Classic Beef Stew Recipe
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This classic beef stew recipe combines tender chunks of beef, carrots, and potatoes in a rich, deeply flavorful sauce. It’s the ultimate cold-weather comfort food.
With thousands of 5-star reviews, this beef stew recipe is the most popular dish on my site—and for good reason. Well-marbled beef chuck is seared until deeply browned, then slowly braised with onions and garlic in a rich wine-based sauce. After a few hours in the oven, the beef is meltingly tender, the vegetables are perfectly cooked, and the sauce is rich and deeply savory.
Better still, the recipe is largely hands-off once it goes into the oven, tastes even better a day or two after it’s made, and freezes beautifully. Serve it with crusty bread or popovers to soak up the sauce, or spoon it over egg noodles for an extra-hearty meal.
And don’t just take my word for it. When The Kitchn tested four popular beef stew recipes side by side, they gave this one a 9/10 and named it the “Straightforward Standout.”
“SERIOUSLY EPIC! Hands down, the best beef stew recipe I have ever made.”
What You’ll Need To Make Beef Stew
- Boneless beef chuck: My favorite cut for beef stew because its marbling and connective tissue make it especially well suited to slow braising—the meat becomes juicy and fork-tender as it cooks. Look for a well-marbled chuck roast and cut it into chunks yourself rather than buying packaged “stew meat,” which can contain leaner pieces from different cuts that cook unevenly.
- Yellow onions and garlic: These aromatics build the savory flavor base of the stew.
- Tomato paste and balsamic vinegar: Tomato paste adds richness and body while balsamic vinegar adds depth and acidity.
- All-purpose flour: Thickens the cooking liquid into a rich sauce that clings to the beef and vegetables.
- Red Wine, Beef Broth & Water: Form the flavorful braising liquid. For the wine, use an inexpensive dry red such as Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Cabernet Sauvignon—something good enough to drink.
- Bay leaf, thyme, and parsley: Bay leaf and thyme add earthy flavor as the stew braises; fresh parsley adds a bright finish just before serving.
- Carrots and white boiling potatoes (baby Yukons): Add sweetness, texture, and heartiness. Baby Yukons hold their shape well during braising while becoming tender and creamy inside. For extra vegetables and a pop of green, you can add frozen peas toward the end of cooking.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Beef Stew
Step 1: Prep the beef. Trim away any large, hard pieces of fat that are easy to get to, but don’t overdo it. The marbling running through the meat helps keep the beef juicy and tender as it braises. Pat the beef dry, which helps it brown rather than steam, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Step 2: Brown the beef. Heat a bit of oil in a Dutch oven or large pot and sear the beef in batches, leaving enough space between the pieces so they brown rather than steam. Take your time here; you’re looking for a deep brown crust, not just a change in color. The browned bits that collect on the bottom of the pot are important, too, as they’ll form part of the flavor base for the stew.
Step 3: Cook the aromatics. Add the onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar to the pot. As the vinegar hits the hot pan, it will help loosen the flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom, so scrape them up with a wooden spoon as the onions cook. Once the onions begin to soften, stir in the tomato paste and cook briefly to deepen its flavor.
Step 4: Return the beef and add the flour. Return the beef and any juices on the plate to the pot, then stir in the flour until no dry streaks remain. The flour will thicken the braising liquid as the stew cooks, giving the finished sauce body.
Step 5: Braise the stew. Pour in the wine, broth, and water, then add the bay leaf, thyme, and sugar. Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to the oven. Braise for 2 hours, then stir in the carrots and potatoes and continue cooking until the beef is fork-tender and the vegetables are cooked through. Adding the vegetables later keeps them from becoming too soft or falling apart. Remove the bay leaf and adjust the seasoning before serving.
Pro tip: No Dutch oven? You can also cook the stew on the stovetop. Keep it covered over the lowest heat and stir occasionally to prevent sticking; the cooking time will be about the same.
