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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EXCELLENT! That is all!
This was excellent!!! I’m never going to bother with another stew recipe. I did make basic modifications based on what I had. I used cubed chuck roast and increased the cook time accordingly. Also, substituted 2 tbsp (a dash more) of red wine vinegar instead of actual red wine and used the entire quart of beef broth (didn’t have stock). Omitted the potatoes since I wanted mashed potatoes on the side. Also, I always up the garlic since I love garlic.
Thank you so much for a keeper recipe!
Absolutely fantastic recipe. Great flavors and super easy. Thank you!!!
Wow!! My husband and I loved your recipe! I followed your exact instructions. Easy and very scrumptious. I’m not a red wine fan but I am enjoying this Cab Sauv wine after that delicious beef stew.
Will definitely make this Beef Stew again and shared the recipe with my daughter. Thank you, Carolyn
So. Freaking. Delicious. That is all. Oh, and thank you!
This is hands-down the best recipe for beef stew I have ever tasted- and being from Maine, where we take our winter comfort food seriously, that’s saying something.
The flavor is intense, in a good way (must be the dry red). It thickens nicely. I added peas and green beans to mine.
This replaces my current go-to recipe I’ve been using for the last 20 years.
This recipe is very good!! I’ve got my own recipe passed down from my grandmother and mom, and I’d be safe to say this recipe would have their approval!! 🙂 thanks for sharing! Much appreciated!
My only disappointment with this recipe is that there were no leftovers! This stew has earned it’s “best ever” name. Soooo good. Rich, delicious, satisfying, and wonderful on a cold Seattle night. I’m going to triple this next time!
Thanks, Chunga!
I used chuck instead of sirloin (which alters the cooking time), leftover Korean cooking wine instead of the red, and subbed out the fresh herbs for some leftover rosemary I had in the fridge. Nonetheless, the stew was excellent, and I plan to use this as a base recipe again.
Great recipe! Added corn instead of celery. Also used 6oz can of tomato paste and worcestershire sauce. Other than that very delicious! Will be using this recipe again.
Just made today and used 2lb of filet only because I had it out in fridge for last two days and it needed used. I did not use the mushrooms since my Lady is not a shroom lover. Followed the rest to a tee besides using little more potatoes and a can of diced tomatoes and chili’s. The flavor was exactly what I was hoping. This is a good and simple recipe, all experienced cooks and novice should have this dish in their Arsenal. I love to cook and stumbling onto great dishes like this makes it more fun and enjoyable for me. Thanks
This stew was really easy to make and super delicious. It’s perfect – I did add a tad bit more red wine, flour, and tomato paste, 1 tsp of brown sugar to reduce the acidity and I also kept the meat in my ditch oven and added ingredient to one pot. Ohh and I added zucchini’s and extra of the veggies. So delicious and I think a forgiving recipe. At home I typically only use bouillon cubes and add water to them for broth/stock and that was excellent.
***Extra liquid fir extra veggies and for dipping a piece of bread.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
This is the absolute best beef stew ever. I use your recipes quite a bit and haven’t used one that wasn’t delicious. I’m 70, was raised up cooking and enjoy it, but sometimes I get tired of the same ole dishes so you are my solution to something new and/or different. Thanks ever so much
Excellent recipe as always! Thank you so much for the cookbooks and online recipes. I make at least two a week!
Should you remove the vegetables before browning the garlic and mushrooms and add them back in? Also, a bit hard to whisk the flour and tomato paste in with all the other ingredients in the pot. Any tips?
I didn’t add the flour to mine bc, toward the end, I intend to add a tbsp or 2 of instant mashed potatoes for thickener. I’ll see how that works.
Made again today. I wonder though how it serves 8? We only got four servings both times I made it.
Also wonder why your picture is very red as mine is very brown. I followed recipe to a tee.
Still a wonderful stew as it is snowing here in Pittsburgh on November 17th and it tastes great on a cold night!
I have stew meat and I know it’s tougher than what you recommend how long do I need to cook the meat
Delicious! The broth was so rich in texture and flavor. Definitely going to make it again- was easy to prepare and everyone asked for it again. New favorite, esp for colder nights with a glass of wine!
Perfect!
Made this last night. I only “diced” the onion, celery and garlic. Cut the meat in small chunks and also the carrots and potatoes. Next time I’ll add the potatoes in when I add the carrots. This is a very good recipe. Made a beautiful velvety sauce
And I used the wine I had on hand (Pinot noir) which worked well. Bought some artisan hard rolls that only took 10 minutes to bake
Will definitely make again, husband loved it!
Reply for Ava: Marsala comes in both sweet and dry. The dry would certainly work. My husband who is Italian makes a wonderful veal dish called appropriately “Veal Marsala” the sweet marsala is a dessert wine and wouldn’t work well in this application.