Steak & How to Prepare it
This is a vegetable beef soup and I decided to step up the beef that I used and went for flank steak, which is a super lean cut of beef.
Especially as we’re all kicking off our healthy eating habits for the new year, (I don’t like resolutions personally, but I do think the new year presents a great time to reset your eating habits) I wanted to include the healthiest version of this soup possible and flank steak ups the protein without upping the fat content.
So, a bit about flank steak.
By nature, it is a tougher cut of beef. If it isn’t prepared correctly, It can come out tough and chewy…yuck! So you’ll really want to follow the instructions on how to prepare your cut of flank steak. It isn’t difficult, but just don’t skimp on these two things:
- Tenderize: In the recipe directions below, I explain how I like to tenderize my flank steak before cooking it or adding into the soup. It’s pretty easy and if you’ve had a bad day, this can be a really great way to work out some of that stress!
- Slice Against the Grain: you’ll want to be sure to slice your flank steak correctly as well. I describe how you do this below in the directions, but for another reference on how to slice beef, I like this article: How to Slice Steak
How to Chop Veggies Like a Pro
Yup, this recipe calls for all fresh veggies.
Yes, you can use frozen veggies, but I highly recommend using fresh veggies to really gain all the best nutritional value! Plus, most grocery stores have a pre-chopped section where you can snag most of everything on the ingredient list below. So if chopping isn’t your jam, you should be covered.
So for the green beans, I recommend grabbing them all in a neat bunch with whatever hand you won’t be holding the knife with and then with a loose grip, tap their ends all on one side of your cutting board to align them. Then you can easily trim off all those gross ends in one slice. One or two may still need to be individually trimmed but this should make it the easiest on you.
For baby carrots, I like to line them all up in a row, align them on one end using the blade of my knife, and then start slicing down the align ends.
Admittedly, I liked to by pre-chopped onion 😀 So, you do you when chopping that veggie.
Celery and potatoes are sliced like you would imagine. I unfortunately don’t have too many tips for you on those items. Just wash and start chopping!
Now that we’ve covered all that, you’re ready to get going and make yourself a batch of this comforting and very nutritious vegetable beef soup! Enjoy!
The first step is to prepare your flank steak and season.
You'll need to tenderize your flank steak and flatten it out as best you can so it is of even thickness. If you have a meat mallet, perfect. If you don't (I do not own one) then you can use something else in your kitchen that is strong enough to pound without breaking. I place the steak in between two pieces of wax paper on top of a cutting board and start pounding.
Once your steak is of even thickness (again, as best as you can do because this is a tough cut of beef), season both sides and set aside. For the seasoning, use half of all the seasonings to flavor the steak. Reserve the remaining half of the seasonings for the soup.
Next, get out a large bowl to throw all your chopped fresh veggies into and then start chopping.
Chop up the onion, celery, baby carrots, fresh green beans, garlic cloves and potatoes. Toss them all into the bowl you got out and set aside until you're ready to add to the dutch oven.
*PRO-TIP: fresh veggies pack so much more flavor and nutrients and reduce the extra sodium that comes from canned veggies. So if you can, use fresh veggies. Most grocery stores have pre-chopped veggies you can grab if you're not like me and find chopping veggies relaxing! For tips on chopping these veggies, see above in the post under "How to Chop Veggies Like a Pro"
Now you're ready to cut your flank steak.
Slice the steak into strips cutting perpendicular to the grain of the muscle fibers. Once the steak is in strips, gather those strips and cut them down into chunks about the size of a quarter.
Next, place your dutch oven onto the stove on medium-high heat. Allow it to heat for 5 minutes. Then add in the avocado oil and allow the oil to get up for another 3-5 minutes. Once everything is nice and hot, toss in your steak pieces and brown.
Once your steak pieces have browned, dump in all your chopped veggies, the bone broth, bay leaves and the remainder of your seasonings. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and leave to cook with the lid cracked to let steam out for 1.5 hours.
Serve with some sourdough bread and prepare yourself to feel so comfy and cozy!
Serving Size 2 cups
Servings 10
xoxo Ashley
Ingredients
Directions
The first step is to prepare your flank steak and season.
You'll need to tenderize your flank steak and flatten it out as best you can so it is of even thickness. If you have a meat mallet, perfect. If you don't (I do not own one) then you can use something else in your kitchen that is strong enough to pound without breaking. I place the steak in between two pieces of wax paper on top of a cutting board and start pounding.
Once your steak is of even thickness (again, as best as you can do because this is a tough cut of beef), season both sides and set aside. For the seasoning, use half of all the seasonings to flavor the steak. Reserve the remaining half of the seasonings for the soup.
Next, get out a large bowl to throw all your chopped fresh veggies into and then start chopping.
Chop up the onion, celery, baby carrots, fresh green beans, garlic cloves and potatoes. Toss them all into the bowl you got out and set aside until you're ready to add to the dutch oven.
*PRO-TIP: fresh veggies pack so much more flavor and nutrients and reduce the extra sodium that comes from canned veggies. So if you can, use fresh veggies. Most grocery stores have pre-chopped veggies you can grab if you're not like me and find chopping veggies relaxing! For tips on chopping these veggies, see above in the post under "How to Chop Veggies Like a Pro"
Now you're ready to cut your flank steak.
Slice the steak into strips cutting perpendicular to the grain of the muscle fibers. Once the steak is in strips, gather those strips and cut them down into chunks about the size of a quarter.
Next, place your dutch oven onto the stove on medium-high heat. Allow it to heat for 5 minutes. Then add in the avocado oil and allow the oil to get up for another 3-5 minutes. Once everything is nice and hot, toss in your steak pieces and brown.
Once your steak pieces have browned, dump in all your chopped veggies, the bone broth, bay leaves and the remainder of your seasonings. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and leave to cook with the lid cracked to let steam out for 1.5 hours.
Serve with some sourdough bread and prepare yourself to feel so comfy and cozy!
Of course I am partial, but this is the best comfort food for a cold winter meal! Dinner or lunch, it’s perfect. I can’t even buy canned soups anymore. And aren’t Dutch Ovens awesome 🙂