Beef Stew with homemade seasoning
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Beef stew jazzed up with homemade seasoning and a few chugs of beer. Perfect, beefy, tons of vegetables. It’s a huge crowd pleaser.
Like I mentioned in my recipe for beef stew seasoning, I realize I’m pushing the boundaries of winter a little with these recipes.
However, I live in Michigan, and here, winter knows no boundaries.
We got two days of warm sunshine and I rushed outside with both kids to take walks. This was an urgent matter! Two short days.
Now it is cold and rainy again. A little sleet. Thanks, Michigan. Don’t mind me while I curl up with a big bowl of this hot and cozy beef stew.
If it happens to be warm where you are, tuck this recipe away for next winter or crank up the AC (AC? What’s that?) and make this beef stew anyways. It’s that good and definitely worth making any time of year – spring, summer, fall and definitely winter.
Or check out my recipe for Instant Pot beef stew or slow cooker Marsala beef stew!
About this beef stew:
This beef stew is heavy on the beef–just the way my husband likes it. Okay, me too. Rich and flavorful thanks to the homemade seasoning mix, beer, and tomato paste. Sprinkle some fresh herbs on top, serve with buttermilk biscuits, and comfort is on its way — served up in a bowl.
Looking for more homemade seasoning mixes? Try:
- Homemade taco seasoning (or a large batch of taco seasoning)
- Chili seasoning
- Herbes de provence
- Homemade ranch seasoning
- Italian seasoning
- Fajita seasoning
- BBQ rub (perfect for pork or chicken)
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds of beef chuck roast, fat trimmed, cut into large bite-sized chunks
- 8-10 tablespoons of [beef stew seasoning]
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 4 stalks of celery, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1-2 large onions, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
- 2 ounces tomato paste
- 1 bottle of beer
- 1 14.5 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes with their juice, broken into pieces
- 32 ounces of beef broth
- 2 cups frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss meat with seasoning mixture (about 2 tablespoons of seasoning per one pound of meat).
- In large heavy bottomed pan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Working in batches, brown meat on all sides and remove to a plate or bowl. Repeat until all meat is browned.
- Add carrots, celery and onion to hot pan and brown for 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir to break up the paste and coat the vegetables.
- Pour beer into hot pan and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add meat, tomatoes and beef broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook on low for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Add peas about 5-10 minutes before serving. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Husband’s take: He’s not a huge beef stew fan, but he loved this. My in-laws also really liked it, and my mother-in-law commented on the seasoning before I even told her it was a recipe for the blog.
Changes I would make: None.
Difficulty: Easy!
My assistant!
Valerie Beam says
I made this beef stew last week and loved it! I’ll admit I did add a lot of extra vegetables to it. I REALLY loved the seasoning and was so glad I had plenty left. I decided to make Chicken Piccata tonight and used your seasoning mix as the dredge for the chicken. Oh Wow! It’s the best and tastiest piccata I’ve ever made! The flavors go perfectly with the lemony caper sauce. Thanks so much for the recipe…it’s a definite keeper!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Suzette Coleman says
What kind of beer
Rachel Gurk says
Any kind of beer you like! I love stout or lager for beef stew.
Beth Dacchille says
I love your comments about how the weather prompts us to think about certain foods. As a person who lived in ‘very Northern New York’ (60 miles due south of Montreal), I know exactly what you mean about cherishing those hours/days of sunshine. Now I live in the Tampa Bay area, Central West Florida. I get really excited when the temperature drops below 70 degrees! today it’s grey and rainy (thank you, Tropical Storm Cristobal) so my husband proclaimed a stew day so I’m making your beef stew :)
Rachel Gurk says
I love that! I hope you liked the stew!
Bobbi says
I’m making the stew right now. Complicated for me I’m a dunce at cooking had to borrow a lot of spices from my neighbor (my daughter).
Should there be potatoes in there someplace. Could I add some potatoes??
Rachel Gurk says
I’m probably too late, but you can definitely add potatoes!
Bobbi says
I added the potatoes.
It was great.
We each ate two helpings. Will de
Make this again. And freeze some.
Rachel Gurk says
Good to know, thanks!
Betsy says
What is a good beer to use. I’m in Texas all we ever drink is XXs. Thanks
Rachel Gurk says
I like a dark beer or an amber for beef stew. Dos Equis amber is really good!
Korrin says
So, my family is now vegan, but my husbands favorite meal was his moms beef stew before transitioning. One of my favorite past-times is to convert recipes into our style of eating. I made a version of yours for 1 pound of meat, the same portions of veggies, subbed ketchup because my paste went bad, and a couple suggestions from the comment section (less pepper, although I will add more to the dry mix now that I’ve had it… some garlic powder and cumin powder, plus a ton of potatoes since that is the hubbies favorite part of stew). We LOVED it! Our two year old had two servings, and so did we! This will be a favorite recipe in our household. Thanks, so much!!!
(Oh, and I asked my husband to be honest… was it better than his moms LOL. she uses a store bought packet mix… and he said “who’s my momma?!” hahahaha…. so that’s very much a yes!)
Rachel Gurk says
I love this! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment. So glad you liked this recipe!
Melody Nalbandian says
Where are the potatoes in this recipe? I feel like beef stew needs potatoes! I’m also gluten-free. Any other suggestions about being gluten-free?
Rachel Gurk says
You could absolutely use potatoes in this recipe. You might like my Instant Pot Beef Stew – that one has potatoes. Being gluten-free, you could use a gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose, or you could leave the flour out and thicken at the end with a slurry of cornstarch and water (or arrowroot). Hope you enjoy!
Liz says
I will need to use a pressure cooker, an old school one, not the new ones that are electric. Will the bottle of beer cause any problems in a pressure cooker? If I left it out, would it change the texture of the meat?
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Liz,
I have an electric pressure cooker and not much experience cooking with a non-electric, so I asked one of my friends who is an expert! She shares recipes at Pressure Cooking Today, if you’re looking for more pressure cooker recipes!
She said, “You have to be careful when using alcohol in a stovetop pressure cooker especially with a gas flame but a little beer mixed with the beef stew shouldn’t be a problem.”
I hope that helps! If you do leave it out, just substitute with the same amount of beef broth – it will still be tasty!
Liz says
Thank you for looking into! I appreciate it.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
Mmm. Looks like this stew is back in season again. Love the pic of your little one acting like Mommy. My daughters do that all the time!! So cute!