Beef Stew calls for simple ingredients, but it’s a stunner! With meltingly tender beef, you’ll love the deep flavour of the sauce in this beef stew recipe
Economical and hearty, there’s no better way to see out the colder months. Let it simmer away slowly on the stove or oven, speed things up using your pressure cooker, or set and forget with your slow cooker. Mop your bowl clean with Irish Soda Bread, a quick rustic no-yeast bread, or this incredible easy crusty Artisan bread!
Beef Stew
The Queen of Brown Food strikes again. Back to back brown foods, possibly the two MOST brown foods in the world – a curry on Friday, and now a Beef Stew recipe today.
*Head smack* I will never be a magazine editor. Can you imagine? Page after page after page of brown, saucy goodness….. (*she cheers at the vision, you groan at the thought! 😂)
A well made beef stew is a thing of beauty. While it’s easy to make, it takes a little more than just “chucking it all in a pot” (or instant pot) then leaving it to simmer until the beef is tender.
How to make Beef Stew
Best beef for beef stew is chuck beef. Because it’s nicely marbled with fat, it’s the best beef for braising for hours – it’s got terrific flavour, is juicy and beautifully tender. Boneless beef rib also works very well. Whatever beef you use, use big pieces so they don’t cook too quickly – Beef Stew needs time for the flavour to develop.
Sear the beef well on all sides – in batches, because if you cram them all in at the same time, they will steam and won’t brown well.
Sauté onion, garlic, carrots and celery in the beef drippings so they soak up extra flavour.
Add beef stew sauce ingredients – beef broth, red wine (great for extra flavour, but can be skipped), Worcestershire sauce (savouriness and depth), flour (to thicken) and tomato paste (to thicken + a touch of sour to balance richness).
Add potatoes, bay leaves and thyme. The liquid will be covering the ingredients at this stage.
Simmer for 1.5 – 2 hours covered, until the beef is almost fall apart tender.
Simmer for a further 30 minutes without the lid to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken.
Make this Beef Stew on the stove – oven, pressure cooker OR slow cooker!
I usually make Beef Stew on the stove, but I’ve been known to rush it using a pressure cooker. Using the slow cooker is also really convenient, and sometimes I will use the oven, especially if I’m doing a bunch of other stuff on the stove. Directions provided for all!
Key tip: Brown the beef well
The better the browning, the more brown stuff you have stuck on the bottom of the pot* = better sauce flavour with a deeper, richer colour. You’ll see in the recipe video how the base of my pot is basically entirely dark brown when I finish browning the beef.
* The brown stuff is called fond and whenever you sear meat, fish or prawns/shrimp in the pan, you should do everything in your power to use it in a sauce or similar because it’s flavour, flavour, flavour!
What to serve with Beef Stew
I personally don’t serve stew with anything other than mashed potato. I know, I know, I’m sooo boring! 😂 Here are some other options for those of you who aren’t as straight as me:
Cauliflower Mash – for a low carb alternative
Mashed Sweet Potato or other mashed veggies (sweet potato, parsnip, pumpkin or other root vegetables)
Polenta, rice or bread – mop your plate clean with this quick No Yeast Irish Soda Bread!
Enjoy! – Nagi x
More cosy Stews
Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff Stew – fall apart beef in a creamy Stroganoff sauce!
Browse Winter Warmers recipe collection
More slow cooked fall-apart meat
I’m a big fan of slow cooked meats!!
Browse the Winter Comfort Food collection!
Beef Stew recipe
Watch how to make it
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Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg / 2.4lb chuck beef , cut into 3.5 cm / 1.5″ cubes (Note 1)
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil , divided
- 1 large onion , halved then cut into 1 cm / 2/5″ slices
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 carrots , cut into 2.5cm / 1″ pieces on the diagonal
- 2 celery stalks , cut into 2.5 cm / 1″ pieces
- 1/3 cup / 50g flour
- 3 cups / 750ml beef broth / stock , salt reduced
- 2 cups / 500 ml red wine , bold and dry (Cab Sauv, Burgundy, Merlot) (Note 2)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves , fresh or dried
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 400 g / 14 oz baby potatoes , halved
- More salt and pepper , to taste.
Instructions
- Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy based casserole pot over high heat until just starting to smoke.
- Add 1/3 of the beef and brown aggressively all over – about 4 minutes. Remove to bowl, repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if required.
- Turn down heat to medium high. Add 1 tbsp oil if required. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes until onion is softened slightly and golden on the edge.
- Add carrot and celery, stir for 1 minute to coat in flavours.
- Sprinkle flour evenly across surface, then stir to coat.
- Add broth, red wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to dissolve tomato paste and flour into liquid.
- Add cooked beef (including any juices), thyme, bay leaf and potato. Stir. Water level should almost fully cover everything (see video), if not, add a touch of water.
- Bring to simmer, then adjust heat to low / medium low so it’s simmering gently. (Note 3 for other cooking methods)
- Cover and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes or until beef is pretty tender (check with 2 forks at 1.5 hrs).
