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.
just made this with a sub to beef base i used chicken base and 2x the beef a,nd it was amazing people searched beef stew and made the one that took the least amount of time. People need to realize flavor is there if you follow the directionsand scrape the burnt onion and beef off the bottom
So glad you enjoyed it, Josh!
Do I really need to put the tomato paste In the stew.
You can skip it if you’d like, it does add extra flavor.
Yes, you do! I cant explain it. But you definitely need it. I leave out the red wine if I don’t have any. But when I’ve left out the tomato paste it was blah.
Hi Pam, I totally get your reluctance to use tomato paste..But Holly is right. It just adds depth of flavor ..
not a tomatoes taste. I brown my tomato paste in a bare spot in the pan, before adding in the wine. Then add the wine, scrape the brown bits up. ADD the broth.. I find that buying the tomato paste in a tube( same isle as tomato paste top shelf) works great for adding to recipes that do not need a full 6 oz can is a life saver. Good luck.
We really like this Stu. It is rather on the bland side so I used two brown gravy packets to thicken in addition to the slurry, it added just the right amount of flavor for us. Everyone has different tastes but this Stu is a wonderful recipe so you can adjust flavors however you want. This is the first time I’ve made Stu on the stove top so that was fun
Pretty plain with not a lot of flavour
Oh no! I am sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t turn out as expected for you.
The stew turned out very good. I simmered the meat for about an hour before I added potatoes and veggies. Total cook time 2 hours. Meat was very tender and veggies were not over cooked.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Greg!
I was craving a hearty, flavorful stew and this missed the mark. Not sure what it is missing. It came out a bit bland. My husband added au jus to his bowl and he said it seasoned it up. The stew wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing. Would like to try to make it again but definitely need to try to add more seasoning or something.
Oh no! I am sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t turn out as expected for you.
Amazing!!
I added a tablespoon of the beef bouillon paste for a deeper flavor and some minced garlic. my butcher gave me prime boneless chuck. I adjusted the ingredients slightly because I had more more meat. it is still cooking, but the base tasted AMAZING!! so excited for it. Question is can it be put in the oven to finish and what temp and roughly how long? I remember my mother doing it like that and so far it bring back memories of her ❤️!!
I am so happy to hear you loved this recipe Anne!
While I haven’t cooked this particular recipe in the oven, our beef bourguignon is an oven stew. I would suggest following the cooking method in the beef bourguignon recipe here
Made this tonight. It’s delicious!
Can you pressure cook this in an instant pot?
Hey Carolyn, we have this delicious Instant Pot Beef Stew that sounds perfect for you!
The meat was nice and tender but the recipe lacks allot of flavor.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Aleylani. I would love to hear how you spice it up!
Great recipe! Added some mushrooms but on point.
beef stew is delicious. added green beans too.
I don’t usually comment a recipe but I feel the need. This was absolutely delicious!! The only thing I changed was that I added green beans instead of peas. I’m a fan of peas but my family is not. Thank you, will definitely make again!
Solo puedo decir que escoji. la receta perfecta. me quedo. super. deliciosos. gracias.
callo de perla
I felt like there was not much depth of flavor with this recipe. I added garlic more onion and a dash or two of Worcestershire.
Disagree. Delicious
Can you freeze the stew?
Hi Harvey. Yes, this stew freezes well.
Delicious! I’ve been feeling ill and craving something easy and filling, so I found this recipe. Just finished my first bowl while the rest of the batch is cooking, it’s so good! Not too salty, the beef is tender, and the red wine adds a depth of flavor that compliments the carrots and beef. Now, can someone come do my dishes while I take a nap? lol
Delicious Stew!!!! I followed your recipe but after cooking for 60 plus years – I measured the ingredients from the heart. Turned out fabulous! Thank you!
it was so yummy and easy to make