This Dutch Oven Beef Stew is a winter favorite. It is hearty, comforting, and full of tender beef, potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. It’s the perfect old-fashioned classic beef stew recipe to warm you up on chilly days!
I love making beef stew in a cast iron Dutch oven—it heats evenly and keeps everything tender and flavorful. Plus, it’s a one-pot meal, so cleanup is a breeze. Your family will ask for this hearty dish every day!
I love making beef stew in a cast iron Dutch oven—it heats evenly and keeps everything tender and flavorful. Plus, it’s a one-pot meal, so cleanup is a breeze. Your family will ask for this hearty dish every day!
Don’t have any beef in your fridge but still want a hearty stew recipe? Try my Easy Instant Pot Chicken Stew, Cabbage and Sausage Stew, or my Brazilian Fish Stew instead!
Key Ingredients to Make this Beef Stew Recipe
- Boneless beef chuck — you want to make sure the beef chuck roast is well-marbled and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces.
- Mushroom — you can use your mushroom of choice but brown or white button mushrooms are perfect for this.
- Balsamic vinegar — balsamic vinegar in beef stew adds subtle acidity that balances the flavour of the stew out. But if you prefer, you can add a high-quality dry red wine (such as pinot noir, cabernet, or merlot) to the pot after searing the meat instead of using balsamic.
- Worcestershire sauce and red wine — the red wine brings out the flavour of the meat.
- Beef broth — using beef broth adds more flavour than using just water in the beef stew.
- Arrowroot flour — this is a thickening agent and gluten-free flour. Or you can use regular all-purpose flour.
- Carrots and baby potatoes or yukon golds
You can find the full recipe with exact measurements below.
How To Make Dutch oven Beef Stew
Prepare the Beef
- Warm up the oven to 350°F and position a rack in the lower-middle area.
- Remove the beef from the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature.
- Place the beef on a paper towel-lined cutting board and pat them dry.
- Season all sides of the beef cubes with coarse salt and pepper.
- Place a large Dutch oven on the stove. Then, add in the pot 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Sear the meat in up to 3 batches. Use tongs to turn the meat. Cook each batch for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add one tablespoon of oil for each batch. Transfer the meat to a large plate and set it aside.
Sear the Rest of the Ingredients
- In the same pot, add more olive oil and add mushroom.
- Saute mushroom for about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon. Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add tomato paste and cook for about a minute or so.
Add the Liquid and Braise the Stew
- Bring back mushroom and the beef with its juices back to the pan.
- Add the wine, beef broth, water, thyme and bay leaf.
- Stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and then bring the pot to a boil.
- Cover the pot with a lid, transfer to the preheated oven, and braise for 2 hours.
Add the Vegetables
- Remove the pot from the oven and add the carrots and potatoes.
- Cover and place the Dutch oven pot back in the oven for about an hour, or until the vegetables are cooked and the meat is fork tender. This keeps the vegetables from being overcooked and from falling apart in the stew.
How Do You Make Beef Stew Meat Tender? Cook low and slow to help break down the collagen and fat, keeping the beef tender. High heat can make the meat tough.
Finish off the Stew
- 5 minutes before the stew is done, mix 2 tablespoons of arrowroot flour with water in a small bowl. Stir into the pot after removing it from the oven to thicken the rich gravy.
- Discard the bay leaf and garnish with fresh herbs like parsley, if desired. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve with mashed potatoes and enjoy!
Recipe tips
- Brown the meat in batches so you don’t overcrowd it in the pan. Giving it space will ensure that all of the edges get the crisp texture you are looking for.
- Don’t be tempted to skip the bay leaf! The bay leaves add a lighter note to this beef stew recipe and help the other flavours shine. It’s a small step and a single ingredient but it does a lot.
- Don’t skip the flour. This will thicken the stew.
Should I brown stew meat first? For the best beef stew, always brown the beef first. Searing the meat creates rich, deep flavor as the caramelized edges build up on the bottom of the pan. This flavorful buildup adds incredible depth to the stew once it’s deglazed.
How To Store Leftover Beef Stew
Dutch oven beef stew tastes even better the next day. This is because all of the ingredients marinate in broth and seasonings overnight and become infused with fantastic flavor!
To store: Let cool, then refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To freeze: Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Leave space at the top to allow for expansion.
To reheat: Thaw overnight in the fridge, then microwave or heat on the stovetop.
More beef stew recipes?
- Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew: This is a Beef Stew recipe that is loaded with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms alongside tender, melt in your mouth beef.
- Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe: It’s a whole30 stew with potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, and herbs.