- Remove lid and simmer for further 30 minutes or until sauce reduces slightly. It should be like a thin gravy (see video) and beef should now be very tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve over creamy mashed potato with a sprig of fresh thyme for decoration or a sprinkle of parsley (Note 4).
Recipe Notes:
– SLOW COOKER: Reduce beef broth by 1 cup. After you finish step 7, transfer everything into the slow cooker. Add splash of water into pot, bring to simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot, then tip it all into the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients, per recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove lid and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving, stirring every now and then (the sauce will thicken slightly).
– PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, except cook on HIGH for 40 minutes.
– INSTANT POT*: Follow steps 1 to 7 of the recipe using the sauté function, then proceed with either the Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker function. Simmer with the lid off at the end if you want to thicken the sauce slightly. 4. Other serving suggestions: with warm crusty bread for dunking (try this easy rustic no-yeast Irish Bread), polenta, rice, cauliflower mash (low carb option), or other mashed root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, pumpkin, sweet potato). 5. STORAGE / LEFTOVERS – Refrigerate or freeze, then thaw before reheating on the stove or microwave. Tastes even better the next day because the flavours develop even more. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings. I like to trim excess fat from the beef but this is not factored into the nutrition. Stew only – not mashed potato.
Nutrition Information:
This Beef Stew recipe has originally published April 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters in January 2019 – no change to recipe!
LIFE OF DOZER
Life Of Dozer ↓↓↓
Hi Nagi
Another one of your mouth watering, delicious creations is teasing us. It’s a cold windy Sunday night here in Brisbane,the stew is quietly simmering on the gas, its starting to smell yummy. As per comments it’s better the next day, we plan to eat it for dinner tomorrow night with creamy mash. Can’t wait.
My goal is to slowly work my way through your recipes, all attempts so far have been huge hits, thank you.
Tan
I hope you love it Tan! Thank you for trying so many of my recipes! N x
Made this for dinner (it’s a cold and rainy day in Melbourne) and it was EPIC!
In an attempt to be “healthy”, had it with cauliflower mash (which I don’t normally like) but this stew was SO good, I didn’t even care abt the cauliflower!
Thanks tons!
That’s so great to hear Adi! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x
Another hit! Absolutely delicious and I made sure I mopped up every last drop with some crusty bread. Thanks Nagi for another success! This is the tastiest beef stew I’ve ever made!
That’s great to hear Chantelle! So pleased you enjoyed this! N xx
I cooked this in a camp oven over an open fire. Added mushrooms (coz i like mushrooms). My brother and his wife were blown away by it. Its simple and so deliscious
That’s great Andre! So pleased you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know! N x
I served it with dairy free scones…a rare culinary success for me in the kitchen!
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed this Shaz, thanks for letting me know! N x
It’s 35C in Dubai but I still had to make this Beef Stew! And it turned out to be the best I’ve ever made, so yummy. I don’t know what makes the difference to my previous way of preparation – maybe the browning of the meat or the amount of flour and liquids. The sauce had a nice consistency even though I left out the potatoes (we try to eat less carbs..). Anyhow, this goes into my recipe folder!
OMG! That is a serious compliment!!! I remember how hot it gets over there. And how HUMID!!
This was indeed a rich, deep brown gravy on tender meat. I made it in my 40-year-old pressure cooker which is still going strong. I used a little less wine, but did both: put potatoes in it and mopped up every bit of gravy with bread. Lip-smacking, finger-licking good! Love the pics of Dozer. I have a yellow Lab, Daisy. I gave her a taste and believe me, she approved.
Hi, this was so good my boyfriend begged me never to get rid of my slow cooker. Thank you.
Btw I loved it as well!
Terrific to hear Miranda! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it – N x
I made this for Sunday dinner for the meat eaters in my family and they were thrilled. I love that you put everything in the pot together and then just leave it to do its own thing. Today is the second day of a major ice storm in Hamilton, Ontario – not much of a spring. A pine tree about 40 feet tall has fallen over, and there have been hundreds of accidents on the road. Good day to stay home and cook. Thanks for another great recipe!
Oh dear Vivian, I’m so sorry to hear the weather is still so horrid. 🙁 I won’t tell you how HOT it is still over here…. I think we have stolen your spring! 😂 N xx
Absolutely the best beef stew I have ever made.
I agree! It came out perfect;)
That’s terrific to hear Michael! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Hi Nagi
Ditch the bread and mashed potato.
You can’t eat a beef stew without light, fluffy dumplings.
And in my stew to go with the beef are leeks, swede, parsnip, potato, peas, turnip, onions, therefore it’s quite healthy so one can indulge in the not so healthy dumplings.
OMG heaven!
Dumplings and stew go together like strawberries and cream, bacon and eggs etc.
If you’ve not tried, it’s a must.
x x
DUMPLINGS!!! Seriously?? OK you got me, gotta try it!!!
Re Dumplings with stew.
Ask any Brit and it’s dumplings every time.
Use a good suet. I cook mine on to of the stew. Or use spare gravy. You can steam if you like. Experiment.
