The BEST Beef Stew Recipe (Just 10 Minutes Of Prep Work Needed)

This beef stew is filled with so much flavor. It combines hearty potatoes, carrots, and juicy pieces of beef stew meat with a beef broth that is seasoned to perfection. However, it's not just super delicious, it's super easy to make too! In fact, all you'll need to invest is about 10 minutes of prep work to make it, and then your stove and pot will basically do all of the work after that.

The Best Beef Stew 

I know I'm biased, but I honestly think this is one of the easiest and best beef stew recipes you'll ever make. Not to mention one of the most delicious ones too!

That's because this beef stew recipe is full of veggies, potatoes, and tender beef that is simmered in a rich, flavorful broth. It's just such a hearty stew that really makes for the best comfort food, especially during cold winter months.

And, as I mentioned, it's so, so easy to make!

In fact, all you have to do is a little prep work, and then the beef stew basically cooks itself after that. So, it's a great recipe to make on those busy weeknights when you have things to do around the house and don't have time to spend in the kitchen to make dinner.

However, if you do have some extra time, you can easily whip up a side to go along with the stew! A few of my favorite ones to make with it are these sweet potato biscuits, this Italian cheese bread, or this cowboy cornbread.

Ingredients

Now, another thing I love about this beef stew recipe is that it's made with really basic ingredients. In fact, I can almost guarantee that you have most - if not all - of the ingredients on hand already to make it!

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make this stew:

• 500g. Stew meat (or chuck roast) cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp. flour
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cups beef broth
• ½ cup red wine 
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• ¾ cup peas

Pretty basic stuff, right?

By the way, you might want to grab some extra stew meat so you can try this beef and noodle soup next. It only takes 15 minutes to make, and it's another delicious hearty meal.

Ingredient Substitutions and Suggestions

While I recommend making this easy beef stew recipe exactly as it is written, I know you may need to make a few substitutions every now and then. So, with that said, here are a few ideas you can try.

Use Beef Stock

If you don't have beef broth on hand, then beef stock will work well in its place. You can also replace the beef broth with some water in a pinch. If you need to use water, add a splash of Worcestershire sauce, some bay leaves, and some extra herbs to give the broth a more rich flavor.

Use Chuck Roast

Beef stew meat is often sold in the grocery store already chopped up. However, you can also use a large chuck roast - or beef chuck - and just chop it up yourself. The tender meat will be delicious once cooked in the Dutch oven with all those amazing herbs.

How to Make Beef Stew

So, it's time for the best part, it's time to make the beef stew!

Now, I know I already mentioned it a few times, but this beef stew is so, so easy to make. In fact, I think it's just as easy to make as slow cooker beef stew! And if you've ever made slow cooker beef stew before, then you know it's usually a cinch to make. 

Anyway, let's stop wasting time and get cooking!

Step 1: Brown the Beef

The first thing you'll want to do is brown the beef. So you'll want to start by heating the olive oil over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven or large pot.

Then, while the oil is heating up, you can mix the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl and toss your pieces of stew meat into the mixture.

Next, you can add the floured beef along with the chopped onions to the pot of hot oil and cook them together until the beef has browned on all sides. Just keep in mind you'll want to flip the beef every minute or so to brown it on each side. Also, don't worry about cooking the beef all the way through at this step - you'll just want the browned beef to be nice and browned, it will completely cook later on.

Step 2: Simmer the Stew

Now that the beef has been browned, you can add almost all of the other ingredients to the stew.

So, that means you'll want to add in the beef broth and red wine while scraping up any brown bits from the meat in the pot. Then, you can add in the potatoes, carrots, celery, tomato paste, and fresh rosemary as well. The only ingredient you aren't adding to the pot at this time is the peas - you'll want to save them for later.

Next, you'll want to give all of the ingredients a good stir and reduce the heat to medium-low. Then, cover the pot and simmer the stew for 1 hour - or until the beef is fully cooked and tender.

Step 3: Finish The Stew and Serve

Now, once you have tender meat that is cooked through, you can add the peas to the pot, stir them in, and then simmer everything for about 5 more minutes.

Finally, serve this delicious beef stew with some salt and pepper along with anything else you want, and enjoy!

How to Store Beef Stew

This recipe for beef stew will make about 4-6 servings. So, it's really perfect for a big, hearty family dinner or even to eat as leftovers for the rest of the week.

Speaking of leftovers, you can store the cooled beef stew in an airtight container, and it'll last in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Alternatively, if you want to keep your leftover beef stew for even longer, you can freeze the cooled beef stew in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container for up to 6 months.

How to Reheat Beef Stew

Once you're ready to enjoy this beef stew again, it's definitely best enjoyed warm.

So, to reheat the beef stew, just transfer everything back to a large pot and put it over medium heat. You can warm it up for about 5 minutes or until it reaches your desired temperature. Just make sure to stir everything constantly so it reheats evenly.

With that said, if you want to heat the stew up even quicker, you can cook the beef stew in the microwave in 30-second increments until it's warmed through.

By the way, here's a little tip about reheating beef stew - you can always add more beef broth if the stew looks a little dry. More broth will help bulk up the stew, and it will still keep its great flavor too.

Wrapping it Up

Well, that's how to make beef stew!

Like I said earlier, I really think this is one of the best beef stew recipes out there. It's just so simple to make, yet it's filled with the most delicious flavors.

This recipe has been one of my go-to' s recently - especially while it's been cold outside - and my family really likes it too. It's safe to say that I/we will be whipping it up pretty frequently for the next few months!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this beef stew recipe as much as we do. As always, if you give this quick and easy beef stew recipe a try, leave a comment below and let us know how it went.

More Recipes

If you loved this beef stew recipe and are looking for more comfort food meals, we have quite a few on the blog I think you'll love as well.

Here are some of our most popular ones:

• Carne guisada
• 4 Ingredient potato soup
• Chicken and dumpling soup
• French onion chicken casserole
• Tuna noodle casserole
• Hamburger potato casserole

Oh, and for even more incredible, easy to make recipes, be sure to follow us on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. We post new ones on them every single day.

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