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.
Made this recipe tonight for dinner. Only thing I changed was added two bay leafs and instead of 1/2 cup wine just used more beef broth. I also took the veggies out after about 40 min because they would have gotten over done. Next time I will put them in the last 30 min or so. Great recipe the family loved it.
Thank you for sharing Monica. I’m happy to hear your family loved the stew!
Great winter recipe!! I did substitute the beer for the red wine, just my preference when making beef stew. I’ve never found 1 to 1 1/2 hours cooking time sufficient for really tender beef so I I simmered the stew in my covered dutch oven for 4 hours. No slurry was needed. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Thank you for your tips Kathy! I’m glad you enjoyed the stew!
I made this last night and my family went crazy for it! I almost skipped the wine, but at the last minute, I found an unopened bottle hidden in my cabinet and figured I might as well open it. DO NOT SKIP THE WINE. It’s really what makes this beef stew better than any other recipe I’ve ever had. Between that and the rosemary, we could keep out of the pot to keep sneaking bites. We omitted the peas since I don’t like them, but other than that, this recipe is absolutely perfect. I did brown the beef in batches separately before adding any onions. After all the beef was browned, I added it back into the pot with the uncooked onions. The sear on the beef really added to the depth of flavor, so I’d highly recommend searing first. If the beef is overcrowded, it will brown but not sear, and you will miss the yummy crust that forms.
Also, I served with a chunk of crusty bread to sop up the juice. Heavenly.
Yes, we don’t want to miss the bread part!
Love that your family went crazy for the stew Jill! Thank you for sharing!
Used cabernet sauvignon. Next time I’ll increase the vegetables. Excellent recipe!
Thank you Don!
Made this for the family, and it was a HIT!
My wife, teenagers, and my youngest all loved it.
Great recipe
Hi Gus, happy you guys loved it! Definitely great for winter.
I made this dish for me and the wife and I have to say that it was perfect. I grabbed 3 lbs of round steak so I would have consistent beef. I didn’t want cuts from different types of beef. The flavors we’re amazing and all distinctive. We enjoyed it 2 days straight and I took some for lunch.
I am so glad you loved it Rob! It’s one of our favorites too!
Absolutely delicious! I’ve adopted this as one of my family favorites now. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you loved it Monica!
Hi, I am making this right now and wanted to know if there is any substitute for the constarch? We don’t have any here at my workplace
You can make a roux with flour if you have that handy?
I added broccoli and corn. Best way to get my boys to eat their veggies.
When recipes call for wine, will the flavor change if I don’t use it?
Besides leaving out the wine, while using either chicken or beef broth, what other alternative can be used instead of wine?
The flavor will change slightly but this recipe is still great without! It just adds a bit of richness.
Substitutes for red wine in recipes can be a bit of red grape juice or a touch of vinegar. In this particular recipe, I would leave it out. Enjoy!
I am going to try this one. I am a mature student. And really don’t have time to cook. So tks for making stuff easy to whip up.
Enjoy Peter!
Hi can I omit the corn starch and either use flour or not at all?
This looks scrumptious, I must make it!
Omitting the cornstarch or using flour in it’s place will change the consistency, but it will still taste delicious!
Only 10 minutes prep time? I doubt it.
my mother always used bisto to thicken stew,were from united kingdom not sure if you can get it were you are,,it not only thickens it but it makes it so yummy and rich brown color its a must if you can get it
Yum, I love adding Bisto to my gravies so I’m sure it would be great in stew too!
Love your recipes I’ll be eating your beef stew in summer can’t wait for winter
Thank you Terry :)
Great recipe! Tried and it tasted perfect
Happy to hear you love the stew CJ!
Killer recipie, Holly. I like to add my own personal touches. Rosemary can be very strong in this recipie, I put too much in thinking you hadn’t suggested enough. My bad. Still good, though. Also, instead of garlic powder in the flour mix, you could mince, very fine, a couple cloves and sautee them with the onions and beef. Now, when you prepare the beef, prepare it like a steak, rinse the cubes in cool water then pat dry with a paper towel, then add salt and pepper to lock n the juices. Make sure you have fresh slices of buttered baguette to dip. Mmmm magnifique! Perfect recpie, though. Thank you so much!!!
So glad you enjoyed it Jake! Love your suggestions… and definitely bread for dipping!
Do you have a different herb you would recommend to switch out the rosemary with. Long story but I cannot take recipes with rosemary in it.
Thanks!
I would suggest thyme (perhaps ½ teaspoon) or a bit of paprika. I haven’t tried either but think they would also go well, let us know how it works out!
I made this stew last night. It was delicious! I followed the directions exactly. I’m not a wine drinker, so I went and bought some inexpensive Pinot Noir to use. My husband drank the wine with dinner and said it was really good, so I’ll use that again. The only thing I’ll do differently next time is add more potatoes, just because they’re my favorite part and I thought it could use more.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sarah!
I noticed someone asked if we should use cooking wine, or drinking wine. Well I was actually wondering the same thing. I noticed you said to use drinking wine after I had already bought the cooking wine, lol. Will it still turn out the same? Or should I go out an buy drinking wine? I’m not a wine drinker, so I didn’t no if I should bother even going out an getting it. Thank you!
Regular wine has a stronger, finer flavor. Cooking wine gives you the needed flavors but isn’t as palatable as a drink. Cooking wine will work for this recipe.