Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

By Molly O'Neill

Updated Nov. 29, 2023

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe (1)

Total Time
2 hours 45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
2 hours 30 minutes
Rating
5(22,410)
Notes
Read community notes

This classic stick-to-your-ribs stew is the ideal project for a chilly weekend. Beef, onion, carrots, potatoes and red wine come together in cozy harmony. If you are feeding a crowd, good news: It doubles (or triples) beautifully. For additional variations on the recipe, you might also enjoythis video.

Keys to This Recipe

How to Make Beef Stew: Beef stew is made in different ways across cultures, but at its core, it is simply tough cuts of meat slowly cooked with vegetables in liquid. Over hours of simmering, all the flavors meld together and the ingredients soften to tenderness.

How to Thicken Beef Stew: Starches, like the flour and potato in this recipe, thicken beef stew. Here, beef cubes are coated in flour, then browned, leaving flour in the pan while sealing flour to the meat. When the meat is later simmered, that flour thickens the liquid as do potatoes, which release their starches as they cook.

How to Make Beef Stew on the Stove: It's important to cook stew slowly over low heat. High heat will cause the meat to tighten and toughen, while low heat allows the meat to become fall-apart tender. Simply cover the pot and keep the heat as low as it goes.

What to Serve With Beef Stew: The best accompaniments to beef stew can soak up the sauce. A crusty baguette works well, as does rice. A beef stew is hearty enough to be a one-pot meal, but you can make a salad with some crisp, fresh vegetables.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • ¼cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes
  • 5teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1cup red wine
  • cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
  • 2bay leaves
  • 1medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 5medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch rounds
  • 2large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
  • 2teaspoons salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

496 calories; 12 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 1609 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe (2)

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

  1. Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; add more oil as needed between batches.

  2. Step

    2

    Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar and wine. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.

    Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe (3)
  3. Step

    3

    Cover and cook, skimming broth from time to time, until the beef is tender, about 1½ hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.

    Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe (4)

Ratings

5

out of 5

22,410

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Roseanne L.

I like to use the paper bag method for dusting meat.
Put flour and seasonings and meat, chicken, etc in paper bag, fold closed and shake. One less utensil to clean and even coating.

Eric

Tablespoon of herbs de Provence and 2 Tablespoons tomato paste will give it some flavor.

Tom

After browning the beef sauté the onions. Then add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and continue to cook until the color starts to go from bright red to rust. Then deglaze with the wine and vinegar. Add one tall spike of fresh rosemary (leaves removed and chopped) and three to four sprigs of thyme. Follow the recipe and finish with two cups of peas two to three minutes before serving.

Nancy

Okay People, this is "Old Fashioned Beef Stew" and it's exactly how my Mom made it and How I've made it for 45 years. Flouring your meat before browning actually adds flavor to the stew. There are tons of beef stew recipe out there, but this is authentic "Old Fashioned"!

Linda

If you're complaining about blandness, red wine, a bit of Worcestershire or even some harissa can help liven it up. Also, homemade peasant bread or even some store bought parker house rolls are a wonderful accompaniment. This is exactly my mother's go-to recipe for beef stew. She's gone now, but I would give anything to eat this with her one more time.

Lisa Conn

This was delicious. I cubed a chuck roast which was cheap and flavorful (removing all excess fat). I added some worchestershire sauce and ketchup at the end to add umami (flavor). After cooking I separated the solids and boiled the liquid a bit to reduce and concentrate, then whisked in a slurry of flour and water to thicken before recombining with meat and veggies. This stew is a one pot meal. It doesn't require rice or noodles because of the large amount of potatoes.

Jack Wilson

I think many of the negative comments were from people who have no idea what an old time stew tasted like. They probably have McDonald's taste buds and there is no changing that. This was a wonderful stew. With that said I also added to it. My choice was worcester sauce from my Brittish background. Adapting a recipe to fit your own taste is a normal procedure. Perhaps if some of these who commented threw in a Quarte pounder they would have felt differently.

Bob davison

Two great Irish cooks rated this the best beef stew they ever tasted. It's a keeper in our home.

Marjorie Och

Excellent. Added thyme. Sauteed the chopped onions. Used olive oil. Substituted gold potatoes for the bakers. Added about 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce and some ketchup...good additions. Should include a beef bone in the cooking.

Bill

Julia Childs recommends just browning the meat in oil without flour. Then make the stew as shown here. She thickens the gravy at the end by adding miller's butter (half butter and half flour) rolled into little balls, one at a time, until it's as thick as you like. I agree with her.

Diana

Sautéed onion and a shallot, added to deglazed pot with browned meat and a few sprigs of thyme. Added 2 T tomato paste, more pepper, shot of Worcestershire sauce and peas at the last...as my mother always did. Excellent stew. I will make it again.

