Stovetop Beef Stew
What is your favorite recipe for the Fall and Winter season? After making this comforting stovetop beef stew, I think you’ll have your answer. When the cold weather hits, there is hardly anything more iconic than beef stew. I’ll show you how to make this comforting bowl full of Fall and Winter goodness using a quicker method than cooking it for several hours in the oven: we are using the stove top!
Beef Stew is so often eaten from a can, when there is really no reason to do so. This is so easy to do homemade, you’ll wonder at the end when you take your first bite WHY you waited so long to make it yourself. That’s why I’m here, and that is what this site is for! I want to show you how to cook fresh recipes from scratch that I know you and your friends and loved ones will enjoy.
As a busy Mom, I know how hard it can be at times to get a meal on the table. I love helping people just like you minimize processed food and cook seasonally with more fresh ingredients!
My family loves this stew, it is on my stove multiple times each Fall and Winter. It is a great one pot meal for sneaking in extra veggies, and it does not take as long as other stews. We love it with a garden salad or Fall harvest salad, or some delicata squash. I have always made beef stew on the stove and not in the oven, so I know this recipe works well!
Ingredient Notes For Stovetop Beef Stew
I’m only highlighting a few ingredients here that I know you’ll want more insight about. There are a couple of unexpected ingredients in this stew that are a departure from the usual you might expect, and I’m touching on those a bit here along with one that is pretty important. Don’t forget to visit the recipe for the full list of what you’ll need!
Hard cider
Use a semi-dry or dry hard apple cider here. Don’t use sweet or a cider that is a blend, such as apple with a floral or another fruit. That is nice for drinking but not for cooking.
apple cider
This stew uses hard cider and regular cider. Unfiltered fresh from the farm is best. No fake 10 percent juice! If you have some left, make some apple cider pork roast for another meal.
All purpose Flour
The flour is critical for thickening the stew, don’t skip it! It creates a nice crust on the stew meat along with acting as a thickener. Save the excess from dredging the meat.
Golden Beets
I can’t tell you how many beets I harvested when I worked on the farm! Make sure to use golden and not red or candy stripe beets. They will turn the stew a really strange purple color that is unappetizing.
Cipollini Onions
These mini onions are great in stew! Just simply peel them and cut them in half, or leave them whole if they are small. If you can’t find these at your grocery store, chopped shallots or yellow onion are fine.
Lacinato kale
Leave it to me to add something green to a beef stew! It adds vibrant color and a little texture. The lacinato variety is best, it holds up to cooking. Wait until the last few minutes to add it.
I also highly recommend a cast iron enameled Dutch oven for cooking this. The meat browns really nicely and the cast iron conducts heat really well ensuring a nice result. If you don’t have one you can also use a large stock pot.
Amy’s Secrets to Good Stew
What is the secret to good stew? I’m going to leave you a few tips here that I know will help you make this dish successfully.
Do not skip browning the meat! The whole stew will taste better and the meat will have better texture in addition to being more tender.
With the exception of the dried parsley, use fresh herbs. The parsley is better dried because fresh parsley does not hold up well to the long simmer. The fresh thyme and bay leaves will stand up to the cook time and they are more flavorful than dried.
Chop all your veggies before you start cooking. This will ensure that you don’t get caught up by chopping while the meat browns. It doesn’t save a whole lot of time trying to cut the vegetables while the meat cooks, and it means fewer distractions.
Can you really cook beef stew on the stovetop and have it turn out well? Yes you can! This recipe is just as great as a stew cooked in the oven.
Season your flour!
Coat the meat in the flour.
Remove the stem from the kale. 
Chop the kale and add it at the end of cooking.
Brown the meat. Add the veggies. Add remaining flour.
Add the apple cider and hard cider.
Use fresh herbs!
Another great tip: you can chop the veggies in advance and store them in the refrigerator for a couple of days if you need to, except for the potatoes because they will oxidize and turn brown if you cut them.
I want to thank you for stopping by, and I hope you love this stovetop beef stew! I’d love to hear from you if you made this recipe. Just leave a rating or comment! Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for all the latest updates. Happy Cooking!
