beef stew in a cast iron pot on a counter

Easy Beef Stew

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A super flavorful and easy Beef Stew recipe that uses minimal ingredients, and very little hands on work. This hearty dish is warm, delicious, and perfect for the colder months. The recipe is basically a dump and go one pot recipe, with the hands on time being about 30 minutes. The recipe is easily customizable to use different vegetables you might have on hand, and even the pickiest of eaters will love it. Best served hot over white rice.

How to Make Beef Stew

This beef stew is incredibly simple to make and lighter than most beef stews. The entire process takes about 3 hours, but there are only a few simple steps. Most of the cook time is hands off, making this recipe perfect for those busy weeknight dinners.

Step 1: Heat a cast iron pot (or any regular pot) on medium heat, add some extra virgin olive oil when hot and add the stew meat. Season with salt and pepper, and sear on all sides until the meat has a browned crust, then remove from the pot.

Step 2: Add more extra virgin olive oil and add chopped carrots, and chopped celery. Cook for 5-7 minutes until softened then add red wine vinegar and ginger. Add sliced onions, mushrooms, and the beef back to the pot. Add enough beef stock to mostly cover all the ingredients (about 4 cups) and bay leaves. Allow the liquid to come to a boil then cover with a lid and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for about an hour and a half or up to two hours.

Step 3: After about an hour and a half remove the lid and continue simmering for another hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Easy Customizations

Vegetables: Any vegetables added to beef stew would be a welcome addition. Stews are one of the easiest and yummiest ways to sneak in more vegetables. Add in cubed potatoes at the beginning for some extra carbs/calories if you truly want to make it a one pot dinner and skip on making rice!

Herbs: Experimenting with herbs, fresh or dried, is always exciting! A few sprigs of fresh rosemary makes a delicious addition to this stew. Adding some parsley and a squeeze of orange juice is an easy way to make the stew a little more fresh and vibrant.

beef stew in a cast iron pot on a counter

Easy Beef Stew

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Easy Beef Stew recipe that uses minimal ingredients, and very little hands on work. This hearty dish is warm, delicious, and perfect for the colder months. The recipe is basically a dump and go one pot recipe, with the hands on time being about 30 minutes. The recipe is easily customizable to use different vegetables you might have on hand, and even the pickiest of eaters will love it. Best served hot over white rice.
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Ingredients

  • 6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil divided
  • 1 lb Stew Meat
  • 1 tbsp Fresh Ginger grated or minced
  • 1 cup Carrots roughly chopped
  • 1 cup Celery roughly chopped
  • 4 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Medium White Onion thinly sliced
  • 1 cup White Mushrooms sliced
  • 4 cups Beef Stock unsalted
  • 2-3 Bay Leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Cut the stew meat into bite sized pieces trimming off any excess fat, and season with salt and pepper.
  • Heat a large cast iron pot (or any regular large pot) on medium heat.
  • Once the pot is hot, add 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and then add the stew meat. Sear the sides of the meat until a brown crust forms. Remove meat from the pot and set aside. If using a small pot or if making larger quantities you might need to sear the meat in batches as to not overcrowd the pot.
  • Add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil carrots, and celery. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat until softened.
  • Add red wine vinegar and ginger, cook for about 3 minutes and then add onions, mushrooms, and beef. Give everything a mix then add enough beef stock to mostly cover all the ingredients (about 4 cups). Add bay leaves then bring to a boil and cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low.
  • Allow the stew to simmer for an hour and a half or up to two hours.
  • Remove the lid and continue to simmer for another hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Enjoy with white rice or bread!

9 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious and easy to make; thanks

  2. 5 stars
    I like it with “tostones con mojito”?

  3. 5 stars
    I wanted a warm, hearty meal on this cold day and somehow I stumbled upon this recipe. I am not much of a cook and have been wanting to improve my cooking for the longest time but all the recipes I would find were always daunting and seemed overly complicated with an excessive amount of steps. They were extremely deterring. Thankfully, I found this blog which seemed delicious, healthy, and simple. I felt like this blog targeted people like me, people with absolutely no skills in the kitchen. I made this stew today and I have never been happier. It was extremely simple I was not confused by a single step and the prep time was extremely short. It had just the right amount of steps. The stew itself was one of the best stews I have ever had (made me feel like a Top Chef). It was extremely tasty, and warm on this cold day. The meat was so tender it melted in my mouth, no knife necessary. The Ginger in this recipe was incredible, gave the meal a kick I did not know I needed. I will definitely be trying more recipes from here. Thank you!

  4. 5 stars
    I loved this recipe, very easy and straight forward to make. So hearty and delicious.

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