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.
Love this recipe.! Made countless times. I’ve altered some ingredients & ratios to fit our house but use this as the base. I have to say though. 10 minutes in prep time!? With all these chopped veggies!? Major underestimate. The quickest I’ve ever prepared all these ingredients was no less than 30 mins & that was rushing. It’s a good 45 minutes for sure. To gather, clean, peel, chop, brown the meat… The cooking time only allots for once everything is in the pot & simmering. This recipe takes MUCH longer than 1 hr 20 mins. Dinner was an hour and a half late the 1st time I made this. Now I know to give it the extra time. But it’s WORTH IT! Great recipe!
Made this for dinner. Was very delicious and filling! The rosemary and red wine gave it beautiful flavor.
when does the tomato paste go in?
It is added in step four with all remaining ingredients Kelly :)
What can I do if I don’t have tomato paste
You could add some tomato sauce or puree to keep the tomato flavor or you could skip it entirely Lori.
Excellent Beef Stew recipe!!!!
I use only fresh ingredients in my Beef Stew
& Grands butter biscuits with real honey
This was delicious. I made it like a roast and just cut the thing in four pieces and browned those. Didnt chop anything else up but used red potatoes, washed, threw in whole. 8 hours on low in a crockpot. We just loved it and will make again.
I just loved all these recipes
Great recipe. I added 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and doubled peas. It was fantastic! It reminded me of the stew my Mom made when I was growing up. My whole family loved it as well. It is a keeper for me. Thank you
Sorry to say, I was disappointed. Prep time was inaccurate ( unless you have knife skills that equal a professional chef). Broth and veggies were flavorful but slurry is definitely needed prior to serving and, despite dredge and cooking per recipe, the meat ( and stew meat is no longer inexpensive ) was very tough. My search for flavorful beef stew continues.
Sorry to hear that Maureen, this recipe always turns out great for us. You do add a slurry to thicken the recipe is Step 5 but you can definitely add additional towards the end if you prefer!
This is going to be my Super Bowl Special. Simple, yet all the great flavors of a beef stew and I’ll bet it’s better the next day!!!
I am serving 200 people this stew for St Patrick’s Day. I’ve made it for just family and they love it. Can you give me any ideas to do this for that many people especially amounts. I’ve figured most of it but any help would be appreciated.
So glad your family loved it Joanne! While I haven’t tried this in really big batches, I would suggest that you leave plenty of extra time to ensure that the stew has time to simmer and the beef can tenderize. Let us know how it goes!
Looking forward to new recipes
Hello! I’m planning to make this next week. I’m going to substitute corn for the peas. Did you use canned or frozen in this recipe? Thanks!
I use frozen.
I made this yesterday .I doubled the recipe so I could freeze it for something to eat through out the month. I have no idea what I did wrong though because once i was fone the meat disappeared as in where’s the beef!!!. I used 5 and a half pounds of meat and still it got over whelmed by the potatos and carrots and broth I even stirred it before serving and got on pieice of meat..lo roommate got two out of a bowl. I measured the brother but I am not sure what could of went wrong.
I can’t say for sure where the beef went as the recipe calls for only 2 lbs and you used 5½ lbs (doubling the recipe you would’ve only needed 4lbs), there should have been plenty. If the beef was overcooked perhaps it broke down into the broth.
So good Loved the rosemary and garlic My husband and in-laws loved it too
Excellent flavor. This is a perfect recipe. My husband loved it
Wonderful recipe and so easy. I followed the recipe almost to the letter other than the red wine, I just poured till I felt comfortable! It turned out great with wonderful flavor and with minimal ingredients. My wife loved it and told me to “Keep this recipe” for later. Tonight I will use this recipe in “Campfire HoBo stew” in the oven using Farm fresh lean ground beef.
It will take a little adaptation but I am sure it will be very good.
Love the stew idea, I bet it’ll be delicious!
What kind of red wine did you use? Also, the recipe says to brown the meat and onions but onions are not in the ingredient list..
I usually use a cabernet as that’s what I usually have on hand. The onion is listed right above the red wine in the ingredients list.
Made this yesterday and my husband and I loved it. Very tasty, hearty, perfect proportions of meat and vegetables. We have several family members coming to visit over the next couple of months and I will proudly serve this each chance I get. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe!!
Thank you so much Sandi!
Best recipe I’ve found for Beef Stew. Flavorful, filling, perfect. I even substitute turnips instead of potatoes to cut back on the carbs.
This was an excellent recipe. I did modify it slightly. I used elk meat, and added a bit of oregano and Italian seasoning. I also cooked it in a crockpot for about 6 hours. Excellent!!