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
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.
I make my stew with brisket. we buy a big one trim and cut it up for different meals. it make the most tender beef stew meat. works well on stove, crockpot or insta pot.
Hi!
Can I make it in the slow cooker?
I recommend this crock pot beef stew for the slow cooker.
Excellent recipe it’s my go to recipe for stew everytime.
The addition of the red wine is key in my mind it brings the beef flavors to another level.
Thanx for the recipe!
My 18 year-old daughter loves it. It is very good.
I find whenever I make beef stew the meat is hard and chewy, is there a trick to make it tender.
Thanks
Rita
I would suggest using chuck instead of stewing beef (you can cut a roast if needed). With stewing beef, it can take a little bit longer—ensure it cooks at a low boil and if it’s not tender, it likely needs more time. Hope that helps Rita!
First time making beef stew and it was easier than I thought!
Thank you for the recipe, I’ll definitely be making it again! I didn’t have celery so I left it out but it was still great.
Hello,
What kind of peas do you use?
We just use regular green peas for this recipe.
I made it last night for the first time. We LOVED it! We also Frozen some…thank you so very much!
Keeper!! The only change was adding fresh thyme, delicious.
What is the serving size?
A serving is about 1 cup.
what is your recommendation if I wanted to use this recipe in crockpot?
Hey Ashley, I would follow this recipe for Crock Pot Beef Stew recipe. Enjoy!
I don’t currently have red wine I know the flavor may not be as strong should I substitute 1/2 c of water? or just add more beef broth?
I would recommend additional beef broth.
are you using Marsala cooking wine or regular drinking wine
We use a dry red wine for this recipe, any kind you drink will work. I most often use a Cabernet Sauvignon as that’s the wine I usually have at home. Other good options include Chianti, Burgundy, Merlot, Malbec, or Red Zinfandel. You can find some information about cooking with red wine here.
This is a great base recipe.
Season the beef with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder well in advance. Then brown each piece thoroughly in hot oil—don’t crowd the pan and don’t add the onions. Get a dark brown coat on each side of each piece of beef—that is where the flavor comes from.
Brown the onions and celery in the leftover oil and then deglaze the pot with the wine.
I subbed in fresh green beans for peas, and cut back on the carrots, which overly sweeten the stew (to our taste).
Also added a bunch of cremini mushrooms (halved and sautéed), fresh thyme, three bay leaves, and some Worcestershire.
Fam wolfed it down—had to set aside my leftover lunches in advance!
Yum
I am glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your alterations.
I wish I would have watched the video because the directions say to simmer but the video is a definite boil
Hi Lindsey, we simmer the stew for one hour in step 4. When adding the cornstarch & water in step 5 we bring the recipe to a boil. I hope that helps!
Perfect beef stew in under 2 hours!
This was so good!!! I did leave off the rosemary.. just bc we don’t really like it.. but I followed the recipe exactly as written. it’s perfect. Just like my mother used to make ❤️❤️❤️
My husband took one bite and a smile came across his face and he said, “that’s REALLY good!” Does it get any better than that! One thing I did add was frozen corn as well. Other than that I followed it to a tee!
Very cryptic instructions. When am I supposed to pour the slurry in? How long should I let the beef cook? Should I add in broth and veggies all at once? Thankfully the stew turned out great. I just kinda winged the instructions part.
Hi Riley, you can use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post of scroll towards the bottom to find the full ingredients and instructions. I am glad the stew turned out great for you!
What? No button mushrooms?
You can add them if you’d like.
hi my name is Carmen and I have made your recipe so many times and i have not thank you for this amazing site you have created. In a sea of recipes your came across and decided to made it one, two, three and so many more times. I just want to say I appreciate your time and effort. Thank you.
Hi Carmen. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I hope you have a great rest of your day.
Hi Carmen!
I agree with you! I, too, have made this delicious Beef Stew recipe lots of times and had not gotten on here to thank her for sharing this recipe.
As I write this, it’s simmering on the stove!
Oh! I did add dumplings last time I made it and will do so again!! Really good!
Have a nice evening!