This Classic Homemade Beef Stew Recipe is the perfect comfort food, full of melt-in-your-mouth beef and plenty of hearty vegetables. Serve with egg noodles, rice or a loaf of crusty bread to soak up every last bite.
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Best Beef Stew Recipe
There is something so comforting and cozy about a bowl of Homemade Beef Stew on a cold day. To make this classic stew recipe, chunks of beef are seared, then braised with garlic, onions and vegetables in a deliciously rich beef and tomato broth. The end result is melt-in-your-mouth tender beef, potatoes, carrots, celery all wrapped up in a velvety smooth sauce.
Another thing to love about stew recipes is that the flavor actually improves with time, making them the perfect make-ahead meals. For the ultimate winter dinner, serve Homemade Beef Stew over a bed of egg noodles or rice or with a big loaf of crusty bread for dipping.
Homemade Beef Stew Ingredients
- Beef Stew Meat - If you're wondering what the best beef for stew is, this recipe is particularly great for using a tougher, less expensive cut. It's a great beef stew meat recipe. The best beef for stew is basically any chuck roast, bottom round roast or bottom eye roast. You can find cut-up stew meat in the supermarket; this really is the best beef stew meat recipe.
- Oil - you can use avocado oil, olive oil or another cooking oil.
- Flour - this helps to brown the beef and creates a sauce in the bottom of the pan. You can also substitute about half of the quantity of cornstarch.
- Salt and Pepper
- Water - this is for deglazing the bottom of the pot. You can also use red wine if you prefer.
- Onion - any white or yellow onions will work.
- Garlic - you’ll want to use fresh minced or jarred garlic for this recipe.
- Potatoes - you can use Russet potatoes, Idaho potatoes or even red potatoes for stew.
- Celery - you’ll want to slice into about ½ inch pieces. Instead of celery, some people like to substitute frozen peas.
- Carrots - these should be peeled and cut into pieces.
- Tomato Sauce - use any type of tomato sauce that you’d like.
- Beef Broth - use your favorite kind of beef broth or stock.
- Worcestershire Sauce - this adds so much flavor to beef.
- Bay Leaves - we like to use fresh bay leaves when possible. They have much more flavor, and last for quite a while as long as you store them in the freezer.
- Thyme - use fresh thyme if possible, or you can substitute 2 teaspoons of dried thyme or Italian seasoning.
How to Make Homemade Beef Stew
- Prepare beef. Prepare stew meat by cutting roast or steaks into 1" pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel and then lightly in flour.
- Brown the beef. In a large dutch oven pot, add a few tablespoons of cooking oil on medium high heat. In batches, add stew meat in a single layer, leaving space between the meat so it can brown. Salt and pepper as you go. Once browned, remove stew meat and set aside. Repeat until all stew meat is browned.
- Caramelize the onions and garlic. In the same dutch oven over medium heat, add the onions and deglaze the pot with about a cup water or red wine. Cook, stir the pot's bottom with a spatula to make sure you get up all of the browned bits, and caramelize the onions until they are golden brown. Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic is translucent, or about 2-3 minutes.
- Cook the stew. Add the browned beef, potatoes, celery, carrots, tomato sauce, broth, bay leaves, worcheshire sauce, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and simmer on the stovetop on low for about 40-60 minutes, or until the beef and vegetables are tender.
- Serve. Remove from the heat and ladle into bowls, then garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew Instructions
- Brown meat, add to slow cooker.
- Caramelize onions in the same pot as the meat.
- Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Garnish with parsley if desired, enjoy!
Oven Beef Stew Instructions
- Brown meat, set aside.
- Caramelize onions in the same pot as the meat.
- Add all the ingredients to the pot, cover with a lid and bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for about an hour or until the vegetables are fork-tender.
