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Beef Stew

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My favorite cozy, hearty, comforting beef stew recipe — easy to make in the Instant Pot or Crock Pot, and always so delicious.

Beef Stew (Crock Pot or Instant Pot)

For years and years, you all have been requesting a classic beef stew recipe here on the blog. So today, I’m happy to report that I’ve (finally!) photographed my favorite one to share with you.

Meet my go-to beef stew recipe. ♡

I’ve been making versions of this classic beef stew ever since I very first started teaching myself how to cook back in the day. And while there are all sorts of creative and modern twists you can make on the classic nowadays, I’ve gotta admit that the throwback original will probably always be my fave. Those of you who grew up with beef stew know exactly what I’m talkin’ about — ultra-tender juicy steak, hearty potatoes, savory mushrooms and veggies, all slowly simmered to perfection in a rich, savory, tomato-herb gravy. And while it cooks, this stew also has the added bonus of making your home smell absolutely amazing.

I’ve included instructions below for options to either slow cook this recipe in the Crock-Pot (my old standard) or in the Instant Pot (much speedier). And of course, I’ve also included suggestions for a number of fun add-ins that you’re welcome to include too. Bottom line, if you’re craving some meat-and-potatoes comfort food, this beef stew recipe won’t let you down!

Beef Stew Recipe | 1-Minute Video

The Best Beef Stew Ingredients

Beef Stew Ingredients:

Alright, before we get to this beef stew recipe, let’s chat briefly about the ingredients you will need to make it…

  • Steak: Feel free to use whatever type of steak you love best as your beef stew meat. I typically use chuck roast, diced into bite-sized pieces, which gets extra-tender the longer it cooks.
  • Butter (or olive oil): Which we will use to briefly sauté and sear the steak.
  • Beef stock: Which we will use as the base for our gravy. That said, if you happen to have an open bottle of dry red or white wine on hand, I would highly recommend swapping in 1 cup of wine for 1 cup of the beef stock to amp up the flavor of the gravy even more.
  • Potatoes: I’m partial to using Yukon gold potatoes in beef stew, but Russets or red potatoes would also be delicious.
  • Mushrooms: I really love the savory umami flavor that mushrooms add to this recipe. But if you happen to have someone in your house who really can’t stand mushrooms, you’re welcome to leave them out. ;)
  • Other veggies: I usually stick with the classic mix of carrots, celery and onion for beef stew. If you want a prettier stew, feel free to use a bag of frozen pearl onions instead of a standard white onion.
  • Tomato paste: Feel free to adjust the amount to make the gravy as tomato-y as you prefer.
  • Worcestershire sauce: I always love adding this to steak soups and stews.
  • Bay leaves: A must! Feel free to add in a few extras if you really love the taste of bay leaves.
  • Cornstarch: To thicken the gravy, if you would like.

See full recipe below for detailed ingredient amounts/directions.

Instant Pot Beef Stew

How To Make Beef Stew:

The steps for prepping slow cooker beef stew (Crock-Pot) and pressure cooker beef stew (Instant Pot) are basically the same. Simply…

  1. Sear the steak (optional). Season the steak with salt and pepper. Using either a separate sauté pan or the “Sauté” feature on the Instant Pot, briefly sauté the beef on all sides in melted butter until seared, working in batches if needed. (This step is optional if you would like to save time.)
  2. Stir together ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients (minus the cornstarch and water) to the bowl of a large slow cooker or Instant Pot, briefly stir to combine, then cover.
  3. Cook. For Crock Pot beef stew, slow cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. For Instant Pot beef stew, cook on high pressure for 40 minutes, followed by a quick release. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
  4. Add thickener (optional). If you would like to thicken the gravy at this point, make a quick cornstarch slurry by whisking together equal parts cornstarch and cold water. Then stir it into the gravy, a few tablespoons at a time, until it reaches your desired level of thickness. (This step is also optional if you don’t mind a thin sauce.)
  5. Taste, season and serve. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Then serve warm, garnished with some freshly-cracked black pepper if you would like.

Beef Stew Recipe (Crock Pot or Instant Pot)

Possible Variations:

As I mentioned above, there are all sorts of tasty ways that you can customize your own beef stew recipe. For example, feel free to…

  • Add wine: If you happen to have dry red or white wine on hand, I would highly recommend subbing in 1 cup of wine in place of 1 cup of the beef stock to give the gravy extra depth of flavor.
  • Add extra herbs: I also love adding in a few sprigs of fresh thyme (or a teaspoon of dried thyme) to this recipe for extra flavor.
  • Add tomatoes: In place of (or in addition to) the tomato paste, feel free to add in a 15-ounce can of diced or crushed tomatoes.
  • Add a kick: It may sound odd, but I really love adding in a generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or some chopped pepperoncini peppers to beef stew to give it a little heat.
  • Use sweet potatoes: I’ve also tried making this beef stew recipe before using sweet potatoes (or a 50/50 sweet and Yukon gold potato blend), and the sweet/savory combo is lovely!
  • Speed things up: As I mentioned above, feel free to skip searing the beef if you would like to save some time. The beef stew meat will still be plenty tender and delicious. :)
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Beef Stew (Crock Pot or Instant Pot)

