The Best Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe with red wine, carrots, potatoes cooks low and slow until tender and delicious. Easy comfort food! This classic beef stew recipe is a one-pot meal the whole family will love!
This hearty Dutch oven beef stew recipe is one of my family's favorite cold weather dinners. It's loaded with tender chunks of meat and root vegetables in a thick, rich gravy, and it's absolutely delicious.
I have made a lot of beef stew recipes over the years, but this is seriously the best!
I combined my grandma's old fashioned beef stew with Julia Child's classic beef Burgandy or Bouef Bourguignon recipe. When your kids say it's the best beef stew recipe they ever had, you know it has to be good!
Even though I love making quick beef stew in my Instant Pot, the Dutch oven really brings out the flavor -- same with my Roast Chicken Dinner.
Dutch oven recipes rock! While this oven baked beef stew takes a couple of hours to cook, you can relax or get stuff done while it's in the oven!
Ingredients
You just need some very simple ingredients for this beef stew dutch oven recipe. If you don 't already have them in your pantry or fridge, you can find them at your local grocery store.
- Beef chuck -- This is the best stew meat. Have it cut by the butcher or you can cut up a chuck roast
- Flour -- all purpose flour to coat the meat
- Olive oil or vegetable oil for browning the meat
- Onion
- Garlic -- I use both garlic cloves and garlic powder (adds great flavor)
- Red wine -- Pinot noir works well here
- Beef broth
- Tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- Baby potatoes
- Carrots
- Celery
- Peas and parsley -- optional but adds color and flavor
- Salt, black pepper, garlic powder and herbes de Provence seasoning
How to Make Beef Stew in the Dutch Oven
First, pat the beef dry with a paper towel. This removes moisture and helps the meat brown faster.
Then, season it all over with salt and pepper, and heat oil in a large Dutch oven.
Coat the beef in flour. Then, add a few pieces of meat at a time in a single layer to the Dutch oven. Cook on medium high heat until brown.
Use kitchen tongs to turn the meat over. When it releases easily, it's time to turn it over.
Brown the meat in batches, and keep covered on a plate until you're done.
Next, add the chopped onion and garlic to pot. Stir and cook until tender and fragrant.
Pour the wine into the Dutch oven, and deglaze by using a wooden spoon to gently stir and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
You can add the rest of the ingredients, and bring the stew to a simmer. Then, add the lid, and place the stew into your oven.
You can go put your feet up and relax for a couple of hours!
Cooking Time
This Dutch oven stew needs to cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours. After 3 hours, your stew will be thick, rich, tender and perfect!
And, your home will smell amazing!
When you can easily pierce the tender beef with a fork, and the veggies are soft, it's done.
You can throw in some frozen peas near the end if you want. A little bit of chopped fresh parsley adds an extra pop of color and freshness.
Stew is perfect and filling on its own. But, we love to make some Rosemary Beer Bread to dunk in the gravy. If you don't want to cook anything else, any crusty bread works well here.
Best Wine
So, what's the best wine for beef stew? Don't cook with any wine you wouldn't drink.
It doesn't have to be expensive, but it shouldn't be labeled cooking wine.
Pinot noir other Burgundy wines work best here, as do merlot or cabernet. A Bordeaux might overpower the stew.
Variations
If you're looking for a beef stew recipe without red wine, here are some substitutes for red wine: cranberry juice, grape juice, beer, or all beef broth.
Feel free to use your favorite hearty vegetables-- a couple of turnips, whole chopped potatoes, green beans, or baby carrots, for example-- instead of the listed ingredients.
I don't use it, but you can also add fresh thyme or bay leaves for extra flavor.
If you don't want to use the oven, you can let the beef stew simmer on the stove top. Just make sure to stir frequently so that it doesn't burn.
How to Store
To preserve its great flavor, keep your leftover stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator--it will be good for 3 to 4 days after your initial serving date.
Wondering how to freeze beef stew? It's simple. Just store in a freezer bag or freezer safe containers. Beef stew reheats easily in the microwave or on the stove.
Best Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 2 inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 medium onion chopped, yellow or white
- 3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 2 cups red wine pinot noir
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound baby potatoes sliced in half
- 5 large carrots peeled, cut into large chunks
- 3 medium celery stalks cut into large pieces, with leaf for extra flavor, if desired
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence seasoning
- 1 cup frozen peas
- parsley optional
Instructions
- Pat the meat dry with a paper towel, and season with salt and pepper
- Coat the meat all over with flour, heat a Dutch oven to medium heat, and add olive oil
- Brown the meat in batches, remove to clean plate, and cover to keep warm
- Preheat oven to 300°
- Add the onion and garlic, and cook until just soft and fragrant, stirring frequently
- Pour in wine, use a wooden spoon to gently scrape up brown bits from bottom of pot
- Stir in the beef broth, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce
- Add the meat back to the Dutch oven, then add the potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic powder and herbes de Provence
- Cover with lid, place in oven, and cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours. Add frozen peas or thawed peas about 15 minutes before removing from oven. Meat and vegetables should be fork tender
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley, if desired before serving
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
Recipe was originally published in February 2021 and updated for clarity in September 2021.
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Cherylann Dimitri says
Can you just continue to cook on stove
Dee says
Yes. Just cover and stir occasionally.
Jim says
Made this for dinner on a very cold day. It was hard to wait the three hours for cooking as the aroma filled the house. Everyone loved it. A new family favorite!
Dee says
Thanks, Jim! I'm so happy you liked the beef stew!
Amanda Livesay says
This is THE PERFECT beef stew recipe! So yummy and comforting.
Dee says
Thank you so much, Amanda!
Toni says
This is perfect! I love that amazing flavor from red wine!
Dee says
Thank you so much for the review, Toni!
Catalina says
My kid loves stew so much! This is a must make recipe!
Beti | easyweeknightrecipes says
I made this Beef Stew and it was AMAZING!! Everyone loved it!!
Dee says
I'm so glad to hear this, Beti. Thanks!
katerina @ diethood.com says
mmm..this looks incredible!! I bet it tastes AMAZING!! I am so excited to try this Beef Stew!
Erin says
This couldn't look any more perfect!
Michelle says
I love a good beef stew! And it's the best when your kids give it a seal of approval...seems like kids are always the hardest to please!
Dee says
Oh definitely! That's why it's always a plus when every one likes a recipe around here!
Amanda says
Perfect for those cold wintry nights, my family loved every bite!
Dee says
Thank you so much! I'm glad they liked the stew!