Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This homemade beef stew recipe is jazzed up with homemade seasoning and a few chugs of beer. The stew is beefy with big chunky vegetables, and it’s a huge crowd pleaser.
How long it takes: 20 minutes to prep, 3 hours to cook
Equipment you’ll need: Dutch oven or large heavy pan
Servings: 8
beef stew
My homemade beef stew is heavy on the beef, and it’s just the way my husband likes it (okay, me too!). It’s rich and flavorful thanks to homemade beef stew seasoning, beer, and tomato paste. There are plenty of vegetables, too, to keep everyone happy!
I make this stew without potatoes because I like to serve it with mashed potatoes. I know that for many of you, a stew without potatoes isn’t really stew. Please feel free to throw in a couple of diced potatoes to cook in the stew if you want!
A big bowl of steaming beef stew, along with creamy mashed potatoes, means comfort is on its way. If it happens to be too warm to enjoy beef stew where you are right now, tuck this recipe away for next winter, or crank up the AC and make this beef stew anyways. It’s that good and definitely worth making any time of year!
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Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 pounds beef chuck roast (fat trimmed, cut into large bite-sized chunks)
- 8 to 10 tablespoons beef stew seasoning
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or any oil for frying)
- 4 carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 4 stalks celery, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 to 2 large onions, chopped (1 ½ to 2 cups)
- 2 ounces tomato paste
- 12 ounces beer (see note)
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes (undrained, broken into pieces)
- 32 ounces beef broth
- 2 cups frozen peas
- salt and pepper (as desired)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss meat with seasoning mixture, about 2 tablespoons of seasoning per one pound of meat. Note: The homemade seasoning mixture contains flour (see note).4 to 5 pounds beef chuck roast, 8 to 10 tablespoons beef stew seasoning
- 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.2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 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.4 carrots, sliced, 4 stalks celery, sliced, 1 to 2 large onions, chopped, 2 ounces tomato paste
- Pour beer into hot pan and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add meat, tomatoes and beef broth.12 ounces beer, 1 can (14.5 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, 32 ounces beef broth
- Bring stew to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook on low for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The stew should be simmering lightly. If it's boiling, reduce the heat.
- Add peas about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Taste the stew, and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.2 cups frozen peas
Notes
- What kind of beer to use: Brown ales, porters, or stout beers are the best choices. They have a rich slightly sweet flavor. Avoid IPAs or other hoppy beers which can add a bitter note.
- Potatoes: Unlike many stew recipes, this stew does not contain potatoes. I like to serve stew with mashed potatoes. If you want, feel free to add cubed potatoes to the stew. You can also add a few extra vegetables or use less. Whether you use potatoes or not, or how many veggies you add is somewhat subjective. Make the stew the way you like it!
- Beef stew seasoning: My homemade beef stew seasoning blend is what makes this stew really stand out. It contains a variety of spices and dried herbs, along with flour, so it’s all ready to make the best beef stew you’ll ever have! I keep this seasoning blend in my pantry, ready to use. It works for other meats, too.
- Storage: Leftover stew can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Because this stew is made without potatoes, it freezes well, too, for up to 3 months (potatoes tend to get mushy when frozen).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
What is a good beer to use. I’m in Texas all we ever drink is XXs. Thanks
I like a dark beer or an amber for beef stew. Dos Equis amber is really good!
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!)
I love this! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment. So glad you liked this recipe!
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?
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!
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?
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!
Thank you for looking into! I appreciate it.
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!
this looks yummy – wondering what kind of beer you used though? You don’t have to give a brand, but a dark, light, lager, ale, stout?
Hmm — I don’t remember exactly and truthfully it doesn’t really matter. Go with whatever you like the taste of! I often have IPAs and stouts in the house but have also been known to drink a Coors Light. They would all be good. Whatever you enjoy the taste of.
Yum! I’m the type of person who could happily eat beef stew in the middle of July…as long as I have AC! I like mine heavy on the beef too. With a lot of beef it’s just sad beef stock with floating vegetables :)
That last picture is ridiculously cute! And this stew looks really tasty.
I love that your daughter loves “taking photos” too! So fun! This looks amazing! My hubs favorite meal is beef stew. Pinning :D
It’s been forever since I’ve made stew, what am I waiting for?!