14 Beef Stew Recipes To Make All Winter Long

A good beef stew hits the spot like nothing else during the chilly months of the year.

By
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara is a chef, culinary educator, and author of three cookbooks, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook, Tasting Ohio and The Fruit Forager's Companion. The latter won a 2019 IACP Cookbook Award.
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Updated November 10, 2024
Sara Bir
Close-up of a serving spoon with a braised oxtail scooped from a pot of oxtail stew

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

You can keep your steak. If there's a choice, I'll take beef stew over even the finest filet mignon. There's the succulent meat, the rich stewing liquid to douse big piles of mashed potatoes or rice or polenta. Leftovers are always better the next day. It feeds a crowd. It warms the soul.

There are hundreds of ways to stew beef, but the basic concept remains the same. Take a tough cut of meat, add aromatics, and simmer it in a flavorful liquid until tender. Any cuisine that consumes beef has its own spin, from Mexican carne picada to Filipino nilagang baka. Plus slow cooker stews aplenty. If your beef stew rotation is in a rut, try any one of these recipes to liven things up.

  • Easy Beef Stew

    Pot of Easy Beef Stew on a Long Wooden Board, and Next to It, a Bowl of Parsley and a Sprig of Thyme on the Left and a Kitchen Towel and a Wooden Spatula on the Right

    Simply Recipes / Mike Lang

    What makes this beef stew easy? You streamline the process by tossing the meat in the pot as you chop the remaining ingredients. Everything still tastes rich and flavorful despite not browning ingredients first.

  • Nilagang Baka (Filipino Beef Stew)

    Ladle raising some nilagang baka from a Dutch oven with more, and in the surroundings, a stack of bowls, a serving of Filipino beef soup in a bowl, a bowl of rice, and a small bowl of fish sauce

    Simply Recipes / Shilpa Iyer

    What's the secret to this stew's distinctive flavor? Fish sauce. Serve it with plenty of white rice.

  • Jamaican Beef Stew

    Two Bowls of Jamaican Beef Stew (One Served With Rice and Just a Bowl of Beef Stew) on a Blue and White Kitchen Towel Next to a Dutch Oven With More Stew

    Simply Recipes / Kalisa Marie Martin

    Ginger, allspice, and a whisper of fiery Scotch bonnet peppers set this stew apart. Traditionally Jamaican beef stew has sweet and dark browning sauce for color, but here the sugar in the marinade caramelizes as the beef browns, lending color and flavor.

  • Irish Beef Stew

    Irish Beef Stew
    Irish Beef Stew.

    Traditional Irish beef stew was a humble affair. This version uses some unorthodox additions―red wine and garlic―along with Guinness for a ton of flavor. It's a longtime reader favorite recipe.

    Continue to 5 of 14 below

  • Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew

    Overhead view of an open Instant Pot filled with cooked Irish beef stew
    Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew.

    Irish stew would typically have been made with mutton, but in the States where lamb and mutton are in short order, we turn to beef. Speed it all up in an Instant Pot.

  • Oxtail Stew

    A Dutch oven full of oxtail stew on a counter

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

    Whenever you can find oxtails, snatch them up to make this memorable stew with a rich and full-bodied braising liquid.

  • Carne Picada

    Bowl of carne picada with a sprig of cilantro and in the surroundings, a bowl of seasoned rice, a small bowl of sliced limes, and utensils (on the counter)

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    Carne picada is a Mexican braised beef that's equally at home with tortillas, as a taco filling, or as a straight-up stew with Spanish rice.

  • Slow Cooker Beef Stew

    Bowl of Beef Stew Next to a Slow Cooker

    Simply Recipes / Nick Evans

    Set it and forget it in the slow cooker so you can come home from a long, hard day to the aroma of beef stew filling your kitchen.

    Continue to 9 of 14 below

  • Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew

    Crock Pot Guinness Beef Stew In Black Bowl
    Elise Bauer

    Potatoes, carrots, celery root, and parsnips give this Guinness stew a flavorful broth. Once it's in the crockpot, the stew is ready after four hours on high or eight hours on low.

  • Carbonnade Flamande

    Carbonnade Beef and Beer Stew
    Elise Bauer

    Belgian ale adds an inimitable flavor to this traditional Flemish stew. Serve with mashed potatoes.

  • Short Rib Stew With Ale

    Short Rib Beef Stew Ale
    Elise Bauer

    Use a bottle of malty brown ale, such as Newcastle, for this rich stew.

  • Beef and Barley Stew With Mushrooms

    Beef Barley Stew
    Elise Bauer, Lisa Lin, and Sally Vargas

    Beef, barley, and mushrooms are such a hearty trio. Beef and barley soup inspired this stewy version.

    Continue to 13 of 14 below

  • Beef Goulash With Dumplings

    Beef Goulash with Dumplings
    Elise Bauer

    Tons of paprika gives this Hungarian stew its characteristic orange-red hue. As it simmers, top it with tender dumplings for a one-pot meal.

  • Beef Bourguignon

    beef bourguignon

    Laura Heller

    Here's Elise Bauer's version of Julia Child's Burgandy beef stew with bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions. And a silky Pinot Noir, of course.

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