Best Ever Beef Stew
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A cozy, classic beef stew with tender beef, carrots, mushrooms + potatoes. Everyone will love this, especially on those chilly nights!
Featured Comment
We just got back from Los Angeles. You know, from their perfect always-sunny-70-degree weather. Wait, why did we leave California again? No, but really, it was a solid 20 degrees outside and a rude awakening back to Chicago reality, and Cartman refused to walk as usual. But that’s okay. Because I came home to the best beef stew ever.
Wonderfully aromatic, super cozy, and filled with so many goodies – tender chunks of steak, mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots. All good things here, stewing in that perfectly hearty, rich gravy. I poured the rest of the red wine I used for this recipe into a very large wine glass, warmed up some dinner rolls, and forgot just how cold it is outside.
tips and tricks for success
- Prep ahead of time. Save time by prepping and dicing the meat and vegetables ahead of time (minus the potatoes as they will brown if chopped too early).
- Sear the meat. Browning the beef first is key here. That dark crust on the sirloin steak will create such richer, deeper flavors in your stew (plus, the browned bits at the bottom of the pot are all lovely bits here, adding so much flavor).
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your stew. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
what to serve with beef stew
- How to Make Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Skillet Dinner Rolls
- Honey Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
- Italian Chopped Salad
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Best Ever Beef Stew: Frequently Asked Questions
Mushrooms can be omitted completely if it’s not your thing. Eggplant or zucchini can be substituted, if desired, as it can absorb all the good flavors and mimic the texture of mushrooms.
Chicken, beef, or vegetable stock can be used for red wine as a non-alcoholic substitute. Stock will be less acidic and more mild in flavor than red wine.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Yes! You can absolutely make beef stew in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Beef stew is very much freezer-friendly. You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Best Ever Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds top sirloin steak, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 2 ½ cups beef stock
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Season steak with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Working in batches, add steak to the stockpot and cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 6-8 minutes; set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk in flour and tomato paste until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the stockpot.
- Stir in beef stock, thyme, bay leaves and steak. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until beef is very tender, about 30 minutes.
- Stir in potato; simmer until potatoes are just tender and stew has thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.*
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Hi this is my first time cooking beef stew and it turned out wonderful! Thank you so much for this recipe.
I made this stew and while I followed the recipe I had no idea how it would turn out. It is amazing. My modifications: browned beef in butter; used no flour; used chicken stock because I didn’t have beef stock; used a really good pinot noir wine; didn’t use the thyme; transferred the contents of the stockpot to my crockpot because I was leaving the house for a few hours. Flavors are deep and rich.
How long did you do it in the crockpot and in low ir high? Thx!
I’ve made this several times in the slow cooker and find that 8 hours on low works just fine. Even if it goes a little longer it’s not going to hurt anything.
This was absolutely delicious. That is all.
This is my “go to” beef stew recipe. I follow the directions exactly and it is perfect every time. Sometimes I will make the stew early in the day (except for potatoes and parsley), and put it in the fridge until we are ready to eat. I then heat up the stew, and add the potatoes and parsley. I think it tastes even better than when cooked and served immediately – the flavors really mature and blend.
Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
This is my “go to” beef stew recipe. I follow the directions exactly and it is perfect every time. Sometimes I will make the stew early in the day (except for potatoes and parsley), and put it in the fridge until we are ready to eat. I then heat up the stew, and add the potatoes and parsley. I think it tastes even better when cooked and served immediately – the flavors really mature and blend.
Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
Absolutely the best beef stew. Am making it again soon.
I love all of your recipes, and I followed this one perfectly. It looked beautiful, and I was really excited about serving it to guests. Unfortunately, the taste was off. The only thing I can attribute it to is the Merlot that I used. What is the best wine, including brand, for this recipe? I have no doubt that it is amazing, and I’m sure my wine choice is the reason the flavor wasn’t incredible.
I’m not the one you asked BUT I know sometimes it’s a wait to get a reply (anywhere, not just here), but any red wine that you enjoy drinking should be good to use. However, Merlot often has a sweet profile, so if you found the stew too sweet, you might want to try something drier, like a shiraz, red zinfandel, or cabernet. Buy a bottle (or box! a lot of the boxes are really decent quality now) that you like and use it for the stew and then to drink with the stew. If that doesn’t fix it, it could be a flavor profile in the meat that you don’t enjoy. I try & try to like grass fed beef but I really enjoy the flavors of the grain fed meat, unfortunately. I hope the next try turns out much better!!
I used beef tenderloin. My husband said this was excellent, and I thought so too! This recipe is a keeper!
This was my first time EVER making beef stew (in my new Dutch oven)!
I left out the mushrooms (because I forgot them), and it was still absolutely delicious. My husband and I paired it with warmed up French rolls and red wine.
Made this last night using left over rib roast from Christmas. Sipped the browning part. Turned out delicious.
Best beef stew and so easy! Actually ALL your recipes are delicious thank you for sharing
That’s all can say is WOW! I did not make any changes to this recipe, however I did boil up some noodles on the side bc my husband prefers noodles over potatoes.
This is a perfect dish for an overcast, windy, cool day/nite. Absolutely delicious, you won’t be disappointed. Thank you.
I haven’t made this particular recipe, but it is quite similar to the ATK recipe which is based on chicken broth and omits the tomato paste and celery. I’ve made their recipe many times before, and have greatly enjoyed it. I also modify it to suit my particular tastes. After reviewing this one, I’m quite certain it would be equivalent. One sugesstion for those who like to add peas to their stew, cook them separately during the final moments before serving your guests, and then add them to the individual serving bowls. This preserves the inherent sweetness and firmness of the peas, and allows their flavor to shine through. This is especially true if you are going to reheat or freeze the stew for use later. The same is true for green beans.
Hey Vern! How pretentious can you be to rate a recipe for a dish you never made? SMDH!
You made so many changes it is no longer THIS recipe. And you haven’t even made this one.
Hello, I made this Oh so good I did do a little bit different I also add some stuff to your recipe. I added a can of Stew Tomatoes, and also a can of Peas but everything was what you had. Would I make this adain YES. I sed also Merlot Wine since that is what I had in the house. I also mad home made Rustic Bread to sop up the jucies . I am not a beef Stew peron my husband is but this was so good it is a keeper for me.
Made some changes, but kept the main base of this recipe, and it was the best homemade beef stew I’ve had in my entire life My whole family loved it, too!
Not to mention, it looked like a magazine recipe
This is a family favorite in our house. I sub parsnips for the potatoes (just for variety and I like the flavor), add them at same time as carrots. I also use my instapot, follow all of the sautéing directions and pressure cook for 20-30 minutes (I just kind of wing it). Serve with bread and butter and it’s perfect for a cool fall evening like the one tonight. Love many of your recipes! Thanks for helping me feed my active boys!
This was a hit at my house – even with picky teen boys. I made it in the Crock Pot. Followed recipe instructions 1-5, then put all in crock pot on high for 3 hours.
I also added a step – browned potatoes in pan and added to crock pot also.
This was delicious! Everyone loved it. My personal preference would be to cut up the celery/carrots/potatoes a little larger and simmer for longer to ensure they’re cooked. Maybe maybe add some peas. Otherwise so delicious. I added extra salt and garlic.
Best ever for taste
Can you do a crockpot version?