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
Beef Stew 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
- 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 and salt & pepper. Toss beef in flour mixture.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot. Cook the beef and onions until browned.
- Add beef broth and red wine while scraping up any brown bits in the pan.
- Stir in all remaining ingredients except for peas, cornstarch and water. 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
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you don’t say how big of a pot to start with staying with your exact quantity of recipe.
I would recommend using a 6QT dutch oven for this recipe.
This was so good. Thank you for the recipe.
This is the go to recipe for a scrumptious beef stew. As a matter of fact spendwithpennies.com has excellent recipes that are both thrifty and delicious. Best cooking site on the web imo.
Anyway, I thought that I would share a tip that my wife followed for years. She would put a slice of garlic bread in the bowl and then cover it with the stew. I’m telling you that the garlic enhances the total flavor of the stew. Give it a try. Thank you for sharing your beef stew recipe. It’s a keeper for sure .
Oooh! That is a delicious tip, thank you for sharing!
This is the best stew recipe I have ever made. We loved it and the red wine gives it that extra flavor.
This was my first beef stew in a long time and it was delicious! I cooked the beef for too long at the start but other than that it’s very flavorful and easy recipe to complete. Thank you!
My son has allergies with tomatoes, any advice for substituting tomatoes? Thx in advance
You can leave the tomato paste out if you prefer.
Turned out great! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
great!
so yummy everyone in the family loved it
I’ve made a lot of beef stews in my life and never really found one that I really thought was 5 star. That is until I made this one. It was amazing and I will be making this one from now on.
I made a slight modification to the recipe, as I didn’t have the celery, so I added about a cup and a half of frozen mixed vegetables (peas, corn, green beans). And I can’t have the red wine so I had to omit this as well.
Made this last night for the first time, it was good except stew meat was still tough despite cooking for a little over an hour. Since I didn’t have broth and wine handy, used water and Worcestershire sauce. Any tips would be helpful. Will definitely try this recipe out again, thanks!
I would try this recipe with broth and wine. It adds so much flavor and helps tenderize the stew meat.
I’ve made stew many times, but never really nailed it until this time following your recipe, timing, and tips. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it, Charlene!
This is absolutely delicious every single time!!! Thank you so much
Thank you for this amazing stew recipe. My family really enjoyed it. Each time I make it, I always add something new or extra. Sometimes I add put Worcestershire sauce, basil, oregano and a bay leaf. Delicious
Bland. Needed a lot of additional flavor. 1-2 inch potato cubes vanished in specified cooking time.
I have a broken leg and can stand for long periods of time so can this stew be made in a crockpot
We use this recipe for the slow cooker.
Second time making this first time was kind of bland. second time I made it I added mccormick’s beef stew seasoning and it was perfect.
We loved the recipe! The only changes I made were adding a tablespoon of worsterchire sauce & extra slurry for a thicker stew.
trying this one tomorrow!
Thank you our K9 unit loves this recipe. we eat it and our k9s eat it as well. there’s never any left overs. we use xantham gum because it’s healthy and ok for our pups.
Have tried a lot of beef stew recipes, this one by far is favorite!
made the beef stew tonight and it was fabulous. I did the corn starch slurry to thicken it a bit and I added mushrooms which was a nice addition. thank you.