Easy Chunky Beef Stew is a comfort food dish made in one pot. With hearty vegetables, chunky meat and a thick texture, this chunky beef stew is delicious.
Soup recipes like our Meatball Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup are delicious ways to get lots of veggies into a meal!
What's a good recipe for Chunky Beef Stew?
Here is a good recipe for chunky beef stew. Using thick vegetables, meat that becomes tender and an intention to create a thick stew, you can't go wrong with this recipe.
A good recipe for Chunky Beef Stew is hearty with vegetables and texture. The liquid of the stew should be thick. The meat should be tender. The stew should be well seasoned.
The trick to making a chunky beef stew is using a slurry at the end to ensure the texture is thick and not watery.
Start by dicing your beef into cubes and preparing your vegetables, brown the beef, then add your stock and vegetables to the pot. Bring to the boil and then let simmer to perfection.
How to make a Chunky Beef Stew?
The best ever beef stew is a chunky one. From cubes of meat to thick cut vegetables, beef stew is easy to make.
After you dice your beef, you add the rest of the ingredients to your pot. The chunky texture comes from the beef, carrot and potatoes.
You make the beef stew by oiling a large (huge) pot, browning the beef, adding the rest of the ingredients and letting it stew until it is cooked.
What is the best meat for for a stew?
The best meat for a stew is beef that will become tender.
Thick meat is better than thin meat and completely avoid stir-fry meat, it just won't work.
You can get gravy beef which is from the shank or skin. It is a perfect meat for stew as it is thick and cooks well.
You can also use chuck and you will even find some butchers who specialise in the best beef for stews and soups.
What defines a stew?
A stew can be defined as a dish that has vegetables and meat and is cooked at a low heat for a long period of time. Or that is cooked at a medium heat until the meat is tender and juicy.
The difference between a stew and a soup is that a soup often has a thin consistency to the liquid. Soups also can have thick vegetables. Whereas a stew's liquid is thick and paste like.
To make the best ever beef stew recipe you need to intentionally change the consistency of the liquid in the recipe (stock, crushed tomatoes) to a thick consistency.
A soup would become thick in some recipes by blending all of the ingredients together.
Whereas a stew becomes thick, by removing some of the liquid, adding flour to it, stiring and returning it to the pot.
What is the difference between braising and stewing?
Braising is where you use a small amount of liquid and cook the meat in a shallow pan on the stove top.
Stewing can be done on the stove top, in the oven, in the crock pot or slow cooker. There is a much higher quantity of liquid in the recipe and the meat gets cooked before adding the rest of the ingredients.
When we cook the beef for this chunky stew, we use a little oil and seasoning. It is cooked quickly at a high heat.
How to make a slurry for thickening beef stew?
There are many different ways to make a slurry to thicken beef stew. I am sharing an easy way with you today and it is done towards the end of the cooking process.
The process of making this beef stew is to cook it and ensure its thickness at the end. This is especially handy to learn for if you make stews often you may sometimes forget to do what is necessary at the start of making the stew to thicken it.
My method forgives that lapse in memory so you don't have to freak out thinking you will be serving watery stew!
When your stew is about 15 mins from being ready, you remove some of the liquid and add flour to it. As you stir those 2 ingredients together, it becomes a thick paste. You will see this happening as you stir.
Adding this thick paste (our slurry) back to our stew pot allows us to stir this through to thicken up the rest of the pot.
Stove top beef stew, Oven beef stew which is best?
There is no one glove fits all approach to making stews.
You might sometimes like to cook one on the stove and the next time in the oven or using the slow cooker.
My advice is to follow which ever method suits you at the time.
If throwing all of your ingredients into a pot and walking away is your thing, then you know a slow cooker is best.
If sitting on the floor of the kitchen watching things cook in the oven is your favourite past time, then you will likely start on the stove top and move the pot into the oven.
In sharing this recipe with you today. I had your time in mind. This is a quick recipe and much quicker than most stews. It works, it tastes fabulous and you won't have to spend hours preparing it.
The chilli in the beef stew is optional making the recipe perfect for fussy eaters or chilli fans!
Easy Chunky Beef Stew questions answered:
About the recipe:
- The main vegetables are carrots and potatoes
- We also use a tin of crushed tomatoes
- As well as some frozen peas
- The beef is cooked 1st, seasoned, then browned it off
- The recipe is stove top stew, but can be done in the oven or slow cooker
- We use a little red wine in the dish
Your quick questions answered:
- You can freeze this dish
- We use garlic powder, rosemary and thyme as well as salt and pepper to season
- There is not a lot of prep involved as we don't peel the potatoes, but we do the carrots
- Fresh chilli is an optional addition to the dish
- This is an EASY family favourite dish
How to serve beef stew?
BYO spoon and that is it! Haha, but true.
This dish is best served in a bowl with a soup spoon and cracked pepper on top.
There is no need for mash (although you can serve on the side if you wish).
Serve and slurp is the rules when it comes to this hearty beef stew!
Can I make beef stew in the Slow Cooker?
