Believe me when I say this hearty beef stew is extra thick and extra perfect for winter! This post will share how to make it (so good, you’ll always want seconds).
If you know anything about me, you know like my meals to be simple but delicious. And although this beef stew needs a little more lovin' than usual — oh my — it is worth it. Consider this a small labor of love. And it's pretty simple in technique. I promise.
First, you brown the meat to develop its flavor. Then, you braise the beef with vegetables in a red wine-beef broth mixture. Finally, near the end, you add the rest of the chopped veggies to keep their character, color, and flavor.
Mmm, beef stew. Can you smell it already?
The beauty of this dish is it gives you back what you give it. The more care you take to brown the meat and follow each step carefully, the more delicious your final result will be.
If you liked Hearty Beef Stew, then check out my Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe! Both are classic, satisfying meals that are easy to make and packed with flavor.
And believe me, it WILL be delicious. And thick. So let's go to it!
If you’re into hearty and healthy meals, try my Healthy Braised Short Ribs with Polenta!
Ingredient Notes
In addition to the spices and seasonings we mentioned above, here are the other simple ingredients you’ll need to complete this superb meal:
- Boneless beef chuck roast: This cut adds insane flavor to your stew and doesn’t dry out quickly.
- Chickpea flour: For added thickness (I like my stews thick).
- Carrots: Loaded with beta-carotene and beneficial nutrients, carrots add fiber and fullness to your stew. Try these yummy Maple Glazed Carrots if you want to up your intake of this veggie!
- Celery ribs: Another way to add antioxidants and texture to your hearty dish.
- Onions: They never fail to add a caramelized depth to your stew.
- Dry red wine: Optional : )
- Low-sodium beef broth: Avoid extra sodium without skimping on flavor.
- Red or Yukon potatoes: For more fiber, nutrients, and texture.
- Cremini mushrooms: For extra earthiness and umami.
Tips To Make Beef Stew More Flavorful
To make your beef stew as flavorful as possible, make sure to brown the meat by searing it on high heat first. This step adds a noticeable difference.
I also use cremini mushrooms (which have an earthy flavor and meaty texture).
What else? Really think about what forms the broth. This recipe, for instance, also uses balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, dry red wine, and low-sodium beef broth for added depth and decadence.
How To Make Beef Stew Meat Tender
Here are some tips to make sure you get tender and juicy meat in your beef stew:
- Be patient with your stew. Cook your beef stew low and slow for around three and a half hours (it will be worth the wait when the meat melts in your mouth). Chuck roast is fabulous for beef stew but does need time to break down.
- Do not overcook your meat. That being said, don't get too carried away. Once the connective tissues in the meat break down, make sure you don't keep walloping it with heat. Overcooking can result in tough meat!
- In this recipe, we've got the timing nailed down. The first 2 hours are dedicated to braising and tenderizing the meat. While the last 40-60 minutes of simmering brings all the flavors together.
How To Thicken
A common gluten-free way to thicken your beef stew is to add some cornstarch. I prefer chickpea flour, which works well, too. I add the chickpea flour as a coat on the beef before browning it in this recipe.
- Another technique I've found helpful is adding two tablespoons of tomato paste and reducing your liquid by ⅔ as you cook. Follow the recipe steps carefully, and you will end up with a thick (velvety even!) stew.
How To Store
Store your hearty beef stew in a heavy plastic or airtight container for maximum fridge life and safety. Before covering your container, allow your stew to come to room temp. When kept in the fridge, cooked beef stew can last for up to 4 days.
- When kept in the freezer, cooked beef stew can last for up to 3 months. Make sure to leave some space at the top for when it expands!
More Tasty Soups And Stews
Ready to try your hand at making more soups and stews? You’ve got this! Here are some recipes I think you’ll love:
- 17 Healthy Soup Recipes
- Healthy Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
- Low Carb Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
- Easy Turkey Noodle Soup
- Easy Chicken and Dumplings
Hearty Beef Stew
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon sea salt for seasoning beef
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper for seasoning beef
- ⅓ cup chickpea flour for coating beef
- 2 carrots unpeeled and quartered PLUS 3 carrots, sliced into ½-inch slices
- 2 celery ribs quartered
- 1 medium yellow onion quartered
- 10 garlic cloves peeled
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ cups dry red wine (can sub with additional 1 ½ cups low sodium beef broth)
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 whole fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 lbs red or yukon potatoes unpeeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 7 cremini mushrooms quartered
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat oil in a large over medium-high heat. Season beef chunks with sea salt and ground black pepper. Pour flour into a shallow dish and lightly coat the beef with flour. Without crowding the meat, brown in batches, turning to brown all sides. You will have approximately 3-4 batches. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Once all meat is browned, reduce the heat to medium and add the quartered carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook approximately 10-15 minutes until well-browned, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomato paste to the pot and mix to incorporate.
- Add balsamic vinegar to the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Cook 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the wine, bay leaf and thyme. Simmer 5 minutes.
- Return the cooked beef (and any residual juices) to the pot, along with the beef broth, and bring to a simmer. Cover and place in the oven to braise until meat is tender and falls apart with a fork, about 2 to 2 ½ hours.
