Beef Stew
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A classic Beef Stew with all the fixings! A truly simple dish to make with simple ingredients, but one that’s loaded with a multitude of deep and rich flavors.
The Best Beef Stew Recipe
Beef stew is a classic yet simple dish. Even though it’s a basic “meat and potatoes” dish, it’s still a favorite through and through. Not only is it economical, it is the epitome of comfort food! This recipes hosts a deep, rich and complex broth filled with chunks of tender, fall-apart beef, fork tender potatoes, carrots, and celery seasoned with an array of flavor packed additions.
Why Make This BeeF Stew
- Easy To Make
- Simple Ingredients
- Perfect To Freeze For Future Meals
- Comforting and Delicious Stew
This is a perfect recipe for those chillier days, and trust me, we get a lot of them in Calgary! A comforting beef stew loaded with flavor is just what the doctor ordered. Not to mention, this recipe will and provide you with lots of leftovers, which you can also freeze for future meals! What are you waiting for? Don’t stew on it! (pun intended) The couch, a blanket and a big bowl of beef stew is calling your name!
Ingredient Notes
- Beef – Chuck roast is the best cut of beef for stews because it’s nicely marbled and it’s perfect for slow braising.
- Flour – A little bit of all-purpose flour which helps with browning the beef, plus aids in thickening up the sauce.
- Olive Oil – Substitute sunflower, safflower, or avocado oil.
- Veggies – Onions, celery, carrots and garlic are essential flavor enhancers in any stew.
- Tomato Paste – Make sure you have paste rather than sauce or crushed. Tomato paste is very thick and has a strong tomato flavor. It helps the stew develop a richer and deeper flavor and adds body to it.
- Beef Broth – I always prefer a low sodium broth but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Easier to find at the grocery store than it is to pronounce, but a must in stews because it adds lots of savory flavors.
- Red Wine – Such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. A must to this stew as it adds a depth of flavor to it.
- Bay Leaves – For added richness and flavor. It’s a staple in stews!
- Thyme – Sprigs of fresh thyme.
- Potatoes – Use your preference, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes.
How To Make Beef Stew
- Prep Beef: Pat dry the beef cubes with paper towels, then toss with flour, salt and pepper.
- Cook the Beef: Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot and heat over medium heat. Add the prepared beef and brown on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
- Add Ingredients: To the same pot, add a bit more olive oil if needed, then add the onion, celery, carrots and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Add the garlic, tomato paste, sugar and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds until the garlic is aromatic and tomato paste has darkened.
- Braise: Pour in the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, wine and stir. Add the beef back to the pot and the bay leaves and fresh thyme. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook covered for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the beef is fork tender.
- Add Potatoes: Stir in the potatoes and cook covered for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Finish and Serve: Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Make This Gluten Free?
To make this recipe gluten free, toss the beef in 2 tbsp of cornstarch instead of flour! Dredging the beef is an important step in the recipe to help brown the meat so I wouldn’t skip out on that part.
What’s The Best Beef To Use For Stew?
Make sure you use the right cut of meat for your stew! Opt for a less expensive, tougher cut. Because of the slow cooking, tougher beef cuts like chuck or round break down and become really tender and that’s exactly what we want in a stew, fall apart tender beef! These are the best beef options for your stew:
– Chuck Roast (my preference)
– Top Round
– Rump Roast
– Chuck Shoulder
– Eye Round Roast
How To Serve
This is the perfect meal no matter the weather! Make sure to serve up your beef stew with a nice crusty bread to sop up all that delicious broth or over some mashed potatoes.
Expert Tips
- If you don’t want to use red wine, replace it with additional beef broth.
- The red wine will help the stew develop a richer and more complex flavor. You can also use an alcohol free wine if you want to include that wine flavor!
- If you want to try additional methods of cooking, check out my Crockpot Beef Stew and Instant Pot Beef Stew recipes!
Leftovers
Store leftover beef stew in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Make sure you let your stew come to room temperature before storing, but do not leave out for more than 2 hours to avoid bacteria.
Freezing
Stews are an ideal freezer meal! Simply transfer the stew to airtight containers or resealable freezer bags and pop them in the freezer! Your beef stew will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge and heat back up on the stove when ready to eat!
More Related Recipes:
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Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck (boneless, cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (roughly chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 2 large carrots (peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 cups beef broth (low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups red wine (such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 pound potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped, for garnish)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prep Beef: Pat dry the beef cubes with paper towels, then toss with flour, salt and pepper.
