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
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Looking forward to trying the stew recipe looks very simple and looks very wonderful again can’t wait to try thanks
Let us know how you like it Brenda!
Love this recipe
So happy to hear that!
Going to try the recipe today
Let us know what you think of it Melinda!
Just signed up. Looking forward to new and exciting dishes to fix
I hope you love them all Virginia!
I love this Beef Stew, very good and filling
I am thrilled that you enjoyed the stew Michael!
Love easy recipes
Thanks Jeanie!
I have tried several of these Recipes and they are great
That’s great Dennis! Happy to hear that!
I want to make something similar. My dad just had his back teeth removed dew to cancer, do you think the meat would be soft enough for him to pull apart easy?
While I can’t say for sure, stewing beef can have different cuts of meat. I would suggest using a chuck roast and cutting your own beef cubes and cooking until very tender. You may want to increase cook time. I hope that helps.
Great recipes
Thanks Mary!
Could you please send a copy of your beef stew to me it looks delicious .
Thank you
Joyce
You’ll find the beef stew recipe here Joyce! Enjoy!
Great recipes
Enjoy Debbie!
Made this today for dinner. I used stee meat & doubled the recipe. Served over rice & made hot rolls on the side. Thank u for sharing!! It was delish def a keeper & will absolutely make again & again
Yay! Glad you found a keeper Renee! Enjoy.
Fabulous fabulous delicious tender beef stew! I love this food blog because almost ALL ingredients are in my pantry or fridge. Universal ingredients. This beef stew is soo delicious it will be on repeat. The flavors are outstanding for the simple ingredients it requires and so heartwarming on a rainy day like today! Thanks for making cooking so easy and yet scrumptious!
Thank you so much Diana! We love heartwarming dishes like this on rainy days too. Glad you enjoyed it!
What a great recipe! Flavors were delish! The only thing I left out was the peas. To me, they’re gross! Lol
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Dawn!
Plan to make it this weekend but have a couple questions. It says you seared the meet with onions first but no onion is listed in the ingredients. What type of onion did you use and how much? Also, it looks as though you garnished it at the end with something. What was it? Looking forward to making this!!
Onion is listed in the ingredients just before the red wine. I garnish with parsley for color. Enjoy!
I made this recipe expecting very little, as other stews I’ve made in the past were just edible. This. This recipe is THE ONE. if this stew were a man I’d leave my family for him. We served it with corn bread. This is our go to stew now.
LOL! Lisa your comment made my week! :) So glad you loved this stew as much as we do!
Looks great
I hope you love the recipe when you try it Geno!
This looks lovely! I’ll try it this weekend, thanks!
I hope you love it Bruno!
This was delicious! I can’t thank you enough for sharing your recipes with us. You have certainly rekindled a love for cooking.
My family thanks you every time I attempt a new recipe!
Thank you so much for your kind words Kim! You have made my day!
Super excited to try this recipe
Enjoy Mel, it’s one of our all time favorites!