Tender chunks of beef, vibrant veggies, and creamy potatoes all cook together in a deliciously seasoned sauce in one pot on the stove. This Classic Stovetop Beef Stew is a recipe that never goes out of style.
Everyone should have a solid beef stew recipe in their collection and this one is mine. It is astounding to me that I’ve been at this blog for nearly 8 years now and I have not shared this recipe with you until today.
I think it’s just one of those things like putting on your shoes every day. You do it all the time but never think to tell anyone about it. Well, this rustic stew is as lovely as my loveliest pair of shoes and it absolutely deserves it’s turn in the spotlight so here we go!
The Best Stovetop Beef Stew
There are so many methods out there for creating beef stew but I believe it’s important to start at the beginning. This classic beef stew recipe is made the old-fashioned way, cooked slowly in one pot on the stove until the sauce is rich and thick and the beef and veggies are fork tender.
If you’ve tried my Instant Pot Pot Roast you know I do something a bit unique with the seasonings which makes a huge difference in the result. I do something similar in this recipe. And, if you love your pressure cooker, you can try my Instant Pot Beef Stew.
Ingredient Notes
The ingredients are the usual suspects – beef chuck roast, baby potatoes, celery, carrots, frozen peas, onion, garlic, and a little fresh Italian parsley. You’ll also need an assortment of dry seasonings (detailed below).
Choosing Meat for Beef Stew
Pick up the beef chuck packaged as “beef for stew” to save yourself the time and effort of trimming and cutting up a whole roast. I still find I need to cut some of the larger pieces down to be bite-sized, but let the butchers do the hard part.
Beef Stew Seasoning Mix
The seasonings include rosemary, thyme, marjoram, paprika, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. This mixture of dried spices adds a flavor component to the stew that takes me home! In addition to adding flavor, the paprika does a nice job of adding rich color to the stew.
The rest of the prep is minimal and once you get it going, the process is mostly hands-free.
How to Make Classic Stovetop Beef Stew
This is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
The first step is what makes this recipe unique and ensures a fabulous result. The seasoning mix is added in layers to the stew. First to the chunks of beef as they are browned and later to the sauce before it all simmers together.
The sauce starts with a little tomato paste, low-sodium beef broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and a bay leaf. It’s thickened at the end of the cooking process with a simple cornstarch/water slurry into a luscious gravy-like sauce for the beef and veggies.
The beef stew requires about two hours of simmer time which is the reason why recipes like this are a Sunday supper tradition.
You’ll want to serve the stew with French bread for dipping.
I can’t think of a more perfect choice for a comforting meal on a lazy Sunday.
More Classic Comfort Food You’ll Love
- Homemade Salisbury Steak
- Roast Chicken and Vegetables
- Tender Eye of Round Roast with Gravy
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Find more great ideas in my collection of Classic Recipes.
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Classic Stovetop Beef Stew
Ingredients
Beef Stew Seasoning Mix
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Beef Stew
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional as needed
- 2 pounds beef stew meat
- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup medium to full-bodied red wine , (like Cabernet, Zinfandel, or Merlot)
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound baby yellow or red potatoes, or a combination of both, halved or quartered
- 3 or 4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas, no need to thaw
- ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl. Cut any large pieces of stew meat into smaller bite-size pieces, if necessary.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add about half of the meat to the pan, or as much as you can without overcrowding the pan. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the spice mixture over the meat and sauté the beef until nicely browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beef to a dish and set aside. Repeat with the remaining beef, adding additional oil if needed, and seasoning with 2 more teaspoons of the spice mixture. Reserve remaining spice mixture for later.
- Add additional oil to pan if needed and add the onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the tomato paste and stir until well combined. Add the red wine and increase the heat under the pot to bring the mixture to a boil. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, remaining spice mix and the bay leaf. Add the beef and all the juices that have accumulated back to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to LOW, cover, and simmer for 1 ½ hours, or until the beef is fork tender.
- Add the potatoes and carrots and raise the heat under the pot to bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to LOW, cover and simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes until the veggies are fork tender. Stir in the frozen peas and parsley. Combine the water and cornstarch in a measuring cup or small bowl and stir it into the beef stew. Continue cooking, uncovered, until thickened.
- Discard the bay leaf before serving.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Follow as directed above to create the seasoning mix and brown the beef in batches, transferring the browned beef to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Add additional oil to the pan if needed and add the onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the tomato paste and stir until well combined. Add the red wine and stir well. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker with the beef.
- Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, carrots, remaining spice mix and the bay leaf to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, or until the beef and veggies are fork tender.
- About 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, stir in the frozen peas. Combine the water and cornstarch in a measuring cup or small bowl and stir it into the beef stew. Cover and continue cooking for the remaining 30 minutes or until thickened. If stew does not thicken to your liking, stir in an additional 1 tablespoon cornstarch combined with 1 tablespoon water and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken a bit more.
- Discard the bay leaf and stir in the parsley before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Chuck Roast Recipes
I tried it this Sunday Oct 24th 2019 and would not change a thing. Thank you for sharing!
This was amazingly good! I don’t measure things like dried herbs and salt & pepper. I just add them to taste. I probably added more than is listed in the recipe, but that’s ok! It was a perfect rainy day dinner with hot yummy rolls!
Made it last night, very good will definitely make it again. I added more broth and it took a little longer from start to finish about 3.5 hrs. But well worth it
This was a great recipe for a Sunday afternoon in the fall. Spices were perfectly balanced. I added 1/2 cup more broth because I knew there’d be lots of bread dippin’. Served with French bread with butter. It was the perfect comfort food while watching football. 10/10 will make again… soon!!
Made this tonight. It was wonderful, I did ad a little more broth. I wish I had added more wine. Will make again for sure.
A little more wine never hurts! Thanks for your comment. 🙂
I usually cook casseroles in the oven but now want to do them on the hob. When cooking a beef stew I like to add suet dumplings near the end of the cook time. My question is can I still cook dumplings in the stew with the hob method.
Tasted delicious but not much broth left.
Did I do something wrong?
Hi Reagan. I assume you mean that the stew was too thick and you’d like a thinner consistency. If this is the case, go ahead and add as much additional broth as you’d like.
When do you add the corn? Also can it be frozen or canned?
Hi Marsha. There is no corn in the recipe but maybe you are referring to the peas? They are added at the end – take a look at the end of the directions on the recipe card.
I will be serving this to my kids who are not old enough for wine.
What can I replace the wine with or is it safe to use wine in this recipe ?
Hi Heather. Much of the alcohol cooks off when the wine is brought to a boil however, you can absolutely just replace it with additional beef broth if you’d like. I love the flavor that wine imparts to the recipe but it will be delicious either way.
Can I use this recipe in my crock pot?
This recipe was specifically written and tested for the stovetop method. You can incorporate elements of this recipe and adapt it for the slow cooker method but I’d recommend searching for another recipe for the details on cook time, etc.
I’m not normally one for stews or casseroles but your pictures looked good so I gave it a try. I was blown away! We loved it! The flavors in the broth, the tender beef- it was all delicious! I’m already planning on making it again. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad to hear it worked out for you! Thanks so much, Allison. 🙂
Followed the recipe pretty much exact and loved it.
Took a little longer than the time indicated on the recipe but who cares. Great taste and a lot of leftovers
I always feel discouraged when I see a recipe that requires wine. I am clueless about cooking with alcohol. Are there certain brands I should use? Or is Barefoot or Beringer ok?
Hi Nicole. If you are not a wine drinker you can substitute with additional beef broth but you won’t get the same depth of flavor in the finished dish. If you do want to purchase a bottle, go with one of the varietals I listed in the recipe card. You don’t need a super expensive bottle of wine so something in the lower to medium price range is going to work just fine. And, yes, Barefoot or Beringer will do the trick!
This looks amazing! Looking for meals my hubs can re-heat in an oven while hunting. Do you think this would freeze well and be reheated in an oven?
My favorite way to freeze soups and stew is to ladle the cooled recipe into gallon size freezer-safe plastic storage bags. Press out as much air as you can, seal, and label the bags with the date. You might find that the veggies are a bit softer on the reheat but it should be just fine. I would recommend using it within 3 months for the best result. Also, sometimes when you use a thickener like flour or cornstarch it can separate when you freeze and reheat so you might need to add a touch more broth or water mixed with a little cornstarch if it needs additional thickening.
When do you add the carrots? With the potatoes?
Yep! Thanks so much for catching that 🙂 The recipe card has been updated.
We made it last night and it was absolutely delicious, and very easy! Definitely a keeper for our family.
So glad to hear this, Michele! Thanks for letting me know 🙂