Ultimate Homemade Beef Stew Recipe (Beats Any Pot Roast)

Beef stew is the ultimate wintertime one-pot comfort food meal. You can make this on a Sunday and have dinner ready to heat up all week!

Beef stew on cutting board in a bowl with a biscuit and spoon.

Beef Stew and Snow Just Go Together

As I sit and write this blog, I’m staring at the snow-covered New Jersey ground. More appropriately, I stare at the ice-covered ground. And there is more snow on the way. There are few things worse than snow that never melts and is compounded by more snow. And in this abysmal weather pattern, I wonder, as I often do, what food will satisfy me the most. I am someone who eats based on mood and right now my mood is frigid. I don’t like soup, even though the stracciatella soup that Melissa made is pretty bomb, I need more. Beef stew to the rescue.

A hearty stew is the answer to all of winter’s misery and a popular recipe on days like this. A hearty beef stew is even better. It’s a complete meal that you don’t even need to wait a long time for. Check out how simple this is.

We chose to buy a larger cut of meat here (sirloin) but please feel free to use stew meat, beef chuck, short ribs, or even a pot roast. Tough cuts of meat are ok for this recipe because it is cooked low and slow which allows the meat to become tender. If you get a large piece of meat just be sure to cut it down into bite-sized cubes.

Garlic ends being cut off so they can be peeled.

Here is what you will need for your beef stew recipe!

  • 2 lbs cubed beef (we used sirloin, but you can use almost any cut like chuck roast, beef stew meat, or even short ribs)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 10 cloves of garlic (or a fuck ton) peeled and sliced
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 cups beef broth (or Better Than Bouillon)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks (you can substitute red potatoes also)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • Freshly chopped parsley for serving (optional)
Ingredients for beef stew on top of the kitchen counter ready to be cooked.

As always: Trust the Process

In a large Dutch oven or large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat(you can also use a pressure cooker or instant pot for this). When the oil reaches temperature, add your beef. The goal here is to get tender beef. You’ll probably need to cook the beef in a couple of batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pot. Brown the meat on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the Dutch oven and add the tomato paste. Toast the paste until it becomes fragrant. It should turn deep red in color.

Add in the onions and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 3 – 4 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium and add the cup of red wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot while the wine cooks down and reduces.

Raw beef in a dutch oven being seared in olive oil.

How do you actually say Worcestershire?

When the wine has reduced by half, it is time to add your balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, thyme, bay leaf, carrots, potatoes, and your cooked beef. Allow this to come to a simmer.

Once the pot is simmering, cover it and put it in your oven for two hours. Check halfway through, at the one-hour mark, to see if the stew has thickened. If it has not yet thickened, make a cornstarch slurry and add it in. This is nothing more than some cornstarch mixed with water. Add it in to get your desired consistency. The stew should be thick, but still liquidy. You don’t want it to be as thin as a soup broth, but also not as thick as a paste either.

After two hours (this time will help a rich flavor develop), remove the pot from the oven, fish out that pesky bay leaf, and serve. We ladle ours into bowls and top with a little fresh parsley.

Beef stew in a dutch oven on the stove being stirred.

Tools we used

  • I received this Staub Dutch Oven as a gift and I love it so much. It is heavy but it keeps perfect heat and is so easy to clean!
  • I started using Better than Boulion a couple of years ago and I just cannot go back to boxed or canned stock anymore. I usually choose their lower sodium versions.
  • We have two of these Boos Cutting Boards and we use them for everything! They are a little expensive but if you take care of them they will last you a lifetime.

FAQ

Are beef stew and pot roast the same?

Stew vs pot roast is an age-old question.

Can I freeze beef stew?

Why is my stew meat tough?

Most likely because you chose the wrong meat to use. You want to make sure there is plenty of marbling or fat in your meat. This breaks down during the cooking process and allows for tender meat.

Why is my beef stew so salty?

This could be because of the broth or stock you decided to use. Next time try a low-sodium stock. Also, not all salts are made equal. We used diamond kosher salt which requires much more than a sea salt.

Print
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Beef stew on cutting board in a bowl with a biscuit and spoon.

Beef Stew with Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits


  • Author: A Couple Bites
  • Total Time: 2 1/2 hours
  • Yield: 4 1x

Description

This is the ultimate winter comfort food. You can make this in advance and eat it all week long!


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Stew:

  • 2 lbs cubed beef. You can use chuck or beef stew meat. We used sirloin that we cut ourselves
  • 2 tsp diamond kosher salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 medium yellow onion cut into 1 in pieces
  • 10 cloves of garlic
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 12 dashes of Worchester sauce
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 1 bay leafs
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 4 large carrots of 2 hand fulls of baby carrots but in half
  • 1 lb yukon gold potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp of water (if needed)
  • Fresh chopped parsley for serving

The Buttermilk Biscuit recipe can be found here!


Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees with the wire rack in the middle.
  2. If your beef is not already cut into chunks do that first. We like to leave a lot of the fat on there because it makes the meat more tender and the stew more delicious.
  3. Pat your beef dry and season with salt and pepper. Next, toss your beef in flour so that it is coated.
  4. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium-high heat in a large dutch oven. When the oil reaches temperature add your beef. This will probably need to be done in two batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot. Make sure to brown for a minute or two on all sides.
  5. Remove your beef from the pan and add another tablespoon of olive oil. Add your tomato paste in and toast it until fragrant.
  6. Add in your onions and garlic and saute until fragrant 3-4 minutes.
  7. Lower your heat to medium and add your red wine to the pot. After you add this use a wooden spoon to scrape all of the browned bits of the bottom of the pot while the wine cooks down.
  8. When your wine has reduced by half it is time to add your balsamic vinegar, worcheshire sauce, and beef broth, cooked beef with its juices, thyme, bay leaf, carrots and potatoes. Allow this to come to a simmer.
  9. Once the pot is simmering, cover and put it in your oven for two hours. Check halfway through this at the 1 hour mark and if the stew has not thickened you can add a bit of cornstarch mixed with water. Just add a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.
  10. After two hours careful remove the pot of the oven, fish out the bay leaf, and ladle into bowls, top with fresh parsley and serve. We like to include a buttermilk biscuit or a piece of crusty bread with ours!
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

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