- Turnip and Carrot Slow Cooker Beef Stew: Great recipe to cook with turnip.
- Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe: Pressure Cooker beef stew will provide you with winter comfort food in a fraction of the time.
Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe
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Ingredients
- 3 lb boneless beef chuck well-marbled, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil*
- 1 cup mushroom sliced
- 2 medium yellow onions chopped
- 7 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground or dried thyme
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 4 large carrots peeled and sliced into diagonal 1-inch pieces.
- 1 pound small white boiling potatoes baby Yukon, cut in half
- Fresh chopped parsley for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the lower middle position. Remove the beef from the fridge about 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking. Place it on a paper towel-lined cutting board and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Sprinkle coarse salt and black pepper on all sides of the beef cubes. In a large Dutch oven, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil at a medium-high heat.
- Sear the meat in up to 3 batches. Use tongs to turn the meat. Cook each batch for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add one tablespoon of oil for each batch and avoid overcrowding the pan to prevent steaming. Transfer the browned meat to a large plate and set it aside.
- In the same pot, add more olive oil and add mushroom. Saute mushroom for about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the tomato paste and cook for another minute.
- Bring back mushroom and the beef with its juices back to the pan. Add the wine, beef broth, water, bay leaf and thyme.
- Stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow it to reach boiling point. Cover the pot with a lid, move it to the oven that's already heated, and let it braise for a duration of 2 hours.
- Remove the pot from the oven and add the carrots and potatoes. Cover the Dutch oven and put it back in the oven. Cook for about an hour. The vegetables should be soft, and the meat should be tender.
- 5 minutes before remove the pot from the oven, add 2 tablespoons of arrow flour in a small pot with a little water. Mix all well to combine.
- Remove the pot from the oven. And add arrow flour mixture and mix well. Fish out the bay leaf and discard.
- Adjust seasoning if necessary. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
Tips
- If your meat has a lot of fat, you probably will need to use only 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- When browning the meat, you may have to do so in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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Juliana Langley says
So I just pulled the dutch oven out of the oven after 2 hours and was surprised to find that all the liquid has absorbed! Hmmm, what would you suggest? It’s time to add the carrots and potatoes, but there’s no liquid to thicken with the arrowroot. Maybe just add more beef broth?
Juliana Langley says
So here’s what I did:
I added a quart of beef broth, a little more wine, and finished it off on the stove until the veggies were tender. I also added more potatoes, carrots, and some celery to up the vegetables in the dish. It was delicious- very flavorful!
Olivia Ribas says
You can add more beef broth or reduce the temperature you were cooking/baking.
Tóth Alvin says
It was so good… I recommend
Olivia Ribas says
Awesome!
Melanie says
Very tasty recipe
Olivia Ribas says
Happy you liked it!
Jaime Ambrose says
Best recipe ever!
Olivia Ribas says
Thank you! You’re the best!
Linda says
This was amazing. Just got an enameled dutch oven a couple of weeks ago so tried this today. I’ve made numerous beef stew recipes but have never had the beef come out so very tender. I did add 2 more cups of beef broth when adding the potatoes and carrots and cooked for probably 1.5 hours longer total after adding. Did cook at 325 instead of 350. This will be my go to beef stew recipe from now on. Thanks.
Olivia Ribas says
That’s so amazing. I’m so glad you like this recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
Linda says
This was extremely delicious. As I had recently purchased an enameled cast iron Dutch oven I was looking for recipes. I’ve done beef stews on the stove and in the crockpot but have never had the beef come out as absolutely tender as this did. I may have to fix it again for Christmas Eve!
Olivia Ribas says
Wow your comment made my day. So glad you liked this recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
Mimi says
Can I use cornstarch or a diff
Flour instead of arrowroot? And is there anything I can substitute for the balsamic vinegar?
Olivia Ribas says
Yes you can replace it for cornstarch and you can use red wine instead of balsamic vinegar.
Cathy Worrell says
The best substitute for balsamic vinegar is to mix 1 TBS red wine vinegar with 2 tsp maple syrup. You can use honey or sugar if you don’t have maple syrup. I found this on the internet when making this stew when I didn’t have any balsamic vinegar on hand.
Alicia says
The meat was bordering dry and the carrots under cooked.
Olivia Ribas says
Sorry to hear that. Did you use enough liquid (beef broth)? How long did you cook this recipe?
Nicole Nevin says
This is a family favorite!
Olivia Ribas says
Happy to hear that!
Liela says
The stew is ready for the oven, but why can’t I just finish cooking this on top of the dtove?
Olivia Ribas says
yes you absolutely can.