Beef Stew Recipe

There aren’t very many things I love more than soup. In fact, I literally have had to stop myself in winter from only posting soup recipes because I know not everyone has quite the love for it I do.

But let me just step onto my soap box for one second and tell you why it’s so amazing: Soup almost always contains everything you need for a healthy dinner – a protein, some vegetables, and a carbohydrate. One-pot meals for the win!

This beef stew is no exception. It is full of everything you need for a great dinner, plus it’s like your grandma is rubbing your back and telling you how awesome you are while you are eating it – pure comfort.

How to Make Beef Stew

Homemade beef stew is one of those recipes that makes your whole house smell wonderful as you make it. A steam-up-the-windows, make-the-house-filled-with-love kind of recipe.

This is a brief overview of how to make this delicious recipe. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

1. Sear the meat. In a heavy-bottomed large dutch oven with a little oil, sear the beef. Searing the meat caramelizes it and adds a deep rich flavor to the stew. Don’t skip it!
2. Sauté the vegetables. We remove the meat from the pan so we can sauté the onion and garlic.
3. Add flour and deglaze the pan. Whisk in the flour, then use red wine to deglaze the pan. Scrape up all the browned bits from sautéing the vegetables; they add so much flavor to the stew.
4. Stir in the beef broth. To that we will add the tomato paste, seasonings, carrots, and potatoes. Bring the whole stew to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer and let it simmer for an hour and forty-five minutes. Simmering for a long time is key to making sure the beef is perfectly tender.
5. Finish off the stew. Finally, taste it and add more salt and pepper to taste. Then stir in your frozen peas.

Beef Stew Ingredients

Well Marbled Stew Meat: We are starting with marbled beef. You want to look for chuck roast. The fact that it is marbled is absolutely key to this recipe. Read more on this below.

Seasonings: There is nothing bland about this delicious soup. There are so many ingredients that add flavor to this soup, but in addition to that we are using great beef stew seasoning in the form of thyme, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.

Flour: Many beef stew recipes call for lightly flouring the beef before searing it. In this recipe, we are searing the beef and then adding flour to the stew. The flour helps to thicken the stew like in the original method, while skipping the step of flouring the beef which I find a little tedious.

Vegetables: Like any good traditional vegetable beef stew, mine has onion, carrots, potatoes, and peas. We throw in the peas at the very end, frozen, so they don’t overcook.

The Liquid: For this recipe, we are going to use a combination of red wine and beef stock. The red wine really deepens the flavors and is great for deglazing the pan and picking up all the brown bits after cooking the meat.

Tomato Paste: A little tomato paste thrown in after the wine helps give another layer of flavor to the stew. 

Cooking with Wine

I love cooking with wine. It helps deglaze pans nicely and adds a depth of flavor to the dish. In this recipe we are using red wine. I like to use a Cabernet for this dish, but really any red wine that you love will work. It’s important that you like the taste of the wine on its own because cooking it will only enhance that flavor. I urge you to avoid using cooking wine, it has both added preservatives and added salt.

It takes almost three hours for alcohol to cook out of a dish. Since this dish will not be simmering for three hours, it is important to note that there will be some trace alcohol in your soup. If you are serving someone who is sober, I suggest replacing the wine with beef broth and a splash of lemon juice, about 1/2 a teaspoon.

Storing Leftovers

The leftovers of this recipe are almost better than the soup fresh off the stove. This is perfect to bring with you to work the next day.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days. As with all leftovers, only pull out and reheat what you are planning to eat at that moment. Don’t reheat more than once.

Freezing Beef Stew

This is a great soup to freeze. Freeze in individual containers, being sure to leave room in the container (about an inch) for the soup to expand as it freezes. I like freezing in individual portions because that way you are only thawing the soup you plan on eating. Beef stew can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.

When you are ready to eat your frozen leftovers, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or heat over low heat stirring often.

What to Serve with Beef Stew

As I mentioned earlier, this really is a whole meal on its own. That said, if you would like to stretch this meal out, here are a few side dishes that would complement this very well.

• Chopped Salad
• Garlic Bread
• Beer Bread
• Three Bean Salad

Other Great Soup Dinners

As I said, this is a one-pot wonder. A little crusty bread and you are good to go. If you are looking for other soups and stews that will serve you well, check out some of these:

• Chicken Enchilada Soup
• Turkey Chili
• Creamy Chicken Noodle

If you make this easy beef stew or any of my other recipes please leave me a comment letting me know what you think!