Beef Noodle Soup

This homemade beef noodle soup has an intensely flavorful broth brimming with tender bites of beef and hearty vegetables. Grab some crusty bread rolls to sop up every luxurious drop!

I thought about making this a slow cooker recipe, but the reason why this soup is so flavorful is because it is not simply a 'dump it and forget it' soup. Instead, it is best to take a few quick steps to add layers of flavors that yield huge dividends!

Adding all the ingredients to the slow cooker would still work, but the flavor would be far more one-dimensional.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Beef chuck roast - A chuck roast is best because it is one of the least expensive cuts of beef, but you get wonderfully tender beef after a long simmer. It also has enough fat to add a lot of flavor to the soup. Any other beef stew meat can be substituted if needed though.
• All-purpose flour
• Cooking oil - Use any vegetable oil, such as olive oil, for searing.
• Onion - I recommend a sweet onion or yellow onion, however, you can use a red onion if you crave a stronger flavor. For a fresher flavor you can even add some green onions at the end.
• Carrots 
• Celery stalks 
• Garlic cloves
• Beef broth - Beef stock is the best substitution, but chicken broth can also be used.
• Worcestershire sauce - This is always a great match for beef, but it can be eliminated if you don't have it on hand.
• Bay leaf
• Fresh thyme - I strongly recommend using fresh herbs rather than dried thyme.
• Egg noodles - Any variety is fine. You can even substitute traditional pasta or rice noodles.
• Optional customization - A tablespoon of brown sugar or tomato paste can be added for sweetness, or make this a spicy beef noodle soup with the addition of crushed red pepper flakes.

How to make it

The key component to infusing this broth with layers of flavor is searing the beef in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. To start the recipe, toss the cubed beef in flour then sear in oil over medium-high heat until a brown crust forms on the beef cubes. This is intensely flavorful and will add a lot of depth to this soup. The flour is also great for fortifying the delicious broth, giving it a more luxurious mouthfeel.

Once the beef is browned, it can be removed from your pot with a slotted spoon, and the heat can be turned down to medium. Next, the onions are sauteed, which will coax out a lot of additional sweetness that adds a nice complexity to the otherwise beefy broth.

Once tender, add the carrots and celery and continue to saute until the onions turn golden brown. Garlic can be added next and cooked until fragrant.

For the best flavor, deglazing the bottom of the pan is important because it loosens the burnt on fond and helps its flavors incorporate into the soup. To do this we add a splash of beef broth and scrape the bottom to loosen the browned bits. Now the beef can be returned to your large pot along with the remaining beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, and black pepper.

Your delicious beef noodle soup can now be brought to a low simmer. Cover the soup pot and cook for three hours, or until the beef is delectably tender. The egg noodles are added in the final ten minutes so they do not overcook. Finally, ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve with fresh bread.

Storing & Reheating Leftovers

My beef noodle soup recipe is a great meal to make a day in advance. The flavors of this soup will continue to meld overnight in the refrigerator! Simply store leftover soup in an airtight container then when you are ready to serve it can be reheated in a saucepan or in the microwave. For the freshest flavor, I would enjoy it within three days.

This recipe was originally published on December 6, 2017 here at FoxValleyFoodie.com.

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