The Best Beef Stew (Step-By-Step Recipe)

This beef stew recipe is comforting and packed with lean protein, flavor, and good nutrition. It’s hands-down the best beef stew recipe I’ve ever had at home!

This is the classic beef stew my mom used to make, with a few additions to amp up the flavor. With just a few simple ingredients and four easy steps, you’ll have a healthy satisfying meal that everyone loves.

I want to shout from the rooftop: Homemade beef stew isn’t complicated, but the technique is important to get the best flavor, which is why I make this on the stovetop in a Dutch oven and not in a slow cooker. While I generally love a slow cooker for tough cuts of meat (see Mom’s Pot Roast) the flouring and browning step for this beef stew is essential, and since we’re already using a big pot to do that, we might as well keep it in that pot to save dishes.

This recipe is great for Sunday dinner or a weeknight meal when you have time to start it early and let it simmer. Double it for meal prep (it keeps well in the fridge!) or to feed a crowd. Hands-on time is minimal, but give yourself at least 3 hours to allow time for the tougher cut of meat to become fall-apart tender.

Choosing Beef Stew Meat

Let’s talk about what meat to use in your beef stew.

• Similar to a great pot roast, great beef stew starts with the right cut of meat. Beef stew is typically made with a tough cut of meat like beef chuck roast, top round, or bottom round, that’s cooked low and slow until it’s fall-apart tender.
• The great thing about beef stew meat is that tougher cuts of meat are usually inexpensive compared to more tender cuts. I prefer grass-fed and non-GMO. Choose what works best for you.
• If you can find it at the butcher counter, look for “beef stew meat,” which is one of those tougher cuts of beef that the butcher has already trimmed and cut up into 1-inch pieces. This is a great way to save time. These tough cuts become tender when slow-cooked, absorbing all the rich flavors from the broth and vegetables.
• If you don’t see beef stew meat prepared for cooking, you can trim and cut the beef yourself, removing any large pieces of fat. The point of beef stew is to cook one of those tougher cuts (chuck roast, top round, bottom round, etc.) low and slow to make them tender, but if you happen to have a more tender cut of meat that you want to use up, then you can really use any cut of beef you want. Always trim the fat off and cut it into 1-inch or 2-inch cubes for beef stew.
• And don’t forget to toss the beef in flour, salt, and pepper for that perfect sear in the pot. I give you options for substations below, too.

Classic Beef Stew Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (needed for texture and to thicken the stew—see notes for substitutions)
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 pound beef stewing meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or your preferred high-temp cooking oil, plus more as needed)
• 2 ribs celery, chopped (optional; classic beef stew recipes don’t always use this)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional; classic beef stew recipes don’t always use this)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 3 1/2 cups beef broth (homemade, low-sodium, or Better Than Bullion, see note)
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 medium carrots, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
• 2 large potatoes, cubed (¾-inch)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 cups frozen peas (optional, fresh peas work too)

I like to add celery when I add the onion and garlic after the tomato paste for even more flavor. However, my mom didn’t add those and says they’re not traditional in beef stew. You can adjust the aromatics in this recipe to your liking—see all of my substitution suggestions below if you want to change things up or not use wine.

How to Make Beef Stew

Again, making a great beef stew is all about technique and then building layers of flavor.

I’ve broken it down into four easy steps that anyone can follow.

Step 1: Season and Coat the Beef, Then Brown It

Start by tossing your beef cubes in flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl or shaking it all up in a paper bag. This helps create a nice crust when browning, which adds a lot of flavor to the stew. The flour also acts as a thickening agent, along with the potatoes we add towards the end.

Heat avocado oil in a large Dutch oven or pot with a lid and brown the beef in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. This step locks in flavor and sets the foundation for your stew.

Step 2: Sauté the Onions, Celery, Tomato Paste and Garlic

After browning the beef, sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes in the same pot.

