Beef Stew with Carrots & Potatoes
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This classic French beef stew is the ultimate cold weather comfort food. After a few hours in the oven, the meat becomes meltingly tender and enveloped in a rich wine sauce.
With over 4,000 5-star reviews, this classic French beef stew is the all-time most popular recipe on my website. It is the ultimate cold weather comfort food. Chunks of well-marbled beef are seared in a hot pan, then gently braised with garlic and onions in a rich wine-based broth. After a few hours in the oven, the meat becomes meltingly tender and enveloped in a deeply flavorful sauce. It takes a few hours to make, but the recipe is mostly hands-off. Go ahead and make it a day or two ahead of time; the flavor improves the longer it sits.
This stew is part of my classic French recipe collection, which includes similar slow-cooking comfort food recipes, like coq au vin and braised short ribs, and impressive main courses, like steak au poivre or roast beef tenderloin with red wine sauce.
what you’ll need to make beef stew with carrots & potatoes
The most important thing is to start with the right cut of meat. You want to buy chuck roast that is well-marbled—that means it should have a good amount of white veins of fat running through it. Stay away from meat generically packaged as “stew meat,” especially if it looks lean (I can guarantee you it will not get tender, no matter how long you cook it).
For the wine, use any dry red (Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.) that is inexpensive but still good enough to drink.
How To Make Beef Stew with Carrots & Potatoes
Begin by removing any large chunks of fat that are easy to get to (like the one my knife is pointing to below), but don’t overdo it with the trimming, as the fat helps make the beef tender.
Next, season the meat generously with salt and pepper.
Heat a bit of oil in a Dutch oven or large pot and brown the meat in batches.
This step is a bit time-consuming but browning the meat adds depth and dimension to the stew. (Note: it’s important not to crowd the pan — if you try to brown all the meat at once, it will steam instead of sear and you won’t get all that lovely color and flavor.)
Remove the meat and add the onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar to the pan. The vinegar will loosen all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and add flavor.
Cook until the vegetables are softened, then add the tomato paste and cook for a minute more.
Add the beef back into the pan and sprinkle with the flour.
Stir until the flour is dissolved.
Add the wine, broth, water, thyme, bay leaves, and sugar.
Bring to a boil, then cover and braise in the oven for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, add the carrots and potatoes.
Return to the oven and continue cooking for one hour, or until the meat is fork-tender, the broth is thickened, and the carrots and potatoes are tender.
Feel free to adapt the recipe to your liking. You can leave out the potatoes and serve it over buttered egg noodles, or toss in some frozen peas or sautéed mushrooms at the very end. Either way, it’s soul-satisfying comfort food for a cold night.
You may also like
- Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs
- Onion-Braised Beef Brisket
- Chicken Cacciatore
- Guinness Lamb Stew with Vegetables
- Texas-Style Chili Con Carne
- Coq Au Vin
- Meatloaf
Video Tutorial
Beef Stew with Carrots & Potatoes
This classic French beef stew is the ultimate cold weather comfort food. After a few hours in the oven, the meat becomes meltingly tender and enveloped in a rich wine sauce.
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 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.
- Note: If you don’t have a Dutch oven or covered pot that is appropriate for the oven, the stew can be cooked on the stove. The timing will be the same and it should be cooked over the lowest setting.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The stew can be frozen for up to 3 months. Before serving, defrost the stew in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 539
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Sugar: 8g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 54g
- Sodium: 1189mg
- Cholesterol: 143mg
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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Oh, my gosh…this is scrumptious! I had to cook it on top of the stove, because I didn’t have an oven-safe pot for it. But I do now 😜. Fabulous!
Delicious! The balsamic vinegar was a great addition. I added peas and pearl onions.
Since we are having unseasonably cold weather today, I decided to make this recipe for dinner tonight, and it was big hit! I was originally going to make a different recipe that I’ve had for years, but always thought wasn’t very flavorful. So I decided to search for an another stew recipe, and this is it! I will continue making this in the future. To those who said their veggies weren’t cooked by the end of the cooking time, I wonder if they cut the veggies into too large of pieces. I did ant first, and when I measured to see if they were 1” pieces – they were larger. My meat and veggies were all cooked perfectly in 3 hours.
I took an hour and half off by putting carrots, onions into dutch first with stock and oil but taking them not to the end, kinda soft. Then I par boiled potatoes again to semi soft. On last batch of beef chuck I wacked garlic in. After just an hour the beef was good and cause I had pre done the veg I put it all in and was done pretty quick. This does not take 3 hours guys, it just takes reverse engineering to save some time. I followed every other part, its a great receipe.