- Cook the Beef: Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot and heat over medium heat. Add the prepared beef and brown on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
- Add Ingredients: To the same pot, add a bit more olive oil if needed, then add the onion, celery, carrots and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Add the garlic, tomato paste, sugar and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds until the garlic is aromatic and tomato paste has darkened.
- Braise: Pour in the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, wine and stir. Add the beef back to the pot and the bay leaves and fresh thyme. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook covered for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the beef is fork tender.
- Add Potatoes: Stir in the potatoes and cook covered for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Finish and Serve: Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- If you don’t want to use red wine, replace it with additional beef broth. The wine will help the stew develop a richer and more complex flavor.
- Store leftover beef stew in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Make sure you let your stew come to room temperature before storing, but do not leave out for more than 2 hours to avoid bacteria.
- Stews are an ideal freezer meal! Simply transfer the stew to airtight containers or resealable freezer bags and pop them in the freezer! Your beef stew will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Cooked this a few nights ago with great results. Didn’t have enough red wine so threw in a can of diced tomatoes. Should have cut my potatoes more evenly too as even after 40 mins some of the bigger ones were a bit underdone.
I love beef stew and usually wing-it, using no recipe. I’m SO glad I followed this recipe because it’s easy and fantastic! I’m curious what you would substitute for the thyme if you needed to. I don’t love that herb but omitting it seemed like it would make the stew too bland. Any suggestions?
You can try rosemary or other herbs you might like, but if you omit them, try adding a beef bouillon cube for extra flavor.
Could you do this from frozen? Looking for good good food to eat whilst i go through a bulking period and dont have the time to cook every day. Lots of protein and nutritious. I dont mind if the veg goes mushy.
I’m not sure I understand what you want to do from frozen, the meat? You can also make the stew, cool it, and then freeze it as per the instructions in the post.
So can you make the whole thing in advance and then just take it out of the freezer and put it into the oven straight away or does it need to thaw? What settings also? Thanks
Simply transfer the stew to airtight containers or resealable freezer bags and pop them in the freezer! Your beef stew will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge and heat back up on the stove when ready to eat!
How can I adjust this recipe to freeze it? I don’t want the potatoes to get mushy. Should I cook it with potatoes then pick them out before freezing? Or cook with all ingredients except potatoes and add them In when reheating? Thank you for your help! I can’t wait to make this recipe.
Hi Frieda! So yes, if you don’t like mushy or grainy potatoes, then that’s what I’d do, make the stew without potatoes and freeze the stew that way. Then when you want to serve, thaw the stew in the fridge overnight and cook some potatoes separately, then add them to your stew when reheating it. If you don’t mind mushier potatoes, then just simply cook the recipe as instructed and freeze it that way.
I’m curious, it shows chicken broth in the video but beef broth in the written ingredients. Can either be used?
Beef broth would be preferable but either would work.
So delicious! My kids asked me a hundred times when it was going to be ready because it smells so good. Great recipe, thank you!
I’m so glad you guys liked it!
Awesome recipe 😋 omg!!
I have tried many beef stew recipes but this one is the best. This was absolutely delicious! Very simple recipe.
I’m so glad you like it, Marie!
I do not like stews (especially the broth part) but my husband has not met a stew he didn’t like. I have been on the hunt for a good stew recipe. This one is not just good…. It’s fantastic! I actually really enjoyed the broth! And everything was perfectly tender! And my husband loooooooves it. Says it’s the best beef stew we’ve tried.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
My pleasure, so glad to hear it!
Jo, I have tried many recipes for beef stew, and most of them were very bland and flavorless. I almost gave up on the whole idea, until I received your recipe in my email box. The depth of flavor is superb! My family raved about it! I did make once change which likely made the flavor not as good. I used dried thyme instead of fresh. The flavor got lost as it cooked, or I should have used more than I did. And yet it was still great! Thank you so much!
I’m so happy to hear this! Yes, fresh thyme is great in this stew. 🙂
How do I print it.
There are two print buttons, one in the recipe card, and one at the top of the post.
This looks like a good beef stew but for me it is missing a key ingredient. – Peppers! I like to add a bell pepper and several Hot Hungarian Wax peppers or Hatch Chiles. I also double the amount of onion.
I LOVE BEEF STEW BUT FIND WHEN I FREEZE IT THE POTATOES
GET VERY SOFT AND LOSE SOMETHING IN TASTE SO I DON’T PUT
THEM IN THE FREEZER BAGS AND USE MASHED POTATOES FOR
THE FREEZER STEW.