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This cozy Beef Stew Recipe starts on the stove but finishes in the oven; it’s filled with tender chunks of beef, root vegetables, red wine, and fresh herbs. Every bowl is hearty, delicious, and perfect for chilly nights.
Beef Stew can easily be underwhelming. The beef can be tough and dry, the vegetables can taste water-logged or overcooked, and the gravy can be bland.
The best Beef Stew recipe is the exact opposite: Tender chunks of beef that are so tender, they easily shred under your fork. Veggies that are bright and colorful with some bite to them. Most importantly, a deep, savory gravy that surrounds everything and infuses flavor in every forkful.
To accomplish this, do a little bit of prep up front (browning the beef and cooking some aromatics in the rendered fat), add vegetables at different times (slow-cookers early, quick-cookers later), layer in serious flavor (broth, red wine, and fresh herbs), and then give it time. Cook this classic Beef Stew recipe low and slow so there is time for all the flavors to blend, merry, and infuse.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Beef roast: For tender chunks of beef stew meat, look for beef chuck roast (also called boneless chuck roll, chuck-eye roast or boneless chuck fillet). Look for beef that is well-marbled with white veins of fat.
- Red wine: My favorite wines for stews, Pot Roast, and Beef Bourguignon are Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir. Or, you can substitute more chicken broth.
- Thyme: Fresh rosemary (instead of or in addition to) would be great in this stew, too. The bay leaf is essential.
- Potatoes: New potatoes are cute and quick-cooking, but you can substitute your favorite potato such as russet potatoes, yellow potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, or baby red potatoes.
Step-by-step instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef pieces dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half the meat in a single layer and sear, without moving, until browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip each piece of beef and continue cooking until browned on the other side. Transfer to a bowl. Heat another tablespoon of oil and repeat with remaining beef until browned. Transfer to bowl.
- Heat last tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add onion and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in flour and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, wine, and chicken broth, thyme, bay leaves, and browned beef, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer. Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for 1 hour. Remove pot from oven. Stir in potatoes and carrots. Return to a simmer, cover, and return to the oven for 1 hour longer, until beef and potatoes are fork-tender.
- Remove pot from oven. Remove bay leaves and any thyme stems. Stir in peas and cover for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Beef Stew recipe makes about 12 cups of stew, enough for 8 hearty servings, 1 ½ cups each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Beef stew tastes even better after it sits overnight, so consider making it a day or 2 in advance.
- Freezer: Freezing potatoes makes them soft and grainy, so if you want to freeze the stew, consider omitting the potatoes. Add them when reheating the stew, or consider serving the stew over mashed potatoes instead. To freeze the stew, cool it completely, then pack in freezer-safe containers. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Venison Stew: This easy deer meat stew is made with lean protein, red wine, and lots of winter vegetables. If you’re lucky enough to have venison on hand, add this recipe to your menu immediately.
- Guinness Stew: A splash of dark stout makes the sauce rich and flavorful, perfect for tender chunks of beef and vegetables. Serve Guinness Stew over Mashed Potatoes or Colcannon for the perfect cozy meal.
- Booyah Stew: Hearty comfort food at its Midwestern best, this Booyah Stew is a chicken and beef stew is a fan-favorite that deserves the starring role as part of your potluck or tailgate menu.
- Sausage and Bean Stew: Weeknights were made for Sausage and Bean Stew, a rustic French recipe inspired by a classic cassoulet. Every bowl is bright tomatoes, creamy white beans, and topped with toasted bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
The secret to a good stew is: time. You need to give plenty of time for the beef to cook until it becomes meltingly tender and starts to fall apart. Ideally this is done at a lower temperature.
The flavor in this beef stew comes from browning the beef (that caramelization adds a lot of flavor), then layering more flavors from vegetables (onions, celery, carrots), broth, red wine, and fresh herbs.
This beef stew recipe is thickened with flour, although some recipes may use a cornstarch slurry. To use a cornstarch slurry, mix some of the beef stew liquid with a small amount of cornstarch until smooth, then add back to the pot and simmer until thickened.
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Beef Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (3 pound) beef roast cut into 1½ -inch cubes (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 onions diced
- 2 celery ribs finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine (see note 2)
- 2 cups chicken broth or beef broth
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried (see note 3)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes scrubbed and quartered (see note 4)
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef pieces dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half the meat in a single layer and cook, without moving, until browned on one side, about 5 minutes.
- Flip each piece of beef and continue cooking until browned on the other side. Transfer to a bowl. Heat another tablespoon of oil and repeat with remaining beef until browned. Transfer to bowl.
- Heat last tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add onion and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in flour and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, wine, and chicken broth, thyme, bay leaves, and browned beef, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer. Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for 1 hour.
- Remove pot from oven. Stir in potatoes and carrots. Return to a simmer, cover, and return to the oven for 1 hour longer, until beef is tender.
- Remove pot from oven. Remove bay leaves and any thyme stems. Stir in peas and cover for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Beef roast: Preferably chuck-eye roast (also called boneless chuck roll or boneless chuck fillet). Look for beef that is well-marbled with white veins of fat.
- Red wine: My favorite wines for stews, Pot Roast, and Beef Bourguignon are Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir. Or, you can substitute more chicken broth.
- Thyme: Fresh rosemary (instead of or in addition to) would be great in this stew, too. The bay leaf is essential.
- Potatoes: New potatoes cook fast, but you can substitute your favorite potato such as russets, Yukon gold potatoes, or baby red potatoes.
- Yield: This Beef Stew recipe makes about 12 cups of stew, enough for 8 hearty servings, 1 ½ cups each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I have found more delicious recipes on your site than any other. My son and I aren’t really roast beef, potatoes and carrots kind of people. We don’t care for soups that much either. We both LOVED this recipe. Can’t wait to try more. Thank You for sharing such good recipes.
I’m getting ready to fix this beef stew. I’m just curious..when I’ve cooked a whole roast I was taught to cover in flour and then sear it. I’m compelled to put the chunks of roast in flour before searing. Is there a reason you don’t coat in flour?
This is delicious. Thank you for the recipe.