Oh wow absolutely delicious – thanks so much for the best beef stew recipe I’ve ever tasted!! This is now our go to recipe – so quick and easy as well.
I made it in the Instant Pot and made the mistake of adding the flour at the beginning (as per the recipe), which caused the bottom to burn a bit… Next time I’ll cook it out in butter and add it as a slurry and add it once I’ve opened the pot.
Love this though – can’t wait to try your other recipes 🙂
I have never in my life tasted anything as good as this! This is the best beef stew and I will never make any other one but this one! The first time I made it me and my husband could not believe how delicious it was (like 5 star restaurant good) after all it is just stew but let me tell you…run to the store as fast as you can to get the ingredients to make this NOW, you will see what I mean! The store had a sale on chuck roasts yesterday (BOGO) and there was no hesitation for me, I knew what I’d be using them for: Jenn Segal’s beef stew!
Thank you Jenn for sharing this fabulous recipe, you are a rock star!
What can I use as a substitute for the canned or boxed beef broth? I find it to have a nasty undertaste. Commercial chicken broth, on the other hand, is excellent. Would that be a decent substitute?
Hi Phaedra, If you feel strongly about avoiding beef broth, you can use chicken broth. It will change the flavor a bit and make the stew lighter in color, but will still be good. I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!
I used chicken broth and it worked out very well. I paid attention to developing a good fond when browning the beef (and the addition of vinegar was genius in dissolving the fond), and this gave a good beefy flavor and dark color to the stew. This is a great recipe— thank you!
So glad you were pleased with how it came out — thanks for taking the time to report back!
I don’t care for canned or boxed beef broth either. I used a bouillon base called Better ‘n Bouillon, the beef version. It turned out great. I have used the vegetable base for years. It comes in a jar and is found with the canned and boxed broths, but I think it tastes much better.
I’ve tried a lot of beef stew recipes over the years and this one is the best by far! Perfect flavour and the method was spot on. Will now be my go-to recipe. No substitutions and did it on the stove over low heat.
About to make this stew next week, but just realised I don’t have a dutch oven (yet!).
Do you think it could be simmered slowly in a stockpot with a lid, on the gas hob/stove, instead?
Thank you! 🙂
Sure, give it a stir periodically so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom. Hope you enjoy!
I’ve noticed the carrots and potatoes aren’t cooking through in the oven when I put them in at the time suggested. What is recommended to get them cooking through?
Hi Shelby, I’m sorry you were finding they weren’t cooked through. You could either cut the potatoes and carrots into smaller pieces or add them a bit earlier.
So I actually realized I was placing WAYY too many carrots and potatoes. I put in the recommended amounts instead of assuming and guess what? They all cooked through!
FYI I have made this recipe at least 5 times now and other than the veggies not cooking through, I had no issues whatsoever. You’re a saint for blessing the internet with this recipe!
You’re so sweet — glad you got to the root of the problem!
I followed this lovely recipe except I added sweet potatoes (the yellow kind) and it was delicious. I even splurged on a beautiful chuck roast from our nearest gourmet farmhouse butcher. Honestly it was so good except… my beef ended up having a liver flavour. I don’t know what I did wrong. I used almost the same ingredients except I added some tinned tomatoes. I cooked it in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. My husband still loved it. Sadly I just had to pick the beef out and eat the rest. Could I have cooked my beef too long? Would this have caused it? Regardless it is an amazing recipe. I’ll keep trying.
Hi Hayley, I’m sorry to hear you found that the beef tasted like liver – I’ve never heard that before! While the canned tomatoes may have changed the flavor a bit as they added some acidity, I don’t think it would cause the beef to taste that way. Also, the Dutch oven should not have caused a problem. Every once in a while, you can buy a bad cut of beef and perhaps that was the culprit here. Hope you have better luck next time if you make it!
I found this recipe a couple years ago when I was cooking for my grandpa when he couldn’t live alone anymore — I was trying to find a beef stew recipe with wine in it like my grandma used to make. This recipe turned out so similar to what my grandma used to make! I was thrilled.
Now, I need to figure out two things:
1. How to make it gluten-free as I’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease. After reading a lot of comments, it seems that 1-to-1 flour replacement is the top choice.
