Leftover Corned Beef Soup
You can make this delicious Leftover Corned Beef Soup in the Instant Pot or on the Stove, and this soup is really low in carbs. And just make corned beef soup with thick-sliced corned beef from the deli when you don’t have any leftover corned beef!
PIN the Corned Beef Soup to try it later!
I know you don’t have leftover corned beef quite yet, but St. Patrick’s Day is almost here, and all the corned beef fans (like me!) will be cooking Instant Pot Corned Beef or Slow Cooker Corned Beef for a special dinner. So I’m reminding you about this amazing Leftover Corned Beef Soup; this is one of my favorite things to make with leftover corned beef!
Or just buy some corned beef from the deli to make this soup; that will also be amazing! And when made this recently to take better photos, Kara and I decided to create a version for the Instant Pot, so now you have two methods to choose from for this tasty soup.
We loved this soup with some coarsely grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, and grated Swiss cheese would also be good if you want Reuben sandwich flavor notes, but the soup is dairy-free if you skip the cheese. I also recommend serving it with your best balsamic vinegar in case people want to drizzle a little more on at the table. I hope you enjoy trying this soup if you’re a corned beef fan!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- onion
- olive oil
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Dried Thyme (affiliate link)
- canned beef broth (affiliate link)
- canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
- crushed tomatoes
- Worcestershire sauce, or Gluten-Free Worcestershire Sauce (affiliate link)
- chopped fresh parsley
- Bay Leaves (affiliate link)
- sauerkraut
- cooked corned beef
- Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
- balsamic vinegar, I love Colavita Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (affiliate link)
- fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- coarsely grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese, optional
How did we change Corned Beef Soup for the Instant Pot version?
For the Instant Pot version we used less sauerkraut and more corned beef to make a soup that’s lower in carbs, and I’m changing those amounts for the stovetop version as well. Kara is not a big corned beef fan, but she pronounced this soup to be “very good” when we tested it. And for the Instant Pot version everything goes in at once and it only needs 5 minutes under pressure, which makes that a quick and really easy recipe.
What Balsamic Vinegar did I use for corned beef soup?
You can make this soup with any balsamic vinegar you buy at the grocery store and it will be just fine. But if you really want to boost the flavor (without buying a super pricey bottle of balsamic vinegar at an import store) I’ve been thrilled with this Colavita Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (affiliate link) that I buy at Amazon.com. It’s sweeter and thicker than regular balsamic vinegar, and you only need a tiny amount when you use it, so the bottle will last a long time!
How low in carbs is the corned beef soup?
This amazing soup to make with leftover corned beef or deli corned beef has only 4 net carbs per serving!
Want more ideas for soup with cabbage?
Check out Low-Carb and Keto Soups with Cabbage if you’d like more soup ideas to make during March while cabbage is on sale.
How to Make Leftover Corned Beef Soup:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Drain sauerkraut in a colander placed in the sink. (If your sauerkraut doesn’t seem that chopped up, I used kitchen shears to chop it up a bit more.)
- Cut up the corned beef into medium-sized cubes (or smaller if you prefer.)
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT. Heat the olive oil, then add onion and cook 4-5 minutes; add minced garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more.
- Then add chicken stock, beef stock, dried thyme, diced tomatoes, drained sauerkraut, diced corned beef, Worcestershire Sauce, bay leaves, and chopped parsley.
- Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 5 minutes.
- When the cooking time is up, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes; then release the rest of the pressure.
- Stir in balsamic vinegar and Monkfruit sweetener, season with fresh ground black pepper and serve hot.
- We ate it with coarsely-grated Parmesan Cheese sprinkled on top and a drizzle of extra balsamic vinegar.
- This soup would be delicious with my Brown Irish Brown Bread to dip into the soup if you don’t mind the extra carbs!
- Scroll down to complete recipe to see the stovetop instructions.
More Corned Beef for St. Patrick’s Day:
- Low-Carb Reuben Bake
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef Recipes from Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
- Reuben Sandwich Cabbage Cups
- Instant Pot Corned Beef Recipes from Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
- Fried Cabbage with Corned Beef
Leftover Corned Beef Soup
Leftover Corned Beef Soup is loaded with flavor from sauerkraut and tomatoes; use corned beef from the deli if you don't have leftovers!
