Best Beef Stew Recipe - The Cookin Chicks (2024)

Are you ready for the most mouthwatering beef stew recipe ever? Look no further!! Best Ever Beef Stew includes tender vegetables, melt-in-your-mouth beef, and a flavor packed gravy. Pure comfort food in every bite!

Melt in Your Mouth Beef Stew

To get into the fall mood, I decided to make this easy beef stew for dinner (and it’s great for winter months too). I wanted something flavorful and cozy. So, this BEST EVER hearty beef stew definitely did that. Using a chuck roast, the beef was perfectly tender. The potatoes and carrots all but melted in our mouth—and the savory broth was so flavorful!

Using my bread machine, I served our stew with homemade white bread, which was so tasty when dipped in the stew. Not only did all three of my kids enjoy it, but my mom came over for dinner and said it was by far the best meal I have ever made for her. Impressive compliment, right?

With the cooler weather headed our way (or already here depending on where you live), this stew is just what the season calls for. Flavorful, simple to prepare, hearty, and a classic cozy meal. Enjoy on its own or serve with bread, rolls, a side salad, or maybe even red wine (I’ll offer more suggestions below too). Plus, you can prep this easy recipe ahead of time and simply warm it up when it’s time to serve! This recipe makes enough for about 8 people, depending on bowl size of course!

Beef Stew Ingredients

Here are the ingredients needed to make the most flavor packed stew! Full recipe ingredient amounts and instructions are below in the recipe card!

• Chuck roast
• Flour- all purpose
  
• Salt/Black Pepper/Garlic Powder/Paprika
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Cloves of garlic
• Large onion
• Carrots
• Gold potatoes
• Beef broth
• Tomato paste or tomato sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Rosemary
• Bay leaves
• Cornstarch
• Water

What is the best beef for stew?

The most common beef used for stew is chuck steak, also known as gravy beef or braising steak. You can also use shoulder cuts or round steak. These cuts tend to be the least expensive cuts of meat and get perfectly tender for your beef stew recipe.

How to make Beef Stew

Follow these simple instructions to create a flavorful beef stew recipe that will have everyone going back for seconds.

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Coat each beef piece in the mixture until all pieces are covered.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
3. Transfer beef in as well and cook until each side is browned, about 5 minutes. *Doesn’t need to be fully cooked at this point.
4. Remove browned beef from Dutch oven and add in the carrots, onion, and garlic.
5. Once sauteed for a few minutes, add in the potatoes, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, and bay leaf.
6. Add in the beef.
7. Stir to combine everything and continue cooking over medium/high heat until boiling.
8. Reduce heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Allow mixture to simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring every so often.
9. About 10 minutes prior to stew being completed, remove the bay leaf and combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl.
10. Stir mixture into stew and keep the lid off.
11. Once the stew has thickened, about 5 minutes later, serve in bowls and enjoy!

Tips for the BEST EVER Beef Stew

• A good beef stew needs time to simmer and allow all of the flavors to blend together. This time will also allow your beef to get incredibly fork tender, creating the ultimate eating experience. Make sure you give it time to simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours and preferably longer.
• If you need to thicken up your beef stew, adding a cornstarch slurry (a mixture of water and cornstarch) works perfectly every time.
• Don’t skip searing the beef. This really enhances the flavor and brings it to the next level.
• Fresh vegetables are best, use frozen if needed, but the texture holds up much better when fresh.

How to make Cornstarch Slurry

Beef stew will thicken a bit naturally thanks to the starches in the potatoes and the dredging of the beef, however, if you want to thicken the stew up a bit more, you can mash the vegetables up a bit or make a simple cornstarch slurry.

Combine equal parts cornstarch and water and stir. Pour the mixture a little bit at a time into the stew to thicken until desired consistency is reached. Once your stew is thickened, allow to boil at least 1-2 minutes to ensure you cook out any of that starchy flavor.

How to serve beef stew

Being that this stew includes beef, vegetables, and potatoes, it is a full meal in itself. Of course, if you are looking for additional serving options, I recommend homemade dinner rolls on the side. You can dip these into your bowl as you eat, or scrape your bowl with the rolls at the end to not waste one drop.

Another great option is to serve this stew over cooked egg noodles or homemade mashed potatoes.

How to store Beef Stew

Refrigerator

You can store the leftovers of this beef stew in the fridge in airtight containers for up to 4 days. If you want to make it ahead of time, prepare the stew as directed and place the container in the fridge once fully cooled. When you want to serve, reheat over stove top or in microwave.

Freezer

This simple beef stew freezes perfectly, but it is best to not include the potatoes as they don’t freeze well. Once the stew is cooked and cooled, store it in airtight containers for up to three months. When reheating, you can either add in cooked potatoes in or eliminate entirely.

Alternative Ingredients

Once you’ve made this full recipe once, you can allow yourself to get creative in the kitchen the next time you make it again. There are always different ways to switch up a recipe to better meet your personal preferences! Here are a few ingredients you can get at your local grocery store to use as substitutes or add if you’re feeling like getting crafty!

• Hearty vegetables of your choice (frozen peas or fresh mushrooms for example)
• Red potatoes or baby potatoes also work great
• Balsamic vinegar (glaze the beef)
• Short ribs (instead of beef)
• Egg noodles
• Pearl onions

More Delicious Soup/Stew Recipes

Loving this classic beef stew recipe? Good news, there’s more where this came from! Here are a few more classic recipes you can check out!

• Easy Beef Goulash– a tried and true classic stew recipe packed with flavor
• Mom’s Vegetable Beef Barley Soup– a hearty soup with barley, soup, and ground beef
• Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup– comfort food at its finest with the savory soup. Vegetables, beef, and tender noodles combined in a mouthwatering broth
• Ultimate Potato Soup– Load it up with cheese, bacon, and sour cream and enjoy a hearty meal

Recipe updated 11/2/2022