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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Best ever for taste
Can you do a crockpot version?
This recipe is really good! I do it quite often. The only thing is it does not seem to be enough for 8 servings more like 4 good bowls. But my family really loves it!! And I have tried other recipes but this one is the best! I cut the meat in really small cubes instead of having big chunks of beef and it comes out so tender!
rutabega good also
It’s an amazing recepie!! I dont have any celary so i didnt add it and it still tasted great! Also, I didnt have red wine so I just used beer and IT WAS AMAZING! Thanks for sharing the recepie! :))))
Excellent recipe… didn’t have red wine so I used balsamic vinegar…. Used grass fed stewing beef:)
Tastes great. Had a look at the reviews on here and thought I might answer a few questions.
1. I don’t like mushrooms. What should I do? Don’t add them idiot, it will still taste fine.
2. I don’t like/drink red wine. What should I do? See point number 1.
3. The potatoes aren’t cooked! Here’s a fun idea, taste it before you serve it up. If the spuds aren’t done cook it for longer.
4. It’s soupy/thin! Remember in 3rd grade when you learned about evaporation? Cook it for longer with the lid off.
5. Can I use a slow cooker? Sure. Alternatively you can save $300 and use the slow cooker built into your stove top aka the low setting.
Cool your jets man, I’m just trying to make a stew
Wow chefs kiss but I don’t drink wine
You are hysterical!!! Love it.
I have had your recipe saved for the longest time and finally got around to making it today. It truly lives up to its name. It is damn delicious. I followed your recipe to a tee, other than cutting it in half ( being a single retired lady). I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow! Love your recipes!
This really was delicious. It reminds me a bit of Boeuf Bourguignon with the wine and mushrooms but also a traditional stew with the potatoes and other veggies. I made it for a young family who had just had a new baby, and fortunately it made plenty for them and also for the hubby and me. It is perfect with a baguette, but tonight I just added some naan bread since that’s what was handy.
Sounds perfect.
awesome very tasty and love it just one hint i can gife you as a chef add a bit of basil and roket with a chilly that is all i can say but still love the diche
Delicious! I used button mushrooms and the red wine I used was a French merlot. Absolutely delicious! Especially for these cold Irish evenings!
When I look for a recipe my first choice is to look up Damn Delicious! And we are never disappointed. I cut this recipe in half since we are empty nesters. And the house smells delicious made it in the crock pot and with my taste testing though out the day I will hopefully have 2 servings! This is a keeper.
This recipe is so delicious, we have made it twice in the past month. It is PACKED with flavor, tenderness of the meat, the vegetables, and potatoes cook so nicely. I used Merlot in the broth. The broth is the perfect thickness. Enjoyed with hard dinner rolls.
Really simple and really tasty. I added two jalapeños for some heat along with the mirepoix. Would definitely make again.
Recipe sounds great. Could I do this in a slow cooker?
Just googled again and found it on your website. thanks
Out of all the recipes I googled I chose yours and I am so happy I did! It is damn delicious!
This was the most delicious beef stew I’ve ever had! Thank you!!
Delicious! Classic recipe and very easy to prepare. Thank you! Could you add the nutritional macros!
Great recipe.
Purely for the fact that Stew is a staple in our house (we live in Northern Ireland), I have to say my only comment would be that you need to add more potatoes.
Some cut very small will break down and give additional thickness and some cut regular/bigger to give bite.
Love your recipes
Very delicious
Oh0 just saw it! Step 6. Can’t wait to try it. 🙂
I haven’t made this yet but it seems to be missing the part where the beef is added back. I’ve done this same recipe before where the beef is precooked, then set aside, then finished in a crock pot. Is this all done with one pot? Thanks.
Adding the beef back is right there in step 6.