Old-Fashioned Beef Stew — A EASY stovetop recipe that features succulent pieces of beef with tender carrots and potatoes, all coated in a rich gravy! Make this COMFORT FOOD classic all winter long. It’s a simple recipe with minimal ingredients and very little hands on prep that the whole family will adore!
Table of Contents
- Easy Stovetop Beef Stew Recipe
- Beef Stew Ingredients
- How to Make Beef Stew on the Stove
- Brothy vs. Thicker Stew
- How to Thicken Beef Stew
- How to Thin Beef Stew
- Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Recipe FAQs
- What to Serve with Beef Stew
- Storage
- Easy Old-Fashioned Beef Stew Recipe
- More Easy Beef Soup and Beef Stew Recipes:
Easy Stovetop Beef Stew Recipe
This old-fashioned beef stew recipe is super simple yet hits the spot every time! Consider this the type of no-frills comfort food like Grandma used to make.
It’s a carrot, beef, and potato stew that’s cooked on the stovetop until the beef is fall-apart tender and the vegetables are soft but not mushy. The gravy is incredibly rich and silky with a strong beef flavor. The additions of red onions and celery helps to balance out the richness of the stew while adding yet another layer of flavor.
I purposely made this a smaller batch beef stew recipe – about four servings – because that’s what many of my readers ask for.
However, you can easily scale this recipe up to suit your family’s needs. I have a handy feature in the recipe card section with a 2x that you can click so you don’t even have to do any mental math for this one-pot meal.
This easy stovetop beef stew recipe is a meal-in-one for me. I might pair it with fluffy homemade rolls or bread for mopping up the gravy, and maybe a green salad for freshness but that’s it!
Keep this old-fashioned beef stew in your recipe rotation all winter long. It’s hearty comfort food that sticks to your ribs. This easy beef stew is perfect for casual weeknight dinners or Sunday family dinners and guests love it too!
Want to Make This in Your Slow Cooker?
To make this beef stew in a slow cooker, follow the same steps for searing the beef and sautéing the aromatics in a pan. Then, transfer everything to your slow cooker, add the remaining ingredients, and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
I also have a slow cooker beef stew recipe that my family loves – already written with slow cooking in mind if you’re the type who loves having a Crockpot of something simmering for hours and hours, check that recipe out!
Beef Stew Ingredients
You don’t need any special spice blends or seasonings to make the best beef stew! All you’ll need are the following basic ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Beef stew meat
- All-purpose flour
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Beef broth – I like to use reduced sodium beef broth so as the liquid volume of the stew concentrates over time as the stew simmers, the overall saltiness level doesn’t read too salty. You can always add more salt at the end.
- Tomato paste
- Tomato sauce
- Celery
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Salt
- Pepper
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
What’s the Best Beef for Stew?
For old-fashioned stovetop beef stew, I use Chuck roast but round roast also works well. Chuck roast has a good amount of fat content and the internal marbling results in incredibly moist and tender beef every time. Plus, it’s one of the more affordable cuts of beef!
Your grocery store might also stock beef that’s labeled as “stew meat,” which is often a mixture of Chuck roast and other cuts of meat.
The 90 minute simmering time will tenderize these less expensive and less tender cuts of meat, not to worry!
How to Make Beef Stew on the Stove
Making beef store on the stove is incredibly straightforward! It’s a difficult recipe to mess up because beef stew is very forgiving. Here are the basic recipe steps:
- Toss the beef stew meat with flour. This helps thicken the beef stew gravy later on.
- Preheat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the butter to melt it, then add the coated beef, and sear until browned on all sides. Remove the beef to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onions and saute before adding the garlic.
- Add the beef broth and stir to deglaze any stuck bits of onions and garlic.
- Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, return the beef to the pot, and add the celery, potatoes, and carrots.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring the beef stew to a boil, then reduce the heat so the stew simmers gently.
- Simmer the stew for about 90 minutes. You want the beef to practically be falling apart and the vegetables to be fork tender.
How to Thicken Beef Stew
I don’t see this as being a big issue as there’s only 1 cup broth used. But if you run into a too-soupy stew, there are two ways to thicken it:
- Remove the lid from your pot, and then simmer a bit longer uncovered and/or crank up the burner heat output to a faster boil so excess liquid volume burns off faster.
- If that doesn’t do the trick, whisk together 1 tablespoon of flour with 2 tablespoons of water (this is called a slurry). Add the mixture to the stew and let it simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes until thickened to your liking. You’re welcome to repeat the slurry process again if the stew still isn’t thick enough, but only add 1 extra tablespoon of flour at a time so the stew doesn’t thicken up too much!
How to Thin Beef Stew
If you’re experiencing the opposite problem and your old-fashioned beef stew is too thick, add ½ cup additional of beef broth or water at a time until the gravy reaches your desired consistency.
Just don’t add too much liquid all at once and wind up with a runny stew!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
Coat the beef in flour. This helps it brown better as it sears, but the flour also does double duty as a thickening agent for the stew gravy. Don’t omit it!
Sear the beef in batches, if needed. If your pot or Dutch oven isn’t large enough to sear all of the beef in an even layer, you’ll need to sear it in batches. If you try to sear all the beef at once, you’ll end up steaming it instead and won’t achieve that lovely brown color which adds so much flavor to the stew, so it’s important to achieve that sear!
Remove the beef before adding the broth. You want the beef out of the pot when the broth hits the hot surface. The broth will immediately deglaze the pan, AKA release all those golden bits stuck to the bottom of the pot which are full of flavor!
Cut the carrots and potatoes into bite-size half-inch cubes and pieces. Don’t make them bigger because the vegetables will take much longer to cook through. Conversely, don’t go too small because remember this soup simmers for 90 minutes and too-small pieces will overcook, become super mushy, or just disintegrate.