- Garnish with parsley if desired, enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use just about anything, but this recipe lends particularly well to a tougher and less expensive cut of beef. It makes the best beef stew. Any chuck roast will work great - it is well-marbled and has plenty of time to slow cook and melt away all of that connective tissue.
Other great options are bottom round roast, bottom eye roast or you may even find something labeled “stew meat” at the grocery store.
Yes! And get this - the flavor actually improves with time, making this a perfect make-ahead meal. Just make it, cool it completely and store in the fridge overnight. You can reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warm the next day.
The most likely reason for tough beef stew meat is that you didn’t cook it long enough. Since you are using such a tough cut of meat, you need to cook it low and slow for at least 40 minutes, but it may take longer.
To be absolutely sure your meat is tender, you can cook everything but the vegetables for 30 minutes, then add the veggies and continue to cook until they are all fork-tender.
Yup! Beef Stew can be frozen for up to 2 months. I like to freeze it flat in freezer bags. The night before serving, I just transfer to the fridge to defrost and reheat the next day.
In the slow cooker it should take 5-6 hours on low for the beef and veggies to become nice and tender.
More Beef Recipes
If you're looking for more beef recipes, be sure to try our Beef Stroganoff, Shredded Beef Tacos, Beef Short Ribs, and the best Rump Roast in a Crockpot.
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: store in freezer bags or another airtight container for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To reheat: the easiest way to reheat Beef Stew is in a pot on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
Homemade Beef Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs Stew Meat chuck roast, or any kind of steak, cut into cubes
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil or avocado oil
- 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour or 1 ½ Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 cup Water or red wine
- 1 large Onion minced
- 2 teaspoons Garlic minced
- 3-4 Med Potatoes peeled and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 ½ cups Celery sliced
- 1 ½ cups Carrots peeled and cut into 1" pieces
- ½ cup Tomato Sauce or 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 5-6 cups Beef Broth enough to cover all stew ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 4 large Bay Leaves
- 4 springs Thyme or about 2 teaspoons dried thyme or Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- Prepare stew meat by cutting roast or steaks into 1" pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel and then lightly in flour.
- In a large dutch oven pot, add a few tablespoons of cooking oil on medium high heat. In batches, add stew meat in a single layer, leaving space between the meat so it can brown. Salt and pepper as you go.
- Once browned, remove stew meat and set aside. Repeat until all stew meat is browned.
- In the same dutch oven over medium heat, add the minced onion and deglaze the pot with about a cup water or red wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a spatula to make sure you get up all of the browned bits, then caramelize the onions until they are golden brown. Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic is translucent, or about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the browned beef, potatoes, celery, carrots, tomato sauce, broth, bay leaves, worcheshire sauce, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and simmer on the stovetop on low for about 40-60 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove from the heat and ladle into bowls, then garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Brown meat, add to slow cooker.
- Caramelize onions in the same pot as the meat.
- Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the beef and vegetables are fork-tender.
- Garnish with parsley if desired, enjoy!
- Brown meat, set aside.
- Caramelize onions in the same pot as the meat.
- Add all the ingredients to the pot, cover with a lid and bake on 325 degrees for about an hour or until the beef and vegetables are fork-tender.
- Garnish with parsley if desired, enjoy!
Nutrition
Here are more recipes for easy soups and stews:
- White Chicken Chili
- Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Easy Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup
- Easy Taco Soup
- More Dinner Ideas
More Beef Recipes
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This is the best recipe for Beef Stew is full of tender beef, potatoes, carrots, and celery wrapped up in a velvety smooth broth. I'll show you how to make this easy homemade beef stew recipe step by step. This is one of the best stew meat recipes. It's best served over egg noodles or rice or a big loaf of crusty bread. This beef stew recipe will soon become your family favorite.
Justine
Yum! This was absolutely delicious!
Jill Baird
So happy you enjoyed it too!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
I Made for a gathering and it was a hit, everyone loved it! Will definitely make it again!
Jill Baird
So happy to hear this. Thank you, Shadi!