There’s no greater comfort food than a hearty stew. And Irish Beef and Guinness Stew might be the king of them all! Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavour, and the beef is fall-apart tender. Stove, oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker – directions provided for all.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Irish Stew may well be the mother of all stews. I mean, you know that anything simmered for hours is going to be a good thing. But this…. this is the stew of your dreams. Arguably the most deeply flavourful sauce of all stews, with a rich dark brown flavour, this is the best of the best.
THIS is the stew I make for company when I want to impress!
With it’s deeply flavoured rich sauce, Guinness Beef Stew is THE stew you make when you want to impress!
What kind of beer goes in Guinness Stew?
The not-so-secret ingredient that goes into Guinness Stew that gives the sauce the deep flavour and colour is Guinness Beer.
Guinness Beer is so dark it is almost black and it’s why the gravy of the stew is such a beautiful deep brown colour. Guinness is also much richer than most beers, which you can see just by looking at the thick creamy head (the foam) that Guinness is famed for.
It’s pretty widely available these days – here in Australia, you’ll find it at most liquor stores.
Meat in Guinness Stew – beef OR lamb
Traditionally, Guinness Stew is made with lamb. But in many parts of the world including here in Australia and North America, Guinness Stew is more commonly made with beef.
I hope the Irish aren’t offended! 🙂 I’ve made it with lamb and to be honest, I do prefer it with beef.
Tip: Use big chunky hunks of beef. Don’t even think about using tiny cubes of beef. It needs to be chunky pieces so it can be cooked for a looooong time to get all that flavour into the sauce! If the pieces of beef are too small, they will cook too quickly and fall apart in the stew before it’s had enough time to develop the deep flavours.
Ingredients in Guinness Beef Stew
In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew.
Garlic and onion – essentials
Bacon – adds extra flavour! Can be skipped, or sub with pancetta or speck
Carrot and celery – potatoes could also be added
Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour;
Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids. I prefer using chicken rather than beef broth because it allows the flavour from the Guinness beer to come through better. Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like beer at all, it transforms into a deep savoury sauce! Also, all the alcohol is cooked out.
Thyme and bay leaves – to add a hint of flavour the sauce.
How to make Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Though this Irish Beef and Guinness Stew takes time to cook, it is very straightforward. The steps are no different to usual stews like classic Beef Stew:
Brown the beef – brown them well, this is key to flavour. It’s not just the browned beef itself, also the brown bits left on the bottom of the pot (fond) adds extra flavour to the sauce;
Sauté flavour base – onion, garlic, bacon (speck or pancetta), carrot and celery;
Cook off flour and tomato paste;
Add liquids – beer, broth and herbs;
Simmer covered for 2 hours until the beef is pretty tender, then simmer for a further 30 minutes uncovered to let the sauce reduce a bit and for the beef to become “fall apart tender”.
Yes it takes hours but your patience is rewarded with beef so tender you can eat it with a spoon!
The one thing I do differently to most Guinness Beef Stew recipes, including very traditional Irish recipes, is to thicken the sauce slightly with flour. If you don’t do this step, the sauce is quite thin and watery, and while the flavour is still lovely, I really prefer the sauce to be more like a thin gravy.
What to serve with Irish Stew
Serve Beef and Guinness Stew over mashed potato or cauliflower mash for a low carb option. And what about some warm crusty Irish Soda Bread to mop your bowl clean??
I am so glad I have a tub of this in the freezer. I cooked most of the day but gave it all away. The minute I hit Publish on this post, I’m going to get cracking reheating some of this Irish Stew for dinner tonight! – Nagi x
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Beef and Guinness Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2.5 lb / 1.25 kg beef chuck , boneless short rib or any other slow cooking beef (no bone)
- 3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 onions , chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 6 oz / 180g bacon , speck or pancetta, diced
- 3 tbsp flour (all purpose/plain, Note 3 for GF)
- 440ml / 14.9 oz Guinness Beer (Note 1)
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock/broth (or beef broth – Note 4)
- 3 carrots , peeled and cut into 1.25 cm / 1/2″ thick pieces
- 2 large celery stalks , cut into 2cm / 1″ pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme (or sub with 1 tsp dried thyme leaves)
Instructions
- Cut the beef into 5cm/2″ chunks. Pat dry then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy based pot over high heat. Add beef in batches and brown well all over. Remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Lower heat to medium. If the pot is looking dry, add oil.
- Cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softening, then add bacon.
- Cook until bacon is browned, then stir through carrot and celery.
- Add flour, and stir for 1 minute to cook off the flour.
- Add Guinness, chicken broth/stock and tomato paste. Mix well (to ensure flour dissolves well), add bay leaves and thyme.
- Return beef into the pot (including any juices). Liquid level should just cover – see video or photos.
- Cover, lower heat so it is bubbling gently. Cook for 2 hours – the beef should be pretty tender by now. Remove lid then simmer for a further 30 – 45 minutes or until the beef falls apart at a touch, the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
- Skim off fat on surface, if desired. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves and thyme.
- Serve with creamy mashed potatoes!!
Recipe Notes:
– SLOW COOKER: Reduce chicken broth by 1 cup. After you add the Guinness and broth/stock into the pot, bring to simmer and ensure you scrape the bottom of the pot well. Transfer everything into slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients per recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. If sauce needs more thickening, simmer with slow cooker lid off (if you have that function), to ladle some of the sauce into a separate saucepan and reduce on stove.
– PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, cook on HIGH for 40 minutes (this might seem longer than most but we’re using chuck here which needs to be cooked for a long time until tender and also the pieces are large). 3. FLOUR: I prefer my stew sauce a bit thick, not watery, so I always add flour to slightly thicken the sauce. Some recipes say to dust beef with flour before browning – I prefer not to use this method because the flour burns then this permeates throughout the whole stew. 4. Beef vs Chicken Broth – I use chicken broth because the flavour is slightly more mild which lets the guinness flavour come through more. But beef broth works just as well and you can definitely still taste the Guinness!! 5. Nutrition per serving, excluding mashed potato. This nutrition is overstated because it does not take into account the fat that is skimmed off the surface.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published July 2016, updated with new video and step photos. No change to recipe.
More slow cooked fall-apart beef recipes
Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
Browse Winter Warmer recipes and see more Stews!
Life of Dozer
Sulking because he didn’t score any Irish Stew.
Let’s not feel badly for him though. He lives a very cushy life!
How intercontinental!
A Japanese lady, living in Australia, makes Irish stew! Now, a Whinging Pom living in Finland reads this! Yep, made this many times with beef, and my slow-cooker almost removes its lid in anticipation – it’s slow-cooker heaven! I usually marinate the (un-seared) beef in Guinness overnight, drain and sear in a pan before the slow-cooker. Guinness, by the way is fairly low in alcohol.
We are both SUCH international people of mystery!!! N x
Can you use cornstarch in the same way to thicken it? I am glut
You could use some cornstarch dissolved in a bit of cold water to thicken it instead of flour! N x
This is my go to recipe which I’ve cooked so many times. I have some German beer from your pork knuckle recipe. Do you think it will be a good substitute for Guinness?
If it’s a dark beer Gary then yes it will probably be pretty good! N x
Thanks Nagi. It was a dark beer and the recipe worked beautifully with it.
Delicious! Really yummy! I prefer to add a tbsp of Worcestershire sauce instead of adding salt. The anchovies and vinegar in that are a great alternative.
I found myself without Guinness twice and wanted to add that two heap tsp of yeast extract (marmite) in place of the Guinness with 2 cups water + 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce + 1 beef bouillon cube was as close as I could get.
Thanks for those tips on subs Simon! N x
I made this for my family’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in place of my usual corned beef dinner. Everyone raved about the stew and how good the rich sauce tasted. Your suggestion of serving this over mashed potatoes was a hit too! Thank you, Nagi, for another great recipe.
There is an alcohol free alternative for Guinness:
Guinness 0.0 Draught alcohol free stout or Lausitzer Porter alcohol free
That is great to know Paul!! Thanks for that tip! N x
I made this Irish beef stew for St. Patrick’s Day and my husband said it was the best beef stew he ever had!
