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.
delicious
It was tasty, nothing remarkably out of this world, but good – but I came up with the same problem as always – not enough meat – searching for chinks of beef. I’d increase the amount of beef chunks.
Now ya know – add more beef if that’s what you like
Bland flavor and far too much broth making this more like a soup than a stew. Not enough salt, pepper nor any other seasonings to make this notable.
Will follow other recipes that achieve thicker more flavorful stews.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe. Thank you for trying it.
So, umm…. add more salt, pepper and any seasonings YOU like. I would suggest you add a few good dabs of ketchup.
I made this today, and it is delicious! I tripled the recipe in order to share with family. It is perfect in this freezing weather we are having! I used 2 lbs lean stew meat, and cut up a 3.7 lb chuck roast. I browned the meat as directed. It was time consuming, but SO worth it! I added a few Bay leaves, thyme, garlic paste, and a little worstershire. Did not have tomato paste or red wine. But it is the best I have ever made! Thank you for the recipe! It is a keeper!
If I cook earlier in the day, can I leave in Dutch oven on warm until ready to serve? Should I wait to add peas if so?? Or should I cook ,cool and refrigerate??
I would cook, cool, and refrigerate. And I would add the peas when reheating and simmer 5-10 minutes before serving.
Going to use venison instead of beef.
Don’t have any red wine, will splash of red wine vinegar suffice?
Hi Dennis, you can replace the red wine with additional beef broth if you prefer.
Thank you
Made this for our family lastnight and they LOVED it!!! I thought the vegetables wouldn’t be cooked thoroughly, but they were. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Love this recipe made it twice!
yummy ❤️ 😋
recipes look great 👍
Can I use chuck roast for this? I got it to use in your pot roast recipe, but now I’m thinking about trying this instead!
Hi Lacey, chuck roast works well in this recipe. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Made this again and it’s hands down the best beef stew I have ever made! Thanks for such a delicious recipe 😋
This beef strew recipe is so delicious. It is perfect to warm up with this freezing weather in New York.
While this is a perfect recipe, we added a bay leaf, 1 T of It’s Better Than Beef Bouillon, and 1 tsp. of Thyme – all flavor enhancers. We really enjoyed it and are happy we have leftovers. We are making your Buttermilk Biscuit recipe tonight to go with it. Yummy!
Loved this recipe! I cooked it in the InstaPot for 35 mins on high and then let it naturally release for 10 mins. The beef was fall apart tender and all the veggies were cooked to perfection. 10/10 will make again!
I haven’t made this yet, but plan to make it this weekend. Did you cook the meat prior to putting it in the InstaPot or did you put everything in the InstaPot raw? Thanks!
Hi Michelle, we have this delicious Instant Pot recipe that you could follow.
Looking forward to making this! My mother used to make a similar one when we were younger only it had mini shell pasta in it. If I were to do this, when would I add the pasta and would I precook it or let it good in the stew? Thank you!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. I would lean towards precooking it and then adding it in the last few minutes just so it heats through. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Two pounds of meat for eight people?
Yes, this is correct. Enjoy Jerry!
I was lazy and used two packets of low sodium-gravy as my beef stock but I followed the recipe otherwise but it was so good. It’s so good that I am actually copying this recipe down so I don’t forget.
Could you do this in the crockpot? Can’t wait to try!
Hi Tori, I do have a crockpot beef stew recipe. Let us know how it turns out.
Delicious stew especially on a very cold day like today. Thank you for the recipe.