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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This is the third year I’ve prepared this for our Xmas Wine group lunch, where we pair food with wines. I have offered to vary this course, but they all insist on your lovely recipe!
In my opinion it’s much less work than classic Boef Bourguignon and tastes even better, SIMPLY DELICIOUS!
We are not big beef eaters, but my husband requested beef stew for our Thanksgiving For 2 so I obliged. TLDR: absolutely delicious! Halved the recipe, followed it as written, used a Dutch oven for the very first time…meat was tender, no trace of sauce left on any of our plates. Now he wants this for every special occasion. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Making a double batch, should I double the braising time?
No need — the cooking time can remain the same – enjoy!
HI Jennifer, I need to make this 3 days in advance of when I need it? Should I freeze it or do you think it will still be okay to serve?
Hi Elizabeth, It should be fine refrigerated for 3 days. Enjoy!
How big of a pot would I need if I were to double the recipe?
Hi Claire, I’d guesstimate you’d need at least a 9 quart pot. Hope you enjoy!
I’ve made this at least 6 times and everyone loves it! The flavor is amazing…I do a few tweaks…I prefer adding extra wine and broth verses water. I also add extra carrots and tomato paste. Either way it is sooooo delicious 😋
Hi Jenn, Made this yesterday, it’s so good. I put Cabernet Sauvinon in together with the balsamic vinegar and used just ordinary potatoes cut into four. Browned the meat, onions and I added some sliced green peppers. Then added the potatoes, stock etc then cooked for 4 hours on high in my slow cooker. Wow, it was perfect and reminded us of a rustic stew we had forty years ago at Chez Maurice in Paris, so brought back wonderful memories. We love these one-bowl wonders. Thanks for all the inspiring tasty recipes you send.
Since the weather turned to fall my family had been talking about making a hearty stew. I don’t make it often but we set a date and I found this recipe and gave it a try. I’m Italian and do most of the cooking in the house and I’m not a recipe guy at all but after seeing the ingredients and looking at the positive comments, I decided to follow it exactly [adding a tsp of worcestershire]. I and my family were absolutely floored by the taste and richness of this hearty creation. The wine and beef stock along with the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar just pumped up the taste along with the tender beef and veggies. We could not stop raving. Even the grandkids lapped it up. Definitely high end restaurant quality.
We paired it with the recommended buttermilk biscuits and put ourselves in a food coma.
It was excellent.
I’ll be looking for other recipes on your site to try.
I’ve made this three times now and it’s always perfection. I don’t change a thing because this recipe doesn’t need any tweaking, in my humble opinion. I do recommend making it a day ahead because the flavor the next day is simply insane with flavor. It’s the perfect make ahead meal if you have company coming. My husband’s favorite way of eating it is on a thick slice of homemade sourdough.
Again, recipe was perfect!
Wow!!! This is a slam dunk! Thank you for sharing, will definitely make again.
Thank you for your recipe it came out just perfect, used Marsala wine instead of a dry red wine & didn’t put in any sugar.
Very tasty stew! My husband thought it had too strong of a wine taste. So, next time I’ll use less wine. Otherwise he loved it!
OMG! This is easily the most flavorful Beef Stew I’ve ever eaten! I did put all beef broth, rather than the two cups of water, but that’s the only change I made. I’m saving this recipe, it’s a home run!
This is a wonderful recipe; I have made it 3 times now and each batch was wonderful. Twice I have doubled the recipe and it works out great! A total crowd-pleaser. I often use a little less wine since the kids don’t love it if there’s too strong of a wine flavor, and just make it up with more beef stock. For those who think it’s too sweet, I suggest adding half the sugar and then tasting at the end to balance everything out. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Making this right now and my kitchen smells so wonderful 🙂
Question – wouldn’t the potatoes (and maybe carrots) get mushy when you freeze it?!
Hi Ami, Believe it or not, the potatoes (and carrots) freeze really nicely. Hope you enjoy it!
This was amazing!!! One of the best I’ve ever had…it cracks me up how people say “I made this but….” and then they change everything! This was perfect…Will definitely make again!!!
where are the amounts of ingredients to add. how much vinegar, wine etc?
It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions above. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
Can you cook this on the stovetop for the entire cooking time?
Yep – just give it a stir periodically so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom. Enjoy!