- Carefully remove the meat, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Set beef aside and discard the herbs. Using a stick blender, blend the remaining contents in the pot (if you don't have a stick blender, you can use a food processor or blender). This will work to thicken and flavor the stew. After blended, return the meat to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Add the potatoes, carrots and mushrooms to the pot, taking care to submerge as many vegetables as possible.Add just enough additional beef broth, as needed, to submerge the contents of the stew (adding more will dilute the stew since the additional veggies will give off additional liquid) Simmer, covered, until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 40-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Video
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
Dara
The most incredible beef stew recipe out there! The only two things I do differently is use brisket instead of chuck and add peas at the end. Thank you!!
kerry
Hi again-
please disregard my question-I just read it through again and I see the main veggies are added at the end after immersion blending-thank you!
kerry
I am going to make this tonight-looks amazing! I have a question-when you use the stick blender, are the veggies removed? I am assuming so because I see at the end to add them back in. Do you remove them from the pot at the same time as the meat after cooking in the oven?
Thank you!
Dan
Sounds fantastic. Going to make it tomorrow on a Cold Monday February 1st. Im sure the family will love it
Dale
This recipe as written was a little difficult for me to follow. My meat came out too tough. Not my favorite recipe.
Boh
Was intimidated at first, but WOW did this turn out fabulous! Knew I had to try once I saw the shout out to Alton Brown
Tim patricca
Truly amazing just fed this to my 91-year-old mother. Said it’s the best she’s ever had thank you very much outstanding!!! It will definitely be on my rotation
karen
I had never made any type y for stew before and decided it was about time. This was Wonderful! I am now a rock star in the stew department thanks to you.
Paul Schwartz
Recipe sounds great. Can't wait to try it. One question: A whole 3/4 bottle of wine?
plasterer bristol
Can't beat this classic. my favorite. thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Simon
Connie
We used Cabernet Sauvignon instead of Merlot but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. We loved it and will definitely make it again.
Lacey Baier
Woohoo! Sounds great 🙂 I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Grace
The search for the "perfect" beef stew is officially over. I ran across this recipe last fall, and completely forgot about it until it was time to make a batch once the weather turned cool this year. I remember making this particular recipe, and remembered just how decadent it was. The flavor profile is magnificent, and it's truly worth the time and effort it takes to prepare. I added a can of sweet peas at the end and it rounded out the flavors, paired with a good loaf of crusty roasted garlic bread - it's a game changer! All my friends have been given the recipe, so thank you again for such a fantastic twist to a long time favorite meal.
Lacey Baier
Oh, your comment made me so happy to read, Grace! 🙂 Thanks for the kind words about this beef stew - it's one of my all time favorite things to eat ever and I'm so glad you agree 🙂
Frank Fischinger
Wow. My search for the perfect Stew is over. I adapted this to a crockpot because we don't own a Dutch oven. I had to use a food processor to grind everything up to make the sauce after the reduction. The veggies were still a little too hard because I didn't bake it in the oven for two hours. I needed the extra grinding power so that I could skip the baking step.
I just prepared the sauce, added the beef, potatoes and carrot and let it cook for about 8 hours. I kept the lid off to drive off the excess moisture, for about two hours, so that the sauce stayed nice and thick. I did everything else, by the book, except for the Mushrooms. My wife hates Mushrooms. This was even better than I expected. Probably my all time favorite meal. Thanks! We did it up with some Yorkshire pudding. I've raided the fridge three times. When I did the first time, I found that my wife had already beat me to the left overs.
Lacey Baier
LOL, I'm SO happy this turned out so well for you, Frank! Thanks so much for sharing how you tweaked the recipe for the crock pot - I've been meaning to try that myself for some time now. I know what you mean- this stew is superb and I'm so glad you and your wife enjoyed it as much as we do 🙂
Monique
I never leave a comment whenever I make a recipe, not that their not good, but I just dont. Well this recipe definitely deserved a comment. I am not a stew person period. I never liked it because it always tasted like watered down meat. It never had any flavor, especially when in a crock pot. My husband bought some lamb stew meat and he wanted me to cook it, so I decided to give this recipe a try. He couldn't stop saying how good it was and I had two bowls myself. I didnt have a dutch oven so i used a regular pan on top and then transferred it to a baking pan covered in aluminum foil. I also didnt have any dry wine so I just added more beef broth to it. I also added sweet peas at the very end. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Monique
Oh BTW this was my first time eating mushrooms andi loved them!
Lacey Baier
oh my gosh! Yes - amazing right ?!? 🙂
Lacey Baier
Wow, Monique - that's so awesome. Thank you for coming back and leaving this comment 🙂
Jon
I have made your recipe at least 6 times and I absolutely love it. The red wine gives this stew such a wonderful flavor. I will be making this all winter, thank you for sharing this!
Lacey Baier
That's so great, Jon! I'm glad you enjoy this stew. We love it, too 🙂
Leslie
Just stumbled across this recipe. This is my new go to beef stew recipe. This came out fantastic! I almost licked the bowl.
Lacey Baier
LOL, I may have licked a bowl or two of this myself 😉
Laura Shannon
I'm so excited. We put beef stew on the menu for Sunday night and then I get home and find your newsletter with a beef stew recipe. It's food fate! I can't wait to try this with frsh, crusty bread.
Lacey Baier
Omg, that sounds delicious, Laura! That's the BEST way to enjoy this stew 🙂