Push the onions and celery to the side, then add tomato paste and cook until it turns a rust color. Tomato paste changes in flavor when you cook it before adding the liquid. This step adds a rich depth of flavor that really elevates the dish. Add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant, being careful not to burn it.

Step 3: Deglaze and Simmer

At this point, there are a lot of brown bits at the bottom of the pan (chefs call it “fond”)—there is a lot of flavor there! Deglaze the pot by adding red wine and vinegar, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.

Add the beef back to the pot (make sure you get all the juices it released, too!) along with broth, fresh herbs, and bay leaves. Bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let it cook for about 1½ hours until the beef is fork-tender. This slow simmering process is what makes the beef melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Step 4: Add the Veggies

After 1-2 hours, once the beef is tender, add the carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook for another 45-60 minutes until the vegetables are fork-tender. If you want to add peas, stir them in during the last 2-3 minutes for frozen peas, or 10 minutes if using fresh.

Also, I’ll say this is where you must have faith in your stew! It will thicken a lot over the next 40-60 minutes now that the potatoes are in it. It will look too soupy. Give it time and it will thicken up.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and your homemade beef stew is ready to serve. Pair it with some crusty bread, and you’ve got a cozy, delicious meal perfect for any night of the week.

Tips & Substitutions

• Flour: Acts as a thickener and adds texture to the beef. For gluten-free, you can substitute the flour with 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder but expect a thicker texture. Or, skip coating the beef and thicken the stew with cornstarch slurry the last 20 minutes of cooking by whisking together equal parts cornstarch and cold water (use 2 tablespoons each) until uniform, then adding to the liquid to thicken. You can skip the thickening all together for more of a beef soup than a stew.
• Tomato Paste: Adds great flavor; sautéing it for a few minutes before adding the liquid is key. Feel free to skip if preferred.
• Broth: Beef broth is best, but chicken or veggie broth works too. If you don’t have any stock, I recommend using “Better Than Bullion” for a quick, flavorful stock. If your stock doesn’t have a lot of flavor, add 1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce at the end to add flavor to the stew.
• Wine: I can’t stress this enough—use a wine you like the taste of! A dry or medium bodied red is best here; avoid a sweet wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Malbec, or a Burgundy would be nice here. If you want to skip the wine, see my suggestions below.
• Herbs: Fresh rosemary and thyme are classic, but 1 tablespoon of any dried herbs or spices can be used in this recipe. A tablespoon of Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence would be good here.
• Salt: Adjust salt depending on your broth. While you don’t want to undersalt your stew, I’ll also say that it’s easy to oversalt a very hot broth or braising liquid (the salt kinda goes away when tasting something really hot), so be mindful not to oversalt it. Take a spoon of the broth at a few points in the cooking process and let it cool before tasting.
• Peas: Peas are optional in a classic beef stew recipe. If using frozen, add in the last 2-3 minutes. For fresh, give them about 10 minutes to cook through.
• Serving: I like to serve beef stew hot with some rustic bread, and some people like it with rice or even noodles.

If you’d prefer not to use wine in your beef stew, here are a few easy substitutions that still add depth and flavor to the dish. Choose the one that suits your taste and what you have on hand.

Wine Substitutes for Beef Stew

• More Beef Broth: Use an equal amount of beef broth in place of the wine. It maintains the rich, savory flavor without the acidity.
• Red Wine Vinegar: If you want a bit of acidity, mix ½ cup beef broth or water with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar as a substitute.
• Balsamic Vinegar: For a slightly sweeter and more robust flavor, use 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar mixed with beef broth.
• Tomato Juice: Another great substitute is tomato juice. Replace the wine with an equal amount of tomato juice for added depth.

Storage

Beef stew keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, up to 4 days. You can freeze it up to 3 months in an airtight container.

I like to portion it out into glass containers for a meal prep lunch.

Give this Easy Beef Stew a try, and let me know how it turns out in the comments below!

Print