Y U M Z E R!!! I give 100 stars on this one. Jenn, this truly is the BEST beef stew! Simple recipe is simply excellent! Perfect for nasty weather. I omitted the wine & added 4 cups broth, instead of 2 and added about 2 tsp dijon mustard. And yes — the water is a necessary ingredient. The balsamic vinegar added a lovely flavor. There are only 2 of us, but I made the recipe as printed – we had 3+ delicious meals. I set the oven to 285F and let it bake for 4 hours; beef was super-tender and so yummy. I’ve used many, many of your recipes and was not disappointed with any of them — THANK YOU! I can’t wait to make it again. (All it needed were a few big chunks of kishke! OH BOY!
Beautiful stew! Not a quick simple recipe but so so worth the effort. Second time making the and will definitely become a fall/winter staple. Thank you!
Excellent recipe! 👌 Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I added celery to the sauteed vegetables. I did it in the instant pot to save time, sauteing everything in the pot, and after I added the meat back in, added the potatoes and some mushrooms, as well as sprucing it up a tad with some Worcestershire sauce and a little tomato bouillon to round out the water. Also added some herbs de provence, and did the whole instant pot for 90 minutes in one go. Saved dishes and time that way.
Thank you for this recipe, it reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking.
Great recipe, total understanding of principle & spirit of the dish, well worth 5 stars
Cab you use sirloin instead of chuck?
Hi Tammy, I don’t recommend it — I’d worry a sirloin roast will be too lean and won’t get tender. Sorry!
This was a very sweet stew even after leaving the sugar out. I think it was from the basalmic vinegar and wine. It wasn’t good due to sweetness.
I did so, and it was fine, but added a little extra oil and a bit of bacon wouldn’t hurt. Also, using the instant pot or a pressure cooker helps tenderize the meat more. I prefer it with sirloin, actually. I also wouldn’t trim the sirloin at all; you need all of the connective tissue to render down to thicken the broth.
This easy to follow recipe produces a delicious stew. That said, I followed some suggestions made by prior reviewers. Rather than diluting the flavours with the suggested amount of water water, I replaced it with equal amounts of beef stock and wine instead. Frying up some bacon and using its rendered fat as part of the oil needed to brown the meat adds an extra layer of flavour, as does the crisped bacon, which I added at the end. The stew needs the two tablespoons of balsamic but I would add the sugar sparingly and in stages to avoid too sweet a sauce. The potatoes and the carrots need much longer than 1 hour at 325 F to cook properly but the nice thing about braised meats is that it is almost impossible to over-cook them. I added celery too and a few mushrooms and eventually some green peas. I’d suggest making a beurre manié, (a flour and butter paste), to thicken the sauce if you feel it’s required. It also helps to produce a sauce with a shiny and velvety texture, just like the photo in the recipe. My wife asked me to make sure I could find this recipe again!
Absolutely Delicious!!!
Oh so good!!! Added shitake mushrooms. Definitely on my make it again list
no measurements
Hi Jill, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions above. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
So easy and turned out really good!
Wonderful stew. Added a cut up parsnip and turnip with the carrots and potatoes for a few more vegetables!
Great idea! I hadn’t thought of parsnips and turnips, but they would both add some fantastic flavor.
If I could leave this 15 stars, I would. This is easily the best thing I’ve ever made. I used a decent quality cab sav and am glad I did. I wound up using fresh thyme since I had some on hand from another recipe. I can’t wait to make this again. It’ll certainly be in the rotation!
Made this and the family absolutely adored it!!! It was such a hit, my husband has not stopped talking about it 🙂 needless to say, I will be making this again soon! Thank you!!
This is hands down the best recipe for stew. This is the only way I’ll make stew from now on. Thank you for a fabulous recipe.
Just a question, can I leave the dutch oven out (instead of inside the fridge) overnight, because there’s really no space it?
I wouldn’t recommend it – sorry!
I wouldn’t recommend that. Maybe put the stew in ziploc bags so you can easily fit it in your refrigerator.
Why oh why would you add water? Water dilutes all the flavours you’re trying to achieve. Excellent recipe but for the love of cooking, don’t add water. Leave it out altogether, or substitute with more broth/wine.
But if you use extra wine, there won’t be a glass left over for the chef!
I am making this again after quite some time, and I will definitely skip the water. But still save some wine for the chef.
Excellent classic beef stew. This recipe produces the rich, deep beef flavor you want in a stew. The beef comes out very tender after 3 hours of braising. Sounds like a lot but most of the
time is hands-off in the oven. I cooked up 8 slices of bacon and when theye were crisp, chopped them finely and added them to the stew. Used the bacon grease as a cooking oil for the onions and garlic. Also threw in a pound of sauteed mushroom’s but those are optional.
