Cozy up with a rich, slow-simmered short rib soup packed with fall-apart beef, silky broth, and deep roasted flavor. This hearty beef short rib soup delivers comfort-food vibes with simple ingredients, thoughtful technique, and make-ahead, freezer-friendly ease.
Ingredients
With a southwestern flair, this short rib soup is made with simple ingredients, yet full of flavor. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Short ribs – If you weren’t sure, short ribs are actually beef ribs. They are the lower portion of the cows rib, very close to the breastbone. There is no such thing as pork. If boneless ribs are unavailable, substitute 7 pounds of bone in beef short ribs at least 4 inches long with 1 inch of meat above the bone. The amount of useable meat varies greatly, you might even want to purchase a few extra to make sure you have enough.
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrot
- Chili powder
- White beans
- Diced green chiles
- Beef broth
- Mexican stewed tomatoes
5S Philosophy 👩🏻
- Salt – I like to use low sodium beef broth to control the salt in this soup, but I always season to taste with coarse kosher salt.
- Seasonings – If you want to make it hotter, add a few shakes of Aleppo Pepper Flakes. You can also add extra freshly ground black pepper.
- Swaps – The ingredients for this soup have a southwestern flare with green chiles and Mexican stewed tomatoes. You can easily omit one or both of those flavors to make it more mild. Also, the chili powder.
- Senses – Hearty with tender beef and crisp vegetables, this short rib soup is simmering in southwestern flavors that will have your mouth watering.
Make it A Meal
Short Rib Soup is a hearty soup that could easily be a main entree or an appetizer, make sure you serve it with a hearty loaf of bread or Sweet Potato Cornbread to soak up all of the zesty goodness. I also served mine with a leafy green side salad.
Any time I’m having soup for dinner, I like to pair it with some salad and crusty bread. A cobb salad, fried halloumi salad, wedge salad or even a simple side salad are all perfect with this short rib soup.
When picking a bread to soak up that flavorful broth, I like to use things like garlic bread, dinner rolls or even garlic knots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short ribs are pretty much self explanatory from their name, they’re the shorter section of the rib bone covered in different thicknesses of meat.
Bine-in short ribs tend to have a higher fat content, thus making the meat slightly more tender when cooking. Boneless short ribs are leaner and therefore cook more quickly.
You can easily skim the fat off the top of your soup if you’d like. You can also run a cold spoon along the top.
Short Rib Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3-3.5 pounds boneless beef short ribs
- Kosher salt & Black Pepper
- 1/2 cup yellow onion coarsely chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 cup carrot chopped
- 4 ounces diced green chiles undrained
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 15 ounces white beans Great Northern or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups low sodium beef broth
- 4.5 ounces Mexican-style diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper , optional (spicy and smoky)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven, over medium heat.
- Dry short ribs with paper towels, making sure they are very dry. Season lightly with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Brown in three batches, making sure to not crowd the pan. Brown on all sides, removing to a plate. Repeat with all three batches.
- Add onions, celery and carrots to Dutch oven and allow them to soften, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. If bottom is dry, add an additional 1 tablespoon olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Add diced green chilies, chili powder, beans, tomatoes and broth to the mixture and add back the short ribs. Allow to simmer on the lowest heat possible, covered for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Check the largest rib to see if it is cooked the whole way through. If it is, remove all ribs and either coarsely chop or shred, throwing out any bones, fat or silver skin.
- Return beef to soup. Check for seasoning, additional Kosher salt, ground black pepper or Aleppo pepper, if desired.
- Serve while hot.
- If you tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the ratings or comments!
Notes
- Top with parmesan cheese or add parmesan cheese rind to the simmering broth.
- Top with croutons or dill oyster crackers.
- Top with fresh cilantro.
- Top with sour cream.
Nutrition
More Easy Soup Recipes
Is there anything more comforting than a hot bowl of soup on a cold day? Here are some of our favorites.
If you love short rib recipes, also check out our Honey Ginger Short Ribs and Instant Pot Short Ribs!
How long would you pressurize the soup if you cooked it in an instant pot?
Hi Amanda, you’d need to change the cooking method considerably, but it can be done. I’d still brown the beef in the IP, then add the broth and cook the short ribs on high manual pressure for 30 minutes using a quick release. Add the other ingredients and then cook again for 5-6 minutes. The problem with adding it all at once is that the veggies will almost turn into pulp and you want them to have a little toothiness to them to keep texture in the soup. After the last cook, remove, shred and return to the pot. I have not tested this- but this is where I would start if I was going to test it.
Hi! Are you using canned beans? The ones in the picture already look cooked. Just wondering if should use cooked ones or raw beans
Canned or you can pre-cook them.
Such a good soup! I had trouble finding good, meaty short ribs, but so glad when I did.Will totally make this one again.
Thank you for your recipe! To often I take recipes and don’t stop to thank the one that provided it. I need to change that. Funny about the pinto bean comment…I decided I needed to make this based on your reply. I had ribs and needed to use them in a recipe that took less time than the recipe I had originally purchased the ribs for. Found this gem, loved your reply to grumpy pinto bean boy, made it, family loved it. Thank you for your spunk, classiness, and recipe.
Aw, thank you, Becca. Some people forget there are REAL people sitting behind a computer with these blogs. I try to keep those who actually read what I write entertained. LOL. And thank YOU for taking the time leave us a comment. It means more than you know <3
I don’t see any pinto beans in the pictures of your soup. Have you ever made it or are you just copying a recipe and using stock photos?
Hi Jason- that is probably because I used White Northern Beans (as the recipe states) and they are surely in the photos. This is my own recipe and my own photo. Look a little closer. If I were to use stock photos, I’d probably have better shots. I am not the greatest photographer.
Sadly short ribs haven’t been cheap for about a decade since hipster chef’s caught on to grandma’s secret soup meat. At about $20 a pound it’s turned into an expensive treat these days. They take a long time to cook, but they are soooo good.