Absolutely you can! My friend Kylie who runs the amazing Kidgredients has a recipe that will be right up your alley. Her Hearty Slow Cooker Beef Stew shows you how to set and forget your dinner and sit down to an amazing Slow Cooker Beef Stew that has been cooking all day!
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Meatball Tomato Soup
- Chicken Thighs in Creamy Garlic Wine Sauce
- Blue Cheese Mac and Cheese
- Beef Bean Pasta Bake
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📖 Recipe
Easy Chunky Beef Stew
Ingredients
Easy Chunky Beef Stew
- 650 grams gravy beef thick cut
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 6 carrots Note 3
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves Note 1
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced chilli optional, Note 2
- 3 potatoes Note 4
- 1 litre beef stock
- 400 grams crushed tomatoes Note 5
- 1 cup frozen peas Note 6
- 1 cup sweet red wine Note 7
- 2 tablespoon plain flour Note 8
Instructions
Easy Chunky Beef Stew
- Cut your beef into small cubes, also prepare your vegetables by peeling your carrots and cutting into chunks, cut the potatoes into bite size pieces
- Add oil to your stew pot Note 9. Bring the cooking element to a medium heat with your pan on it.
- Add diced beef, sprinkle in garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, teaspoon chilli (optional), salt and pepper. Cook beef at a high heat until it is all browned off (3-4 mins)
- Add carrots and potatoes. Microwave peas for 2 minutes then add them also
- Add beef stock and crushed tomatoes
- Add wine and stir to combine
- Place the lid on your pot, reduce the temperate to medium low and cook for 30 mins
- Remove lid, using a heatproof jug, scoop out 2 cups of stew liquid, add 2 tbs of flour to this, stir quickly to combine. Continue to stir till your liquid has become thick with the flour mixed in. Add this back to your pot and stir
- Cook for a further 15 minutes, with the lid on at a medium heat. Note 10
- Serve with freshly cracked pepper
Notes
- Note 1: you can use fresh or dried herbs for this dish. Most people don't grow their own thyme and rosemary so dried works well. It is also more likely you will have this on hand in the pantry.
- Note 2 I recommend fresh minced chilli from a jar, not using flakes. We add the chilli early on when seasoning the beef and often dried chilli will burn quickly then you will be left with little black flakes on the beef which won't taste great, use minced chilli to solve this problem
- Note 3 Peeling the carrots is not mandatory. If you want to keep the skin on them, just cut the tip and end of the carrot and thickly chop (this also saves time).
- Note 4 I use washed (white) potatoes. I don't peel them as I like the skin and who has time. I recommend cutting into thick chunks and throwing them in. If you used brushed (dirty brown) potatoes, then you will have to peel them.
- Note 5 these should be plain and free from other herbs. You will have enough flavour with the rest of the spices without adding random things like basil and oregano which won't go as well with the flavour we are trying to achieve.
- Note 6 we don't want any excess water from the peas in the stew, so we microwave them for 2 mins then add them.
- Note 7 You can use any red wine you like, I prefer a Brown Brothers Dolce which is usually serve chilled as it doesn't have any sediment in the bottle. I have been known to have a drop or 2 of this in my time! Haha, you should try it, it is a beautiful wine.
- Note 8 this is for our slurry, you can use gluten free flour if you like.
- Note 9 You will need a LARGE stew pot for this recipe. Mine is 30 cm long and 25cm deep. Bigger is better. Use cast iron if cooking in the oven and use a deep pot
- Note 10 Test vegetables are thoroughly cooked by piercing with a fork. If the vegetables are not fully cooked, continue cooking, testing until they are.
Nutrition
Why does my beef stew look so brown!
A final point I mentioned at the start and I did want to touch on is the appearance. In making this Easy Chunky Beef Stew recipe to share with you, I had to stop myself from prettying the dish up. There is no doubt that adding your peas at the end would result in pretty pops of green over the poo brown colour of the stew. (Yup, I just said poo on the blog!)
But, I couldn't do it. It would be going against who I am and why I love sharing my recipes with you.
This chunky beef stew, tastes amazing, try it for yourself, trust me you will love it (more homely than a can of chunky beef stew!)
I know it doesn't look bright and colourful, but I am not going to fake that just so the pics look good. This is it. It is how it is and you will lick up every drop. Poo brown or not (Hee hee, sorry). This is how it comes from the pot and it is good.
Try it and you will taste the stew goodness!
Adrianne xx
P.S. Give me a holler if you have any questions!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
Thank you for answering all of my beef stew questions! This looks like a hearty meal for the entire family -- and my husband is a big beef lover, so this is definitely a must make.
Adrianne says
No worries, Lisa, glad you like the look of my beef stew recipe, cheers!
Sues says
I love a good beef stew and the chunkier (and easier!), the better. This one looks absolutely delicious and like the perfect comfort food!
Adrianne says
Thanks Sue, great to hear your feedback!
Michelle says
This sounds absolutely amazing! I'm saving this to try when the weather is cooler. ?
Adrianne says
Thanks Michelle! Hope you absolutely love it x