The Best Fluffy Pancakes recipe you will fall in love with. Full of tips and tricks to help you make the best pancakes.
Cold evening. No energy. The idea of mashing potatoes, layering a casserole dish and waiting on an oven feels like a joke.
This beef and potato soup is what I make instead. Same flavors as shepherd’s pie: browned beef, tomato-y gravy, thyme, potatoes, peas and carrots. But it all happens in one pot and you eat it with a spoon.
Ready in 35 minutes. Serves 6.
Why This Beef and Potato Soup Works
Shepherd’s pie tastes the way it does because of three things: the savory beef, the gravy, and the mash on top. This soup gets each one a different way.
The beef comes out of the pot after browning. If it sits in the broth for the whole simmer, it turns gray and grainy. Pulled out and added back at the end, it stays browned and tender. The brown bits it leaves stuck to the bottom of the pot flavor the whole soup.
The tomato paste cooks for a full minute with the onion and garlic. Skip that and the soup tastes tinny and a bit raw. One minute fixes it.
The potatoes do double duty. Blend part of the pot after they’re soft and their starch thickens the soup. No flour, no cornstarch. That’s your “mash.” Leave a few chunks in so you still have something to bite.
Cheese goes in last, off the heat. Boil cheddar and it splits into greasy strings. Off the heat, a handful at a time, it melts smooth. [PLACEHOLDER: a real mistake, e.g. the time you added the cheese while it was still bubbling and what it looked like]
Ingredients
Beef
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Soup base
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 5 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled, cut in 1-2 inch cubes
- 1 cup half & half
Add-ins and topping
- 10 oz frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn)
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar
- Fresh chopped parsley
Method
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a big pot. Brown the beef for 5-7 minutes until cooked through. Scoop it out and set aside. Leave the brown bits in the pot.
- Same pot. Add the other 1 tbsp oil, the onion and the garlic. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir 1 more minute.
- Pour in the broth slowly, scraping the bottom. Add the Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, add the potatoes, then drop to a simmer.
- Cook 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Lower the heat to medium low, stir in the half & half and blend until creamy. Leave a few chunks if you like.
- Return the beef, add the frozen veggies (no need to thaw) and heat on medium low for about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the cheese one handful at a time until smooth. Taste, adjust the salt, top with parsley.
Ready in: 35 minutes | Serves: 6
Tips
- Grate your own cheese. Bagged shreds are coated to stay loose in the bag, and that coating keeps them from melting smooth. Ten extra minutes? No. Two, with a box grater.
- Blend with an immersion blender right in the pot if you have one. A regular blender works too, but do it in batches and vent the lid. Hot soup and a sealed lid is how you end up with soup on the ceiling.
- Cut the potatoes roughly the same size. Big and small chunks cook at different speeds and you’ll get raw centers next to mush.
- Salt at the end, not just at the start. Cheese and Worcestershire both bring salt, and beef broth varies a lot by brand.
- Serve with crusty bread for dunking. Not optional in my house.
Variations
Dairy-free: swap the half & half for coconut milk. It works. The soup gets a little sweeter and the cheese is the part you’d lose, so use a dairy-free cheddar or skip it and add an extra pinch of salt.
Turkey instead of beef: I’d skip this one. Ground turkey is too lean to carry the flavor here, and the soup ends up tasting like it’s missing something.
Bacon on top: yes. Crumble it over the cheese right before serving.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Don’t add the cheese ahead of time. Make the soup through step 5, cool it, and refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat gently, then stir in the cheese off the heat like usual.
Freezing is a no for this one. Potatoes go grainy and the half & half can split when it thaws.
FAQ
Can I make beef and potato soup without blending it?
Yes. Mash a few potato cubes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon instead. It’ll be thinner and chunkier, more like a classic stew.
Why did my cheese go grainy or stringy?
The soup was too hot, or you used bagged shreds, or both. Turn off the heat, wait a minute, and add the cheese in small handfuls while stirring. If it’s already gone stringy, a splash of warm half & half and a good stir helps a little, but it won’t be perfect.
Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes?
Russet. It breaks down and thickens the soup. Yukon Golds hold their shape better, which is great for other soups but not this one, since we want the creamy shepherd’s pie mash effect.
Can I use fresh veggies instead of frozen?
You can, but I wouldn’t bother. Frozen peas and corn are picked and frozen at their best, and they go in at the very end without any extra chopping or cooking time.
Can I make it in a slow cooker?
Brown the beef and cook the onion, garlic and tomato paste on the stove first, then everything else except the half & half, veggies and cheese goes in for 6-8 hours on low. Blend, finish the same way.
Closing Thoughts
A green salad with a sharp vinegar dressing is a nice counterweight to all that cheese and cream. Or just more bread. And if you’re missing the top layer of a real shepherd’s pie, crumble a few crispy fried onions over each bowl and you get the crunch too.
One-Pot Cheesy Beef and Potato Soup
This One-Pot Cheesy Beef and Potato Soup has all the cozy flavors of shepherd’s pie in a creamy, comforting bowl. Made with ground beef, tender potatoes, mixed vegetables, cheddar cheese, and savory herbs, it is an easy family dinner ready in about 35 minutes.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground beef and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it into crumbles, until browned and fully cooked. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the same pot. Add the diced onion and minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the beef broth. Add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, salt, and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil.
- Add the cubed potatoes, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the half and half.
- Blend the soup until creamy using an immersion blender, leaving a few potato chunks if desired.
- Return the cooked ground beef to the pot and add the frozen mixed vegetables.
- Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are heated through.
- Turn off the heat. Add the shredded cheddar cheese one handful at a time, stirring after each addition until completely melted and smooth.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve hot.
Notes
For the smoothest sauce, grate your own cheddar cheese. Pre-shredded cheese may not melt as smoothly.
For a dairy-free variation, substitute coconut milk for the half and half and use a suitable dairy-free cheese.
Blend the potatoes completely for a smoother soup, or leave a few chunks for extra texture.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping.