Great for meal prep because it freezes, defrosts and reheats perfectly. I know I will use this recipe regularly as part of my standard rotation.
Made it exactly as written
A little light on flavor for me. Needed more salt.
Will make again, but will cut the carrots, smaller as they were not done enough.
I like a lot of spice so I might add some pepper flakes.
What’s the best cut of beef to use? London broil? I’m a newbie 😃
You’ll want to use boneless beef chuck for this. Hope you enjoy!
I made this last night!! Best stew I ever made and I didn’t change one thing!!!
This beef stew is the best. The taste is so rich and meat is tender!
What an amazing beef stew! I made this today with only 1 modification- I used 2 cups Pinot Noir + 4 cups beef broth (no water). Simply delicious! After removing from the oven, I removed the lid and stirred the stew. It was a little thin for my preference, so I took 2 of the cooked potato halves and mashed them with a fork in a bowl, added a few spoonfuls of the broth to make a slurry, and then stirred it back to the stew. Perfect consistency with no additional ingredients. This is my new go-to recipe for beef stew, hands down! Thank you for sharing!
Very nice stew. I made mine in a slow cooker, following the steps up until the transfer to the oven to braise. At that point, I poured it over the vegetables and cooked it over low heat for 8 hours. The beef was perfect, but there was definitely too much liquid (I subbed the wine for equal amount of broth). I had to thicken the sauce with 3tbsp of cornstarch near the end. A nice recipe, would certainly make again, probably just omitting the water.
I made this recipe as is and it was absolutely incredible – It had excellent flavor! I was tasked with bringing a stew for a party. I have a beef stew recipe I’ve made a handful of times prior, but always found it lacking. I decided to give this recipe a go and I am so glad I did! This is going to be my new beef stew recipe without a doubt! Everyone at the party raved about it, I made it the night before and reheated it in the oven prior to serving. I just wish there were leftovers to have the next day. I guess I’ll be making it again soon!
My husband raved about this stew. I subbed the red wine for a brown ale just because we thought it would be tasty, and I recommend it if you are a fall beer lover! I did add a bit of cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken the broth, which worked beautifully. I would also recommend taking a few minutes to skim off the extra fat from the top (especially with a cut like chuck) before serving as I do sometimes find beef stew to be a bit too greasy/fatty for my liking. This may be second nature to some but a good tip for first timers! I used my large le creuset oval dutch oven and it was the perfect size! Will definitely make again.
I have tried several beef stew recipes, and this one is hands down THE BEST! With the other recipes, the sauce was never rich enough nor did it have that silky consistency. I think two ingredients made all the difference: homemade beef stock and adding (as this recipe called for) balsamic vinegar. Wow! The vinegar flavor was the beautiful undertone of flavor that makes one pause to ask, “What is that which makes this sauce so yummy and rich?” This stew was so delicious that I plan to serve it to friends. Can t wait to try other recipes. Thank you!
I made this last night. This stew is amazing. The flavors are delicious. My husband loves it. This is definitely a keeper for winter.
Super easy recipe…making often and adding dumplings
Thank you!
Absolutely the best stew I have ever eaten or cooked! I felt like I was eating in a French bistro. Followed the directions exactly, and it turned out perfectly.
I have made this dish many times. It always feels special to me to make and eat! It is delicious. I have made variations changing the type of vegetables for example mushrooms, peas etc. Also, the type of meat and type of wine can make the dish over the top good. Thank you Jen! I love your recipes!!
This is an amazing recipe. I use bone in short ribs and after the first two hours, take them out, cut off the meat, discard the bones and add the meat back to the pot. I find the bone in short ribs have more flavour than the boneless ones. I also added some chopped celery, fresh corn (off the cob), oregano and basil after the first two hours, along with the carrots and potatoes, to help enhance the flavours.
This is my go-to beef stew recipe. It’s easy to do and always turns out fantastic.
I would love to hear from others how you deal with all the splatter when browning the meat. I use a very deep stock pot and put aluminum foil all around the top of my cooktop but I still get a ton of splatter. After I brown the meat, I continue the recipe using a Le Creuset Dutch oven.
Hi Sharon, I use a splatter screen. It looks like a lid with a long handle but has tight mesh netting. It works well.
Thank you for this great recipe! My husband and I loved it. The directions made it super easy to make, too!! ❤️