Stovetop Beef Stew
This easy Stovetop Beef Stew is full of fresh Autumn Vegetables with hard cider and apple cider that make a tasty broth. Comfort food at its finest!
- Total Time: 1 3/4 hours
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
For The Meat
1 1/2 pounds of Beef Stew Meat
1/2 cup of All Purpose flour
1 teaspoon of Salt
1/2 teaspoon of Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of Paprika
2 teaspoons of dried Parsley
2 Tablespoons of Oil
For The Vegetables
1 medium to large size Golden Beet
8 Cipollini Onions
2 large Carrots
8 Brown Mushrooms
10 small Red Potatoes
8–10 leaves of Lacinato Kale
1 teaspoon of Salt
1/2 tsp of Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
2 teaspoons of dried Parsley
For The Broth
1 bunch of Fresh thyme (about 5–6 sprigs)
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
2 cups of Hard Apple Cider (semi-dry or dry)
2 cups of Apple Cider (fresh pressed, not a juice blend)
Instructions
- Start by peeling and chopping the vegetables first.
- Peel the golden beet, the carrots, and the cipollini onions.
- Cut the golden beet into half inch cubes, slice the carrots (1/4 inch slices are fine) and cut the mushrooms in half if they are smaller, or in quarters if they are larger. Cut the baby red potatoes in half or in quarters depending on size. The cipollini onions should be cut in half as well. Chop the kale later while the stew simmers (more on that later in the instructions).
- Heat a 6 quart Dutch Oven or stock pot on medium high heat. While the pot is heating, prepare the meat.
- Gently pat the one pound of stew meat dry with paper towels. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the 1/2 cup of flour, one teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, and 2 teaspoons of dried parsley. Stir to combine the seasonings, then add the stew meat and toss to coat.
- Add the 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot, then add the stew meat in a single layer. Do what you can to avoid crowding the bottom of the pot. If you have to brown the meat in batches, that’s ok. Brown the meat on each side for 2 -3 minutes. Be sure to reserve the remaining flour mixture for later!
- Add the carrots, cipollini onions, and red potatoes and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes to allow them to start browning a little.
- Add the golden beets, mushrooms, the 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, 2 teaspoons of dried parsley, and the 2 bay leaves and bunch of thyme. Stir well.
- Next, add the reserved flour mixture and stir to coat everything. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until you no longer smell raw flour.
- Add the 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste and stir to coat the meat and veggies.
- Pour in the 2 cups of hard cider a little at a time, using a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the 2 cups of apple cider, stir, and bring to a boil (you will need to turn to heat up). Once the stew is boiling, reduce the heat to medium low so the stew reaches a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and cook for one hour.
- While the stew simmers, cut the thick stems from the kale and chop it into one inch square pieces. You’ll want about one cup of chopped kale.
- In the final 10 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and stir in the chopped kale. Replace the lid and finish simmering. Once the stew is cooked, spoon into bowls and serve!
Notes
Reheating and Storage– this stew reheats well in the microwave, or you can warm it on low heat in a non-stick saucepan on the stove.
Recipe Variations– If you’d like to change up the veggies, I have a few suggestions!
- Peeled and slices parsnips
- Peeled and cubed turnips
- Shallots
Also, try cutting a Fuji or Gala apple into wedges (removing the seeds and core) and add it to the stew during step 8. It’s really good!
Cipollini Onions– These are a bit harder to peel than a standard onion. If you want this to be a bit easier, you can use half of a small yellow onion chopped into pieces about a half inch in size. I used them in this recipe because I like their sweetness, and they are commonly used in beef stew, but you don’t have to use them if you don’t want to!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours
- Category: Soups, Stews, and Broths
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 847
- Sugar: 33.8 g
- Sodium: 1416.1 mg
- Fat: 14.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 132.3 g
- Protein: 46.3 g
- Cholesterol: 120.4 mg
Amy, This looks wonderful – and perfect for the cooler weather that is on the way! – Patty
An amazing stew, love all the goodness of the veggies used here.
This stew looks yummy. I’m sharing it with my husband, the cook. Thank you!