Beef Stew

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 20 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
  • Yield: 6-8 servings 1x

Description

My favorite cozy, hearty, comforting beef stew recipe — easy to make in the Instant Pot or Crock-Pot.  Feel free to skip searing the steak if you would like to save time.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
  • 2 1/2 cups beef stock
  • 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, halved or quartered
  • 1 medium white onion, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 large carrots, diced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 23 tablespoons cornstarch (plus 23 tablespoons cold water)

Instructions

Slow Cooker (Crock-Pot) Beef Stew:

  1. Sear the steak (optional). Season the steak evenly with salt and pepper.  Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add the steak in a single even layer — working in batches if needed — and cook the steak briefly on all sides until seared.  (This step is optional if you would like to save time.)
  2. Stir together ingredients. Add the steak, beef stock, potatoes, mushrooms, onion, celery, carrots, tomato paste, Worcestershire and bay leaves to the bowl of a large slow cooker.  Toss briefly to combine.
  3. Cook. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours, until the steak and veggies are tender.  Remove and discard the bay leaves.
  4. Add thickener (optional). In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and cold water until combined.  Add the mixture to the still-simmering gravy a few tablespoons at a time, until it reaches your desired level of thickness.
  5. Taste, season and serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.

Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Beef Stew:

  1. Sear the steak (optional). Season the steak evenly with salt and pepper.  Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot.  Add the butter, followed by however much of the steak will fit in a single even layer — you will likely need to work in batches — and cook the steak briefly on all sides until seared.  (This step is optional if you would like to save time.)
  2. Stir together ingredients. Add the beef stock, potatoes, mushrooms, onion, celery, carrots, tomato paste, Worcestershire and bay leaves.  Toss briefly to combine.
  3. Cook. Press “Cancel”.  Cover the Instant Pot and set the lid to “Sealing.”  Then cook on high pressure for 40 minutes, followed by a quick release.  Remove and discard the bay leaves.
  4. Add thickener (optional). In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and cold water until combined.  Add the mixture to the still-simmering gravy a few tablespoons at a time, until it reaches your desired level of thickness.
  5. Taste, season and serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.

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45 comments on “Beef Stew”

  1. Nutrition facts would be great.
    Thank you. ?❤?

    • I’ve been making this for a couple years now and my family loves it. It’ll be perfect before trick-or-treating this weekend!






    • I created the recipe in My Fitness Pal with 8 servings and I got: 211 calories, Fat: 5.6g, carbs 19.7 and Protein: 21g.

      Hope it helps!

  2. Why is the beef stock divided, in the ingredients list? I’ve been wanting to make an old-fashioned beef stew like my mom used to make when I was growing up – it’s winter here, and this recipe sounds SO close to what she made!

    • Oh whoops, that was a typo! No division necessary. ;) And yay, hope you enjoy the stew! It’s just like the one we made growing up too!

  3. Prepping the ingredients tonight to throw into our crockpot tomorrow before work! So excited. I love all of your recipes ❤. You’re website is my go-to digital cookbook!

  4. Could you use sweet potatoes instead of Russets? Or would they break down too much in the crockpot?

  5. I am a brand new Instant Pot user and this was my first successful dinner using my Instant Pot. It was delicious and so easy and came out perfectly. Thank you! We will definitely be enjoying this all winter here in Colorado.






  6. Very hearty sauce. Went with your suggestion to use 1-cup of red wine, & sear meat first. The baby bella mushrooms were definitely the way to go, perfect pairing with the sauce.

  7. Thank you, Ali, for this beef stew recipe I prepared yesterday. It is good but lacked some depth of flavor for me – I used the tomatoes and the tomato paste, red pepper flakes, etc.

    I will try it again using a few additions – just don’t know what yet.

    I am a huge fan of your recipes.

    @cantstopcooking






  8. This is by far one of the best stews I have EVER made!






  9. This was delicious! I seared the meat and used red wine, thyme, and red pepper flakes as you suggested. This is my new favorite beef stew recipe!

  10. I made this and did add white wine that I had. Used a bit more tomato paste. Shared some with my neighbor and she said it was fantastic.

  11. I made this stew today. I used my crock pot. It was so good. It was a hit with the whole family. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for the recipe.






  12. Wow! Delicious! Made in instapot. Followed advice to sub one cup of wine for one cup of water.
    Only change was to add garlic salt instead of salt. And omitted potatoes. Served over mashed potatoes.
    It took at least 3 T cornstarch to thicken for me.
    I shared it with a friend who just bought an instapot and will definitely make again.
    Thanks for the awesome recipe!