Step 6: Serve. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, then ladle the stew into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread for soaking up the rich sauce. Like most stews, it’s even better the next day, and it freezes beautifully, too.
How to Thicken Beef Stew
Don’t worry if the stew seems thin during cooking; it won’t fully thicken until the very end. If you’d still prefer a thicker sauce once it’s done, mash 2 tablespoons each of softened butter and flour into a smooth paste (this is called a beurre manié). Bring the stew to a simmer on the stovetop, then whisk in the paste a little at a time until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
Can I Make Beef Stew in a Slow Cooker?
Yes, but for best results, begin on the stovetop as directed. Brown the beef, then cook the onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Return the beef to the pot, sprinkle with the flour, and stir until incorporated. Transfer everything to the slow cooker, including the carrots and potatoes, and add the remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the beef is tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
Video Tutorial
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Classic Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless beef chuck, well-marbled, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 7 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks on a diagonal
- 1 pound small white boiling potatoes (baby yukons), cut in half
- Fresh chopped parsley, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and set a rack in the lower middle position.
- Pat the beef dry and season with the salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Brown the meat in 3 batches, turning with tongs, for about 5 minutes per batch; add one tablespoon more oil for each batch. (To sear the meat properly, do not crowd the pan and let the meat develop a nice brown crust before turning with tongs.) Transfer the meat to a large plate and set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic and balsamic vinegar; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping the brown bits from bottom of the pan, for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute more. Add the beef with its juices back to the pan and sprinkle with the flour. Stir with wooden spoon until the flour is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine, beef broth, water, bay leaf, thyme, and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, transfer to the preheated oven, and braise for 2 hours.
- Remove the pot from the oven and add the carrots and potatoes. Cover and place back in oven for about an hour more, or until the vegetables are cooked, the broth is thickened, and the meat is tender. Fish out the bay leaf and discard, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve the stew warm -- or let it come to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator overnight or until ready to serve. This stew improves in flavor if made at least 1 day ahead. Reheat, covered, over medium heat. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- If you don’t have a Dutch oven or covered pot that is appropriate for the oven, the stew can be cooked on the stovetop. The timing will be the same and it should be cooked over the lowest setting.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: Simply prepare the stew as directed, then cool it to room temperature before refrigerating. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until hot. If you want to freeze the stew, transfer it to an airtight container once it has cooled. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw the stew overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop.
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Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This recipe was fantastic! We don’t eat much beef these days, and I haven’t made beef stew in a long time, but it was a snowy, chilly day and a bowl of rich, hearty stew sounded great for dinner. So happy to have found this recipe. I made a couple of minor adjustments. First, I coat my beef chunks in flour before browning because I think it helps to brown the beef better and it starts making the fond in the pot. I also quartered 8 oz of cremini mushrooms, microwaved them for 4 minutes (pouring off liquid afterward) and added them to the pot with the liquids to boost the umami flavor. When I added the vegetables for the final hour I added a bit more beef broth to mostly cover the beef and veg. This left a lot more liquid at the end, but we enjoy sopping that up with a nice crusty bread while eating, but the liquid can also be thickened on top of the stove after the braising. Will be making stew this way from now on! Thank you!
Hello Jenn, i’m excited to try the recipe! Just a question though, could this be done in an instantpot? If so, what temperature and time would you recommend? Thanks
Hi Jessica, I don’t have experience with one, but a number of readers have commented that they have made this in an Instant Pot and have been happy with the results. One recent comment indicated: “I cooked at high pressure for 35 min, although next time I will add 5 more min, then depressurized, added the potatoes and carrots, and cooked for another 10 min. Also added a bit less liquid, since you lose none in the pressure cooker.” Hope that helps!
Just making this now, and I tasted the broth just before allowing it to braise… WOW!! I didn’t do wine, just added more beef broth and some crushed tomatoes… but WOW!! My son and husband will love it! Hoping meat is super tender. Thank you.
