Hearty Beef and Vegetable Stew (A One-Pot Meal)
There’s nothing like tucking into a cozy, old-fashioned beef and vegetable stew on a chilly weekend. Tender chunks of beef, carrots, celery, onions and potatoes in a rich, beefy gravy – a one-pot meal with everyday ingredients. The best.
You can make this classic beef stew recipe on the stovetop, slow cooker, or instant pot. Just grab some crusty bread and dig into this delicious and satisfying comfort food.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Beef: Buy stew meat cut into beef cubes. The best kind has some marbling (fat speckles) that makes the meat more tender and flavorful. Chuck roast and boneless beef short ribs are great options. Avoid very lean cuts (too tough) and tender cuts like ribeye.
Onions: Pearl onions are classic for a beef stew. You can find them frozen, already peeled, in the frozen section of your grocery store. It’s perfectly fine to use a sweet or yellow onions instead.
Potatoes: Yukon gold, baby potatoes (yellow or red) or fingerlings are best for this recipe (and they will hold their shape better, even when freezing the stew). Avoid russet potatoes as they tend to fall apart.
Other Vegetables: Classic stew veggies are potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. Other good options are mushrooms, green beans, turnips, red bell peppers. You can also add frozen corn niblets or peas in the last few minutes.
Beef broth: Use a good beef broth or beef stock.Or half beef, half chicken broth.
Red wine adds a deeper flavor to the stew. Almost all the alcohol evaporates if you’re worried about the kids.
Seasonings: I use bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary (or replace them with Italian seasoning) There are a few other suggested flavor enhancers in the recipe card.
Cooking methods (instructions are in the recipe card below)
- Stovetop: 2 1/4 hours
- Slow Cooker: 6-8 hours.
- Instant Pot: ~ 1 hour.
Step-by-step instructions
Tips for best results
- Dust the beef stew meat with flour. This helps absorb moisture and brown the meat better for more flavor.
- Add the red wine for extra flavor if you can. The alcohol evaporates and is miniscule in the stew.
- Be patient. This is not a quick recipe. You need time to develop the flavors and tenderize the beef and vegetables.
Recipe FAQ
Browning the meat is important because it flavors the meat and leaves those great meaty browned bits at the bottom of the pan that get incorporated into the gravy.
Use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the beef stew gravy. Simply stir some cornstarch and water together.
What to serve with beef stew
Beef stew is a one-pot meal in a bowl and can easily be eaten on its own. Here are a few simple sides, though, if you want to step it up.
- cheddar biscuits
- popovers (Yorkshire pudding)
- crusty bread or our easy naan recipe for soaking up the delicious gravy.
- winter salad, tropical fruit salad or a citrus salad on greens.
Shortcuts
- Buy stew meat already cut into cubes
- Use thin-skinned waxy potatoes like Yukon gold that don’t need to be peeled.
- Use frozen diced peeled onions or pearl onions and skip the onion sauté step.
- Cook the beef stew in an instant pot – see instructions in the recipe card.
Make Ahead
- The vegetable beef stew is even better the next day or the next. Check out the storing, freezing and reheating instructions in the recipe notes.
More stew-style comfort food recipes
- Beef and Vegetable Barley Soup
- Ina Garten’s Chicken Pot Pie
- Instant Pot Veal Stew
- Veal Stew With Wine, Zest and Thyme
- Chicken Meatball Stew
If you like this recipe, please leave a 5 star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟with a comment in the recipe card below. Thanks so much!
If you like this recipe, please leave a 5 star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟with a comment in the recipe card below. Thanks so much!
Beef And Vegetable Stew (One-Pot)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds stew meat cubes or beef chuck roast, cut into 1 inch/2.5 cm cubes (or a bit bigger)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided for pan frying 2 batches of meat and onions
- salt and pepper for sprinkling on meat
- 2 cups chopped onions Note 1 about 1 large onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
Liquids and seasonings
- 1 cup red wine omit if needed
- 4 cups beef stock or broth, Note 2 I use half chicken broth, half beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste I add a pinch of sugar too
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more if broth is low sodium)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce optional
Vegetables, Note 3
- 1 pound potatoes, Note 4
- 3 large carrots, peeled, cut into 1 inch/2.5 cm pieces
- 2 large celery ribs, cut into 1 inch/2.5 cm pieces
To thicken sauce and finish dish
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water called a slurry
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped optional
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (garnish)
Instructions
- For Instant Pot and Slow Cooker versions of recipe, see Notes 6 and 7.PREPARE STEW MEAT: Sprinkle meat lightly with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on flour and toss to coat evenly.
