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 Chiberia 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.
- 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 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds top sirloin steak, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 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
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Season steak with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 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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Very, very good . Robust and wonderfully tasty.
I made your stew as written, but substituted parsnips for potatoes as we prefer those. Boy was this stew delicious. Using top sirloin steak meant the stew meat didn’t have to cook for hours. About an hour start to finish and it was one of the best beef stews I’ve ever made. I’ll use this recipe again!!
I’ve made plenty and many beef stews and have always been disappointed – this one though – omg – amazing! I love it!
First bowl kinda broke into soup, but don’t give up on it. After that I simmered in the slow cooker for another hour or two without the cover. And it turned into the most delicious stew I’ve ever had.
This is such a flavorful stew!! Great recipe. My only recommendation would be to add an extra 30-45 minutes onto the final simmering cook period. That extra time makes the beef really tender and the whole stew even more flavorful. Served it with toasted baguette. Lovely comfort meal.
Seriously the best beef stew I’ve ever had! I actually just used regular stew meat (but cut up the pieces pretty small so they would be tender). YOWZA! So so good! I tripled the recipe. I didn’t skimp on the wine and added frozen peas in during the last 10 minutes (to “beef” it up). Absolutely yummy!
What can you use in lieu of wine . I at work offshore . So no wine available .
Chicken or beef broth will work fine.
Without a doubt, the best stew I’ve ever had. I made it for my brother-in-law following surgery. He and his wife are fabulous cooks and they said they’ve never had stew this tender. Don’t cheap out on the wine …only use one of your favourites. I used consommé instead of beef broth.
OMG! So very good! I used lean stewing beef, about half a campbell’s can of Cabernet ( maybe more coming), 10 oz of sliced mushrooms and a jar of Goya sofrito (tomatoes, green bell pepper, garlic and olive oil) together with everything else you listed. It’s late fall and I’ve been wanting to make beef stew for a couple of weeks now. I also used dry thyme bc I didn’t have fresh. Potatoes coming in next. Oh, and my sweetie wants me to add baby Lima beans (hmmmm) but it’s stew so why not!
You have a winner here!
Made this for my roommate and boyfriend today. I added a bit extra red wine, paprika, and rosemary instead of thyme — it turned out really great! I also forwent the celery in lieu of frozen peas at the very end for some colour and sweetness, which I recommend. I think maybe the recipe could do with a bit less mushrooms but it certainly wasn’t overpowering or anything. It’s a nice savoury meal, perfect for fall. Thanks!
I made this stew last night and I followed the recipe exactly and it is seriously the BEST beff stew I’ve ever had in my life! The depth of flavor was insane for a stew that has such a short cooking time. Also, the beef and vegetables were perfectly tender and delicious! Great recipe!
I made this recipe by the book and it was absolutely delicious. However, being the Southern country boy that I am, I had to make it the way my grandma woulda made it. Beef stew ain’t beef stew without whole kernel corn in it and corn bread on the side. Either way, you can’t go wrong. Make it per the recipe and change it (if ya jest gotta) how you like it.
I love it!
Very nice
What would recommend as an alternative to mushrooms?
What would you recommend as an alternative to red wine
If you’re concerned about the alcohol in the wine, remember that cooking the stew boils off the alcohol, leaving the flavor of the wine.
This is an outstanding stew!
My whole fam. loved it!
TY for posting it!
Rob
Loved your clam chowder! I never knew it could be so easy. So when searching for a beef stew recipe I chose yours! So Yummy!
Just wondering what other part of beef can I use that gets tender for stew. The sirloin felt a little tough. But was still great.
Blade beef also good.
After following recipe for browning meat, throw everything in the crockpot. I do not precook veggies. They break down too much. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. I use chuck roast. So much more tender.
Chuck roast – cube it and dust in flour, salt and pepper then brown. Even without browning it will be tender. The browning will give the stew more depth of flavor.
Could you please specify how to simmer with the lid open or closed?
This was the first time I have made stew and I am new to cooking. It cooked well and was very tasty!
I didn’t realize I was supposed to take the steak out of the stock pot after browning it, so I left it in. I used sirloin tip steak. I skipped the wine and instead added 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce in step 6, after reducing heat. I simmered for about 20 minutes after reducing heat and then transferred it all to my slow cooker and added the potatoes. Put my slow cooker on low while we were out for 2 hours. I was afraid the potatoes would turn to mush and/or the meat would be too tough or the gravy would all evaporate. When we got home, I was happy to see that the gravy was still quite watery and the potatoes had not turned to mush. The potatoes and carrots were perfectly cooked. I added the parsley and salt to taste. It was very good! The gravy did seem a bit thin for a stew, it was more like a hearty soup broth. It also could have had more potatoes, in my opinion. The steak was almost perfect, just a bit chewy (but maybe that is to be expected with the sirloin tip steak?) It was very flavorful and my son and I had fun learning how to make stew!
How would I make the gravy thicker and the steak a bit more tender for next time? Would more flour make the gravy thicker?
I might try another reviewer’s suggestion of using chuck roast and putting everything in the slow cooker on low for 6- 8 hours after step one. I would also like to try using a wine next time, maybe a Cabernet-Shiraz, as that is my favorite wine.
Delicious stew! A pot of comfort food that is perfect for rainy season. I highly recommend adding dumplings to it:
Dumplings (makes 8-10)
1.5 cups flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs shortening
3/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Cut in shortening, stir in milk. Roll 8-10 balls. Drop in soup. Cook 15 min with lid on.
Ugh I feel badly to give a negative review, but the beef was super tough and the potatoes were so undercooked. I followed the recipe to the T. It was watery too. I was excited to try a new recipe, but if you’ve never made stew before I would not follow this recipe. I’m going to stick with a crock pot recipe which seems to tenderize all ingredients.
did you remove the steak like it says in step 1? I would think the steak you can not cook lng or it will be tough. usually i use beef stew but you have to cook for a couple hours to get tender. i have not tried this recipe but it does make me nervous about the steak being tough
When I read the recipe, I wondered about both those things. Sirloin is too lean to cook long, and I like the potatoes well cooked!
This was amazing! Easy and my family loved it! Will be my go-to stew from now on!