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This stovetop beef stew is pure comfort – tender beef, hearty veggies, and rich flavors simmering away, filling your kitchen with cozy aromas. Perfect for chilly nights, it’s a no-fuss, satisfying meal that begs to be enjoyed with crusty bread!
Hearty & Comforting
This beef stew is like a cozy blanket on a chilly day – warm, hearty, and oh-so-satisfying. It’s everything you crave in a bowl: tender chunks of beef that melt in your mouth, sweet carrots, earthy potatoes, and a broth so rich and savory, it’s practically begging to be soaked up with a chunk of crusty bread.
As it simmers, the chunks of beef cook slowly becoming tender and rich as they soak up all the flavors of garlic, onions, and herbs. The aroma fills every corner of the home, promising warmth and comfort.. This is the kind of meal that draws everyone to the kitchen, noses leading the way, eagerly waiting for that first spoonful.
Ingredients Needed
Image shows ingredients needed to make beef stew: chopped chuck roast, extra virgin olive oil, carrots, celery, diced onion, garlic cloves, flour, beef broth, red wine, tomato paste, potatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and fresh thyme.
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
Let’s Make Some Beef Stew
- Cut the chuck roast into 1 inch pieces. In a medium size bowl combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the meat and stir to coat the meat completely. The flour is going to help thicken the stew.
- Heat the oil in a large dutch oven, or large pot. Add the meat in batches. Don’t over crowd the pan. Cook the meat, searing on all sides. Cook each side about 30-45 seconds. Remove the meat to a plate or cutting board once seared. Continue until all meat is seared.
- Pour the wine and beef broth into the pot, it will sizzle because the pot is still hot. Use a wooden spoon (so you don’t damage the pot) and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the bits from searing the meat. Stir in the tomato paste until well mixed.
- Add the meat back into the pot, add the onion, garlic, and the bayleaves. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Let simmer about 40 minutes. Remove the lid, stir the stew. At this point we can add the carrots, celery, potatoes and thyme. Continue to simmer for another 30-40 minutes.
- Check the meat, it will become very tender and you will be able to easily break it apart. Also check that the potatoes are tender. Skim any extra fat off the top of the stew. Remove the bayleaves and thyme. Add salt and pepper as needed to the broth to taste.
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Classic Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chuck roast or other meat as mentioned above: brisket or short ribs
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- tbsp oil olive oil, vegetable, canola, or bacon fat
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 3 cups beef broth no sodium
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup yellow onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 carrots peeled, sliced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 3 gold potatoes peeled, chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- salt & pepper to taste
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast into 1 inch pieces. In a medium size bowl combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the meat and stir to coat the meat completely.
- Heat the oil in a large dutch oven, or large pot. Add the meat in batches. Don't over crowd the pan. Cook the meat, searing on all sides. Cook each side about 30-45 seconds. Remove the meat to a plate or cutting board once seared. Continue until all meat is seared.
- Pour the wine and beef broth into the pot, it will sizzle because the pot is still hot. Use a wooden spoon (so you don't damage the pot) and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the bits from searing the meat. Stir in the tomato paste until well mixed.
- Add the meat back into the pot, add the onion, garlic, and the bayleaves. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Let simmer about 40 minutes.
- Remove the lid, stir the stew. At this point we can add the carrots, celery, potatoes and thyme. Continue to simmer for another 30-40 minutes.
- Check the meat, it will become very tender and you will be able to easily break it apart. Also check that the potatoes are tender.
- Skim any extra fat off the top of the stew. Remove the bayleaves and thyme. Add salt and pepper as needed to the broth to taste.
- Serve and top with fresh parsley if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Treat the meat the same way, coat with flour, salt and pepper. Sear. Deglaze the pan with the wine and broth. Add the meat and the broth, with all the flavorful bits from the pot into the slow cooker. Saute the onion and garlic, then add them to the slow cooker. Stir in the tomato paste and add the bayleaves.
- Cook on low for 6 hours.
- Add in the carrots, celery and potato. Continue to cook on low for another 45-60 minutes.
- Serve warm, top with fresh parsley if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tips For Making This Stew
- Use a low starch potato. This could be yellow gold potatoes, or red potatoes. Using something high starch, like a russet potato will add a lot of starch to the stew as they cook.
- Add the veggies about 40 minutes into cooking. At this point there’s still about 30-40 minutes of simmering time to get the meat ultra tender. This makes it so our veggies aren’t mush when the stew is done.
- Soup bones: Add some beef soup bones to the stew while it’s simmering to get extra nutrients and make a gelatinous bone broth to nourish the family.
- Skim the top of the stew before serving. This removes any extra grease from the broth.
- Wine. I love using wine when making a beef stew because it gives a wonderful flavor. You can leave it out if you prefer. However, when using wine you want to use a dry red wine. I typically have a bottle of Merlot on hand for cooking purposes. Other options that work well in this stew are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz/Syrah, Zinfandel.
More Comforting Fall Meals
Photography by KJandCompany.co
