Beef Stew is simple fare – but it’s a stunner! With meltingly tender beef, you’ll love the deep flavour of the sauce in this beef stew recipe
Economical and hearty, there’s no better way to see out the colder months. Let it simmer away slowly on the stove or oven, speed things up using your pressure cooker, or set and forget with your slow cooker!
This Beef Stew recipe has originally published April 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters in January 2019 – no change to recipe!
Just a really good Beef Stew recipe!
The Queen of Brown Food strikes again. Back to back brown foods, possibly the two MOST brown foods in the world – a curry on Friday, and now Beef Stew today.
*Head smack* I will never be a magazine editor. Can you imagine? Page after page after page of brown, saucy goodness….. (*she cheers at the vision, you groan at the thought! 😂)
A well made beef stew is a thing of beauty. While it’s easy to make, it takes a little more than just “chucking it all in a pot” (or instant pot) then leaving it to simmer until the beef is tender.
How to make Beef Stew
- Best beef for beef stew is chuck beef. Because it’s nicely marbled with fat, it’s the best beef for braising for hours – it’s got terrific flavour, is juicy and beautifully tender. Boneless beef rib also works very well. Whatever beef you use, use big pieces so they don’t cook too quickly – Beef Stew needs time for the flavour to develop.
- Sear the beef well on all sides – in batches, because if you cram them all in at the same time, they will steam and won’t brown well.
- Sauté onion, garlic, carrots and celery in the beef drippings so they soak up extra flavour.
- Add beef stew sauce ingredients – beef broth, red wine (great for extra flavour, but can be skipped), Worcestershire sauce (savouriness and depth), flour (to thicken) and tomato paste (to thicken + a touch of sour to balance richness).
- Add potatoes, bay leaves and thyme. The liquid will be covering the ingredients at this stage.
- Simmer for 1.5 – 2 hours covered, until the beef is almost fall apart tender.
- Simmer for a further 30 minutes without the lid to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken.
Make this Beef Stew on the stove – oven, pressure cooker OR slow cooker!
I usually make Beef Stew on the stove, but I’ve been known to rush it using a pressure cooker. Using the slow cooker is also really convenient, and sometimes I will use the oven, especially if I’m doing a bunch of other stuff on the stove. Directions provided for all!
Key tip: Brown the beef well
The better the browning, the more brown stuff you have stuck on the bottom of the pot* = better sauce flavour with a deeper, richer colour. You’ll see in the recipe video how the base of my pot is basically entirely dark brown when I finish browning the beef.
* The brown stuff is called fond and whenever you sear meat, fish or prawns/shrimp in the pan, you should do everything in your power to use it in a sauce or similar because it’s flavour, flavour, flavour!
What to serve with Beef Stew
I personally don’t serve stew with anything other than mashed potato. I know, I know, I’m sooo boring! 😂 Here are some other options for those of you who aren’t as straight as me:
- Cauliflower Mash – for a low carb alternative
- Mashed Sweet Potato or other mashed veggies (sweet potato, parsnip, pumpkin or other root vegetables)
- Polenta
- Rice
- Bread. Yep, a big steaming bowl of stew with a hunk of crusty bread – YUM!
Enjoy! – Nagi x
More cosy Stews
- Crispy Chicken Stew
- Pot Roast
- Irish Beef & Guinness Stew
- Coq au Vin
- Chicken in White Wine Sauce
- Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks in Red Wine Sauce
- Chilli Con Carne
- Browse Winter Warmers recipe collection
More slow cooked fall-apart meat
I’m a big fan of slow cooked meats!!
- Fall-apart Beef Ribs in Red Wine Sauce
- Shredded Beef Ragu
- Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce or Port Braised
- Slow Roasted Lamb Leg or Lamb Shoulder
- Browse the Winter Comfort Food collection!
Beef Stew recipe
Watch how to make it
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Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg / 2.4lb chuck beef , cut into 3.5 cm / 1.5" cubes (Note 1)
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil , divided
- 1 large onion , halved then cut into 1 cm / 2/5" slices
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 carrots , cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces on the diagonal
- 2 celery stalks , cut into 2.5 cm / 1" pieces
- 1/3 cup / 50g flour
- 3 cups / 750ml beef broth , salt reduced
- 2 cups / 500 ml red wine , bold and dry (Cab Sauv, Burgundy, Merlot) (Note 2)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves , fresh or dried
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 400 g / 14 oz baby potatoes , halved
- More salt and pepper , to taste.
Instructions
- Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy based casserole pot over high heat until just starting to smoke.
- Add 1/3 of the beef and brown aggressively all over - about 4 minutes. Remove to bowl and repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if required.
- Turn down heat to medium high. Add 1 tbsp oil if required. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes until onion is softened slightly and golden on the edge.
- Add carrot and celery, stir for 1 minute to coat in flavours.
- Sprinkle flour evenly across surface, then stir to coat.
- Add broth, red wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to dissolve tomato paste and flour into liquid.
- Add cooked beef (including any juices), thyme, bay leaf and potato. Stir. Water level should almost fully cover everything (see video), if not, add a touch of water.