  13. Hi Aly,
    Thank you for another amazing recipe! I followed the recipe precisely with the added wine and thyme, but I still felt like it needed a little something once it was done. I added some oregano, rosemary, and cayenne. It’s delicious!






  14. Recipe sounds amazing! Is it possible to use frozen carrots,peas, and green beans with the potatoes,celery and onions, if so would the cook time in the Crock Pot be the same?

  15. This stew was great! I’ve been looking for a good stew recipe and I think this one is a keeper! I made mine in the slow cooker (why have I never thought of doing that before?!) and used your suggestion of subbing 1 cup of red wine in for some of the beef stock. I omitted the mushrooms and used 3 tbsp of cornstarch (my husband isn’t a fan of mushrooms). I didn’t even sear the meat before I put it in the slow cooker. Turned out perfect! Thank you






  16. I have both an IP and slow cooker but would love to get stovetop instructions as well. I find veggies to be tricky in an IP/slow cooker; always end up too mushy.

  17. Fantastic recipe. I have been looking for a Beef Stew receipt to make in my Insta Pot. Thank you for sharing this. My stew came out better than I could have hoped for.






  18. I made the Instant Pot version tonight as my son, his wife, & 2 little boys (9 mo. & 2 years) came to dinner. EVERYONE (even the baby!) enjoyed it. I did double up the meat as
    I wanted to be sure there was plenty & I had a 3# roast. It turned out just right. Thanks!






  19. I have no knowledge about buying dry red wine. Can you give me suggestions on a brand or what to look for? I’m assuming this is not the cooking wine? Thanks

  20. Oh my god! This was out of this world. My husband and kids loved it so much. And it gets better the next day. I made it on a Thursday and we had it for lunch again on Sunday afternoon.

  21. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE….HUSBAND BOUGHT QUICK POT….I’M USING IT NOW. LOOKS SO GOOD.






  22. I have made this stew twice. Really easy and tasty. Leftovers freeze well. Thanks!






  23. I made this tonight, my husbands only complaint was that he didn’t think the bay leaves were a good choice. He said he didn’t think they set well with the stew. I ended up adding more beef broth and a little water to try to tone the taste down a bit. I’m not a big fan of stew, so I’m just going off of what he said.
    Other than that, he loved it! After I added some water to it he said it tasted better for sure.

  24. I have made beef stew many times and this is a good recipe. However, a number of other recipes use thyme and rosemary so I added about a half teaspoon of each and I think it really helped. Tasty.






  25. I just made a major boo-boo (I’m going to blame it on my brain being complete mush at the moment): I don’t know what I was thinking, but I added 2 cartons of beef broth to my crockpot this morning. So there’s roughly 8 cups in the pot, rather than 2.5 cups. I must have just glanced at the serving size, which is a cup. At this point, the stew has been cooking for almost 2 hours. If I were to take a majority of the liquid out, should I add more tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce as well?

  26. Searing the steak is never optional. It must be done.

  27. Would love nutrition info. Thanks!






  28. I just wanted to say that this is the first beef stew I have ever absolutely loved in my life. New recipe to pass on to future family and repeat!

    Changes I made: seared beef tips, added McCormick brown gravy and swapped bay leaves for thyme. (I hate bay leaves).






  29. Please advise how shall I reduce this for a 3qt crock pot?
    Thanks!

  30. When freezing this would you cook before freezing? Or just prep everything in a bag and freeze with cooking instructions. I am 24 weeks pregnant and starting to build my freezer meal list :)

  31. I make this regularly. It’s delicious. Definitely sear the meat.






  32. Can you please share for what size instant pot do your recipes fit? Thank you

  33. Hi Ali, can you please share what size instant pot you use?

  34. The best beef stew i’ve ever had! I can’t rave enough about it!

  35. This was so quick and easy not to mention how delicious it was!!!






  36. Really wonderful! Made in my Instant Pot (using Meat/Stew setting). As recommended, I deglazed with a little red wine and threw in some fresh rosemary (thyme w/b good as well). I did decrease the Worcestershire to 1 TBS and added a large clove of garlic, chopped, to the vegetables. Everything was perfectly cooked and the beef was so tender. Will definitely be making again!






  37. This is our absolute favorite beef stew recipe. We make it once a month in the winter. We crock pot it for 7 hours and it is so tender and good!!

  38. So good!!

  39. I have been looking at this recipe for some time now & FINALLY made it yesterday!! It was delicious! 😋
    I did use 1.5 cups stock & 1 cup red wine (ok, maybe a bit more than 1 cup of wine… lol)… and I also used 50/50 Yucon Gold & Sweet Potatoes, fresh thyme… I even shared a bowl with my neighbor, too. I definitely will be making this again!!
    Thank you Ali!