I’d be interested to hear the out come.
xx
Nagi—you may have the “Endless Summer”, but I am stuck I The Winter from Hell here in Ontario, Canada! I would appreciate if you could send Summer back the way it’s supposed to be. On the bright side, after spending the day watching snow fall when we should be watching daffodils bloom, this stew looks great for dinner tonight!! Thanks
Oh my gosh, my Canadian friends keep sending me photos of all the snow! It’s unbelievable – is this normal???
This is so far from a normal year. It seems like winter has been going on and on and on. The winds have been relentless this year. Usually in mid-April, I would be looking out at green grass & the first spring flowers…today..snow & wind most of the day. 10 to 20 cm of snow forecast for the weekend! GGGRRR
Fabulous for this never ending winter in Boston
Love your recipes
Thanks!!!!
Stay warm Patti! And enjoy the cool while it lasts – it’s going to be stinking hot in a few months!!! PS Boston has been on my Must Visit list for so long! Keen to tick it off soon 🙂 N xx
Wow, this looks amazing, Nagi! (per usual!) Yep, still chilly here in San Antonio so this comes at a perfect time. Tell Dozer to shove over, I want to sit down with him on that comfy chair and admire that view too! LOL. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Huh?/ Still chilly in San Antonio?? I thought it would be rather warm there by now! I was planning to start sharing SALAD recipes for y’all! 😂
Hi Nagi, Boy you know how to tease people. I’m so glad you have other cooking methods with this one especially with the Phillips All-in-one as I purchased mine only last week from “the Good Guys” and I must admit at a good price too. Something I’ve never done before is talk down a price, but I’m so proud of myself in doing so.
I’m going to try this with our Keto menu which means leaving out the carrot and I’ll serve over cauliflower mash (no potatoes for us right now). No matter, I’m sure it WILL still be a smash hit as all of your recipes turn out bonza!
Welcome to the world of multi function cooking! It’s going to CHANGE YOUR LIFE! And good on your for bargaining hard. You know what I do nowadays? I was in Bing Lee the other day buying a fan for my recipe videos (to blow the steam away from the lens when shooting down into steaming pots) and I brought up Appliances Online in front of the guy and showed him the price and he beat it!! 😂
Hi Nagi, I do have a pressure-cooker (the older style with the one-side handle, hardly used, still looks brand new), but I just thought “Mother’s Day” coming up and I usually have to buy my own present as hubby never knows what to get. Also we’re leaving on May 1st for Sth. Africa for a month. Anyway, to talk this guy down I actually brought up on my phone the Breville milk frother because it’s a 3 cup capacity and I got $30 off, others are only one cup. So, while there I looked at the All-in-One and brought that up, bingo I got $30 off as well. While showing him my phone before saying yes to the sale I told him I could drive another 3km up the road to Castle Towers and get the lower price, he quickly said OK we’ll do it. YEAH!
I was about to ignore this recipe. Stew is like mac and cheese. Too many tasteless recipes out there. BUT then I caught sight of that rich, dark gravy. You had me RIGHT there! I never, never pass on something this rich and decadent looking. I WILL give this a try! Brown is good! Barb
Yesssssss!!!! 😂
My husband cannot eat tomato (gives him gout), can you suggest alternative for the tomato paste in the stew?
Hi Sharon, I’m sorry to hear that. Hmmm…. let me think. I would skip the tomato paste and probably add 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard. This will provide the same tartness and thickening that tomato paste does. As for colour, as long as you brown that beef super well, the Dijon won’t affect the colour! Most of the colour comes from the browning of the beef, the wine and beef broth. Hope that helps! N xx
Sounds like a sensational idea, will give it a go, thanks heaps.
PS Love all your recipes!!
😘 N xx
Another reason why I love your recipes! We have the same seasons (I am in South Africa), so your recipes are always right on time!
I must try this recipe, I am good with curries, but my stews come out very bland. 🙁
Will let you know once I try it!
Yes!!! I love that too, it dawned on me recently that there’s far less countries on our season cycle!! 🙂 N xx
You say ya’ll are in the midst of another summer, well Spring hasn’t sprung in Texas yet. We had the freeze this weekend that should have come before Easter. My poor tomato plants are suffering from the chill. Saturday started out at 36F and never climbed above 49F, that would have been a good day for this stew.
Thanks for all the readers comments previous to mine. I will need to try Polenta in the microwave. I have been known to use a commercial Bloody Mary Mix for soup stock and/or V-8 vegetable juice. I can’t cook with wine, the nitrites in the wine do not like me.
This may become a go-to meal if it doesn’t start to warm up soon.
Huh??? It’s still cold in TEXAS??! What the…. that’s freaky!!! PS I love the V7 vegetable juice tip, I’ll try that one time instead of the wine 🙂 N xx
Hello Nagi Perfect timing to publish this recipe for us in Sydney as today is a cooler day and perfect to try your Beef Stew! It looks delicious! I might add some parsnips instead of potatoes and I think mashed potato is a MUST with Beef Stew. I like to add one or two strips of orange peel to my stew as it adds a lovely subtle orange flavour and smells delicious! PS Dozer is looking like the King of the Castle in that photo!
Orange peel! There’s one I haven’t heard of – I love it!! N xx