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The Best Beef Stew (Stovetop Version)

This one pot Beef Stew really is the best ever! It’s thick, comforting and chock full of beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and peas!

A DELICIOUS, RIB-STICKING STEW!

This recipe for beef stew is a family favorite. Tender cuts of meat in a thick beefy broth stuffed with veggies. It is the perfect warm weather comfort soup. Serve with some crusty bread that you can dip into the broth and you are set!

a white bowl of beef stew with a hand to the side of the bowl holding up a piece of a slice of buttered French bread.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What is the best beef for beef stew?

Chuck Steak. Generally, I use a chuck or round roast. It’s also the most affordable meat for stew. However, you could also use sirloin but it is a pricier cut of meat.

What if I can’t find Better than Bouillon?

If you can’t find Better than Bouillon concentrated beef stock, just substitute it with beef stock and do not add additional water.

What gives beef stew the best flavor?

Two things. Browning the meat adds not only color but a deeper level of flavor to the stew. Secondly the beef stock concentrate that I use in this recipe adds richness. Combine all that with the veggies and garlic that it cooks with and you have a deeply flavorful stew.

Can beef stew with potatoes be frozen?

I don’t recommend it. The potatoes do not always reheat well after they’ve been frozen. They can turn mushy and grainy.

How do I store leftovers?

Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.

closeup overhead photo of fully cooked beef stew in a white bowl with a spoon inserted into the stew.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

  • beef stew meat
  • all purpose flour
  • seasoned salt & pepper
  • vegetable oil
  • yellow onion
  • celery
  • water
  • Better than Bouillon (concentrated beef stock)
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • minced garlic
  • carrots, peeled and diced
  • russet potatoes
  • frozen peas
beef stew, peas, carrots, celery, garlic, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, flour, seasoned salt, pepper, better than bouillon.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BEEF STEW:

Cut up your stew meat. Sometimes when you buy it already cut up, the pieces are still really large. If that’s the case, cut them into smaller 1″ chunks. In a large Ziploc bag, add flour and seasoned salt. Seal bag and shake to combine ingredients. Add in stew meat. Shake well to coat with flour.

beef stew meat in a ziploc bag with flour.

In a large pot, over high heat, pour in vegetable oil. You want the oil nice and hot so that the meat will brown quickly. Once the oil is hot, add floured beef chunks (in two batches). Don’t shake off too much of the flour when you take them out. The flour will actually help thicken up the stew some. I brown half of the beef chunks then do a second batch until they are all browned. We are not cooking the meat all the way. Just browning it will help give the beef a great color and flavor.

browning beef pieces in a large pot.

Take out the browned beef and set aside. Season with pepper.

browned beef chunks seasoned with salt and pepper.

If necessary, add a tad bit more oil to the pot, turn down the heat to medium, then add in diced onion and celery. Cook until translucent (just a few minutes). Scrape the bottom of the pan and loosen any brown bits (lots of flavor in those!)

diced onions and celery added to a large pot with oil.

Pour in water. Then add concentrated beef stock Add in stew meat. Shake well to coat with flour., Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Stir well.

water, beef bouillon and beef stock added to pot with celery and onions.

Add meat back to the pot.

browned stew meat added back into the pot with beef stock mixture.

Then toss in diced carrots and potatoes. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stir, then turn down the heat to low and allow to simmer for 35-45 minutes (until potatoes are fork tender). Give stew a stir every so often while cooking. Ten minutes before you’re ready to serve, stir in frozen peas and cover pot.

frozen peas added to beef stew in the pot.

 Once peas are tender, you are ready to dig in!

overhead view of a white bowl with beef stew and a spoon stuck in the bowl with slide bread on the side.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

The Best Ever Beef Stew recipe.

The Best Beef Stew (+Video)

This one pot Beef Stew really is the best ever! It's thick, comforting and chock full of beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and peas!
4.95 from 34 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cut up stew meat into 1" chunks. Set aside.
  • In a large Ziploc bag, add flour, seasoned salt and pepper. Seal bag and shake to combine.
  • Add in stew meat. Shake well to coat with flour.
  • In a large pot, over high heat, pour in vegetable oil.
  • Once the oil is hot, add half the floured beef chunks.
  • Brown half of the beef chunks then do a second batch until they are all browned. Don't fully cook the meat – just brown it.
  • Take out the browned beef and set aside. Season with pepper.
  • If necessary add a tad bit more oil to the pot, turn down the heat to medium, then add in diced onion and celery. Cook until translucent (just a few minutes.)
  • Scrape the bottom of the pan and loosen any brown bits (lots of flavor in those!)
  • Add water and concentrated beef stock (Better than Bouillon), Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Stir well.
  • Add stew meat, potatoes and carrots to the pot. Stir to combine.
  • Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to low and allow to simmer for 35-45 minutes (until potatoes are fork tender.)
  • Give stew a stir every so often while cooking.
  • Ten minutes before you’re ready to serve, stir in frozen peas and cover pot.
  • Once peas are tender, you are ready to dig in!

Video

YouTube video
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 560kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 21g | Sodium: 1730mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Originally published: February 2016
Updated and republished: December 2022

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Recipe Rating




43 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I added peppers different ones jalapeño, cumin, bread, and mild pepper mix. It was delicious, but I like spice stew with spice

  2. 5 stars
    This is absolutely the best beef stew I have ever made. It is hard to find a recipe that does not have tomatoes in it or is so spicy. This will be my go to recipe for sure. My husband loved it! That says alot!

  3. Yay! So glad to find a recipe for beef stew that doesn’t have tomatoes in some form, and it looks delicious! I’ll be making it soon!

    1. 5 stars
      I finally got around to trying this, and it’s THE BEST BEEF STEW! I’ve been looking for a long time for a recipe for stew without tomatoes, and while I love tomatoes, I don’t want them in my stew. This recipe is very similar to what my mom made (except for the peas and celery, and I love the peas and celery in this and will always add them now)…..that’s what I was looking for. I do remember that mom let the beef slow cook for probably a couple hours before adding the vegetables, so I cooked the beef very slowly for about one and a half hours before adding the veggies and proceeding per recipe, and the meat was melt in your mouth tender in a rich brown gravy. Husband remarked what a good stew it was at dinner last night, and again today when we reheated some for lunch. This is the only recipe I’ll ever use now when I make beef stew!

  4. 5 stars
    This is our favorite stew recipe! I’m wondering though, we just got an instant pot, do you have any suggestions for transferring the recipe? Or a recipe specifically for the Instant pot? I’m a teacher and I report back next week – I’m trying to get a good pool of recipes together! TIA!

  5. 5 stars
    Tried this recipe exactly as written and it was the best stew I have ever made! Thank you for this amazing recipe.

  6. 5 stars
    Rather than use a slow cooker. Can I make this recipe and let it simmer for a few hours after completing? Worried that it could get overcooked and mush all together. On the other hand, wondering if letting it sit on the stove top on low could only make it better and richer…

    Thanks! Ecstatic to try this.

  7. 5 stars
    Hi! Im confused…if i dont have better than bullion use beef stock and dont add the 3 cups of water? Is that correct? Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!