Patrick

For this stew (and all others I've made), I like to use beef shank - lots more marbling than chuck, and just melts in one's mouth after an hour or so of slow simmering. I also throw the bones in (along with marrow) to add flavor. If you're making a big pot, shank is about half the price of chuck!

MT

This was delicious, though I made a few alterations. Like others, I added more herbs (thyme, rosemary, herbs de Provence, Basil, ground all spice). I chopped up the onion & along with a few table spoons of oil and tomato paste,I microwaved it with the herbs in a bowl for about 1 minute on high (a trick I learned from Cooks Illustrated slow cooker recipe book) & then I added this mixture to the pot at the start of step 2 above. Cooked the meat much longer, a/b 5 hrs before adding veggies.

Fast Marty

save money and use beef chuck instead of ribeyes/filets. get an intact chuck roast from the butcher, not pre-cubed "beef for stew". Cut the meat up yourself into small cubes. Ribeyes are for grilling, or broiling, not stew. The collagen breaks down nicely and the chuck meat transforms wonderfully. Of course, if you're wealthy, do as you wish.

Sheerah

Loved this. Doubled the wine & reduced the beef broth. Sprinkled in Herbes de Provence as per another review's suggestion. I'm normally a high-intensity spice seeker but found this dish flavorful and tender in its classic-ness.

mo

Added 4-5 cloves of minced garlic, fresh minced rosemary and thyme. Cooked these with the onions before deglazing the pan. Great flavor and delicious.

Jerseygirl

Love the suggestion to use whole chuck and cut yourself. Makes sense. I have for years used this recipe but in the flour I add cinnamon, nutmeg, pinch cloves or allspice (to taste), additionally use V-8 or tomato juice with beef stock. Rich gravy with lovely spicy aroma- flavorsome. Ramps up flavor and gets rave reviews. I just serve with Grands or peasant bread.

Jen C.

I made this last night and followed the recipe exactly, which I rarely do. Absolutely comforting and delicious.

Madraof3

Delicious!! Wish I had found this recipe 30 years ago. I followed the recipe as given -yes, adding the onion towards the end. Counterintuitive to what I have always done. The onion flavor and texture was lovely. I used a Cotes Du Rhone and will use again. Easy, and So good!

Julie

I LOVE this recipe AS IS! Personally I don't think there is any need to doctor this. Made it for friends, it was a hit. Now a standard in our house.

Cookin’ RAF

Added parsnips and turnip

Marlene schilling

Delicious

Name Beth Bochnak

Doubled the recipe this time. 3.5 hours too long to cook the meat (standard beef stew meat). I’d say 2.5 would be better. Also lots of thyme plus Worcestershire sauce not sure what else. Disappointed that the meat was so dry.

Anne K

Almost 50 years ago, my mother-in-law shared her recipe for Gaston stew. Actually she didn’t give me the recipe, But I just watched her make it, and then replicated it. I mistook the peppercorns for Juniper berries. The juniper berries were genius. They added this lovely, aromatic piny taste that just elevated the stew, which was also seasoned with rosemary thyme the usual suspects.Anyway, I still make it this way with Juniper berries. Sometimes the best dishes come from mistakes.

Saw

Meat definitely needed an extra 20. Potatoes were soft/mushy after 40 minutes. Heat could have been higher during initial cook

ladyjay

Really enjoyed riffing on this very simple and lovely recipe. Added a bit of celery, garlic, tomato paste, some thyme & rosemary, Worcestershire, and a parmesan rind I had hanging out in the fridge. Also added in some finely chopped dried king boletes we harvested last fall (kiddo does not like mushroom texture, but this stew begged for them). The mushroom bits added a beautiful earthy note and essentially disintegrated into the soup, due to the fine chopping. Even better the next day!

Carolina Chickadee

I’m in the middle of making this and realized the recipe never says when to add the salt - if ever.

Antonia

I made this and the broth was very thin. The meat and veggies were very good. Followed the directions exactly. What was wrong? Help

Lesley

I found the broth was thin, too. I thickened it up with a slurry of corn starch and water.

Madraof3

Mine was thin, initially. I added peeled, baking potatoes, not small ones with skin on. The potatoes thickened the sauce beautifully.

Michelle

Sautéed mushrooms and add at the end

Brooke

I thought this was excellent and indeed very simple. I made some additions based on the flavors i like (tomato paste, thyme and mushrooms) but the technique is perfect and exactly how my grandmother would have stretched a pound of beef to feed many.

