Beef Stew calls for simple ingredients, but it’s a stunner! Hearty and economical with meltingly tender beef, you’ll love the deep, rich flavour of the sauce that develops from hours of slow cooking. Serve over mash and mop your bowl clean with crusty Artisan bread or Irish Soda Bread.
For the set-and-forget Slow Cooker version of this Beef Stew, see here.
Beef Stew
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 a Beef Stew recipe 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.
Best beef for beef stew
The best beef for beef stew is chuck beef because it’s reliably juicy and succulent. It is a tough cut of meat that needs to be slow cooked to make it tender enough to eat, and it’s nicely marbled with fat which keeps the beef succulent. See FAQ for thoughts on other beef cuts and why they aren’t my preference for beef stews – brisket, ribs, cheek, gravy beef, bolar blade and oyster blade.
Cut BIG pieces yourself – I really urge you to buy a large piece of beef chuck and cut it yourself into large 3.5 cm / 1.5″ pieces so they don’t cook too quickly and fall apart during the long slow-cooking time. Pre-cut stew beef is usually cut too small for this recipe, though the thick cut beef chuck steaks that are carried at some grocery stores and butchers here in Australia will work, as long as they are cut thick enough!
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!
How to make Beef Stew
Beef stew is really straight forward to make, it just takes patience to give the meat time to become meltingly tender and the sauce to develop rich flavour.
Season the beef with salt and pepper.
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 and garlic in the beef drippings so they soak up all that amazing flavour. Then stir in the carrots and celery to coat it in the flavours too.
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.
Slow cook for 1 hour 45 minutes with the lid on 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.
Serve – Then it’s ready to serve!
Slow cooker and pressure cooker options
To make this in a slow cooker or pressure cooker, see the separate recipe here – Slow Cooker Beef Stew. If you use this Beef Stew verbatim and cook it in the slow cooker instead of the stove or oven, you don’t get quite the same rich flavour in the sauce. So I’ve altered the recipe slightly to make it suitable for slow cookers and pressure cookers so you won’t sacrifice flavour for convenience!
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 (parsnip, pumpkin or other root vegetables)
Polenta, rice or bread – mop your plate clean with this quick No Yeast Irish Soda Bread or no-knead Crusty Artisan Bread!
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Beef Stew FAQ
See my Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipe. It is the same stew as this recipe, but it’s designed slow cookers, pressure cookers and Instant Pots.
To make this gluten-free, use cornflour / cornstarch instead of flour to thicken the sauce which should be added in as a cornflour slurry at the end rather than beginning (because cornflour doesn’t like prolonged boiling, it loses its thickening power).
I recommend this over using gluten-free flour because some gluten free blends containing lots of rice flour can occasionally taste a little grainy. Cornflour is a more reliable way to thicken the sauce.
Also, make sure the Worcestershire sauce and beef stock cube are all gluten-free, not all brands are.
I’ve popped these directions in the recipe card!
Yes, this would work beautifully with pork shoulder, lamb shoulder or goat, though I would starting checking a little earlier to see if the meat is tender enough.
Beef chuck is reliably juicy and tender in stews, so it’s my first choice. Here are my thoughts on other slow-cooking cuts of beef and why I don’t use them in this stew:
Brisket – too lean (better to slow cook it whole and slice, recipe here)
Gravy beef – Cut from the shin / shank area and tends to be sold in steak slice form which are too thin to cut into large stew-size-pieces. If you can find large pieces though, it can work, it is a nice gelatinous cut that becomes tender with slow cooking though bear in mind it may take a little longer to become fork-tender.
Generic “beef casserole” cubes of beef – I steer clear of these as I don’t know what cut they are, the pieces are typically far too small to use in stews, and more often than not they are not marbled with fat.
Beef rib (boneless) – Too fatty. And very hard to scoop the fat off the surface.
Beef cheeks – They would work beautifully if kept whole but Id’ need to figure out how many and how much sauce to make (because you’d keep them whole, if you cut into pieces, they twist and buckle when slow cooked so they don’t look very nice). See here for a lovely slow cooked beef cheeks recipe.
