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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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!
Love this recipe so much. Would it be a crazy idea to use chicken instead of beef? If I did that, what would I have to change about the recipe?
You’d probably want to use chicken stock instead of beef stock, and white wine instead of red. No idea how that would turn out.
The wife said the flavor was amazing.
Adding this one to the menu rotation.
Followed recipes with tweaks
Sliced mushrooms thinly as my people find thick mushrooms texture similar to gristle.
Used Better than bouillon for beef stock
Used arm roast, cheaper, needed 2hrs to cook
I swapped out some of the water for the better than bullion mix with a lager like yuengling or a guiness( when it’s colder weather guiness seems to taste better with stew!)
This stew was delicious! I used the same ingredients and decided to cook it for a half hour in my InstantPot which made the prep time quicker but the flavor was still awesome.
My son asked me to make him some beef stew, I found this recipe and it turned out great! As I started cooking he would come and smell and say, “mmmm that smells great”. When he tried it he said he could almost cry of how delicious it was. I followed it to a T. Thank you for this amazing recipe! My husband loved it as did I. I also felt that it was easy to follow. Cant wait to try out more recipes from you ☺️
Great! Left out the mushroom and added more of the veggies than instructed (Will even add more next time since meat kinda overpowered everything) Still loved it though!
One question though, is after browning the beef (used stewed beef) there was quite a lot of meat liquid left over in the pot. Should this be drained or kept in the pot and add the veggies to it to cook? (Or did I cook the meat wrong and there shouldnt be any juices at all? New to cooking but enjoying the new hobby!)
Steven – usually when browning beef, if you do it in small batches, there isn’t juices left. If you do it in a large batch all at once, cook it until the juices are gone and the beef develops a crust. I’m guessing (total guess) that you didn’t brown the beef long enough and it goes more of a grey-brown instead of a deep brown. You want to go for the deep deep brown. Hope that helps!
This was very delicious! Made it on a snow day and it hit the spot after shoveling the driveway. I skipped the mushrooms, as I don’t care for them. This will be a winter staple in my house!!
AMEN @Liz!! I’m like when the F am i supposed to add the steak back in?!!!!!! Lol! That’s what happens when you buy a bottle of dry red wine for a beef stew recipe and wind up drinking the rest…. Lolol
Step #6 says to add the steak back in…
Trying to make this for my dad. At what point do I add back the beef (after setting aside)?
Step 6
Switched out the flour with cornstarch to make it gluten free! Forgot the bay leaves at the store and made it without – it was still super good plus added a little extra garlic and onion bc I love em! So good I have some waiting in the fridge that I can’t wait to eat tomorrow LOL!