The only thing I did differently was to add a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken up the stew instead of adding flour at the beginning.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
That’s a great way to make it gluten free too! Thanks for sharing! N x
I have made this twice now, absolutely delicious both times. Love your recipes!
Thank you S! N x
I’m so glad I found this recipe, it was delicious! at 3pm we decided to have people over for st patrick’s day dinner that same night, so I searched for something to make as quickly as possible, dashed to the store & a few hours later everyone was raving about this stew!
The flour to thicken the sauce sold me on trying this over some other recipes I saw and I’m so glad I did- I love the flavors of guinness stew but not a huge fan when it’s really liquidy, and this came out perfectly! I went with the suggestion to use chicken broth & loved how it turned out. Everyone was asking for the recipe & I’ll definitely be making it again.
Made this last night for St. Pat’s dinner with a homemade oat bread and it came out perfectly. I don’t usually try a new recipe for a special occasion but yours are always spot on – glad I did. I did add a few potatoes since I wasn’t serving over mashed potatoes. Thanks for another winner!
I am glad that you liked it Rochelle! N x
I visited Ireland thirteen years ago. While there, I went to the Aran Islands and had what, at that time, was the best Irish Guinness stew ever. Until I tried this recipe! This one is absolutely fantastic. I made it for the first time last St. Patrick’s Day, a second time for Christmas 2021, and again yesterday (St. Patrick’s Day 2022). Everyone in my circle who has tried it – including those who are not particularly carnivorous – absolutely love it. The chicken broth works great, and we did use the optional bacon for some added flavor. You can use a few handfuls of the ready-peeled and washed carrots (available in many grocery stores) to save a little time. Definitely serve it over colcannon – you won’t be disappointed. Well, done, Nagi! You deserve a medal!
I am glad you enjoyed it Steve!! N x
Loved it. I did BOTH the beer and Worcestershire sauce (with a tiny sprinkle of sugar). It was chef’s kiss! Thank you. You made our day.
Hi Nagi, I’ve made so many of your recipes and not commented before, though I always mean to. They have been lovely every time. I love cooking but have recently found myself becoming anxious over whether things will turn out. I had friends over tonight and cooked this stew with soda bread and it was superb! Just wanted to say thank you as whenever I cook your recipes, I feel so much more confident that they will work! Always my go to site now.
I am glad that you are enjoying my recipes Pauline! N x
Hi. This looks great. Quick question. How big is a serving size? Is it a cup? It says serves six but. It how big the serving size is?
Can I use shin beef and if so is it the same cooking time?
Yes you can Heather and as long as you cut it the correct size it should take the same amount of time to cook. N x
I rendered the bacon first and used that fat to sear the meat and cook the onions and garlic. I followed everything else to spec and it was delicious. I like to add a splash of malt vinegar at the end to cut through some of the fattiness.
Can I put potatoes in the pot? Will that change things too much?
That’s a real nod to the Irish Sue! I think a few potatoes would be fine in that! N x
Great recipe full of flavour and a firm family favourite. Already getting nagged by my family to make it, along with the mashed potato recipe (+ some garlic), even though we’re only just into Autumn!
I see the nitrition info, just wondering how many servings in the recipe, or what a srving sixe is. Wonderful recipe! Thank you.
Hi Ann – at the top of my recipes it tells servings – this one serves 6! N x
Hi! Would that be six cups? I’m making this for a large crowd and trying to figure out how many cups this would make.
Is it easy to substitute Lamb for the beef? Would it be the same cooking instructions?
Cooking this for dinner on St. Patrick’s Day and pleased to read all the positive comments. I will serve it with spring onion mashed potato. Thank you Nagi.
Hi Mercedes – you could sub in lamb shoulder here if you prefer! N x
Made this and invited our Irish neighbours for dinner . They absolutely loved it . I did the Irish soda bread and they said it was right up there. They now think I’m Irish 😂
Never disappointed when I do your recipes , pretty much every day of the week . X
You’ve got the Irish name Kerrie!! 🤣 N x