Heart Healthy Soup Recipe – An Easy, Delicious & Nutritious Soup the Whole Family Will Love

Full of vegetables and lean ground beef, this savory heart healthy soup recipe is something you can feel good about whipping up for your whole family. And even though it’s healthy, it’s not boring; aromatics like onion, garlic, and an herb blend give this soup great flavor!

Last spring my dad gave us a huge scare when he was hospitalized for over 200 blood clots in his legs. Thank God he’s doing well now, but he’s on a doctor-monitored regimen of prescribed medication, exercise, and healthy eating.

I find joy in taking care of the people I love, and so one of the first things I did when I found out he was sick was make him soup. (Because soup is a panacea of sorts, right?)

However, I had to be very careful to not only make heart healthy soup, but also ensure that none of the ingredients had an adverse effect with my dad’s new medications. There are quite a few foods to avoid when taking blood thinners.

Warfarin Diet

I’m not a medical doctor, but you can read more about what foods to avoid when taking Warfarin (and the “why” behind it) on Mayo Clinic, Medical News Today, and Healthline.

Important: Be sure to check with your doctor before adding or taking away any foods from your diet!

Foods to Avoid When Taking Warfarin – Foods High in Vitamin K

Here is the American Heart Association’s list of foods that are high in Vitamin K (accessed September 30, 2019):

• Amaranth leaves
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Coleslaw
• Collard greens
• Canned beef stroganoff soup
• Endive
• Garden cress
• Kale
• Kiwifruit
• Lettuce
• Mustard greens
• Soybeans
• Spinach
• Swiss chard
• Tuna fish in oil
• Turnips
• Vegetable drinks

Foods Low in Vitamin K

According to the American Heart Association, here are the vegetables low in Vitamin K (accessed September 30, 2019):

• Artichoke
• Avocado
• Bananas
• Black beans
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cilantro (garnish)
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Garbanzo beans (main humus ingredient)
• Green beans
• Green peppers
• Mushrooms (white)
• Okra (1/2 cup cooked)
• Onions
• Parsnips 
• Peas (1/2 cup)
• Potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Radish
• Red cabbage
• Summer squash
• Sweet potato
• Tomato
• Tuna (light, in water)
• Turnips

Heart Healthy Foods

According to Cleveland Clinic, here are 12 heart healthy foods:

1. Fish high in omega-3s, like salmon, tuna, and trout.
2. Healthy nuts, such as almonds and walnuts.
3. Berries, including blueberries, strawberries, blackberries or raspberries.
4. Seeds, such as flaxseeds and chia seeds.
5. Oats!
6. Dried beans and lentils; go for garbanzo, pinto, kidney or black beans.
7. Red wine; one 4-ounce pour for women per day and up to two 4-ounce pours for men per day.
8. Soy, from things like edamame beans or tofu.
9. Red, yellow, and orange veggies, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, red peppers, tomatoes. and acorn squash.
10. Green vegetables like spinach, kale, Swiss chard, collard/mustard greens, and bok choy. 
11. Fruit like oranges, cantaloupes, and papaya.
12. Dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao).

Ingredients in Heart Healthy Soup with Vegetables and Lean Beef

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Lean ground beef – I use 95% lean or leaner
• Onion, celery, carrot, and garlic – these savory vegetables add a ton of flavor
• Low-sodium beef stock – or low-sodium beef broth, or even water in a pinch
• No-salt-added diced tomatoes and no-salt-added tomato sauce – make sure you look for no-salt-added canned tomato products to keep the sodium level down for this soup
• Green beans – I like to use fresh green beans, but frozen green beans also work well
• Worcestershire sauce – this is my favorite secret ingredient for the best vegetable beef soup; it adds a ton of savory umami flavor; however, you can omit it if you need to reduce the sodium even more
• Dried Italian herb seasoning – when you’re cooking low sodium foods, you can use other ingredients to add flavor, such as herbs and seasonings
• Black pepper – this pantry-staple seasoning bumps up the flavor
• Red wine vinegar – just a little splash of vinegar added at the end brightens the flavor of this soup
• Fresh parsley – this fresh herb adds a pop of green color and flavor

Instructions

Stovetop Beef Soup

1. Add the oil to a 5-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onion, celery, carrot, and garlic, and cook until the meat is browned, about 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans, Worcestershire, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper. Bring up to a boil, and then cover the pot, turn the heat down to simmer, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Taste and add salt if desired.
4. Serve the soup garnished with fresh parsley if desired.

