This truly is one of the best bowls of beef stew I’ve ever eaten!!! I’ve been working on perfecting my beef stew over the winter and I must confess, I’ve had less than stellar results. Just ask my family. When I told them we were having beef stew again tonight they were less than enthusiastic, and I can’t blame them. My previous attempts were either too watery, or too salty, or just plain bland and unimpressive. Nothing that would bring the family to the table in anticipation of a good winter meal. My goal was a thick savory gravy, chock full of tender vegetables, potatoes, loaded of hearty chunks of beef. The gravy needed to be rich and flavorful; mop up worthy! Who wants to waste a loaf of homemade bread dunked in a lackluster, watery gravy? Well, after several failed attempts…I finally nailed it!
Keep reading for the easy, step-by-step instructions to make it. You can have this easy to make, delicious beef stew on your table tonight. I must confess, this is one of my favorite recipes on the blog, it’s that good!
Start by chopping the carrots and celery.
Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Place the potatoes in a bowl and cover with water to prevent them from turning brown. Drain off the water before adding them to the stew.
Cut beef into 1 inch sized pieces, trimming off any excess fat.
Season the beef liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. The Hungarian in me loves the addition of paprika! It gives this stew a lovely depth of flavor, so don’t leave it out.
Place the seasoned beef cubes in a large plastic bag. Add flour and toss to coat the beef.
In a large Dutch oven pot heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat.
Please excuse the state of my Dutch oven, it gets a lot of use. Not just for cooking but for baking bread too.
When the oil is hot add the seasoned and floured beef to the pot. Cook until browned, stirring often.
Add diced onion.
Continue to cook until onion is soft, scraping up any browned bits in the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the beef.
Add the red wine and stir to combine. I highly recommend using a good quality red wine for this stew. It adds so much flavor to the gravy, and don’t worry about the alcohol, it cooks off as it simmers on the stove, so all that’s left is the great flavor.
Add the beef broth, potatoes, carrots, celery and fresh chopped rosemary.
Increase heat and bring the broth to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Once the broth comes to a boil, cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer on low heat for 60-90 minutes or until the beef and vegetables are fork tender, stirring occasionally.
In a small bowl combine cornstarch and cold water to make a slurry.
Add the cornstarch slurry to the bubbling broth and cook until broth thickens, about 5 minutes.
Add peas and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed
This recipe is so, so simple! Your kitchen is going to smell heavenly as it slowly simmers away on the stove. It uses just a handful of basic ingredients and produces one of the most flavorful beef stews you will ever eat! The beef is so tender it just falls apart in your mouth. The potatoes are soft and creamy and the gravy is absolutely delectable. You will want to mop up every last drop in the bottom of your bowl with a slice of French bread. Nothing chases away the winter chills like a steaming hot bowl of beef stew. You must try this recipe! It’s freaking amazing!!! You’re going to love it, I promise.
Plan ahead and bake up a loaf of bread to serve with this meal. Learn How To Bake A No-Knead, Rosemary, Garlic Artisanal Boule. Rosemary and garlic infuse this artisanal loaf with loads of fresh flavor and the large flakes of sea salt enhance all those lovely flavors. The flavors compliment this beef stew perfectly. It makes the perfect “mop” to soak up all the delicious gravy in the bottom of your bowl.
If baking a loaf of fresh bread seems too daunting of a task, especially on a busy weeknight, try these quick and easy to make Buttermilk Biscuits instead. They are so very easy to make and you can serve them piping hot, straight out of the oven in just under 30 minutes. Yes you can make homemade biscuits in under 30 minutes! These are light and fluffy and oh so delicious! They’re the ideal accoutrement with a steaming hot bowl of beef stew. Perfect for mopping up any of the delicious gravy in the bottom of your bowl. Got buttermilk?
Barbi’s Best Beef Stew
Equipment
- large dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef stew meat, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ⅓ cup flour
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 8 cups beef broth
- 1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 5 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 sprigs fresh Rosemary, chopped
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Cut beef into 1 inch sized pieces, trimming off excess fat.
- Season beef liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.
- Place the seasoned beef cubes in a large plastic bag. Add flour and toss to coat the beef.
- In a large Dutch oven pot heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat.
- When oil is hot add beef to the pot. Cook until browned, stirring often.
- Add diced onion and continue to cook until onion is soft, scraping up any browned bits in the bottom of the pan.
- Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the beef.
- Add red wine and stir to combine.
- Add beef broth, cubed potatoes, carrots, celery and rosemary.
- Increase heat and bring broth to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Once broth comes to a boil, cover pot and reduce heat to low.
- Simmer on low heat for 60-90 minutes until beef and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
- In a small bowl combine cornstarch and cold water to make a slurry.
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the bubbling broth and cook until broth thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Add peas and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
This post was originally published March 2024 and republished with updated photos, recipe notes, and new content October 2024.
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John 6:35
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