2. *How long* does it take to reheat (on the stovetop) if I make it the day before? The recipe says how to reheat it, but not how long I would expect company to wait to eat while it’s reheating! Strangely enough I couldn’t find anything about this in the comments, although I admit I didn’t read all 4,543 of them.
How nice that you found a recipe for your grandfather that was reminiscent of what your grandmother made. In answer to your questions, the same amount of gluten-free flour is a great replacement for the flour, and I’d guesstimate that it would take about 20 minutes, give or take, for the stew to reheat. Hope that helps!
It may be my East Texas roots that makes me a big fan of the Mississippi pot roast recipe. I think the reason for that is the seasoning runs through the meat and any added vegetables. With that said, I was very disappointed with this recipe as I found the flavor extremely bland. Neither the meat or vegetables had sufficient flavor. Though the cooking process did result in extremely tender meat.
Good morning Cory,
after reading your review, I thought I’d weigh in..BECAUSE this is an insanely good tasting recipe (I’ve made this well over 10 or 12 x…).
This is just a thought: are your seasonings fresh? And when it calls for searing (browning) the meat is there enough time given without crowding? I’m a former personal & professional chef, and without exception, I haven’t served this to anyone that didn’t go crazy over it …
I hope you’ll try this again, it really is very, very good!!!!
It’s a 5 Star ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️recipe…
Lisa
Dear Jenn,
It is April 7th, 2023. Easter Friday afternoon. It is cold out there today where I live in the Swiss Alps at about 2’000 feet above sea level. I bought the ingredients to make this wonderful beef stew AGAIN. I absolutely love this recipe!!! Before I begin cooking I am sitting here at my computer, with a hot cup of coffee, and re-reading all your notes and tips for this recipe. I am thinking about you and all the work you put into your website. Your website is my first stop, go-to website, when I am searching for the ‘perfect’ recipe on-line. Many of my favourities are from your website. I just thought you would like to know. Have a fantastic Easter weekend. Kathleen – a Canadian living in Switzerland.
Kathleen, thanks for your very kind words — I’m so glad you like the recipes that they are your go-tos1 You made my day; have a wonderful Easter (and enjoy the stew)!
Spot on
Hello Jen,
Made this many times! My family loves this! I was wondering if this would do well in a crockpot ? ( after browning the beef and cooking the ingredients then transfer it all into crockpot and let it cook for awhile before add carrots and potatoes at end. Thank you : )
Glad your family likes this! Yes, you can cook it 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).
Hi Jenn, I note that when you are asking for cooking times for this in a slow cooker, you advise 4-5 hrs on high. I was wondering if this recipe is appropriate to be cooked on the slow setting of the slow cooker, and if so, for how long? Thank you
Mark.
Hi Mark, I’m not an expert on slow cookers as I don’t own one, but I just looked this up online and it sounds like you should cook it for about 8.5 hours (see more here). Hope you enjoy the stew!
Made for company the was a hit and none was leftover.
Per Chef’s suggestion, I made the day ahead. Not only did it taste better but I was fresh for company after doing all the heavy cooking the day before!
I cobbled together a few recipes but used this as a base
– did not use potatoes (not my favorite)
– increased carrots to a pound
– added a pound of mushrooms
– used a bottle of Cote de Rhone and did not add water
– used gluten free flour and at the end added a corn starch slurry
I will definitely make again
My husband and I loved this stew. It was flavourful, the right consistency – not runny at all. Vegetables were cooked perfect. Exchanged water for beef broth and added a cup of mushrooms. Thanks!
Love this recipe; have made many times. Wanted to experimente w/ Instant Pot to see how it would turn out. Browned meat in large slabs, then cut into cubes. Decreased wine and beef broth to 1/5C each, and reduced each separately for a few minutes before adding to pot. 32 minutes high pressure. 10 minutes natural release, then release remaining pressure. Added potatoes and carrots. 4 minutes high pressure. Quick release. Sauce is a bit thin, but thickened as it sat. Can use saute function, but watch carefully to prevent the bottom from scorching. Forgot to add the 2C of water, but turned out just fine. Tastes just as good, but quicker for a weeknight. About 2 hours start to finish (from browning meat to serving). Served w/ garlic toast (Ina Garten idea).
Thank you for sharing the details of how to cook in the IP.
Just wondering (as I’m cooking for a young family) if the wine would cook off in the pressure cooker, or whether I should just add less, e.g. 1/2 cup?
Thank you for any thoughts.
