Canning Beef & Vegetable Soup Recipe

 

Canning Recipe for Beef Vegetable Soup

 

Preserving your homemade beef vegetable soup through pressure canning is a wonderful way to enjoy a warm, hearty meal anytime. We have the opportunity to purchase a side of beef once or twice a year, which means that we typically have quite a few packs of soup bones in our freezer. We used 3 packs of the soup bones out to use to make this soup. You can always use more soup bones or substitute stew meat or chuck roast to make this soup depending on what is in your freezer or what is on sale at the grocery store. We also like ours to have a tomato paste so we added some tomato juice that we had canned earlier.

 

We made our soup on a cold rainy winter day, so we used frozen vegetables instead of fresh. We read the labels to make sure we were only getting the vegetables and not a lot of added processed things.

 

Here is the recipe we used to make 14 pints of beef vegetable soup. We pressure canned it and it is perfect for storage. Using frozen vegetable, meat from the freezer, and tomato juice that we had canned over the summer really cut down on the cost of making this soup. Honestly, the only thing we had to purchase were the frozen vegetables.

 

Ingredients

  • 6 pounds of soup bones or 3 pounds of beef stew meat
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 8 cups of beef broth (if you are buying this from the store be sure to select the low sodium)
  • 4 cups Tomato Juice
  • 4 cups of diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
  • 9 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
  • 3 cups of potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 cups of celery, sliced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon of oregano
  • ½ tablespoon basil
  • 1 teaspoon of thyme
  • 1 teaspoon of sage
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 bay leaves

 

Equipment

  • Pressure canner
  • 14 pint-sized canning jars with lids and bands
  • Large pot
  • Ladle
  • Canning funnel
  • Jar lifter
  • Bubble remover tool or non-metallic spatula

 

Instructions

 

Preparing the Soup

  1. We started by roasting our soup bones in the oven on 350 for about 20 minutes (we flipped them halfway through). We added water and bay leaves to a large stock pot and simmered the soup bones until they were fully cooked. We used the beef stock that was created by simmering our soup bones in the stock pot. We took the soup bones out and removed the meat from them and put the meat back in the pot. If you are using stew meat you will want to brown it before you add the vegetables. You would add the beef broth when you add the tomato juice and vegetables.
  2. We added the vegetables, tomato juice and spices to the pot. We let this simmer for about 15 minutes. Lastly, we added the garlic. The vegetables should be slightly tender, but not fully cooked, as they will cook further during the canning process. taste the soup and adjust the spices according to your taste preferences.

 

Canning the Soup

  1. Sterilize the pint jars, lids, and bands. Keep them warm until ready to use.
  2. Using a ladle and canning funnel, fill each jar with the hot soup, leaving a 1-inch headspace at the top. Remove air bubbles using a bubble remover tool or non-metallic spatula. I like to wipe my rims with vinegar to help ensure a good seal.
  3. Place the lids on the jars and screw on the bands until fingertip tight.
  4. Place the jars in the pressure canner. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for your specific model. Process at 10 pounds of pressure for 75 minutes for pints. Adjust pressure based on altitude if necessary.
  5. Once the canning process is complete, carefully remove the jars using a jar lifter and place them on a towel or cooling rack. Allow the jars to cool for 12-24 hours.
  6. After cooling, check the seals by pressing the center of each lid. If the lid does not pop back, the jar is sealed. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and consumed within a few days.

 

Nutritional Information (per serving)

The nutritional information is an estimate and may vary based on the specific brands of ingredients used and portion sizes.

Serving size:  8 ounces (1/2 of jar)

Calories: 132

Fat: 6g

Carbs: 6.4g

Protein: 12.5g

Sodium: 133mg

Storage

 

Label and store your sealed jars in a cool, dark, and dry place. Properly canned soup can last for up to a year. Enjoy your homemade beef vegetable soup whenever you crave a comforting meal!