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 made this recipe for dinner last night. The only changes I made were to quarter the onions (I prefer large chucks), omit the celery and because I didn’t have beef boullion cubes I used a tablespoon of better than boullion from a jar. It was fantastic. This is definitely going in my menu rotation.
delicious! everyone had seconds. Will definitely go into our dinner rotation. makes enough for another meal!
Very good dish! My husband loved it. It wasn’t as thick as I like but I will adjust that next time.
My husband said it’s the best beef stew I’ve made!
First time cooking the directions definitely leave much to be desired. Do yourself a favor and watch the video before cooking.
Hi Nathaniel, the full recipe can be found at the bottom of the post or you can use the “jump to recipe” button at the top. I hope that helps!
This recipe was soooo hearty and delicious! Me & my husband can’t wait to have it again!
I make this several times a month in the winter. I make exactly except I use ketchup instead of tomato paste. I also put a dash of Worcestershire sauce in it.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was extremely easy to prepare and very tasty! Made a lot and we are happy to have some leftovers to freeze for an easy dinner another time.
This stew was so bland and so terrible that I had to dump it all out. It was absolutely terrible.
Oh no! I am sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t turn out as expected for you.
We have always served this over egg noodles!
I made this stew for the first time and it turned out great! I have never been satisfied with any stew I made until now.
This is the best stew I’ve ever made. The rosemary is the difference!
Absolutely amazing stew. Made it just like the recipe said. A+
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing! It was a family winner & is getting added to our favorites list!
I made two small tweaks.
1- I thought I had cornstarch and didn’t so I made a beurre manie (butter flour roux). For anyone in a pinch it was in separate pan over low heat- 3 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp butter, 2 or more tbsp water – whisk whisk- add to stew as thickener.
2- I also used baby potatoes cut in small chunks & only used little over 1/2 lb- eyeballed. In our opinion- This really allowed to let the meat be the star of this meal.
It was really tasty family loved it
this Beef Stew is the best I’ve ever had!
idk who made this but it is NASTY! I will never make this t again.
If you thought this recipe was awful, then you didnt make it correctly. look at 10 other recipes…..they are all similar and have rave reviews. Perhaps you didnt let the wine cook out enough or rushed the process of letting it simmer. Although the recipe gives times, all meat is different and you have to adjust. Give it another try. Go slow and it will be great.
Every other review is 5 stars so you, obviously, did something wrong. Personally, I think your comment is NASTY.
This is my go-to stew recipe. Everyone in my family LOVES it!!! Bless your heart.
Came out delicious! Served it with a rustic bread and everyone loved it!
Absolutely delicious! I used a chuck roast, red potatoes , I substituted the peas for green beans (added half way through my 90 mins simmer) I also added onion powder, and substituted the red wine with extra beef broth.
If you do it in a pressure cooker it only takes 30minutes and the beef will melt in your mouth.
Hi me123, thank you for the pressure cooker tip! My insta pot is one of my favorite methods of cooking though I’ve made this recipe multiple times on the stovetop. I’ll give your suggestion a try!