Hi Savanna, I wish I could say, but don’t know enough about a pressure cooker to say – sorry! Perhaps Kona will weigh in. BTW, if you have any concerns, you can replace some or all of the wine with additional beef broth. Hope that helps!
I made this recipe a few days ago, It was absolutely delicious! My husband loved it too! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you
This was amazing. My family loves it. I was wondering what a serving size was? I saw it’s 6 servings however for neutrino fact purposes I was curious if it was possible to get the weight of a serving or if a serving was like a cup? Thank you!!!
Hi Bella, So glad you enjoyed it! Unfortunately, I don’t have precise serving quantities; the nutritional data is calculated based on the total calories divided by the estimated number of servings.
The recipe is a good place to start; but like all recipes, it’s subject to improvisation.
With four pounds of chuck, I used about a cup and a half of leftover Beaujolais and about a cup and a half of veal stock. That is more than enough liquid; adding water would be ill-advised.
I seared the cubed beef in fat from some jowl bacon; and did this in a large, heavy skillet to make sure the meat got a good sear, which took three batches. While the meat sat on a platter, I tossed the roughly chopped onions in the skillet with a bit of oil and lightly browned and softened them; then dumped some cognac in the pan, reduced it just a tad, stirred in tomato paste, added just a few tablespoons of water to make sure the paste fully dissolved, added balsamic vinegar and some Worcestershire sauce, then put the whole business in a large oval Staub cocotte. Sprinkled with flour, stirred that in; threw in a few sprigs of fresh thyme, fresh bay leaves, and half a dozen cloves of garlic lightly crushed but still in their skins.
Added carrots and potatoes per the recipe. Served with creamy pureed potatoes; topped with fresh horseradish cream and finely minced fresh parsley and orange peel.
Works for me!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This is such a brilliant recipe. Like… immediately mood-changing brilliant! Worked well in the Dutch oven on the stovetop throughout and even with a shorter 2.5 hr cooking time. Thank you so much for sharing, I will be checking out all your other recipes now❤️❤️❤️
Literally the best stew ever. My husband is absolutely obsessed with it. This was the first recipe that made me fall in love with once upon a chef!!
I’ve made this a couple times and the flavour is excellent-and I was never much of a stew lover. At the point you put it in the oven to braise I put it in my crockpot instead. It takes longer to cook and I have to double the flour because it’s too runny for my liking but it works for me. Great recipe!
Made this yesterday and it was sensational. Best pot roast ever. Reminded me of beef bourguignon, but much easier.
Jenn, I’ve been using your recipes for a year now and you’re good!
Les
Wonderful recipe. Deleted 1 cup of water for more wine. Used a Waygu chuck roast and added 3 short ribs, used the meat and added the bones for the duration of the cook. Added some Worcestershire sauce, a bit more balsamic vinegar, and sautéed mushrooms at the end. The result was fantastic. Thanks for this recipe!
this recipe is by far one of the best beef stew type of recipes i’ve come across. i crave this every once and a while and come back to its goodness. i did this recipe all slow cooked stovetop – came out well.
My husband was craving Beef Stew, so I went through my large cookbook collection, and all I could find was Beef Bourguignon. We like it, but it’s time-consuming and a bit rich. I looked online and found your recipe for Beef Stew. It reminded me of Beef Bourguignon because of the wine, but your recipe is much simpler; and that’s what I was looking for. I just made it last night, and my husband loved it! For the wine, I used half Cabernet Sauvignon & half of a red blend from a local winery that had a combination of Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Cab, Barbara, and Zinfandel. The taste was exquisite! I thickened the stew with broth and flour, but I will try the butter/flour method you recommended to someone else. The carrots weren’t quite tender after an hour, so next time I will cook it longer. We’re having leftovers tonight, so I might pop it in the oven to soften up the veggies. Thanks again for your recipe. I will have to look for your cookbook and add it to my collection.
Hi Jenn,
Question: Can cornstarch or flour mixed with water be used to thicken the stew.
Thank you, Rose
Hi Rose, I’d recommend cornstarch over flour. At the very end of cooking time, make a “slurry” by combining 2T cornstarch with 2T cold water; mix until completely smooth. Whisk half of the slurry into the stew and bring to a gentle boil on the stovetop and simmer until the broth is thickened and any starchy taste has been cooked away. If you want the broth thicker, add the remaining slurry and repeat. Enjoy!
Jenn thank you for your prompt response.
