Best Ever Beef Stew
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A cozy classic beef stew with tender beef, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. The best kind of comfort food especially on those chilly nights!
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Why you’ll love this beef stew
- Classic comfort food. This is the type of stew that is just wonderfully aromatic, super cozy, and filled with so many goodies – tender chunks of steak, mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots. It’s all good things here stewing in a perfectly hearty, rich, savory gravy that just sticks to your ribs.
- Avoids all-day simmering. Top sirloin is already naturally tender, allowing for a faster-cooking beef stew with juicy, tender meat, allowing you to skip that traditional 3-hour simmer.
- Budget-friendly. Beef stew takes tough, affordable cuts of meat (ex. top sirloin) and stretches the recipe with plenty of root vegetables to feed a big family, and maybe even leave leftovers to freeze for later.
What is beef stew?
Beef stew is made by slow simmering chunks of meat and root vegetables until the meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender and the stew is thickened into a gravy-like consistency.
Key Ingredients
- Beef: top sirloin is ideal here for a fast-cooking stew rather than an all-day simmer
- Vegetables: classic choices include onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and russet potatoes
- Liquid: beef stock combined with red wine and tomato paste for extra depth
- Thickener: all-purpose flour for a smooth, gravy-like consistency
- Aromatics: garlic, thyme (dried or fresh), and bay leaves
How to make beef stew
- Sear the steak. Season the diced top sirloin steak with salt and pepper, then brown the steak in a single layer in a hot Dutch oven over medium high heat; set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. Reduce the heat to medium, then stir in the onion, carrots, and celery until tender. Then stir in the garlic and mushrooms until browned.
- Add the flour. Add the flour and tomato paste, stirring constantly until lightly browned.
- Deglaze the pot. Stir in the red wine, lifting up the caramelized brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Simmer. Stir in the beef stock, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and seared steak chunks. Lower the heat and simmer until the beef is tender, about 30 minutes. Then stir in the potatoes until softened and tender, and the stew has thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Serve. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Then stir in the parsley, salt, and pepper, and serve warm.
Storing, reheating, and freezing beef stew
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat
Gently reheat on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of water or stock, if needed. Stir occasionally until warmed through completely.
Freeze
Let cool completely; portion the stew into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheat (from frozen)
To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and gently reheat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Add a splash of water or stock, if needed.
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
Best Ever Beef Stew: Frequently Asked Questions
Skip the pre-packaged stew meat as it contains a random mix of leftover scraps with uneven fat and muscle. Use top sirloin instead, dicing into uniform chunks for consistent even cooking throughout.
Mushrooms can be omitted completely, or eggplant and zucchini can be substituted instead as they 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. But stock will be less acidic and more mild in flavor than red wine.
Yes! You can make beef stew both in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Beef stew is very much freezer-friendly. You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and gently reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Best Ever Beef Stew
Video
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
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.
Equipment
Notes
- 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).
- Avoid “stew meat”. Stew meat is often times a random mix of lean scraps that turn out dry and rubbery.
- 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 beef 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!
- Freeze in individual portions. This will allow for easy serving and thawing, perfect for a quick lunch or fast dinner. Always leave a little bit of space at the top of your container or freezer bag as the liquid will expand as it freezes, squeezing out the extra air to prevent freezer burn.
Did you make this recipe?
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I am obsessed with this recipe and have made it many, many times. Sent it to my entire family to make and they also loved it. I’ve refined my process and do one slight modification…I add the potatoes at the same time I add the beef and forego the last 20 minutes (mostly because I cannot bare another 20 mins…it smells way too good). The beef comes out incredibly tender and the potatoes are also done by then. I LOVE THIS RECIPE, THANK YOU!!!
I make this recipe ALL the time! So good. My boys love it.
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.