Hearty Three-Bone Soup with Vegetables and Beans

This Three Bone Soup With Veggies and Beans is a great way to make the most of your leftovers!

I picked up this idea from my mum years ago. It’s a brilliant way to use leftover bones from roast dinners and turn them into a rich, nourishing soup.

The beauty of this recipe is its flexibility. Save bones from roast chicken, lamb or beef ribs, freeze them as you go, and then cook them together to make a flavourful stock. If the meat was cooked with strong spices, a quick rinse before freezing removes excess seasoning. Any small shreds of meat can be wrapped and frozen with the bones so you can add them back into the finished soup.

I like to bulk the soup out with plenty of vegetables and a mix of beans so it becomes a filling, well-balanced meal. The combination of beans, cabbage and shredded meat makes it hearty without feeling heavy. It’s perfect for a family dinner or for batch-cooking and freezing portions.

This soup is satisfying yet light — ideal if you’re watching your diet or getting back into exercise. I found it helpful during weeks when the kitchen was out of action or when I wanted something quick, nutritious and comforting. It stores well and can be reheated easily for lunches or dinners throughout the week.

Serve the soup with a scattering of crisp, chopped radishes for texture, and if you like, quickly fry any leftover shredded meat in a teaspoon of oil to crisp it up before adding it on top — this gives extra flavour and a pleasant contrast to the tender vegetables.

Hope you enjoy making and sharing this soup. It’s a practical, frugal recipe that turns leftover bones into something delicious and nourishing.

The Recipe:

Three Bone Soup With Veggies and Beans

By
Nicky Corbishley

A simple, filling soup that transforms leftover bones into a flavourful broth. Easily made gluten free and excellent for batch cooking.

Prep Time:
15

Cook Time:
3 30

Total Time:
3 45

Servings:
4 servings

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: British

Ingredients

a selection of leftover cooked bones from previous dinners (see note below)
1 leftover cooked chicken carcass
1 leftover cooked lamb leg bone
leftover bones from cooked short ribs
4 litres (1 gallon) water
2 chicken stock cubes (or 2 tsp bouillon for gluten-free) — optional
1 onion, sliced in half (no need to peel)
4 large carrots — one broken in half (no need to peel), the rest peeled and chopped into chunks
1 stick of celery, broken in half
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
400 g (14 oz) cooked cannellini beans, washed and drained
200 g (about half a 14 oz tin) cooked mixed beans, washed and drained
½ savoy cabbage, sliced into strips
leftover shredded meat from the bones, defrosted
4 radishes, chopped finely

Instructions

Place the bones, water, stock cubes or bouillon, onion, one unpeeled carrot, celery, salt and pepper in a very large pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook gently for 3–4 hours until the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds. Stir occasionally and make sure the bones stay submerged where possible. Once reduced, leave to cool slightly.
Place a fine sieve over a large jug or bowl (a colander works but may let through small bits of bone) and carefully strain the liquid. Press the bones and vegetables in the sieve to extract all the flavour.
Clean the pan, return the strained liquid to it, add the chopped carrots and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until the carrots are just tender.
Stir in the cannellini and mixed beans and simmer for a further 10 minutes to heat through.
Add the sliced cabbage and the defrosted shredded meat. Heat for about 5 minutes until everything is warmed through. Serve topped with the chopped radishes for a crunchy finish.
Optional: to add extra texture and flavour, crisp some of the shredded meat in a frying pan with 1 tsp vegetable oil and sprinkle over the soup before serving — this works especially well with lamb.

Notes

* Freeze your leftover bones as you get them so you can combine them later for this soup. Use chicken carcasses, beef or pork rib bones, and pork or lamb shoulder/leg bones. Remove and store any shreds of meat with the bones so you can add them back to the soup when ready.

Nutritional information is per serving and should be used as an approximation.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be treated as an estimate.

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