There’s no greater comfort food than a hearty stew. And Irish Beef and Guinness Stew might be the king of them all! Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavour, and the beef is fall-apart tender. Stove, oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker – directions provided for all.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Irish Stew may well be the mother of all stews. I mean, you know that anything simmered for hours is going to be a good thing. But this…. this is the stew of your dreams. Arguably the most deeply flavourful sauce of all stews, with a rich dark brown flavour, this is the best of the best.
THIS is the stew I make for company when I want to impress!
With it’s deeply flavoured rich sauce, Guinness Beef Stew is THE stew you make when you want to impress!
What kind of beer goes in Guinness Stew?
The not-so-secret ingredient that goes into Guinness Stew that gives the sauce the deep flavour and colour is Guinness Beer.
Guinness Beer is so dark it is almost black and it’s why the gravy of the stew is such a beautiful deep brown colour. Guinness is also much richer than most beers, which you can see just by looking at the thick creamy head (the foam) that Guinness is famed for.
It’s pretty widely available these days – here in Australia, you’ll find it at most liquor stores.
Meat in Guinness Stew – beef OR lamb
Traditionally, Guinness Stew is made with lamb. But in many parts of the world including here in Australia and North America, Guinness Stew is more commonly made with beef.
I hope the Irish aren’t offended! 🙂 I’ve made it with lamb and to be honest, I do prefer it with beef.
Tip: Use big chunky hunks of beef. Don’t even think about using tiny cubes of beef. It needs to be chunky pieces so it can be cooked for a looooong time to get all that flavour into the sauce! If the pieces of beef are too small, they will cook too quickly and fall apart in the stew before it’s had enough time to develop the deep flavours.
Ingredients in Guinness Beef Stew
In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew.
Garlic and onion – essentials
Bacon – adds extra flavour! Can be skipped, or sub with pancetta or speck
Carrot and celery – potatoes could also be added
Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour;
Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids. I prefer using chicken rather than beef broth because it allows the flavour from the Guinness beer to come through better. Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like beer at all, it transforms into a deep savoury sauce! Also, all the alcohol is cooked out.
Thyme and bay leaves – to add a hint of flavour the sauce.
How to make Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Though this Irish Beef and Guinness Stew takes time to cook, it is very straightforward. The steps are no different to usual stews like classic Beef Stew:
Brown the beef – brown them well, this is key to flavour. It’s not just the browned beef itself, also the brown bits left on the bottom of the pot (fond) adds extra flavour to the sauce;
Sauté flavour base – onion, garlic, bacon (speck or pancetta), carrot and celery;
Cook off flour and tomato paste;
Add liquids – beer, broth and herbs;
Simmer covered for 2 hours until the beef is pretty tender, then simmer for a further 30 minutes uncovered to let the sauce reduce a bit and for the beef to become “fall apart tender”.
Yes it takes hours but your patience is rewarded with beef so tender you can eat it with a spoon!
The one thing I do differently to most Guinness Beef Stew recipes, including very traditional Irish recipes, is to thicken the sauce slightly with flour. If you don’t do this step, the sauce is quite thin and watery, and while the flavour is still lovely, I really prefer the sauce to be more like a thin gravy.
What to serve with Irish Stew
Serve Beef and Guinness Stew over mashed potato or cauliflower mash for a low carb option. And what about some warm crusty Irish Soda Bread to mop your bowl clean??
I am so glad I have a tub of this in the freezer. I cooked most of the day but gave it all away. The minute I hit Publish on this post, I’m going to get cracking reheating some of this Irish Stew for dinner tonight! – Nagi x
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Beef and Guinness Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2.5 lb / 1.25 kg beef chuck , boneless short rib or any other slow cooking beef (no bone)
- 3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 onions , chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 6 oz / 180g bacon , speck or pancetta, diced
- 3 tbsp flour (all purpose/plain, Note 3 for GF)
- 440ml / 14.9 oz Guinness Beer (Note 1)
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock/broth (or beef broth – Note 4)
- 3 carrots , peeled and cut into 1.25 cm / 1/2″ thick pieces
- 2 large celery stalks , cut into 2cm / 1″ pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme (or sub with 1 tsp dried thyme leaves)
Instructions
- Cut the beef into 5cm/2″ chunks. Pat dry then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy based pot over high heat. Add beef in batches and brown well all over. Remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Lower heat to medium. If the pot is looking dry, add oil.
- Cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softening, then add bacon.
- Cook until bacon is browned, then stir through carrot and celery.
- Add flour, and stir for 1 minute to cook off the flour.
- Add Guinness, chicken broth/stock and tomato paste. Mix well (to ensure flour dissolves well), add bay leaves and thyme.
- Return beef into the pot (including any juices). Liquid level should just cover – see video or photos.
- Cover, lower heat so it is bubbling gently. Cook for 2 hours – the beef should be pretty tender by now. Remove lid then simmer for a further 30 – 45 minutes or until the beef falls apart at a touch, the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
- Skim off fat on surface, if desired. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves and thyme.
- Serve with creamy mashed potatoes!!
Recipe Notes:
– SLOW COOKER: Reduce chicken broth by 1 cup. After you add the Guinness and broth/stock into the pot, bring to simmer and ensure you scrape the bottom of the pot well. Transfer everything into slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients per recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. If sauce needs more thickening, simmer with slow cooker lid off (if you have that function), to ladle some of the sauce into a separate saucepan and reduce on stove.
– PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, 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 large). 3. FLOUR: I prefer my stew sauce a bit thick, not watery, so I always add flour to slightly thicken the sauce. Some recipes say to dust beef with flour before browning – I prefer not to use this method because the flour burns then this permeates throughout the whole stew. 4. Beef vs Chicken Broth – I use chicken broth because the flavour is slightly more mild which lets the guinness flavour come through more. But beef broth works just as well and you can definitely still taste the Guinness!! 5. Nutrition per serving, excluding mashed potato. This nutrition is overstated because it does not take into account the fat that is skimmed off the surface.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published July 2016, updated with new video and step photos. No change to recipe.
More slow cooked fall-apart beef recipes
Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
Browse Winter Warmer recipes and see more Stews!
Life of Dozer
Sulking because he didn’t score any Irish Stew.
Let’s not feel badly for him though. He lives a very cushy life!
Boise Barb says
I prepared the stovetop method as directed for my St. Patrick’s Day party. My guests all thought it was delicious. The only suggestion I would make is plan, more likely than not, for it to take more than 10 minutes to prep. There was quite a bit of chopping, trimming, and peeling. But the effort was worth the result. Thanks for making me look good to my guests!
Monique Michaud says
I made this for St Patty’s day as an alternative to corned beef & cabbage. I’ve made Beef Bourguignon many times and love the flavors but this stew was even better. Delicious. The only thing I did different from the recipe is add parsnips. I served it over parsleyed mashed potatoes with a mid-range Pinot Noir. Fabulous meal. Deep, delicious flavors in the stew. I highly recommend.
Kelly Jordan says
This was over the top delicious! I served it over mashed potatoes and it was a huge hit! I made the recipe exactly as is except I used Oregano instead of Tyme abs only because I didn’t have any Tyme.
Christina says
Have never been lead astray by Nagi’s clear directions, and all of her suggestions. Thank you for an amazing, standout stew– you’ve renewed my love of cooking and bringing me out of my dinner rut and routine. This will be a classic in our home
Diane says
Carrots don’t take nearly as long to cook and the rest of the stew. Does the tomato paste keep the carrots from getting overcooked?
Karrie Hidderley says
There is now a no alcohol version of Guinness available :).
Christopher Fagan says
Excited to try this ! Just curious, your slow cooker comments mention to reduce the broth by 1 cup. Do you mean just use less one cup? Or actually just simmer it with the Guinness until it reduces by 1 cup?
L says
I really dislike celery. Can I replace it with parsnips or would the flavour be all wrong?
Amanda says
I used the parsnips because I didn’t have celery. It was delicious.
PaulaG says
Forgot to rate it. 5 stars obviously!!
PaulaG says
I’ve been making Nagi’s recipes for a while and they have never disappointed. This stew was no exception. My partner is always more impressed when I cook a “Nagi recipe” so tonight I decided it was his turn to try.
OMG, it was unreal!!! Absolutely mouth wateringly delicious. By far the best Irish stew I’ve ever had – and I’m Irish 😋 Knocked it out of the park again, Nagi!! Thank you!
Next up – Coconut & Lemon cake!!!
Maria says
I live in Italy and as my mum was from Dublin I made this fantastic Irish stew recipe for my family last St.Patrick’s day for the first time..It was amazing and even my daughter’s beaus who are Italians went crazy about it and asked for more!!! Making it again for this St Patrick’s day – it’s become a must now in our family! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻so tasty and though time consuming well worth it! Thank you!!!
Emma-Jane Taylor says
Love this recipe would love one with slow cooker instructions too!!!
Audrey says
How many servings do you get out of the ginussee bear stew recope
Yoke Wee Loh says
Was looking for a recipe to use the stout in my cupboard and found this! Looks really promising. Unfortunately can’t find any info on GlutenFree in Note 3. I hope replacing flour with corn flour will work… I’m guessing a tablespoon or 2 might do the trick?
B S says
Just finished this in the oven. So tasty. Did have to add a little bit more water at the end. But this recipe is very good. My family is gonna love it
Brad Weston says
Hi I am pretty sure that the alcohol gets cooked out especially with the amount of time it is cooked. So telling people to substitute the beer with water seems strange considering the alcohol is evaporated. You should change this in this recipe or at least let people know or did all the chefs who say that when you cook with alcohol be it wine beer brandy or any alcoholic liquid it evaporates.
Alan says
Going to give this a try… See if it’ll replace my other recipe! By the way in Ireland we have Guinness 0.0 in cans… Alcohol free. Wouldn’t touch the stuff myself, but might suit some!
Angel Horrigan says
Best stew ever! I add chilli and potato to this too.
Stephanie says
I run a pub in the UK and made this stew (on a not for profit basis) to get around the rules of having to eat a meal at pubs during the pandemic. The customers loved it and now I’ve dug it up again for our pool team matches and I just know all the room will go silent when they start tucking in!
Dori says
A family favorite. So rich and flavorful. The whole house fills with the aroma while it’s cooking causing all of us to anxiously wait for dinner to be ready. We do replace the stock with beef stock. Even better the next day. Highly recommend!!! Can’t wait to buy your cookbook.