Pressure Cooker Beef Soup

To make this healthy soup in an Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker):

1. Turn pressure cooker on, press “Sauté”, and wait 2 minutes for the pot to heat up. Add the olive oil and ground beef and cook until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the meat. Press “Cancel” to stop sautéing.
2. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, beef stock, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans, Worcestershire sauce, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper to the pot. Turn the pot on Manual, High Pressure for 5 minutes and then do a quick release.
3. Stir in the red wine vinegar.
4. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Slow Cooker Beef Soup

To make this nutritious soup in a Crock Pot (or other slow cooker):

1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to bread up the meat.
2. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker, along with the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, beef stock, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans, Worcestershire sauce, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper.
3. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Stir in the red wine vinegar.
5. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Special Diet Friendly

This soup is naturally gluten free, paleo, and low carb. And with just 8 grams net carbs per serving, it’s easy to fit into a keto lifestyle as well!

More Healthy Soup Recipes

• Slow Cooker Mixed Bean Vegetable Soup
• Best Leftover Chicken Bone Broth Soup
• Roasted Vegetable Minestrone Soup
• Keto Egg Drop Soup
• Thai-Inspired Chicken and Vegetable Detox Soup

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Heart Healthy Soup Recipe

5 from 2 votes

By: Faith Gorsky

Prep TimePrep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook TimeCook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Yields: 10 servings

Full of vegetables and lean ground beef, this savory heart healthy soup recipe is something you can feel good about whipping up for your whole family. And even though it’s healthy, it’s not boring; aromatics like onion, garlic, and an herb blend give this soup great flavor!

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 pounds 95% lean ground beef
• ▢ 1 medium onion chopped
• ▢ 4 large stalks celery chopped
• ▢ 4 large carrots chopped
• ▢ 8 large cloves garlic crushed
• ▢ 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
• ▢ 14.5 ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• ▢ 15 ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• ▢ 1 pound fresh green beans cut into 1-inch pieces
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce optional
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• ▢ Fresh minced parsley for garnish

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

 

• Add the oil to a 5-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onion, celery, carrot, and garlic, and cook until the meat is browned, about 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans, Worcestershire, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper. Bring up to a boil, and then cover the pot, turn the heat down to simmer, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Taste and add salt if desired.
• Serve the soup garnished with fresh parsley if desired.

Notes

• Net Carbs: 8g per serving
• Sodium: I don’t add salt to this soup; to reduce the sodium even more, omit the Worcestershire sauce.
• Important: Be sure to check with your doctor before adding or taking away any foods from your diet! If your doctor tells you to avoid beef, you can make this recipe with ground chicken or turkey instead.

Directions for Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker):

1. 1. Turn pressure cooker on, press “Sauté”, and wait 2 minutes for the pot to heat up. Add the olive oil and ground beef and cook until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the meat. Press “Cancel” to stop sautéing.
   2. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, beef stock, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans, Worcestershire sauce, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper to the pot. Turn the pot on Manual, High Pressure for 5 minutes and then do a quick release.
   3. Stir in the red wine vinegar.
   4. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Directions for Crock Pot (or other slow cooker):

1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to bread up the meat.
2. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker, along with the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, beef stock, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green beans, Worcestershire sauce, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper.
3. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Stir in the red wine vinegar.
5. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 596mg | Potassium: 1076mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4700IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 3.8mg

Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Heart Healthy Soup, Heart Healthy Soup Recipe

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Disclaimer: Please note that I am NOT a doctor, medical practitioner, or nutritionist of any kind. Nothing in this post should be construed as medical or nutrition advice. If you need medical advice you should immediately seek a physician’s care.

This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on September 30, 2019 and updated with more information on February 2, 2024.

I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.

Meet Faith