With the winter months in site you can expect to eat a Hearty Italian Beef Stew as one of our family lunches or dinners. Pair it with a slice of bread and you've got a meal with sustenance.
If soup is your thing then you'll want to also try my recipe for Italian Wedding Egg Drop Soup, a quick and easy Roasted Butternut Squash soup, Lentil Soup or my Slow Cooked Oxtail Soup.
Jump to:
- Here's Why You'll Love this Dish
- Ingredients
- How to Make a Hearty Italian Beef Stew
- Top Tips
- Beef Broth vs. Bouillon Cube
- Frozen Vegetables and Prepared items that You can Use in Your Beef Stew Recipe
- How to Thicken Your Classic Beef Stew
- Substitutions and Variations
- Appetizers to Fall in Love With
- Recipe Details
- Top Tips
- Food Safety
- Comments
This Easy Beef Stew Recipe gets an A+ from everyone in my family and it's so easy to make. It will be ready as fast as you can count one, two, three! (Just kidding!)
This is one of those meals I like to make as part of meal preparation for the week. So, in the winter, I'll usually make this beef stew on Sunday night to use the following night. I'll leave it in the pot and place the pot in the fridge. When I come home from work on Monday, I just take the pot out of the fridge and put it on the stove top to warm up. Stress free for me and satisfying for my family. A win-win situation!
Pair this dish with my Black Olive Focaccia Bread recipe, Puff Pastry Garlic Bread Sticks, or my Puff Pastry Pizza.
Here's Why You'll Love this Dish
- Packed with protein and vegetables for a complete meal
- Flavorful cuts of beef shoulder or beef leg make for the best stewing meat
- Economical
- Customizable in that you can increase the servings and the ingredients to suit your needs
- Kid friendly
You can even make a bread bowl for this stew or any soup recipe. It's the perfect bowl to use and you can eat too!
Stews are great, but roast beef is another way to go. This bottom round roast cooked low and slow in the oven is not only tender, but makes fantastic leftovers.
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Ingredients
For this Hearty Italian Beef Stew you'll need a good cut of stewing beef with marbling, flour, olive oil, salt, pepper onion, beef stock, potatoes, carrots, cooking wine, tomato paste, celery, mushrooms and herbs.
Full ingredient list and quantities in recipe card.
How to Make a Hearty Italian Beef Stew
Preparing ahead will make preparing this recipe a lot easier.
Get all your ingredients ready. Then prepare and cut your vegetables so that you are ready to go.
Season beef with salt and pepper and dredge in flour or starch of your choice.
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté the garlic. Brown beef on all sides. Add tomato paste.
Remove beef from pan and set aside.
Deglaze pot with red wine until alcohol is evaporated, place onions, carrots, celery, and tomato in pot and stir while cooking for a couple of minutes.
Return beef to pot and add potatoes. Discard garlic.
Add beef stock and bring to a boil. Add mushrooms and herbs. Lower temperature and simmer for approximately 60 minutes or until the beef is tender.
Season to taste if necessary.
Storage:
Store leftovers of stew in an airtight container in the fridge for not longer than 3 to 4 days.
You can also freeze and when you are ready to consume the stew thaw it out in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Warm up on the stovetop for best heating results.
Top Tips
You can cut down on preparation by buying pre-cut stewing beef and pre-cut fresh or frozen vegetables.
If you are using frozen vegetables, you'll want to add them mid way through the cooking process as they are already partially cooked during the packing process.
If you can't find beef stock, use beef bouillon cube or bouillon gel and make the beef stock as per the directions.
If you prefer a thicker stew you can make a slurry and carefully add it to the stew at the very end. You can use your preferred starch like corn starch, arrowroot starch, potato starch, etc. To make a slurry use one tablespoon of starch to ¼ cup of water. Mix together the ingredients with a whisk or spoon and then carefully pour into the pot stirring constantly. Be careful that you are stirring the pot continually while you pour the slurry in the stew. If you do not stir while pouring, you will create clumps of starch in your stew.
Beef Broth vs. Bouillon Cube
I don't always use ready made beef stock to make this stew. That's because sometimes I can't find my favorite organic beef stock or because I've just run out. So, what do I do? I use a beef bouillon cube or bouillon gel and make the beef stock as per the directions. Either beef stock or bouillon cube will work well with this stew. I consider them to be interchangeable.
