8 Hearty Beef Stew Recipes That Mostly Cook Themselves

The first cold evening of the year always sends me to the butcher counter for a chuck roast I have no plan for yet.

Stew is the plan, and it always has been.

I used to think the good versions needed a whole Sunday of standing over the pot, and I was wrong about that for years.

Most of the work is browning some beef and then leaving it alone, which happens to be my strongest kitchen skill.

1. French Onion Beef Stew

This is beef stew wearing a French onion soup lid, with toasted baguette and melted Gruyère broiled right on top.

Five large onions go into the pot with beef chuck, Dijon, Worcestershire and thyme, so the gravy turns sweet and deep without any wine.

It takes about two hours and ten minutes from start to finish and serves four.

Give the onions real time to brown before the beef goes back in, since pale onions make a flat stew.

Use an oven-safe pot so the whole thing can slide under the broiler for the cheese at the end.

2. Guinness Beef Stew

Two cups of Guinness and a cup of strong coffee make the braising liquid here, which sounds odd until you taste how dark the gravy gets.

Bacon goes in first, then chuck, baby gold potatoes, carrots, celery and a quarter head of green cabbage.

Frozen peas add a little color.

Plan on just under four hours, with about twenty minutes of actual chopping and browning, and you’ll feed six.

I serve it over mashed potatoes even though it already has potatoes in it, and I won’t apologize for that.

3. Beef Bourguignon

Bourguignon is the fancy one, and it takes a full bottle of red wine.

Chuck braises with bacon, carrots, garlic, thyme and Pinot Noir, then pearl onions and mushrooms get browned in butter and added near the end.

Budget about forty minutes of prep and two and a half hours in the oven for five servings.

Brown the beef in batches, because a crowded pot steams the meat and you lose the crust that flavors the sauce.

Pick a wine you’d happily drink, since the sauce reduces and anything harsh in the bottle only gets stronger.

4. Beef Stew with Dumplings

The stew is good, but the dumplings are why you make this.

They’re gluten-free, made with gluten-free flour, oat flour, butter and baking powder, and they steam on top of the stew until fluffy.

Underneath is steak, carrots, parsnip and onion braised in beef stock with a generous pour of red wine.

It takes about two hours, most of it hands-off, and serves four.

Keep the lid on once the dumplings go in, because lifting it lets the steam out and they come out dense.

5. Hungarian Beef Goulash

Goulash is thinner than an American stew, closer to a thick soup, and it’s red from a full quarter cup of paprika.

Beef, onions, red and green peppers, carrots and potatoes simmer in broth with tomato paste, garlic and a little caraway.

It’s the fastest stew here at about an hour and twenty minutes, and it serves four.

Use Hungarian sweet paprika if you can find it, and take the pot off the heat for a moment when you stir it in so it doesn’t scorch and turn bitter.

A spoon of sour cream and a piece of crusty bread finish it.

6. Dutch Oven Beef Stew

A can of French onion soup is the shortcut in this one, and it does a lot of the seasoning for you.

Flour-dusted stew meat browns in the Dutch oven, then simmers with carrots, russet potatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and Italian seasoning.

Ten minutes of prep and a little over three hours of gentle cooking, for six servings.

Russets break down a little at the edges and thicken the gravy, so don’t swap them for waxy potatoes.

Taste it at the end before adding more salt, since canned soup brings plenty of its own.

7. Beef and Barley Stew

Barley turns a stew into something you could almost eat with a fork.

A cup of pearl barley simmers right in the pot with beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and thyme, and it soaks up enough broth to make everything thick and velvety.

The unexpected ingredient is a splash of sweet vermouth, which adds a gentle sweetness to the gravy.

Expect about three hours total and four generous bowls.

Leftovers thicken a lot overnight, so loosen them with a little broth when you reheat.

8. Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Start this one at lunch and forget about it until dinner.

Chuck roast, carrots, celery, cremini mushrooms, potatoes and fresh green beans cook in beef stock with a little red wine.

The gravy gets thickened with cornstarch, so there’s no flour dredging at the start.

It’s about thirty-five minutes of prep and five hours in the slow cooker, and it makes eight servings.

Cut the potatoes into large chunks so they hold their shape over the long cook.

Tips for Better Beef Stew

Buy a whole chuck roast and cut it yourself, since packaged stew meat is often a mix of cuts that cook at different speeds.

Pat the beef dry before it hits the pan, because wet meat won’t brown.

Let each piece sit until it releases from the pan on its own before you turn it.

Keep the heat low once the liquid goes in, as a hard boil makes the meat tough and stringy even after hours.

Beef is ready when a piece falls apart under a fork, so taste one before you call it done.

Notes on Leftovers and Freezing

Stew keeps three to four days in the fridge and almost always tastes better on day two.

Most of these freeze well for about three months.

Potatoes are the exception and go grainy once frozen, so leave them out of any batch you plan to freeze.

The dumplings and the cheesy bread topping don’t freeze well at all, so make those fresh.

Reheat gently on the stove, because the gravy thickens as it sits and catches on the bottom of the pot.