Beef Stew Recipes

Freeze serving-size portions of stew in zip-top freezer bags. To release from the bag, submerge under hot water for 30 seconds; then heat over medium-low heat.

Something wonderful happens over the long simmer in the slow cooker: The barley cooks to tender-chewy perfection, the beef becomes meltingly tender, and the liquid thickens to a beautiful gravy. Brown the meat, toss it and everything else in the slow cooker, and let the magic happen. Go with hulled, whole-grain barley here, and skip quick-cooking pearl barley; the latter isn't whole grain, and it will cook to mush over the long simmering time. If you can't find hulled barley, you can try wheat berries, whole-grain farro, rye berries, or Kamut instead. This soup is great for freezing, as it thaws and reheats beautifully.

This classic French braised beef, red wine, and vegetable stew is simple and delicious. The flavor and texture allow you to keep it warm for your guests. Buy a whole-grain baguette, bagged salad greens, and bottled vinaigrette to round out the meal.

A nutty dark beer adds richness and depth to the stew. Be careful not to choose a beer that's super-hoppy; it will taste too bitter. To get 2 pounds of trimmed meat, you'll probably need to purchase a 2 1/2-pound roast.

While not nearly as sweet as bananas, plantains do have a sweet flavor. In this African-inspired stew, we keep that sweetness at bay by using firm plantains with green skins rather than ripe brown-skinned ones—the sugars will have not yet developed, so the fruit will add starchy body to the soup without too much sweetness.

This is an ideal recipe for the slow cooker, where gentle, prolonged cooking turns tough beef into tender bites. Serve the stew over a mound of Fluffy Mashed Potatoes.

Nothing says cozy like a hearty beer and beef stew. The sweet and sour Belgian ale adds major flare with flavors of plum, black cherry, and brown sugar which complements this seasonal stew for an oaky sapor.

Chopped onions, carrots, mushrooms, and the flavor of thyme sprigs come together with browned-beef to create a hearty stew for a chilly night.

Chunk roast marinates with carrots and onions in this savory stew. Red wine, cremini mushrooms, garlic, and basil gives it an Italian flavor that you won’t be able to pass up.

This French onion soup is chock-full of fiber-rich barley for a tasty variation on the classic. You can omit the sherry or replace it with white wine if you wish.

This classic beef stew recipe has all you expect in beef stew: tender chunks of beef, carrot, and potato. Yet the cremini mushrooms are a wonderful surprise.

An amber Belgian beer is ideal in this dish, though most amber beers or brown ales—such as Newcastle—would work just fine. Garnish with fresh thyme.

This hearty beef stew is made with lean boneless chuck that's cooked with carrots, parsnips and turnips and flavored with dark beer. Simmering it in a Dutch oven for about 2 hours makes the meat and vegetables fork tender and delicious.

You can use barley groats rather than pearl barley in this stew to give the dish a little more texture. Substitute rutabagas, parsnips, or other root vegetables of your choice for the carrots and turnips.

Take your basic beef stew to the next level by making this simple, fragrant beef tagine featuring butternut squash.

For a homestyle, comforting soup, cook this savory dish on a cold winter night for a meal that will warm you like a good sweater.  Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich or some crusty bread to dip in the broth.

We enjoyed this hearty stew with beef, but cubed leg of lamb would work, as well. For robust Irish flavor, use Guinness Stout or another stout for the beer that's specified in the recipe.

This comforting stew teams beef with spinach, an efficient pairing because the iron in the beef enhances your body's ability to absorb the iron in the spinach. Serve it over plain Chinese noodles or all by itself with some crusty French bread--it's delicious either way.

Try to use hulled barley for this soup-it's a less refined form of the grain that provides more fiber and iron than pearled barley, which will also work nicely. Beef stew meat also contributes iron, plus selenium. The mushrooms supply vitamin D and are a prime source of ergothioneine, an antioxidant that may help prevent cell damage and reduce the risk of cancer.

Cranberry sauce, pearl onions, and button mushrooms add interesting flavors to this stew. One reviewer had this to say: "This recipe was delicious and I loved the flavors together. I added the whole can of cranberries as other reviewers suggested and used a regular onion instead of pearl onions since I forgot them at the store. Tasted great! Also served over mashed potatoes." -Hollypop

Chuck roast, a tough cut of meat, grows tender in the slow cooker. Serve this rustic stew with crusty bread and red wine—perhaps a Côtes du Rhône or Chateauneuf-du-Pâpe from southern France.

Serve this Mediterranean-inspired stew over Creamy Mashed Potatoes. Make and keep warm in a Dutch oven or slow cooker.

This is a one-dish meal. Make the beef stew the night before, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate; reheat single servings in the microwave or a slow cooker set on HIGH the next day. To save prep time, use bottled peeled fresh garlic.