Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup with Collard Greens and Yuca

This ain’t your grandma’s vegetable beef soup — it’s a soul-warming bowl of comfort featuring tender chuck roast, creamy coconut broth, and earthy collard greens, perfect for cold nights or Sunday supper.

Vegetables like yucca and collard greens replace the traditional frozen green beans, diced tomatoes, and canned corn kernels in this vegetable soup.

For similar beefy soup ideas try this classic Hungarian goulash, simple and hearty beef and cabbage soup or Puerto Rican Sancocho stew.

Now listen here my fellow flavor peeps, this delicious soup with collard greens and yucca is where old-school comfort meets a global groove. Each spoonful hits with deep, smoky richness from slow-simmered beef and a creamy kiss of coconut milk that smooths it all out. The yucca brings body, the collards bring soul, and together they dance like a slow blues riff on a Sunday night.

Flavor Profile: This soup layers savory beef depth with earthy greens and a subtle tropical sweetness from coconut milk, balanced by the tangy pop of pickle juice that cuts through the richness. It’s hearty and soulful, with a lil bit of kick from the fresh poblano peppers.

Texture Profile: The chuck roast melts down to fork-tender perfection, while the yucca adds a starchy, creamy contrast to the silken broth. Collard greens offer bite and chew, grounding the soup with Southern soul food roots.

Cooking Technique & Time: This recipe simmers low and slow in a dutch oven — about 2 hours — letting the beef break down and the flavors marry into a rich, complex broth that feels like it’s been cooking all day (without needing to babysit the pot).

Key Flavor Enhancer Ingredients - Coconut Milk & Pickle Juice

• Coconut milk adds body, creaminess, and a mild sweetness that complements the savory beef and greens.
• Pickle juice lifts the flavor with tang and brightness, balancing out the richness of the soup and giving it that crave-worthy edge.

Beats and Eats (music to pair with Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup)

Just like Albert’s slow-burning blues, this soup simmers with soul and patience — building intensity with each note, each flavor. The smoky beef and lush broth echo that deep emotional groove, where heat meets heart. It’s the kind of dish that lets you lean back, close your eyes, and let the flavor riff carry you home.

Test Kitchen Secrets to Making Great Beef Stew:

1. Brown the beef deeply to build layers of umami flavor in the base.
2. Avoid stew meat. Instead buy quality chuck roast and cut into chunks yourself. This recipe is also a great way to use leftover roast beef.
3. Use homemade beef broth or stock for a richer, more soulful body.
4. Don’t skip the pickle juice — it’s the secret weapon for balancing creamy and savory.
5. Stick to fresh vs frozen vegetables for flavor and texture benefits.

Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve this old fashioned vegetable beef soup with a warm slice of hot water cornbread, and a side of ginger coconut rice.

Keep up with my food exploits on Instagram and YouTube. If you like any of the music you find on the site, visit me at Spotify to find curated playlists.

Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup w/ Yuca and Collards

Author: Marwin Brown

516kcal

5 from 1 vote

Pinterest Facebook Share on X

Share Print

Prep 5 minutes mins

Cook 30 minutes mins

Absolutely the best vegetable beef soup you’ll ever have. Yuca, poblanos, and collard greens replace potatoes and carrots, while coconut milk and pickle juice add much depth and complexity to the broth.

Servings 6 people

Course dinner, Soup

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 ½ lbs Beef chuck cut into 1 inch chunks
• ▢ 1 medium Yellow Onion diced
• ▢ 4 cloves Garlic diced
• ▢ 1 bunch Collard Greens stems removed, cleaned, and chopped
• ▢ 1 large Yuca peeled and cut into chunks
• ▢ 1 large poblano seeds and veins removed, and chopped
• ▢ 14 oz can peeled whole tomatoes
• ▢ 14 oz can coconut milk
• ▢ ½ cup pickle juice
• ▢ 1 cup Beef stock
• ▢ 1 whole Bay leaf
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Coriander
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

1. Mix spices together in a small bowl or ramekin. Set aside.
2. Cut beef into chunks (1 inch thick) and brown in a dutch oven pot. Remove the beef and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Saute onions, garlic, and poblanos 2-3 minutes, seasoning with about a quarter of the spice mix as you go.
4. Add the collard greens and saute another 2 minutes or so. Add the yuca and continue cooking.
5. Add the tomatoes and deglaze the pan. Add another quarter of the spices then add in the stock, pickle juice, coconut milk and bay leaves. Mix well then add the beef back. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and mix in the remaining spices. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories516kcalCarbohydrates40gProtein27gFat29gSaturated Fat20gTrans Fat1gCholesterol78mgSodium782mgPotassium1097mgFiber6gSugar7gVitamin A1970IUVitamin C57mgCalcium153mgIron5mg

Notes

Buy your own chuck roast and cut it yourself instead of buying stew meat. You never know what you’re getting with pre-cut meat. 

Cut beef and yuca as uniform as possible each for even cooking. This also helps with serving and eating.  

For a thicker stew like consistency make a slurry of corn starch and water. Simply mix water and starch, stir well, and then add to the stew.

The spice mix gives this soup aroma and flavor.

I used canned tomatoes because that’s all I had on hand. They work well, but if you plan to use fresh go with plum or other smaller red tomatoes.

Remove the seeds and veins from the poblanos. You want the earthiness of the chilis minus any of the heat.

Private Notes

Click here to add your own private notes.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

Sharing is caring!