I wish I could meet you in person and thank you. You are so kind and helpful.
I will follow your instructions exactly.
Rose
💗
What a beautiful Beef Stew! This is my 1st attempt at making stew and it blew me away. I feel like there’s this beautiful dance going on in my mouth. I changed a few little things used fingerling Yukon’s and fresh thyme. Used Josh’s 2020 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon! Can’t wait for it to cool down so I can really dive in and enjoy with fresh baked bread. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Love this recipe, rich with complex flavors. The best beef stew we’ve had in recent years! Looking forward to creating many more of your recipes.
Sincerely,
Pat Harney
This is the most amazing recipe, as are all of your recipes! Thanks so much Jen. The meat is so tender and flavorful, and the stew itself is hearty and delicious!! The second time I made this, I did change out the wine to Marsala wine, and it was even better. It had a delicious deep taste and my husband could not eat enough. In fact, he took it to work the next day. I also cooked a little Pastina and placed the meat and juices on top. What a delicious meal. Thanks again for the amazing recipe! It is certainly a keeper! P.S. I’m also going to try your Buttermilk Biscuits next time. I am sure they are delicious.❤️
LOVE THIS RECIPE!! Thank you for the simple instructions & vivid step-by-step pics. My family devoured this stew & raved how delicious it was.
I first made this in December to host a small “party.” I adjusted the liquid for 5.45lbs of meat, but same kinds, although I used all beef broth instead of beef and water, and 2 cups of red wine. I was out of balsamic vinegar so I splashed some Worcestershire sauce in and did not add sugar because I forgot. (For info, I used a combination of Bovril cubes and Better than Bullion Beef) Also, I had just bought new thyme and new rosemary, and accidentally grabbed the rosemary instead of the thyme (facepalm.) I never use spoons, probably poured out about a tsp in my hand. I also added three or 4 bay leaves because mine were small. Lastly, I did add frozen peas just before serving. I discovered AFTER dinner about the rosemary, btw.
Oh my. My friends absolutely died over this. My kids (all adults now) did too. There was only 5 of us, but there was barely any left. I’ve made a million stews and beef bourguignon in my life, most very good; but this- this was velvety, the broth was the PERFECT consistency, not too thick but definitely not broth, the meat oh-so-tender- and the rosemary was delicious (either would obviously work, my father dislikes rosemary so I use thyme for him when he comes.)
It is the best I have ever made, and now the only one, although I don’t need to follow the recipe anymore. We have 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground from last week, and it is snowing RIGHT NOW, so it’s braising in the oven as we speak. Sigh. At least I know dinner will be fabulous!
Dear Jenn,
I have been meaning to leave a review for you for far too long. You have so many absolutely delicious sounding and looking recipes, and we look forward to trying many more of them. For the time being, it’s this beef stew that I just have to mention. I have made my own versions of it for a long, long time – all with varying degrees of success.
And so we stumbled upon your incredible recipe on one uncommonly chilly day here in southeastern Arizona. I just can’t praise it enough for its amazing aroma while cooking; its fantastically satisfying textures; and most certainly of course it’s richness and great depth of flavor. It it just SO GOOD in every respect. I think your addition of balsamic vinegar was brilliant! My wife also made your incredible cheesecake (GF version because it’s necessary for me), and she was so thrilled that, for the very first time, it didn’t crack in the middle! Doubtless (I’m at least mostly sure!) because of your idea to use a ban-marie. Genius. And the Beef with Broccoli!! God, it was amazing – truly better than any we’ve had eating out, and so easy to prepare. 10 stars! Thank you so much!! Best, Erik
Sorry, I forgot: And add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, it gives such a beautiful character. Dijon mustard is all meats best friend! And if so, use even a very small amount of Cognac, since Dijon mustard and Cognac goes very well together.
Sorry kitchen…never asked for a remake of Jenn’s very popular, absolutely delicious recipe here…if made accurately, it doesn’t get better. And one of the reasons she has so many subscribers is because she provides complete instructions,and answers concerns & questions quickly.
She’s simply the best…
PS…I’m a huge fan of Dijon mustard …and many of the French kitchens I cooked in often used it in their recipes. But here, if made according to Jenn’s recipe simply doesn’t need it.
Lisa
Giving 5 Stars because Jenn’s recipe is hands down 5 STAR
Some improvements:
1) Dependig of the size of the garlic cloves, no more than 7 cloves. I recommend 5 cloves.