Add additional dried herbs, if desired. This is a very basic beef stew recipe, and I think it’s perfect as is with the onion and celery acting as aromatics and the salt and pepper providing the seasoning. However, you’re welcome to add more seasonings like dried thyme or oregano, onion powder, one or two bay leaves, or paprika if desired.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Simply double the ingredients. You might need to use a larger pot, but the cook time should remain roughly the same.
Yes, cover the pot with a lid while the beef stew cooks to prevent too much liquid from evaporating.
I know it’s one extra step to deal with, but browning the beef is the secret to amazing beef stew! Browning the beef imparts lots of flavor to the stew. And, since the beef was first coated in flour, the browning process also cooks the flour and removes its unappetizing raw flour taste from the dish.
Searing the beef also leaves gorgeous brown bits on the bottom of the pot, which are released once the beef broth is added. Those “brown bits” are called fond and they also help to flavor the stew.
I used peeled Russet potatoes, which are very starchy and break down slightly as they cook. If you prefer potatoes that are firmer and stay intact even after 90 minutes of simmering, use a more waxy potato like Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes.
Sure! Just remember that different vegetables have different cook times, so if you add everything to the pot all at once you might wind up with some perfectly cooked veggies, some super soft, and some hard.
However, if you add only other root vegetables (which is what potatoes and carrots both are!) you shouldn’t have any issues. I bet peeled sweet potatoes would be great in this recipe, for example! Parsnips or rutabaga are other old-fashioned feeling root vegetables that would also work well.
I know frozen peas are another favorite beef stew vegetable for many, so you’re also welcome to add roughly 1 cup to this recipe. I suggest adding them about 15 minutes before the end of simmering so they don’t turn to mush.
I specifically made this beef stew recipe without red wine because any time I use wine in a dinner recipe, I always have readers asking what substitutes they can use for the wine. If you love red wine in your stew, simply add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine such as cabernet or merlot when you add the beef broth. You may consider reducing the beef broth volume slightly if you’re adding wine. A dash of red wine vinegar may be added, too.
Definitely! Follow the instructions in my slow cooker beef stew recipe to learn how to do so.
For an even more hearty dish, you’re welcome to add dumplings or biscuits to the top of the stew near the end of the cook time. Here’s my exact recipe for beef stew with dumplings if you want to know my method!
What to Serve with Beef Stew
Storage
In the Refrigerator: This recipe will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
In the Freezer: This recipe will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To Reheat: I use my microwave for quickness and ease and reheat my leftovers for about 30 seconds on high, or as needed. But you can use your stove, whatever is best suited for you.
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Easy Old-Fashioned Beef Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound beef stew meat*, diced into 1/2-inch chunks (which is a mixture of Chuck roast and round roast, or use either of those cuts)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 medium red onion, sliced into thin strips (yellow or sweet Vidalia onions may be substituted)
- 3 to 5 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 cup reduced sodium beef broth, plus more if desired
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 celery stalks, chopped coarsely into 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely into 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 medium potatoes*, peeled and chopped coarsely into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add the beef chunks, flour, and stir and toss to coat evenly. Tip – Make sure it's evenly coated because this bit of flour helps thicken the stew.
- To a large Dutch oven or pot, add the butter and heat over medium-high heat and swirl the pan or stir it to encourage the butter to melt.
- As the butter is melting, add the coated beef chunks and sear for about 5 minutes, flipping intermittently to ensure even searing on all sides. Remove the seared beef chunks and set aside on a plate or even in the bowl you tossed them in with the flour.
- To the Dutch oven, add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften; stir frequently.
- Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir nearly constantly.
- Deglaze the pot by adding the beef broth and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot using a wooden spoon or something that won't scratch your pot. Note – When deglazing, a lot of steam will form so stand back a bit as you're adding the broth.
- Add the tomato sauce and paste, and stir to combine.
- Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper, return the seared beef to the Dutch oven, and stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let the stew simmer for about 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender, and the vegetables are cooked through and tender, but not mushy. Stir occasionally as it simmers. Tips – Pay attention to the flame or burner heat and if they soup is boiling too rapidly, make sure to adjust it down a bit. The goal here is low and slow, not too fast, because low heat and a long simmer time are keys to developing the rich, tender texture of the beef and vegetables.
- After everything is tender and cooked through, taste the soup for seasoning balance. Seasoning Tips – Chances are you will want to add additional salt. If the soup tastes at all flat, boring, or like it's missing something, you'll likely want to add salt which is key to balancing the flavors of the pounds-worth of plain vegetables and meat in the stew. Additional pepper may also be necessary, if desired.
- Broth Level and Stew Thickness – If at any time during the simmering process you notice the level of broth is too low, or you prefer a more brothy stew, add up to 1/2 to 1 cup additional broth, or as desired, adding 1/2 cup at a time. If the stew has too much broth or you want to thicken it up (I doubt this will be an issue as there's only 1 cup broth called for), but the easiest way to do this is at the end to uncover the pot, turn up the heat, and let it boil fast so and some of the volume of the broth will evaporate. You can also create a slurry by mixing about 1 to 2 tablespoons flour with 1 to 2 tablespoons water, and adding it. After adding the slurry, you'll need to keep stirring and stirring, until the stew has thickened as desired and the raw flour taste is cooked off.
- Serve the stew with rice, noodles, with neither, or as desired. Stew will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer or up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’m from Kerala, a state that is in the south of India. Our state is known for coconuts as we have plenty of coconut trees. We use coconut milk instead of a flour slurry. It makes a huge difference. Tinned coconut milk should be available everywhere