- Bring to simmer, then adjust heat to low / medium low so it's simmering gently. (Note 3 for other cooking methods)
- Cover and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes or until beef is pretty tender (check with 2 forks at 1.5 hrs).
- Remove lid and simmer for further 30 minutes or until sauce reduces slightly. It should be like a thin gravy (see video) and beef should now be very tender.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve over creamy mashed potato with a sprig of fresh thyme for decoration or a sprinkle of parsley. Other suggestions: with warm crusty bread for dunking, polenta, rice, cauliflower mash (low carb option), or other mashed root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, pumpkin, sweet potato).
Recipe Notes:
- SLOW COOKER: Reduce beef broth by 1 cup. After you finish step 7, transfer everything into the slow cooker. If there is residual brown bits on the base of the pot, add a splash of water and bring to simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot to scrape it off then tip it all into the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients, per recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove lid and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving, stirring every now and then (the sauce will thicken slightly).
- PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, except cook on HIGH for 40 minutes (this might seem longer than most but we're using chuck here which needs to be cooked for a long time until tender and also the pieces are pretty large).
- INSTANT POT*: If you have an Instant Pot, follow steps 1 to 7 of the recipe using the sauté function, then proceed with either the Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker function. The browning of the beef will take longer because you can't achieve the same high temps as using a cast iron pot on the stove. You will also have the luxury of being able to simmer with the lid off at the end if you want to thicken the sauce slightly.
* Note: While we don't have the Instant Pot brand here in Australia, we have the Breville Slow/Fast Cooker which offers the same functions except it does not have the one touch buttons for things like rice and yoghurt which I wouldn't use anyway (too restrictive). The Breville, like the Instant Pot, has a saute function so you can brown the meat before adding liquids, then a slow cooker and pressure cooker function. Then you can put it back on the saute function at the end if the sauce needs thickening. I've had mine for 7 years and I love it! 4. STORAGE / LEFTOVERS - Refrigerate or freeze, then thaw before reheating on the stove or microwave. Tastes even better the next day because the flavours develop even more. 5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings. I like to trim excess fat from the beef but this is not factored into the nutrition. Stew only - not mashed potato.
Nutrition
LIFE OF DOZER
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Hi Nagi. May I ask why you don’t deglaze the pan before adding the vegetables?
PS: I love your recipes
Hi Karen, I don’t want the vegetables to stew, I want to fry them off a bit before adding the stock. Once you add it in with the wine, you’ll find all the dark bits from the pan will go into the sauce – N x
Wow! This is my first recipe of yours and it was delicious! Easy to make and 2nd day was even better. I just finished my frozen leftovers today from 2 weeks ago and I’m amazed all over again. It’s like eating yummy stew from a gourmet farm to table restaurant. Thank you for this recipe, I sincerely appreciate great tasting clean food!
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know what you think Deena ❤️
Superbe !!
Great dish to freeze. Just boil some more potatoes and crush/mash to add to the defrosted and reheated dish.
love your recipes, this is one for next week but maybe with English dumplings.
Made this last night and it was so delicious! I increased the amount of meat and veggies as we love leftovers and there is plenty of liquid to accommodate the additions. Something like this just gets even better when reheated. We are having super cold, snowy weather right now so it was wonderful to have this lovely aroma permeating the house! Hubby kept commenting about how good it smelled all through the cooking time. While eating it he kept saying how outstanding it was. So glad the taste was as good as the smell! Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks so much Norma, I’m so glad you and Hubby enjoyed it!!
it is best recipes thanks soooo much.
I’m so glad you love it!
I made this amazing beef stew today in my slow cooker and it was a hit with the whole family!
I’m so glad you loved it Debbie!!
Nagi! you don’t know how much you’ve made my day. I have been searching for a perfect beef stew for 3 years. This is the one. I made an adjustment to the wine content to suite my taste (3/4 cup) and changed the beef stock to 4 cups (made with 4 oxo cubes) I substituted the flour with 3 tbs of corn flour. And I needed to simmer it on the stove top for 2 hours then another 20 mins with the lid off. I don’t care if it’s 40º here in Melbourne today we’re eating this tonight 🙂 As always Thank You Nagi x
Sounds perfect Suzie!! ❤️
This was so simple to make! I am personally not a big fan of beef cooked with red wine-the taste can be overwhelming-strong or rich. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t the case here. It was delicious. I am going to make this again with maybe 1 cup wine substituting with broth or eliminate the wine altogether. I will let you know how it turns out if I do. I served it over rice-because potatoes over potatoes seemed weird to me!!
You can omit the wine if you prefer here Cheryl, just substitute with more broth. Let me know what you think if you try it again ❤️
G’day Nagi! I was feeling like some beef stew, and guess where I went to find it. Just guess!? 😉 This and Roast Beef are my favorites. I don’t cook beef much, but when I do… 🙂 I may as well just delete all the other sites I have in my “Food” folder, and leave yours. You are the best! Another winner recipe. (I have cooked a few of your moms too!)
Cheers!
Thanks so much Gary, I love hearing such great feedback!!! ❤️