The Best Homemade Beef Stew

Beef Stew is a classic comfort food that warms both the body and soul. Tender bites of stew meat are served in a rich, savory broth with a medley of veggies like mushrooms, potatoes, peas, carrots and more. Serve your stew with some mashed potatoes and find yourself craving seconds, even though you’ll be too full to actually eat more!

I feel like everyone’s got a trusty old fashioned Beef Stew recipe that they’ve depended on for years! It’s just one of those weeknight dinners that always gets the whole family gathered around the table and leaving with full bellies.

It’s an easy to make comfort food staple that I know I can always give even the pickiest of eaters! Even my most staunch picky eaters get their protein and veggie fix with this recipe.

I’ve been making this family recipe for years. While it’s a favorite of mine during the chillier seasons, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t whip it up during the summer sometimes, as well!

It’s just impossible not to crave. The tender beef and veggies are served in the most mouthwatering homemade brown sauce that coats every bite to absolute perfection.

That’s the biggest reason Beef Stew should always be served with mashed potatoes – you don’t want to waste a single drop of that sauce! Ingredients like beef stock, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce make every savory bite better than the last.

Fresh Ingredients To Get Started

• Beef – Beef Stew Meat or a boneless beef chuck roast are best for beef stew. They’re a tougher cut of meat with great marbling providing the most flavorful stew imaginable. Beef Short Ribs work well, too.
• Vegetables – You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand but for this classic beef stew recipe we use fresh celery, fresh carrots, mushrooms, onions and potatoes. You can use diced onion or frozen pearl onions, I think the pearl onions add a nice pop of flavor. I love to use baby Yukon gold potatoes because they hold up well during the long cook time. Don’t forget the peas, fresh or frozen peas add color and pop.
• Seasoning – Simply seasoned with fresh garlic cloves, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, bay leaves, kosher salt and black pepper.
• Flour – Dredging the beef in flour helps thicken the stew at the end without having to make a roux. We still use a cornstarch slurry at the end to make a thicker stew but you can skip this step if you like it more soupy.
• Beef Stock – I like to use homemade beef stock for richer flavor but you can use your favorite beef stock, beef broth or even beef bone broth.
• Wine – Red wine provides great depth of flavor and helps deglaze the pan using up the browned bits, or fond, on the bottom of the pan. If you prefer to cook without red wine, you can use apple cider or apple juice instead.
• Worcestershire sauce – For added umami, Worcestershire sauce amplifies the beef flavor in the stew. You can substitute with soy sauce, coconut aminos or fish sauce.

For the full ingredient list and instructions, see the recipe card below.

How to Make Beef Stew

While this traditional Beef Stew recipe takes a while to cook, the recipe is still easy as can be. Just be warned… your kitchen will smell SO GOOD while that pot’s on the stove top!

1. Prepare the meat. Gently pat the stew meat dry with a paper towel. Whisk together the flour and seasonings, then toss the meat with that mixture to coat.
2. Brown the meat. Heat your pot, or large dutch oven, over medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil and add the meat. Brown on all sides. Transfer the meat to a platter and keep warm. Work in batches if needed.
3. Add the veggies. Over medium heat, cook the onions, carrots, and celery in the pot for about 3-4 minutes of cooking time. Stir in the baby potatoes, mushrooms, and garlic and cook for about 5 more minutes.
4. Stir in more ingredients. Add the tomato paste and Italian seasoning. Stir to coat the veggies and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the red wine. Cook until reduced by half, scraping up the brown bits as you go. Pour in the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf and peas.
5. Cook the stew. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low. Cover and cook for an hour and a half to two hours over low heat until the beef is fork tender.
6. Thicken the stew. Stir together the butter and cornstarch. Add this mixture to the stew, stirring until thickened.

Note: You can use this same recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Stew by transferring all the ingredients to a crock pot after Step 3.

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How To Store Leftovers

Once the stew has fully cooled to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container and keep it stored in the fridge for about 3-4 days. The best part? It reheats so well in the microwave! Just zap your leftovers in 30 second intervals, stirring each time it stops until warmed all the way through.

What kind of red wine should I use?

I recommend using a dry red wine like Pinot Noir or Merlot. Avoid sweeter wines, as they will inevitably lend a sweeter flavor to the otherwise savory broth. If you want to omit the wine entirely, just replace it with equal parts beef broth.

Speaking of, make sure you get the best flavor when you use Homemade Beef Stock!

Serving Suggestions

• Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
• Best Buttered Noodles
• Harvest Arugula Salad
• The Best Brioche Bread

Get the Recipe: Easy Beef Stew Recipe

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 2 hours hrs

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Rich, hearty Beef Stew is super flavorful and loaded with tender, melt in your mouth beef, veggies and potatoes swimming in a wine spiked stew.

5 from 3 votes

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 pounds beef stew meat, or chuck roast cut into 1 inch cubes
• ▢ 1/4 cup flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon onion powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 8 ounces frozen pearl onions, thawed
• ▢ 3 medium carrots, chopped
• ▢ 3 celery stalks, chopped
• ▢ 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, sliced in half
• ▢ 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced in half
• ▢ 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• ▢ 1 cup red wine
• ▢ 3 1/2 cups beef stock
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• ▢ 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Equipment

• ▢
  1 dutch oven

Instructions 

• Pat the stew meat dry with a paper towel and place in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle the flour mixture over the stew meat and toss to coat.
• Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat.
• Add half the stew meat to the pot and brown on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef cubes to a platter and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining stew meat and then transfer to the platter.
• Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Stir in the potatoes, mushrooms and garlic. Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften.
• Add the tomato paste and Italian seasoning stirring to coat the vegetables with the tomato paste. Continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes until the tomato paste begins to darken.
• Stir in the red wine and cook until reduced by half scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
• Add the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and peas to the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Return the beef to the pot.
• Cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
• Stir together the butter and cornstarch until smooth. Add the mixture to the beef stew stirring until the stew begins to thicken.
• Continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes, uncovered, until thickened.
• Serve immediately over egg noodles, with crusty bread or over mashed potatoes.

Video

Notes

Oven directions: If you don’t want to cook the stew on the stovetop or in the oven, transfer an oven safe dutch oven to a 300˚F oven and cook for 2-3 hours. Add the slurry at the end, stir until thickened and serve with crusty bread.

Freezer Instructions: To freeze beef stew, transfer to a freezer safe container and cool until warm. Seal and transfer to the freezer for up to 3 months.

Calories: 408kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 82mg, Sodium: 592mg, Potassium: 1351mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 4347IU, Vitamin C: 29mg, Calcium: 108mg, Iron: 5mg

Author: Kellie

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Cozy up with more of these comfort food classics!

• Easy Mulligan Stew
• Beef and Noodles
• Beef Tips and Gravy
• Jambalaya
• Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Brunswick Stew
• Chicken Stew
• Cowboy Stew

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