Instant Pot Campfire Soup is a hearty meal in a bowl. It’s a flavorful beef and vegetable soup that you can make in the Instant Pot or the Crockpot.

Instant Pot Campfire Soup
This was a loved meal! It’s basically a beef and vegetable soup but it really just hit the spot. I actually think the secret ingredient that made this soup so good was the Better than Bouillon VEGETABLE Base*. I know, I know. I usually use the beef or chicken Better than Bouillon but for reals the vegetable base is so good. Every time I’ve used it I’ve had great results. You can find it at most grocery stores.
I love a good soup and this one pairs well with breadsticks, biscuits, corn muffins or French bread. I found these pale breadsticks at Winco that you just stick in the the oven for 4-5 minutes to brown up. It was so worth it…you feel like you’re eating fresh warm bread but you don’t have to do any work.
We only had one serving of this soup left and I’m excited to eat it for lunch! With only 270 calories per serving and lots of veggies it makes a great lunch! I hope you try this recipe out soon. I think you’ll really be how surprised at how awesome veggie beef soup can be 🙂
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
(For the full recipe scroll down to view the recipe card
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Minced dry onion–I buy a big container at Costco and use these onions for all sorts of recipes
- Garlic powder
- Kosher salt
- Dried oregano
- Dried parsley
- Dried thyme
- Black pepper
- Water
- Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base–you can also use another type of base that you like
- Russet potatoes–you can also use red or yellow potatoes
- Frozen corn–or a can of corn that has been drained
- Carrots
- Green beans–I used canned but you can also use 1 3/4 cups of frozen or fresh green beans
- Petite diced tomatoes–or crushed or stewed tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- Bay leaf–fresh or dried

Basic Steps to Make Vegetable Beef Soup in the Instant Pot
(For the full recipe scroll down to view the recipe card)
- Brown the beef using the saute setting. While the beef is browning I like to get all the rest of the ingredients prepped.
- Season the beef.
- Deglaze the pot to prevent the burn error message.
- Add in the remaining ingredients.
- Pressure cook using the soup button. If you don’t have the soup button you can use the pressure cook/manual button.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- How to easily drain grease: Tilt the Instant Pot to one side while holding the ground meat against the other side with a wooden spoon. This should make most of the grease pool on the tilted side. Lower the Instant Pot down, the meat should stay to its side and the grease on the other. Place a couple paper towels into the grease and use the spoon to sop up the grease. Discard the paper towels.
- This recipe can be gluten-free if you use gluten free vegetable base and gluten free Worcestershire sauce. This recipe is dairy free.
- Serve with breadsticks, biscuits, rolls, French bread or cornbread.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot or halve the recipe in a 3 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with vegetable bouillon base are Instant Pot Diet Soup and Instant Pot “Free” Soup.

6 More Instant Pot Ground Beef Soup Recipes
Instant Pot Bowl O’ Red
Flavorful ground beef with tomatoes and broth. A meat chili that tastes so amazing with very little time or work.
Instant Pot Cheesy Cowboy Soup
A hearty soup with beef, potatoes and cheese. A perfect supper for your hungry cowboys and cowgirls!
Instant Pot Texas Roadhouse Chili
Easy ground beef chili with lots of flavor and very little work. Make this copycat recipe at home in your Instant Pot or Crockpot.
Instant Pot Skinny Soup
Instant Pot Skinny Soup only has 150 calories per serving but has tons of flavor and a lot of bite. It’s not just broth! There’s tons of vegetables and some meat too. Perfect for lunch or dinner on a chilly day.
Boy Scout Soup (Instant Pot or Crockpot)
Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Boy Scout Soup has beef, baked beans, potatoes, corn and more. It’s an easy soup that tastes great served with warm cornbread and honey butter.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.


Instant Pot or Crockpot Campfire Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A hearty meal in a bowl. It’s a flavorful beef and vegetable soup that you can make in the Instant Pot or the Crockpot.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 Tbsp minced dry onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 5 cups water
- 5 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
- 3 small to medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 (15 oz) can green beans, drained
- 1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease.
- Add in the onion, garlic powder, salt, oregano, parsley, thyme, pepper and stir to coat the meat.
- Add in the water and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking.
- Add in the bouillon, potatoes, corn, carrots, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire and by leaf.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit 5 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Stir and discard the bay leaf. Ladle into bowls and serve. Some people like this soup topped with shredded cheddar cheese.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Brown ground beef in a pan on the stove. Drain off excess grease. Add in the onion, garlic powder, salt, oregano, parsley, thyme, pepper and stir to coat the meat.
- Add beef into slow cooker.
- Add in the water, bouillon, potatoes, corn, carrots, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire and by leaf.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.
- Stir and discard the bay leaf. Ladle into bowls and serve. Some people like this soup topped with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
We always love our recipes, we’ve made so many and have never been disappointed. This sounds amazing! It says 6 servings, cup-wise, how much would you say that is?
it’s probably around 1 1/2 cups per serving
I made this recipe for a multi generation camping trip, and *everyone* liked it. I added a pound of sweet sausage and substituted fresh chopped spinach for the corn and green beans (personal preference), and used rice instead of potatoes so I could make ahead & freeze. THANK YOU!!!
★★★★★
Sounds like a perfect dish! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Hi Karen, do you have any soup recipes that don’t feature tomatoes or Better than Bouillon? I’m on a sodium and potassium reduced diet and those two items are forbidden to me.
Here is a list of all my soups: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_meal_type=soups
I would scroll down and you can quickly tell by the picture if they are tomato based or not. For the better than bouillon I would just use chicken broth in the place of it. Good luck!
Five stars all day. I made this tonight, basically followed the recipe to a tee (I often ad lib but trusted this recipe after reading it), and it did not disappoint! A very well written recipe and it was delicious – even better than I thought it would be. I’ve already sent the link to family, bookmarked it, and can’t wait to make it again. The leftovers are going to be delicious tomorrow!
★★★★★
Wow thank you so much Brent! I did really love this one! So glad you agree!
This was a wonderful soup! Definitely going into the rotation.
Thank you Angie!
wow Elle really….Then use ur own stock or use low sodium stock….making now with substitutes but overall great recipe, especially for instant pot…No need to criticize w big label chem compounds…….
★★★★
ah yes a delicious recipe with hydrolyzed soy protein, disodium inosinate and guanylate as well as corn syrup solids. Stop being lazy Karen, make an actual stock instead of this garbage.
★
Elle stop being self righteous- comments like yours ruin things for others. If you think Karen is lazy then you are half a bubble off level !
As a diabetic, I have to watch my carbs so I made this by substituting half a head of cauliflower florets for the potatoes. Turned out perfect for me and my blood sugar!!!
★★★★★
How long did you pressure cook with the cauliflower
Only 2 minutes but I used frozen carrots & green beans so I didn’t need the full 3 minute cook time.
Thanks that sounds good