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 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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A wonderful recipe. I made my own bone broth also, by roasting the meat and vegetables before simmering. Cooled it, skimmed off the fat and it was perfect for this stew. So delicious. Thanks so much.
Bless you, Dear
I made this beef stew for dinner tonight, and my family loved it! I removed the casing from two Italian sausages and browned it with the onions. I also added a tablespoon of roasted red pepper paste. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
I love the Beef Stew recipe. I’ve made it a few times. I prefer Chuck meat over Angus. Fattier meat adds more flavor. And I add parsnips to the veggies- great flavor. Thank you for your recipes!
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and will be making it again this week. It is the best beef stew recipe I have ever made! The only changes I made were to omit the celery and changed the chopped onions for frozen pearl onions, both personal preferences. It makes a lot and freezes beautifully! Delicious!
After browning the beef in the olive oil, with the beef being coated in the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper mixture, does one abandon the rest of the residual dry mixture?
Yes Bruce, there is no need for the rest of the dry mixture. Enjoy!
This recipe is absolutely perfect! I didn’t change anything except I used a homemade “beef stew powder” instead of broth. My husband said we should put it in our dinner rotation.
I did exactly what this recipe instructed and my potatoes were not even close to cooked after an hour. Shouldn’t it have been brought to a boil before turning down to medium low so the potatoes cook?
Hi Ari, this recipe says to keep it at a simmer which is when small bubbles are forming at the surface. If you were not seeing these bubbles it was likely not at a high enough temperature. The recipe also mentions it could take up to 90 minutes at this step. I hope this helps!
Same thing happened to me. But after 1.5 hours they were perfect and beginning to break down a little, to thicken the sauce beautifully.
Loved this recipe! Made a couple of adjustments. Once onions were also softened added the tomato paste and cooked for about 5 minutes to get rid of the raw taste. Then added the wine and cooked down for about 10 minutes to cook out the alcohol before adding the beef broth. Other than those tweaks, it was delicious 😁
this is divine! I simmered beef by itself for 45 minutes before adding the veggies. after that, I used an immersion blender to puree some of the veggies and also did the cornstarch slurry.
added Worcestershire sauce, too.
give this recipe proper time and it will be worth it!
I love this recipe! Alterations I did were to add mushrooms, steakhouse seasoning, minced garlic, catsup instead of tomato paste, and Kitchen Bouquet. One of the best tricks my ma taught me was to thicken soups, chowders, and stews with Idahoan Instant Potato Flakes. At the end of cooking, with stew at a boil, sprinkle in the flakes while stirring. Thickening happens quickly, and the flakes do not change the taste of the stew. Easy peasy!
This recipe is delicious! I added a teaspoon of beef base other than that followed the recipe 100%
So good!