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Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What gives beef stew the best flavor? ›

Add spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin at the early stage of cooking, when you are frying onions and garlic, to enhance the taste of the beef stew. Fresh herbs like coriander and bay leaves also contribute a distinct flavour without making the dish too spicy for the younger members of the family.

Why put tomato paste in beef stew? ›

A bit of tomato paste amps up the flavor of beef stew, giving it a richness and a punch of umami that makes the stew truly memorable.

How to make beef stew really tender? ›

The most important key to making stew meat tender is being sure to cook it for a long time. If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours.

Do you have to put flour in beef stew? ›

The answer is you can do either. But traditionally coating the beef with the flour is the way to go and there are several reasons for this: The flour helps brown the meat better, the browned flour enhances the flavor of the sauce, and it also enhances the surface texture of the meat.

What is the secret to good stew? ›

For most types of stew, it takes time to develop great flavor. Stew uses collagen-rich, tough cuts of meat, which need at least two hours to break down. If you try to rush it and boil the stew, the muscle fibers will shrink and become tough. So give yourself a few hours to let it do its thing.

How to add depth of flavor to beef stew? ›

Fish sauce, soy sauce, peanut butter, anchovies, Worcestershire, maggi all add extra depth. The maggi in particular amps up the meaty umami.

Why do you put vinegar in beef stew? ›

The addition of the vinegar adds subtle acidity that balances well with the soy sauce and the honey giving this otherwise super hearty beef stew a nice lightness to it. Feel free to add sweet potato noodles(glass noodles) or egg noodles to this dish, serve it alongside rice, or as-is.

Why put celery in stew? ›

In the original version, celery, carrots and onion are added to the meat. Usually just one onion, a celery rib and three carrots – enough to give a good amount of sweetness to the sauce. Make sure all these are sliced thin, so that they can brown well in a little bit of olive oil.

What if I forgot tomato paste in beef stew? ›

How to Substitute Tomato Sauce or Puree for Tomato Paste. You don't have to dash out to the store if you're out of tomato paste; tomato sauce and tomato puree are both an excellent substitute. For every 1 tablespoon of tomato paste needed, use 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce.

What is the best tenderizer for stew meat? ›

The choice becomes easier when you realize that simple baking soda can be an ideal meat tenderizer that helps to bring out all the aromas and flavors in every sizzling beef stew or charburger.

What vegetables are good in beef stew? ›

Although I added carrots, little red potatoes, rutabaga and cremini mushrooms, you have plenty of options. Parsnip, turnip, pearl onions, squash and fennel will also work. Stir them in gently and immediately return the pot to the oven for the final hour of cooking.

When to add carrots to stew? ›

Your onions will be fine, but mushy potatoes and carrots are a no-no. Instead, add them about 20 minutes before the end of cooking. When they're tender, the stew is done.

Should I brown stew meat first? ›

Most recipes for beef stew start with cutting meat into cubes, then browning the cubes in a big pot. The idea is that browning builds flavor through the Maillard reaction, which will then get spread around through the whole pot as the meat and vegetables slowly braise in liquid.

What is the best thickener for beef stew? ›

Cornstarch, potato starch, and chickpea flour are a couple of pantry-friendly ways to thicken soups, stews, and sauces in the slow cooker.

Why do you put cornstarch in beef stew? ›

Cornflour is a great gluten-free thickener. It has a slightly more gelatinous texture, so only add a teaspoon at time or your sauce may become a bit goopy. Use cornstarch to thicken your stew towards the end of cooking, as cooking it for a long time can break down the starch and your stew will thin out again.

How do you make stew meat more flavorful? ›

Sear the meat well.

Searing meat takes a long time, and it's tempting to skip it. Don't. Searing the meat until it develops a dark brown crust and a sticky “fond” starts to glaze over the bottom of the pan are both key to creating the kind of rich, caramelized flavors that make stews irresistibly good.

How to make can beef stew taste better? ›

I used potatoes, carrots, and onions to make my canned beef stew. Other vegetables that you can use are celery, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, parsnips, and corn. Sea salt and ground pepper– to taste. I used simple seasoning to let the natural flavors shine through.

What enhances the flavor of beef? ›

Beef tastes great when seasoned with oregano, rosemary, sage, garlic or a combination of these seasonings. Poultry gets an added burst of flavor with spices like paprika, lemongrass and saffron. Fish can be made more flavorful with dry mustard powder, thyme and turmeric.

Why does my beef stew taste bland? ›

You need to cook with plenty of aromatics, like onion, garlic, fresh herbs, and spices. Sear your beef first. Then, saute onions, garlic, carrots, and celery in the beef fat, scraping the browned bits up from the bottom as you go. This will layer in the flavor before your stew even starts simmering.

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