Super tender and slow cooked, this Slow Cooker Beef Noodle Soup is the definition of comfort food! Put it in the slow cooker in the morning, and a flavorful noodle soup is ready for dinner!
Serve this Slow Cooker Beef Noodle Soup up with some Artisan Bread or Peasant Bread for a perfect comfort food dinner!
I used to think that having a newborn would make my life really busy. After all, babies basically need constant attention, right? But now that my kids are out of the baby stage, I’m quickly learning that life doesn’t slow down or get easier when your kids get older. In fact, I feel like my days are shorter now than ever before.
Most of the time, it is really hard to get dinner on the table. I feel like I’m running around all day long, and when it’s actually time for dinner, I either am running super short on time, or I’m completely out of energy. These days, the slow cooker is a total life saver!
Being completely honest, my husband is not always a fan of slow cooker meals. It takes a lot to convince him. But this soup? He devoured it. And then couldn’t stop talking about how much he liked it.
This Slow Cooker Beef Noodle Soup was a home run!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Bone In Short Ribs: My grocery store doesn’t always have bone-in short ribs (and I had planned on just subbing in boneless) but they were well stocked the day I went shopping and I was able to score some bone in ribs. And while I think you could use boneless, I think the bone in really made this soup. If you want to change up the beef, you could use beef stew meat or a beef chuck roast that has been cut into cubes.
Salt and Pepper: It’s very important to season with salt and pepper! You’ll season the beef in the beginning, then you’ll want to taste at the end and season as needed.
Oil: You will only need the oil if you choose to brown the meat before putting it in the crock pot. I used olive oil, but a neutral cooking oil will work, as well.
Vegetables: This has a mixture of onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. I really do think you could get creative and use this as a way to use up extra veggies in the refrigerator. If it’s a hearty vegetable that can hold up to the long cook time, add it with the rest of the vegetables. If it is a quicker cooking vegetable, like peas or mushrooms, add them closer to the end of the cook time.
Beef Broth: Beef broth adds some great flavor, but for an even deeper flavor, try using beef stock.
Canned Tomatoes: When adding the tomatoes, you’ll also want to add the liquid in the can.
Bay Leaves: Bay leaves will add great flavor – just make sure to remove them before serving. And while I think this soup is perfect as is, if you want more herbs, you can add in what you would like. I think thyme would be a great addition.
Noodles: The noodles will be added at the end of the cook time. The recipe calls for egg noodles, which cook fairly fast. If you do choose to use another noodle, they will most likely need to cook longer.
Tips and Tricks
- The noodles do start to soak up a lot of the liquid, so if you aren’t serving all of this soup right away, I would suggest cooking the noodles separately and then adding some into each portion. But I do love the flavor you get in the noodles when they cook in the broth!
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Beef short ribs tend to be a bit fatty, so try to find some that have good marbling but aren’t overly fatty. The more fat, the less meat.
More Slow Cooker Favorites
Creamy Slow Cooker Tomato Soup with Gnocchi
Slow Cooker Turkey Meatloaf
New Mexican Red Pork Chili
Crockpot Corn Chowder
White Turkey Chili
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Crock Pot Chili
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Slow Cooker Beef Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs bone-in beef short ribs
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 medium carrots chopped
- 2 large celery stalks chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 quarts beef broth
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 or 3 bay leaves
- 3 cups uncooked egg noodles
- salt and pepper to taste
- sliced fresh green onions, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Spray the inside of a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Season the short ribs with the salt and pepper.
- *Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat. Brown the ribs on all sides, working in batches, if needed. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic to the skillet. Sauce in the beef drippings until slightly browned.
- Add 1/2 cup of the beef broth to the skillet to loosen the beef bits.
- Place the beef, veggies, drippings and broth to the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and remaining beef broth to the slow cooker. Mix well.
- Cover and cook on low for 9 to 11 hours, or until the meat is falling off of the bones.
- Once the beef is tender, remove from the slow cooker, and remove the beef from the bones. Pull the meat into small pieces using 2 forks. Remove and discard the bay leaves from the slow cooker.
- Add the egg noodles to the broth. Replace the cover on the slow cooker, turn to high, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or just until the noodles are tender.
- Stir the meat back into the crock pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the soup topped with green onions, if desired.
pam says
good recipe, even the husband had seconds , going to add to my regular rotation
Deborah says
Thanks, Pam – that makes me happy that it will now be a regular!
Mark says
Everything was good but I would use different meat next time. I spent around eighteen dollars on the short ribs and when I took them out when they started falling off the bone there was so much fat that i was left with barely any meat which really sucked.
Karly says
This is THEE perfect winter dinner- so hearty and delicious, but still so simple! Can’t wait to try!