This Beef Stew Recipe is perfect for the colder weather! Tender beef is simmered in beef broth with potatoes, onions, celery, peas, and carrots until melt in your mouth tender. It’s comfort food heaven!
I serve beef stew with 30 minute dinner rolls or Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits to sop up any gravy in the bottom of the bowl!
Beef stew is a classic dinner staple in so many households around the world. There are soup and stew adaptations of beef stew like my favorite Easy Hamburger Soup and cultural variations like Hungarian Goulash, but this classic beef stew recipe is a favorite for me!
How To Make Beef Stew
Searing the beef pieces before you add the stock makes such a difference in the flavor you get from the soup. It’s really the only chance you have to get that delicious caramelization on the meat!
As the veggies and broth simmer, you will really start to notice the flavors in the stew intensify. Peas cook quickly so I add them in the last few minutes!
This stew recipe is also the perfect way to use up any vegetables you might need to use up. If you’ve got leftover roasted potatoes, glazed carrots or fried mushrooms, just chop ‘em up up and throw them in!
How To Thicken Beef Stew
Beef stew will thicken a bit naturally thanks to the starches in the potatoes and the dredging of the beef, but I always like to thicken it a little bit more.
Stew can be thickened by giving the vegetables a quick mash or you can use either flour or cornstarch. My preferred method for thickening beef stew (and the method used in this beef stew recipe) is to use a cornstarch slurry.
How to Make a Slurry
A slurry is super easy to make! Combine equal parts cornstarch and water and stir. I told you it was easy!!
Pour this mixture a little bit at a time into bubbling soup or stew to thicken until you reach desired consistency. Once your stew is thickened, allow it to boil at least 1-2 minutes to ensure you cook out any starchy flavor.
If left to sit before adding to the soup or stew, a slurry will settle within a couple of minutes so be sure to give it a stir before adding it. I sometimes mix the cornstarch with low sodium (or no sodium) broth instead of water.
Can You Freeze Beef Stew?
Yes, you can absolutely freeze beef stew! I like to freeze it in freezer bags in single servings portions so I can take one portion out for lunches (or four out for dinner)! Defrost overnight in the refrigerator or you can defrost in the microwave (time will vary based on portion size) stirring occasionally.
What To Serve With Beef Stew
Beef stew is super perfect on it’s own; it is a complete meal!
We usually serve it with a bread, biscuit or even Garlic Crescent Rolls to sop up any broth! I also love serving it with mashed potatoes in the bottom of the bowl! Even just some crushed crackers or saltines are all you really need.
More Belly Warming Soups You’ll Love
- Easy Hamburger Soup– Reader favorite!
- Beef Barley Soup
- Hungarian Goulash
- Minestrone Soup – Classic Italian!
- Pasta Fagioli Soup Recipe
- Stuffed Pepper Soup – Easy and delicious!
- Beef Bourguignon Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds stewing beef trimmed and cubed
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil more as needed
- 1 onion chopped
- 6 cups beef broth
- ½ cup red wine optional
- 1 pound potatoes peeled and cubed
- 4 carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 ribs celery cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or as needed
- 2 tablespoons water or as needed
- ¾ cup peas
Instructions
- Combine flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss beef in flour mixture.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Shake off any excess flour from the beef and brown in small batches. Remove and set aside in a bowl.
- Add the onions to the pot, adding more oil as needed, and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add beef broth and red wine while scraping up any brown bits in the pan.
- Stir in browned beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, tomato paste, and rosemary. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until beef is tender (up to 90 minutes).
- Mix equal parts cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Slowly add the slurry to the boiling stew to reach desired consistency (you may not need all of the slurry, if you'd like a thicker stew, you can add extra).
- Stir in peas and simmer 5-10 minutes before serving . Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
It was cold and snowy this weekend and this was the perfect Sunday night dinner! There is even enough leftovers for lunch today! I did use all beef broth instead of adding wine and swapped out the celery for more carrots and potatoes but still so delicious! Thanks for the great recipe! SWP Employee
This sounds so good! Do you think I could make it in a crock pot?
We have this delicious crockpot beef stew recipe that would be perfect for that, Rona!
Loved it! Only added some Dales steak seasoning. Didn’t use the peas because husband complains when I cook with them. Cooked the carrots half an hour before adding the potatoes. It had such a deeply wonderful beef flavor. I’m adding this to my recipe book.
I loved this recipe so much. Can I use Lamb instead of beef and use the exact same recipe?
Hi Joshua, we have only made this recipe as listed but it should work well.
Holly it was amazing Soup and Sandwich are my favourite meals and that stew was simple and delicious!!!!
Easy and delicious!
This was delicious! The red wine & rosemary gave it a very flavorful taste.
Very flavorful. Only, my vegetables cooked in 40 minutes; the meat was still a bit tough, but my potatoes were literally falling apart. So next time I think I’ll let the meat cook for about 20 min by itself and then put the veg in.
So easy and so good. I didn’t have beef broth so used chicken broth, I cooked the veggies with the meat and onions a bit before adding the liquids, and I didn’t make the slurry. Simmered on low for 1.5 hours. Those are my only changes and I would 100% make this again.
So happy to hear that, Katie! Thanks for sharing your substitutions, glad they worked out so well!
I should have known but it needed more salt, very blah. Maybe something else missing too.
It looked good though!
We love this recipe as written, Lyndsay! But you can adjust the spices and salt to your preferences too!
It was good but something seemed to be missing. I added some Worcestershire to it and it then became 5 stars.
Made this for supper tonight and everyone loved it ❤️ Thanks for the delicious recipe. SWP Employee
For thickening sea food chowder and stews I like to use some instant potatoes.
Works quite nicely.
Great tip, thanks for sharing!
So good!!! Great recipe.
Can you put in slow cooker? If so low for 6-8 hours and high for 4-6… also if slow cooker when do u add potatoes
Hi Cheyenne, we have this delicious crockpot beef stew recipe that you should try!
Easy and tasty recipe. Followed another recommendation and added a bay leaf and Worcestershire. The wine may be “optional” but it really does add to the flavor. First recipe Ive made from Spend with Pennies and will try some more – Texas Chili?
The recipe doesn’t specify how long to brown the beef and it ended up extremely tough. I may have gotten poor quality beef but this was my first time cooking with beef so it could totally be my fault. Very delicious broth and vegetables turned out nicely but the beef is almost inedible.
The browning step does not tenderize the beef, it adds flavor. It’s the low and slow cooking that tenderizes. If the beef is tough, the stew likely needed to simmer longer as specified in the notes of the recipe. Hope that helps.
“Beef stew meat is often made from the ends of different cuts of beef. If your beef is not tender after 60 minutes, cover and allow to simmer an additional 15-20 minutes or until tender.”
I use instant potato as a thickener. No flavor change as potato is already in there.
I love your recipes. I go through so many different recipes trying to find the ones like my mom always made and yours always hit the spot. Thank you.
Just picked the first recipe I found online and this is bonkers good! I used a pressure cooker, 12 minutes on high pressure then turned it off and let it de-pressurize while I went down the pub (recommended!) Added peas but no cornflower thickener when reheating and served on its own with some wine (to compliment the wine in the mix!)….Winter? Show your worst! Xxx
Wow this recipe is ultimately amazing … I did change a few things. I don’t drink red wine so I used Red wine vinegar, skipped the peas and cornstarch, I don’t have beef broth, but used korean beef powder and use the same amount of liquid for beef broth … So tangy, full of flavor and deliciously AMAZING!