Best Ever Beef Stew

This Best Ever Beef Stew is a perfectly seasoned, comforting, hearty dish full of tender beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, and savory broth! Your family will come running for dinner!

Beef Stew Recipe

Is there anything better or more comforting on a cold day than a nice big bowl of soup or stew?! This is my go-to recipe when I know we have a few cold days coming up. Often, I will make a double batch of this recipe so we can enjoy the leftovers for lunch with my Air Fryer Grilled Cheese!

We’ve had a few colder nights here in Eastern NC and while I am used not someone who gets cold easily, I have had to kick the heat up in the house a bit because I have been freezing cold!!

I don’t know about you, but I love making soup when the weather is cold and this Best Ever Beef Stew is a family favorite! My family comes running when they know this is on the table!

This Best Ever Beef Stew really is the best. It’s so comforting and hearty. The perfectly seasoned broth makes you want to slurp it up!

Not only have I been craving this dish, but we’ve been enjoying this stew every week for the past month. Believe me, that doesn’t happen very often!

I love serving this Best Ever Beef Stew with The Best Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits or Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. What do you usually serve with beef stew?

Beef Stew: Ingredients & Substitutions

To make this Beef Stew recipe, you will need …

Ingredients

• olive oil – or any other neutral-flavored oil
• beef stew meat – you can buy this already cut up at your local grocer – or you can buy a roast and cut it up yourself.
• onion – I prefer yellow onion for this recipe, but you can also use white onions. Skip the red onions for this recipe.
• carrots and celery – typical vegetables found in beef stew
• all-purpose flour – used as a thickener. You can omit this if you prefer, but note your broth will be thinner.
• Beef Stew Seasoning mix – available in your local grocery store, usually near the gravy mixes. Or, you can try my homemade mix!
• Worcestershire sauce – add umami flavor to the broth. You can use soy sauce instead.
• paprika, salt, and pepper – seasonings used to flavor the stew.
• garlic – used to flavor the stew. If you prefer more garlic, feel free to add more.
• bay leaves – used to flavor the broth.
• potatoes – I prefer russets. You can use other non-waxy potatoes.
• beef broth – I prefer to use low-sodium.

Recipe Tips

• You can also make this Beef Stew in a crock pot or slow cooker!
• Play with the spices for a different flavor profile. Prefer a sweeter stew? Add a touch of brown sugar or honey. Make the flavors pop by adding a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice. Want more spice or depth of flavor? Try adding some chili powder.

Beef Stew: FAQs

Other recipes you may enjoy

• Shipwreck Stew
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Brunswick Stew
• Slow Cooker Beef and Noodles
• Slow Cooker Sauerbraten Beef in Gingersnap Gravy

4.41 from 20 votes

Servings: 10 servings

Best Ever Beef Stew

By Jamie Sherman

This Best Ever Beef Stew is a perfectly seasoned, comforting, hearty dish full of tender beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, and savory broth! Your family will come running for dinner!

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 2 hours hrs

Total: 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Calphalon 5-Piece Nylon Kitchen Cooking Utensil Set
• rubber spatula or wooden spoon
• measuring cups and spoons
• measuring cups and spoons
• cutting board
• knife
• ladle
• 6-Qt. Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven 

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• ▢ 1 medium onion, chopped
• ▢ 4 carrots, sliced
• ▢ 2 stalks celery, chopped
• ▢ ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 packet Beef Stew Seasoning mix, 1.5 oz.
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
• ▢ 8 cups beef broth

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Instructions 

Stove-top version:

• In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook and stir the stew meat for 4 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the flour, stirring well to combine.
• Add the Beef Stew seasoning mix, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic and bay leaves. Mix well. Add the potatoes and beef broth. Stir well.
• Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cover with a vented or tilted lid. Allow the stew to simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Slow cooker version:

• Place stew meat in 6-qt slow cooker. In a small bowl combine the flour, beef stew seasoning, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Add the Worcestershire sauce, paprika, garlic, bay leaf, onion, potatoes, carrots, celery, and beef broth. Stir to combine.
• Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Notes

• You can also make this Beef Stew in a crock pot or slow cooker!
• Play with the spices for a different flavor profile. Prefer a sweeter stew? Add a touch of brown sugar or honey. Make the flavors pop by adding a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice. Want more spice or depth of flavor? Try adding some chili powder.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 1245mg, Potassium: 1110mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 4215IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Originally published on January 1, 2016. Updated on February 16, 2022.