- SAUTE BEEF THEN ONIONS: You will need to sauté meat in two batches as you don't want to overcrowd the pan or the meat won't brown properly. Using a large pot or large Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high heat. Add half of beef in a single layer. Let it pan fry for 3 minutes on both sides. Set aside in a bowl and repeat with the remaining beef. Add a bit more oil if needed. Add onions to pot, sauté for 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
- ADD WINE, THEN SEASONINGS AND BROTH THEN SIMMER: Add wine and let it almost evaporate completely, scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add meat, broth, tomato paste, seasonings. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low (e.g. 3/10). Cover and cook for 1 hour (or 90 minutes if beef chunks are larger).
- ADD VEGETABLES AND SIMMER: Skim of any grease from top of stew. Add potatoes, carrots, celery. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low heat again. Cover partially and cook at a slow simmer for another 1 hour.
- THICKEN GRAVY AND FINISH: When vegetables are tender, add the corn starch slurry to thicken gravy. You can add half to start, wait a couple of minutes, then add the rest if you like the gravy thicker. It will also thicken on standing or in the fridge. Add spinach (if using). Taste and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle on parsley and serve with crusty bread, biscuits or a salad.
Recipe Notes
- Pearl onions (shortcut)– You can use 225 grams/1/2 pound frozen pearl onions (not cocktail onions) instead of a regular onion. Just drop them in with the other veggies and skip the sauté step.
- Beef broth: I like undiluted Campbell’s beef broth in a can or Better Than Bouillon beef base (add a bit less water than called for in both cases).
- Other vegetables to add or substitute: mushrooms, green beans, turnips, parsnips, red bell peppers.
- Potato options– Yukon gold, baby potatoes (yellow or red) or fingerlings are best for this recipe (and they will hold their shape better if freezing the stew). 1 pound/450 grams = ~ 3 yellow potatoes, 12-14 baby potatoes or 7-8 fingerling potatoes.
- Variations for seasonings and flavor: Try adding:
- a dash of Worcestershire sauce or balsamic vinegar.
- bacon – fry before you add stew meat (skip the oil).
- a pinch of allspice.
- Instant Pot version: Turn on Sauté function. Add 1 tbsp oil. Brown half of meat then set aside. Add 1 tbsp oil, then brown rest of meat. Set aside. Sauté onions until translucent and garlic for 30 seconds. Add wine and let it evaporate. Turn OFF. Set on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes. Add all other ingredients except spinach, cornstarch and parsley. Place on lid and turn to SEALING. Instant pot will take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure then it will start the count down. When Instant pot beeps, it’s done. Do a natural release for 10 minutes, then turn to VENTING and do quick release. When button on lid drops, open lid. Turn on SAUTE function. Stir in cornstarch slurry to get desired thickness of sauce. Add spinach if using until it wilts (1 minute). Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Slow cooker version: Sauté beef cubes in a separate large skillet in two batches on medium-high heat. Set aside. Add a bit more oil and sauté onions until translucent, then garlic for 3O seconds. Add wine and let it evaporate, scraping up browned bit at bottom of the pan. Transfer meat and onions to slow cooker. Add all other ingredients except parsley, cornstarch and spinach. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add cornstarch slurry, spinach (if using) and cook for another 30 minutes to thicken sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Make ahead:
- Store leftovers in airtight container or ziploc bags in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- To freeze: Cool the stew, then transfer to airtight containers or sealable freezer bags in portions for up to 4 months. Defrost in fridge overnight and heat up on stove top or in microwave.
This beef stew recipe is amazing! It is true to its measurements and cooking instructions. I highly recommend it. Very impressed!
Thanks Nikki! So glad you enjoyed the stew and found the recipe instructions clear (very important to us!)
This was perfect! My whole family including picky kid ate it!
Glad to hear Melissa! Boy, I know from picky kids.