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
- 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 stalks 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
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Combine flour, garlic powder and salt & pepper. Toss beef in flour mixture.
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Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot. Cook the beef and onions until browned.
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Add beef broth and red wine while scraping up any brown bits in the pan.
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Stir in all remaining ingredients except for peas, cornstarch and water. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer 1 hour or until beef is tender (up to 90 minutes).
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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).
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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
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Made this for dinner tonight at the afc home I work at, lots of empty bowls and full bellies :)
I use a crook pot to make great beef stew. Because of celiac disease I’m on a gluten free diet. So I braze the beef using a gluten free flour. I can’t tell any different.
So glad that it turned out so delicious for you!
Such a delicious recipe!!! I personally add more vegetables like beans & corn or whatever else I have on hand .
I’ve been making beef stew all my life. But this recipe is delicious!
This was so yummy! I didn’t do wine or add the cornstarch, used gluten free flour on meat and it thickened up perfect to our liking. I did it in Dutch oven and after putting it all together put in oven at 375 for about 2 hrs. The meat was so tender. Thanks for recipe- it’s a keeper!
Sounds delicious! Can I substitute the flour with a gf flour, and is there a substitute for corn starch?
You can definitely replace the flour with gluten free flour and the cornstarch should be okay being replaced with gluten free flour as well. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
I’d like to make this. It says it serves 8 but does not list the serving size. What is the serving size? That would really help me with how to log/fit it into the nutritional goals my family has. Thank you.
A serving is about 1 cup.
This was so yummy! My whole family enjoyed it! God Bless ❤️
Thanks for the cornstarch slurry tip! One of the coolest finds I ever came across on the internet. Love this recipe. God bless.
Absolutely delicious!! Made it several times!!
Absolutely perfect meal! My grandson couldn’t get enough. Thank you !
this recipe is really good. I did end up adding more potatoes carrots and I also added some better than bouillon beef to it, and a touch more wine and garlic. it’s definitely gonna be added to my dinner rotation
That sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing, Nicole!
Third time making this, family loves it. Forgot tomato paste so used ketchup as I do with most of my gravies, turned out ok!
Very delicious!
sounds. awesome cooking it tonight
Best beef stew I’ve made. I’ve tried many other recipes and the stew meat is always tough. Not here. I followed the recipe as is. No changes needed. I love all her recipes!!! Thank you for another easy great recipe!!
best stew you can make I always add little twist you can to over noodles or potatoes or just in a bowl all good no need to be in a hurry
When trying a new recipe I like to follow it as written so I did that here. My gut was telling me 6 cups of broth plus the wine was way too much liquid…and for me it was. It is just my preference but I would rather add liquid if needed, instead of trying to thicken something up with a bunch of cornstarch or flour at the end. This came out more like soup even after the added cornstarch slurry.
Next time I will chop the potatoes and carrots into bigger chunks and add them after the beef has cooked for 30 minutes or so. My potatoes came out quite mushy with some almost completely disintegrating. I used my Dutch Oven and cooked everything on low for about an hour and a half. The meat came out perfectly tender. Yum!
I added a clove of chopped garlic and some fresh thyme along with the fresh rosemary. Delicious! The rosemary really is the star here though. It pairs so well with the beef.
Don’t skip the wine! It adds a lovely richness to the stew. (I used a Cab Sauv)
This is a great base recipe for stew and I am sure it will be a 5 star the next time I make it with less broth…maybe throw in some turnip, parsnips, or sweet potatoes. A very versatile recipe!
I recommend the Cheese Bread (Quick Bread) recipe to go with this stew. Once you have your stew simmering you can prep the bread and have it in the oven so everything is ready at the same time. https://spendwithpennies.com/cheese-bread-quick-bread/
Looking forward to the new Cookbook in September! :)
Thank you for the review Brandi! I’m excited for you to get the cookbook as well.
Hi, how much broth &wine would you use? I also don’t want to add cornstarch. Thanks!