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 2 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth (see notes)
- 2 cups homemade beef stock (see notes)
- one 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 T Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley (see notes)
- 3 large bay leaves
- 12 oz. sauerkraut, drained but not rinsed
- 12 oz. cooked corned beef
- 1 T Monkfruit sweetener (see notes)
- 1 T balsamic vinegar
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Drain sauerkraut in a colander placed in the sink. (If your sauerkraut doesn't seem that chopped up, I used kitchen shears to chop it up a bit more.
- Cut up the corned beef into medium-sized cubes (or smaller if you prefer.)
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT.
- Heat the olive oil, then add the chopped onion and cook about 4-5 minutes; add minced garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more.
- Then add chicken broth, beef broth, dried thyme, diced tomatoes with juice, drained sauerkraut, diced corned beef, Worcestershire Sauce, bay leaves, and chopped parsley.
- Set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 5 minutes.
- When the cooking time is up, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes; then release the rest of the pressure.
- Stir in balsamic vinegar and Monkfruit sweetener, season to taste with lots of fresh ground black pepper and serve hot.
- We ate it with coarsely-grated Parmesan Cheese sprinkled on top and a drizzle of extra balsamic vinegar.
Stovetop Instructions:
- You will need about one cup more beef broth to make this on the stove.
- Chop one onion to make 1 cups chopped onion.
- Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot, add onion and saute 4-5 minutes, or until the onions are starting to get lightly browned.
- Add minced garlic and saute 2-3 minutes more.
- Add chicken broth, beef broth, diced tomatoes with juice, Worcestershire sauce, chopped parsley, and bay leaves and let soup simmer on low for 30 minutes.
- While soup simmers, drain the sauerkraut in a colander placed in the sink.
- Cut corned beef into medium-sized cubes
- When sauerkraut is drained, coarsely chop with kitchen scissors or a large chef’s knife.
- After 30 minutes, add sauerkraut, corned beef, and sweetener to the soup.
- Stir soup to see if it’s getting too thick, and add a little water if needed. (You probably won't need the water if you add the extra cup of beef stock.)
- Let soup simmer 15 minutes more.
- After 15 minutes, stir in 1 T balsamic vinegar and season to taste with fresh ground black pepper.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with coarsely-grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese and an extra drizzle of balsamic vinegar if desired.
Notes
If you have homemade chicken stock or homemade beef stock, that would be amazing in this soup! I used flat-leaf parsley but either kind will be fine. I love Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), but use any sweetener of your choice.
I havenโt frozen it yet, but Iโm sure this soup freezes well.
Recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 162Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 43mgSodium 1139mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 3gSugar 4gProtein 10g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Corned Beef Soup is great for low-carb or Keto plans. Corned beef isn’t really recommended for the original South Beach Diet, due to the amount of saturated fat. However, if you indulge in it for a special occasion like St. Patrick’s Day, this soup is packed with other low-glycemic ingredients which makes it a healthful way to use the leftovers.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalynโs Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes Iโm sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Leftover Corned Beef Soup was first posted in 2011. The recipe was updated with better photos in 2021 and was last updated with more information in 2024.
40 Comments on “Leftover Corned Beef Soup”
I was led to this recipe as a way to use leftover stock from CB&C. I have a little under 2 quarts of this wonderful tasting corned beef and Cabbage stock. It is light as chicken but does not taste like dark beef stock. If I make this soup, Iโll just use the stock I have. If I need to stretch, Iโll either get some chicken bone broth or just get a roaster and make some of my grandmaโs Chicken corn soup. This would yield a similarly tasty broth I got this year from my corned beef. Iโm so glad I took that sip and will never pour this liquid gold down the sink again.ย
Now for your Corned beef soup. I assume youโre substituting chicken and beef broth for the corned beef broth. Iโm also assuming youโre using sauerkraut in place of cabbage. And I see you add sweetener. You didnโt mention which kind of sauerkraut should be used. Am I to assume you didnโt use sweet sauerkraut? ย Getting Bavarian sauerkraut with the caraway seeds might set it over the top.ย
I’ve never heard of saving the broth from Corned Beef and Cabbage and using it to make soup, but I bet it will be very tasty in this recipe. I don’t see a variety of kinds of sauerkraut where I shop; I used Sauerkrat from Costco that comes in a jar for this recipe. And the sweetener is optional. I hope you enjoy the soup if you try it.
Which Monk Fruit sweetener did you use?
I like Lakanto Monkfruit.
Super easy, fast and flavorful! Perfect on a snowy day!