Frozen Vegetables and Prepared items that You can Use in Your Beef Stew Recipe
I found the following items at my local grocery store that made things easier for recipe preparation:
- chopped onions
- peas
- carrots
- pre-cut stewing beef (not frozen, but in the refrigerated section)
The thing about using frozen produce is that it doesn't require as much cooking time as fresh. So, if you are using frozen onions, peas and carrots be cautious about how much you cook them. When using frozen peas and carrots wait until you are mid-way through the cooking process. Until then, continue to simmer the beef stew for 30 minutes or until the beef is slightly tender, but firm when poked by a fork.
How to Thicken Your Classic Beef Stew
Depending on individual preferences, you may want the broth of your stew to be thicker. So what can be done to thicken this easy beef stew? I sometimes make a slurry and carefully add it to the stew at the very end. A slurry is a mixture of starch and water that's mixed and then added to a liquid to thicken it. You can use your preferred starch like corn starch, arrowroot starch, potato starch, etc.
You can thicken your stew at the end of the cooking process just before you are about to serve it. To make a slurry use one tablespoon of starch to ¼ cup of water. Mix together the ingredients with a whisk or spoon and then carefully pour into the pot stirring constantly. Be careful that you are stirring the pot continually while you pour the slurry in the stew. If you do not stir while pouring, you will create clumps of starch in your stew.
Substitutions and Variations
This recipe for stew is amazing as is, but you might consider the following variations and substitutions for a unique twist:
- Vegetables - add your favorite vegetables to the stew
- Frozen - consider using frozen pre-cut vegetables for easy preparation
- Meat - substitute the beef with your preferred meet like chicken, short ribs or pork.
The perfect recipe isn't that far away. I'd love to know how you substituted ingredients to fit your dietary needs. Drop a comment below and let me know!
Appetizers to Fall in Love With
Recipe Details
Hearty Italian Beef Stew Recipe
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caIngredients
- 1 lbs stewing beef cut in small cubes
- 1 tbsp salt
- ground pepper to taste
- ½ cups all purpose flour for Whole30 use arrowroot or potato starch
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 tbsp olive oil equally divided
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 cups yellow onion chopped
- 2 potatoes cubed
- 1 large tomato diced or 1 cup canned crushed tomato
- 2 cups carrots peeled and cubed
- 3 stalks celery
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves, crushed
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Season beef with salt and pepper and dredge in flour or starch of your choice. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté the garlic. Brown beef on all sides. Add tomato paste. Remove beef from pan and set aside.
- Deglaze pot with red wine until alcohol is evaporated, place onions, carrots, celery, and tomato in pot and stir while cooking for a couple of minutes.
- Return beef to pot and add potatoes. Discard garlic. Add beef stock and bring to a boil. Add mushrooms and herbs. Lower temperature and simmer for approximately 60 minutes or until the beef is tender.
- Season to taste if necessary. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite bread.
Notes
Top Tips
You can cut down on preparation by buying pre-cut stewing beef and pre-cut fresh or frozen vegetables. If you are using frozen vegetables, you'll want to add them mid way through the cooking process as they are already partially cooked during the packing process. If you can't find beef stock, use beef bouillon cube or bouillon gel and make the beef stock as per the directions. If you prefer a thicker stew you can make a slurry and carefully add it to the stew at the very end. You can use your preferred starch like corn starch, arrowroot starch, potato starch, etc. To make a slurry use one tablespoon of starch to ¼ cup of water. Mix together the ingredients with a whisk or spoon and then carefully pour into the pot stirring constantly. Be careful that you are stirring the pot continually while you pour the slurry in the stew. If you do not stir while pouring, you will create clumps of starch in your stew.Nutrition
Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Kristen says
As a busy mom of two young kids, this is what I NEED in my life!
AmyG says
I understand completely! I'm always trying to cut corners without compromising taste and nutrition. I'm glad you like it.
Sharon says
I'm all about the classics! Thanks for the tip about waiting to add in the potatoes. 🙂
AmyG says
Yup, no problem. I quickly adjusted the recipe when my potatoes seemed to just disappear. Nothing worse than your potatoes falling apart or disappearing!
Vijitha says
This was so easy to make and ticked all the boxes for a great stew - need only one pot, so much flavor! Comfort food for those cold wintry nights. Thank you for the recipe!
NANCY says
So yummy! great for those low with iron too! So making this tonight!
Bernice Hill says
How did you know I've been craving beef stew?! It's such a classic and easier to make than most people think.
AmyG says
Umm, I would say that a little birdie told me, but then I would be lying! Yes agree it is so comforting and delicious.
Colleen says
Beef stew is such a classic winter comfort food! Thanks for the reminder and all the great tips. This is going on the menu this week.
AmyG says
Fantastic!