Bolar blade and oyster blade – These can be slow cooked but don’t have as much beef flavour and are leaner, so I’m not the hugest fan of these cuts for slow cooking.
4 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer. And though some argue otherwise, I truly believe all stews taste even better the day after you make it!
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 cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1/2 tsp black 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 plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 3 cups beef broth / stock , salt reduced
- 2 cups 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 , if required
For serving
- Mashed potato
- 1 tsp finely chopped parsley , optional garnish
- Crusty bread , for bowl mopping and dunking
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- Season then brown beef, remove from pot. Sauté onion and garlic, then stir in carrot and celery. Stir in flour, then broth, wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire. Stir. Add beef, herbs and potato, stir. Slow cook 1 hour 45 min with lid on then 30 min lid off. Serve over mash.
FULL RECIPE
- Season beef – Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper.
- Brown beef – 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, repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if required (if you don't use enough oil, the beef will just burn rather than brown).
- Sauté – 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.
- Make sauce – Sprinkle flour evenly across surface, then stir to coat (the flour will thicken the sauce). Add broth, red wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to dissolve tomato paste and flour into liquid.
- Add browned beef (including any juices), thyme, bay leaf and potato. Stir. Liquid level should almost fully cover everything (see video), if not, add a touch of water.
- Slow cook 1 hr 45 min covered – Bring to simmer, then adjust heat to low / medium low so it's simmering very 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).
- Simmer uncovered 30 minutes – 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.
- Check seasoning – Taste the sauce and add more salt if required.
- Serve over creamy mashed potato with a sprig of fresh thyme for decoration or a sprinkle of parsley (Note 4).
Recipe Notes:
– SLOW COOKER and pressure cooker: See separate recipe here. Same stew, but recipe altered to suit slow cookers and pressure cookers. Also use that recipe for Instant Pot, but do the stove steps in the Instant Pot using the sauté function. 4. To make this gluten free, use cornflour/cornstarch instead, as follows: Mix 3 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch with 3 tbsp of water and stir that into the stew at the very end once the meat is fall-apart tender. Simmer for a few minutes and the sauce will thicken. I recommend cornflour over using gluten-free flour because some gluten free blends containing lots of rice flour can occasionally taste a little grainy. Also make sure your Worcestershire sauce and beef stock cubes are also GF, not all brands are. 5. Other serving suggestions: with warm crusty bread for dunking (try this easy rustic no-yeast Irish Bread or Crusty No-Knead Artisan Bread), polenta, rice, cauliflower mash (low carb option), or other mashed root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, pumpkin, sweet potato). 5. 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. 6. 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 Information:
This Beef Stew recipe has originally published April 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters in January 2019 – no change to recipe!
More cosy Stews
Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff Stew – fall apart beef in a creamy Stroganoff sauce!
Browse Winter Warmers recipe collection
More slow cooked fall-apart meat
I’m a big fan of slow cooked meats!!
Browse the Winter Comfort Food collection!
Life of Dozer
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Hi, I was wondering could I sub the meat with beef shin? Would the cooking time be longer ? I have about 1.6kg and May cook over stove or a slow cooker. Thanks 🙂
We loved this recipe Nagi! Thanks for bringing joy to our weekend dinners!
I made this recipe with Gardein brand beefless chunks. It was simply out of this world. The broth is incredible!
Good stew. What would you suggest as a substitute for Worcestershire sauce? I can’t find it here in Israel
Hi Eleanor,
A recipe I love for beef stew uses 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar for a recipe of about this size instead of Worcestershire — I think it would be just fine here.
I use a good balsamic vinegar in place of Worchester sauce. No conversion necessary.
I made this the other night. I followed the steps described in cooking the meal in a crockpot. Like others mentioned at the end the wine seemed to slightly overpower the dish. I should have read all the reviews and cooked down the wine before putting it in crockpot. To compensate after the dish was done I simply added another cup of broth along with some cornstarch to thick the sauce. Cooked it a little longer in the crockpot and it came out delicious.
