Hearty Beef Stew

Posted on August 24, 2013
Good morning Everyone! I hope you’ve all had a good start to your weekend! It’s a beautiful, cool morning here in Maryland, there’s a breeze coming in through the open windows and there isn’t a cloud in the sky; it feels like fall is knocking on the door! As the summer begins to come to an end and September is just around the corner, I’m sharing one of my favorite comfort foods, perfect for fall, with you today! This beef stew is one of my favorites! It has the most wonderful flavor and is filled with tender beef and lots of vegetables. It’s the perfect dinner for a chilly night, and it’ll warm you up instantly! I always feel like fall is the season when everything slows down in the kitchen and when food has that wonderful, deep and complex flavor that can only come from slow-cooking it, and this is one of those meals! It takes a little while to cook, but it fills your kitchen with the most wonderful, homey aroma and tastes like a spoonful of cozy, delicious comfort!
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HEARTY BEEF STEW
(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
*Serves 6*
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YOU WILL NEED
2 lbs beef stew meat
4oz tomato paste
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 medium sized onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium carrots, diced
2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
1/4 cup frozen peas
5 cups low-sodium beef broth
Salt & Pepper to season
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DIRECTIONS
1. First, prepare your meat by cutting it into chunks and making sure that it’s dry so it browns well (just use a paper towel). Season it well with salt and pepper. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot, then add in the meat and cook it until it has browned on all sides. Remove it from the pot and set it aside (you may need to cook the meat in two batches so it browns well and the pot isn’t too crowded).
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2. Cook the diced onion and minced garlic in the same pot, just until the onion softens, then add in the tomato paste and stir it in well (I used a whisk for this part), then let cook for a minute or two. Still stirring, add in 4 cups of the beef broth (reserve the remaining cup for later, in case you need to thin out the stew), then add in sugar and a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and return the beef and all its juices back into the pot, then cover and reduce the heat to low and just let the stew simmer for about an hour and a half, stirring it occasionally.
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3. In the meantime, prepare your vegetables. Peel and dice your carrots and potatoes (you can omit the potatoes and instead serve the stew with mashed potatoes). After the stew has been cooking for about an hour and a half, add in the carrots, potatoes and frozen peas, and let the stew cook for another half our, or until the meat and the vegetables are soft. If the stew is getting too thick, add some more beef broth at this point too, and check the seasoning. Serve hot with some crusty white bread!
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Happy Cooking, Everyone!

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  • Jenny@thelavendermagnolia August 24, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    Yum! I love soups and stews in the cold months. I love making them and my family loves eating them. I have only made my own recipe for stew before, but this looks great so I think I will give it a whirl!

    • Maria August 25, 2013 at 12:56 pm

      Thanks, Jenny! I hope you love this version! Have a great rest of the weekend! 🙂

  • Kelley @ TheGrantLife.com August 24, 2013 at 10:00 pm

    Pinned! This looks amazing! My husband would flip I made this for dinner. I may have to surprise him soon 🙂

    • Maria August 25, 2013 at 12:56 pm

      Thanks, Kelley!

  • Leslie August 24, 2013 at 10:03 pm

    I’m getting ready for fall foods! Cozy and slow cooked are the best! Your beef stew sounds really delicious and perfect for a cool night. 🙂 I like playing with new beef stew recipes so I need to try out yours, too!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

    • Maria August 25, 2013 at 12:57 pm

      Thanks, Leslie! I love making beef stews in different ways too and adding different vegetables and herbs, it’s one of my absolute favorites! Hope you have a good rest of your weekend! 🙂

  • Nancy Piran August 25, 2013 at 7:54 am

    We have had some cooler weather and this would be great to start off the fall!

    • Maria August 25, 2013 at 12:57 pm

      Hope you love it, Nancy! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Sunday!

  • Ricki M August 26, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    This looks good, and I’ve been craving stews lately….oh dear I think fall might be coming 🙁 as I tend to crave stews in the colder months….

    Thanks for sharing, looking forward to trying it.

    • Maria August 26, 2013 at 3:23 pm

      Thanks, Ricki! Hope you like the stew, it’s one of my favorites! Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

  • Shannon Hawk August 26, 2013 at 12:27 pm

    Yum! This looks delicious. I cannot wait for fall and this would be a perfect dinner for the cooler weather that’s on it’s way. I can’t resist a cozy comfort food:)

  • Shannon Hawk August 26, 2013 at 12:28 pm

    Yum! This looks delicious. I cannot wait for fall and this would be a perfect dinner for the cooler weather that’s on it’s way. I can’t resist a cozy comfort food:)

    • Maria August 26, 2013 at 3:23 pm

      Thanks so much, Shannon! I can never resist some good comfort food either! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week! 🙂

  • marty (A Stroll Thru Life) August 27, 2013 at 8:29 am

    Oh, this looks sooooooooooooooooo good. I need to make some. Thanks tons for joining Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

  • the cape on the corner August 28, 2013 at 12:59 pm

    that just looks so perfect for the gloomy weather we are having today. yum!

  • Jaymi Hathot October 6, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    I made I this tonight and had to cook it another half hour to get the vegetables tender. It also wasn’t as thick as I would’ve liked. It did taste good though.

    • Maria October 9, 2013 at 10:32 pm

      Hi Jaymi! I’m glad you enjoyed it, my stew is usually super thick so I wonder why yours wasn’t… you can always reduce the amount of beef broth to get your desired thickness. Thanks for stopping by!

  • Lahunha Borie September 15, 2014 at 10:46 pm

    I actually had to add cornstarch to get that desired gravy thickness that I love from a stew. Flavors were spot on but wish that you had put temps for cooking the meat and onions and also telling us to bring it to a boil to cook veg. my poor husband was the person who had to finish cooking this because I went to work and it ended up taking him an hour to cook the veg because he didn’t think about bringing the veg to a boil first.

    • Maria September 16, 2014 at 6:48 am

      The longer you cook the stew, the thicker it will become. As for the meat, you first brown it as Step 1 says, then you add all the other ingredients (minus veg) to the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer, assuming you had it on high heat earlier. Cook the vegetables for a half hour or longer if needed, as Step 3 says. After a total cooking time of about 2 hours, my stew is usually pretty thick (I add 4 cups of stock. Reserve the remaining cup for later as Step 2 says) but if it’s not thick enough for you, you can always add cornstarch or flour to thicken it. Hope this helps.

  • Rebecca Brown December 21, 2014 at 9:12 am

    Could this recipe be prepared in the crock pot?
    Thanks!

  • Rachel May 1, 2015 at 1:22 am

    I am not a huge fan of beef stew but yours looks quite delicious, I want to give it a try.

    • ahomemadeliving May 1, 2015 at 9:26 pm

      Hope you enjoy it if you try it out, Rachel! Have a great weekend!

  • Laurie L. February 5, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    This stew was perfection! We absolutely loved it! Thanks for posting the recipe, it’s it now in our “faves” list. I did add about half the sugar called for & will try it with mushrooms next time, but the basic recipe is so tasty!

    • ahomemadeliving February 5, 2017 at 6:53 pm

      Glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for stopping by and leaving me a comment! 🙂 Have a wonderful week!

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