The liquid was a bit thin, so I made a roux and mixed it in. Otherwise delicious!
I made this stew tonight. It was delicious! I served it over mashed potatoes. I also omitted the wine and replaced it with more beef broth. I made other stew recipes with wine and they seemed like a beef bourguignon. I just wanted an old fashioned stew. It was great and will make again.
Can it be slow cooked?
Sure – you’ll need to go all through all the steps until you’re ready to add the water, wine, and broth. At that point, you add everything to the slow cooker and cook for 4 – 5 hours on high (and you can put the carrots and the potatoes in with the meat– you don’t need to wait). Enjoy!
I haven’t made stew that many times in my life and have only made stew in the oven once or twice (crock pot or Instantpot). There is absolutely no comparison to this one. I am on the mend from knee surgery and just had to get off the couch and make something. I did it in a couple stages. It was heaven all day on a Sunday smelling this goodness. We didn’t eat it until the next day as recommended. My husband and I each had two large helpings over two days and I had enough to share with one other couple. (8 serv. total) They went nuts. The only change I would make is to add just a bit more meat. It didn’t really need it but I love stew meat. It all worked out perfectly. Thanks so much.
I made this today in my slow cooker. The flavors are great and everything is tender, but there is A LOT of liquid-it never thickened. It’s more like a soup. Should I have done something differently or put in less liquid?
Hi Lori, I’ve never made this in a slow cooker and don’t own one but I believe that oftentimes, you’ll end up with more liquid than if you had cooked it the traditional way. If you’d like to thicken it now, just simmer it on the stove, uncovered, until it thickens up to your liking. 😊
I’m in the UK and we just came back from Copenhagen where we enjoyed an amazing beef casserole. So i wanted to try and replicate it, although i’m not that great in the kitchen so i wasn’t sure what i would end up with. Anyway, i came across your recipe whilst looking online and bought all the ingredients yesterday and just finished cooking it now.
I had to write and let you know how fantastic it turned out. I shocked myself with how good it tastes although my partner was more shocked ha! I’ll definitely be making this again, truly delicious and i followed everything to the letter apart from adding a few baby mushrooms and some Worcester sauce. Thank you so much.
We love this recipe! Cooking for a large crowd next week and need to TRIPLE the recipe. Anything I should do differently? Extended cook time? More or less liquid?
Thanks!
So glad you like it, Chelsey! Other than tripling everything, no other modifications are necessary. Hope everyone enjoys!
This went beyond my expectations. I know there are MANY good reviews, however, I’ve made other recipes which equal good reviews that fell a little flat and I had to make major adjustments for myself and my fiancé’s tastes. I make soup often and I’m used to using many seasonings so I was surprised to see this didn’t have much. I went in intending to make recipe as is and then add at the end. I was wrong. The braising with the wine is just phenomenal. I have a habit of trying my soups throughout cooking so after I got it to a boil (before braising) I tasted it and of course it tasted shocking because of all the wine LOL. But I knew that taste would cook out and boy did it. Seriously, it’s perfect as is. The only thing I did was put a little extra beef broth as I wanted it slightly soupier, but that didn’t even need any changes. The flavor still came through beautifully. Next time I will double it! Thank you so much. If you’re considering this, DO IT.
This stew has been a big hit at potlucks and my whole family loves it! I make it gluten free by substituting Potato Flour for the AP flour. I use dark, thick, aged balsamic vinegar and a Syrah. I also tweak a little bit in these ways: 2 Tbsp. tomato paste; 4 cups beef broth & no water; 1 tsp. dried thyme; 5 large carrots; 8 cloves garlic. That’s it! People have asked me for the recipe, and I direct them to your website. 🙂 Oh, and I serve with a high quality gluten free french baguette, sliced and lightly toasted under the broiler topped with butter, garlic & salt (garlic crostini). No one knows any of it is gluten free. 😉