Hi I’m using the instant pot method high on 40 min. When it ends, do I turn it off and wait until it cools down completely then open the lid? Or do I put the vent open let out all the steam? I’m afraid if I do the 2nd method the meat might not be tender? Help please
I have the same question. I wish someone would answer. I am going to try to find out elsewhere.
Once it is done, be sure to turn off the keep warm mode, then allow it to release pressure naturally. If in a hurry, venting will also be fine, but I prefer the natural release for extra tenderness.
I opened the vent then checked the meat. It needed a bit more time, so closed the lid, and added another 20mins. By doing it this way, the temperature doesn’t drop too much and it gets back up to temp really quickly.
Can someone please let me know if the x6 people recipe will fit into a 3L crock pot?
I used a 4.6L Dutch Oven and it filled it 3/4 the way of that helps, I also used 16oz of potatoes and only 1 cup of wine vs 14 oz potato and 2 cups of wine.
Thank you very much!
Absolutely delicious! This one among others have 2 thumbs up from everybody!! A definite Keeper, thank you very much for sharing Nagi, you are a gem! 🙏😘🤗
Thanks! N x
Can I use vegetable stock as an alternative?
Wow! I have been searching for some of these marvelous recipes forever!! And here they are. Thank you. I’ve recently become my dad’s full-time care giver and never knew how to make these favorite foods for him.
I could only find a roast that was a little more lean than I would have liked on my grocery trip. I was nervous that the meat would end up tough, but it was tender. Such a flavourful stew! Will definitely be using this recipe in the future. I’ve made so many of your recipes, Nagi, and they have all been amazing! Thank you!
Hi Nagi,
Mine didn’t come out so well, all I could taste and smell was the red wine, it was extremely strong. Couldn’t eat it.
I followed the recipe. I used a slow cooker (and read and followed the note) but wondering where I went wrong? Could you please help, would love to try again but not confident atm.
Hi.. I don’t know how she managed it, but this recipe with the exception of the tomato paste is identical to mine. I’ve been making this for decades. The trick is to make sure you cook off the alcohol. It has to cook down. Also, use a pinot noir or a Burgundy. Anything else tastes nasty.
I made this today! It was delicious! I followed up until step 7 and then chucked it all in the slow cooker for 6 hours on high. It was MAGIC!!! Thank you Nagi!
Making this right now and my entire house smells absolutely divine. I’m making it ahead for tomorrow night’s dinner because we all know how much better stew is the next day!
I also added crumbled bacon because we like bacon in our stews. Can’t wait for dinner tomorrow!
Loved this recipe, Nagi.
However I just wanted to ask if you had any advice regarding the browning of the beef. When cooking, it creates a huge amount of oil splatter so I had to turn the heat to medium, which I think resulted in a tougher meat. Thank you so much
Hi Nagi,
Mine didn’t come out so well, all I could taste and smell was the red wine, it was extremely strong. Couldn’t eat it.
I followed the recipe. I used a slow cooker (and read followed the note) but wondering where I went wrong? Could you please help, would love to try again but not confident atm.
I had the same issue with slow cooked lamb shanks and wine. I think at step 7 you need to bring to a boil and simmer until the alcohol has cooked out of the liquid. Hopefully Nagi can clarify!
Made it and was the very excellent and worked well. I am a mushroom man so I bought some Swiss brown button but didn’t use them. Because of the red wine I chucked in some dried porcini mushrooms. Added a depth of flavour I loved. Bob Castro Summer Hill NSW…
First recipe cooked from your site…brilliant…loved it. None left! Beef stew…one of the best .
This is insanely good – the best beef stew EVER. Only problem was I cooked it in advance for dinner, teenagers found it and it was gone by lunch.
Made this bad boy a few times and it always delivers.
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Ashley! N x
We loved the flavour of this one, really enjoying your recipes Nagi!
Thanks so much Ron, I love hearing this! N x