2) Reduce the amount of red wine. At the most 1 1/2 cups. To much red wine will take over the dish and “kill” it.
3) The amount of red wine, water and broth is all together to much. The stew gets to watery.
4) If you still follow the recipe, add more all-purpose flour to avoid a watery stew.
5) Add the garlic later than the recipe says (the step before you go in with the flour). Otherwise there’s a risk that the garlic will get burned. You really don’t want that.
6) Add the tomato paste directly to all the browned meat for better taste – not after the vegetables are softened and added – and before you add the flour. The meat is the main character in the dish!
Agree on all points. Just made this. There’s a bitter under taste that may be from slightly burned garlic. I knew that step was likely incorrect- always sauté your onions first w/o garlic. I’m trying to remedy the situation now…
AMAZING. I have been making my own version of beef stew for 40 years and yesterday, decided to change it up a bit and make Jenn’s recipe. Well, I will never make my recipe again! Jenn’s recipe is perfect. I made two minor changes: I didn’t add any sugar and I used 4 cups of beef stock instead of 2 cups of beef stock and 2 cups of water. This is absolutely the best beef stew recipe. The sauce is thick and silky and full of flavour and the veggies are cooked perfectly. Thank you Jenn, for yet another awesome recipe.
Hello!
My wife is pregnant, is there a good substitute for the red wine?
Thank you!
Hi Ryan, you can use additional beef broth in place of the wine. Hope you enjoy!
This was scrumptious! Made it 2 days ahead. Meat was flavorful & extremely tender. I didn’t add potatoes but served over mashed potatoes instead. Will make again. Thank you.
Great stew recipe. I used stew beef from the 1/4 cow we purchased, so I wasn’t worried it would be tough.
I put my carrots in after 1 hour because they were very large and thick, then added potatoes hour later.
I did use the 2 tbs butter and 2 tbsp flour mashed together to thicken the gravy at the end.
Enough leftovers for second dinner during the week.Definitely will make a again.
I keep making this over and over when my son comes over for Sunday dinner. Excellent. Thank you!!!
I’m excited to make this today for dinner for tomorrow. As I’ve never made a pot roast is this considered one? Your recipes are my go to favorites. Thanks
Hi Barbara, A pot roast is very similar to this, but the beef is left whole instead of cut into chunks. Hope you enjoy the stew!
Rarely do I write reviews…mostly I think most of the recipes I try are just not that great…this was the exception. First I thought the instructions were spot on..everything lined up and took the recommended amount of time. I loved the way this dish tasted, hearty with perfectly done veggies that were not mushy. I wanted a bit more gravy and I kept adding salt after it was done but overall it’s a 5 star recipe for sure!
Hi—I just checked with my butcher—as expected he has a ‘beef shoulder roll’ which he says is same thing as chuck roast. He also has chuck meat well marbled already cubed. Thoughts? This is all a foreign language to me!
Hi Kay, I’d go with the cubed, well-marbled chuck meat. The beef shoulder roll may not have enough marbling. Hope that helps!
It’s likely that one your thousands of fans 😊 already asked this: Does cooking time change if doubled?
Also, I’m afraid of buying wrong meat as I’ve never been successful with stew meats. Are there other names for the chuck roast if my butcher tries to convince me of a different cut? Hope this makes sense. Thanks as always Jenn!
Hi Kay, See my answer above re. the meat. The cook time may be a bit longer if doubled. It’s hard to say how much, so just keep an eye on it and check for tenderness.
I’m excited to make this! Busy week: Wondering if this could be adapted to slow cooker (after browning, etc).
Hi Adrie, Yes that’s fine to transfer everything to a slow cooker after browning.
I have been following this recipe since around 2017 I think. My whole family loves this recipe. Thank you for sharing this masterpiece. Love from Australia.
Hi! I’m making this tonight for dinner, I like a thick stew as opposed to semi soupy so I was wondering if I can flour the cubed chuck before browning to add some thickness or will that make it too thick? Also, would a splash of ruby port in addition to the red wine ruin the flavor? Thanks!
Instead of flouring the beef, I’d wait until the end of the cooking time and if it’s not thick enough for your liking, mash 2 tablespoons of softened butter with 2 tablespoons of flour; whisk it into the simmering stew little by little until the stew is thickened to your liking. And adding a splash of port would be fine. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
A winner! This is my new go-to beef stew recipe. Reminiscent of beef bourguignon but half the labor!