So glad you enjoyed it! I hate the snow, but soup can help.
5 stars! I used our leftover stock from our corned beef roast which was made w guiness, water, garlic and onion.
Will be a yearly tradition
That was a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it.
In the Instant Pot instructions, when does the corned beef go in?
HATE IT when I make mistakes like that. All the ingredients go in at the same time. I will fix that right now! THANK YOU for telling me.
Dara, I know what you mean. It's such a healthful food that there should be a lot more recipes using it!
These flavors sounds fantastic. I never think to pick up sauerkraut at the store, but enjoy it whenever I eat it elsewhere.
Mike I haven't tried this with other meats, but I think there are quite a few possibilities.
I tried your recipe and found it to be a tasty treat. I almost followed your directions but added the sauerkraut along with the other liquids and cooked for about 1/2 hour. I added the corned beef(deli bought)to my serving bowl at this point allowing the soup to warm the CB. The kraut, balsamic and brown sugar combo goes into the memory banks–have you tried it with Kielbasa or roast pork?
Thanks,
MikeG
This soup looks and sounds delicious. Makes me wish we had leftover corned beef so I could give it a try.
I can't honestly say how this would work in the crockpot. I worry about the corned beef all shredding apart if it was cooked all day. If you try it, I'd reduce the amount of liquid by at least a cup or so.
Hi Kalyn. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your recipes. Thank you so much for taking the time to create and share them. Just saw this recipe and would like to make it. Do you think this could be converted to a crockpot recipe? I work 10 hour days and would love it to just be ready when I got home tomorrow. ๐
Jackie, glad you liked it!
This is Good!
Glad you liked it, and I'm imagining a bit of mustard flavor in there and it sounds good to me!
I made this yesterday and was surprised at how good it turned out. I thought the sauerkraut might overwhelm the soup but it didn't – it mellowed and tasted more like cabbage.
I made a few changes – left out the parsley since I didn't have any – and substituted a honey mustard glaze I'd used on my corned beef for the brown sugar – the mustard was a nice addition to the soup.
I'll be making this again …
Yum! What a great soup idea!
Linda, I didn't think about corned beef in a can! Thanks for letting us know it worked in the soup.
mmmh,,,it look like so delicious
maybe i want to make it later
nice post
I saw this recipe today and made it tonight–I didn't have any left over corned beef, so i just bought a can. Probably not as tasty as the original, but it's what I'm used to. This soup is delicious, and was very quick to put together. It will get eaten many more times than just around St. Pat's day!
Glad people are liking this.
Lynette, too fun! I'm glad you are educating these kinds about Corned Beef and Cabbage!
Thought you'd love this one – – my third graders and I were singing an Irish song today which had a phrase about corn beef and cabbage. They were clueless so I popped up your blog on the projector and showed them the pix from a few days ago. The kiddos said they were hungry. So know I'm still reading and using your blog for more than recipes! :>) Lynette
Great post thanks for sharing. I really enjoy reading your blog very much. Feel free to check out our recipes
The addition of sauerkraut in your soup is genius, Kalyn. We won't have any leftover corned beef this time, but I'm saving the recipe for next year.
Oh, my, that looks good! Now I need to go buy a corned beef and cook it so I can make this.
Joanne, not too late to cook some!
Big Dude, thanks. It was a great lunch!
Great creation – it looks delicious
This makes me REALLY wish I had leftover corned beef.
Liz, when I taught elementary school, no teacher would ever forget to wear green! It was mandatory!
When I was in school, if you didn’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day everyone would pinch you. As we moved (38 total moves in my lifetime) it was always the same rule everywhere.
Yes, I think that tradition is still alive and well today!
This looks great! I would not have thought of ever putting sauerkraut in a soup – but hey it's worth a try! Now if I can just remember to wear green…
Thanks Lydia! I should have called it Reuben in a Bowl, love that name!
Nisrine, I know what you mean! I do love the sauerkraut in this soup and also the ground beef and sauerkraut soup that inspired it.
Kalyn, is there such possible thing as leftover corned beef? My Irish MIL makes it every year for St. Patrick's Day and I eat so much of it, never leaving anything over. I might next time though just to try this delicious soup. I like the sauerkraut in there. Nice touch.
Now, why don't I ever think of using sauerkraut in soup? Such a great idea! I love this "reuben in a bowl". And you're so right. Life is to short to pass up corned beef on St. Patrick's Day.