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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Turnip is a great vegetable to add to stew!
Can I use stew meat instead of steak for this recipe?
These flavors are speaking my language. Absolutely making this soon!
WOW. I am eating this as I write this review. This isn’t the first recipe from Damn Delicious that I’ve printed to keep in my GO-TO recipe box! Thank you for these amazing recipes!
I did add one can on homemade canned tomatoes because why not! and I added just a splash of Worecestershire sauce just for personal flavoring (think I may add some peas next time)
but MAN IS THIS GOOD AS IS, no substitues needed!
This definitely is the best beef stew!! I’m 87 and have eaten many beef stews but this is the best.
Thank you for this recipe! This stew is delicious! Changed very little, added more veggies and wine! Will make again
This recipe headline does not lie; it really IS The Best, and totally DAMN DELICIOUS!! I’ve made it twice now and am in love. Served with a crusty loaf of French bread and butter; can’t be beat on a rainy chilly day!
I made this today and it turned out to be delicious!! I will be making it again!
I used elk sirloin temderized and it turned out wonderful!
So thick and rich! I followed the recipe to the letter. It needed no adjustments.
This recipe looks like just what I need for a potluck. Thank you for making it printer friendly.
Can I get the recipe tnx!
Absolutely delicious! I made without using the wine too. 5 stars!
This is the best stew recipe I have ever made. My husband wanted more, more tonight! Thank you!
what if I don’t add red wine?
You’ll miss out.
It’s a great recipe. Sometimes I do it a bit differently. I omit the potatoes in the stew and instead serve it over mashed potatoes. My husband prefers it that way.
One of the best stews I’ve ever eaten. Just make sure to get good quality stewing steak. Even the base without the meat makes a lovely vegetable stew, add more beef stock to make more of a soup.
Do you know the nutritional value of this soup?
About 15 nutrition’s. Thanks for asking.
I have only made beef stew a few times in my life: using different recipes that were never really impressive. This was delicious, it turned out exactly as I hoped it would, hearty and flavorful. I threw the potatoes in at the same time as the beef by mistake, but it worked out just fine since I had the meat cut on the smaller side. I made the recipe exactly as is otherwise; it’s a keeper!
This is my favorite beef stew recipe. Quick and easy and so, so good. I’m going to have to double the batch though. I always plan to freeze ½ of it but it doesn’t last long enough to do so!