This Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe is the ultimate comfort food. It's a classic beef stew made with red wine, and tender pull apart beef and veggies. This recipe cooks for hours on the stovetop to create the most amazing, rich flavors.
My whole family begs me to make this recipe on repeat all Fall and Winter long, and honestly I love making it. It's the perfect cozy dinner for those chilly days and packs meat, potatoes and veggies all into one pot!
For more one pot dinners for chilly nights, try this Beef Tortellini, Chicken Broccoli Pasta, Cajun Sausage Spaghetti, and Shrimp Broccoli Stir Fry.
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Ingredients:
Beef Stew Meat: I buy this pre-cut into cubes from the butcher and it's labeled beef stew meat. It's typically chuck roast from the shoulder and is a tough cut of meat that requires hours of cooking to tenderize it.
Beef Stock: I highly recommend beef stock over beef broth for it's richer flavor because it's cooked down with the bones.
Red Wine: I prefer Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a dry wine with rich flavors.
*For the full recipe ingredients and quantities, visit the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- You can use a slab of pot roast if you can't find the pre-cut cubes and cut it into smaller two inch pieces.
- Feel free to use yellow or red baby potatoes for this recipe.
- Merlot can be used in place of the Cabernet Sauvignon.
For more Dutch Oven Recipes, try these Dutch Oven Pork Chops, Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup, Dutch Oven Chili Recipe, and Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken.
How to Make Beef Stew in the Dutch Oven:
Step 1: Add the beef into a large bowl and toss in ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ cup of all purpose flour. Coat each beef piece in the mixture.
Step 2: Next, cut the carrot and celery into thin pieces. Dice the onion, and mince the garlic.
Step 3: On the stovetop, heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once heated, split the beef into 2 batches. Add the first batch in an even layer in the dutch oven. Allow the meat to sear for 2 minutes, then flip and cook another 2 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and complete next batch.
Step 4: The dutch oven should be empty, except for brown bits at the bottom. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the salted butter and remaining ¼ cup of flour to create a roux. This will make the rich, thick texture for our beef stew. Do not let this burn. Continue to stir until the butter melts and it has a creamy texture.
Note: The roux doesn't need to get dark like in a gumbo. Cook for a few minutes, just until creamy and combined.
Step 6: Now, add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well and cover for 3 to 5 minutes to soften the veggies.
Step 7: Remove cover and add the wine. Stir it up well with a wooden spoon to de-glaze those brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Step 8: Add in the beef stock, then the bay leaf, and remaining black pepper. Place the beef back into the dutch oven. Lastly, add in the potatoes. Give it a good stir and bring to a low boil. Drop the heat to a notch over low. Cover and cook for 3 hours, coming back to the stove to stir every 30 to 45 minutes (make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot). If you are getting a lot of boiling action when you open your lid and items sticking to the bottom, reduce the heat a bit.
Step 9: Top with parsley! Serve in bowls beside crusty French or Italian bread and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Make sure to stir frequently over the 3 hours of cooking time. If the stew comes to too high of a boil, it will start sticking to the bottom of the pan. I prefer using a wooden spoon so it doesn't scratch the pot.
- The meat really needs to cook for the full time to make sure it's tender enough. If you reduce the cooking time, it will be tough still.
- If you want more broth, feel free to add a bit more beef stock into the stew.
Want more Dutch Oven Recipes? Check out this list of 20 Must Try Soup Recipes for the Dutch Oven!
More Cozy Dutch Oven Recipes to Try:
If you tried this Beef Stew Dutch Oven Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Dutch Oven Beef Stew
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
This Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe is the ultimate comfort food. It's a classic beef stew made with red wine, and tender pull apart beef and veggies. This recipe cooks for hours on the stovetop to create the most amazing, rich flavors.
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds of beef stew meat or pot roast (cut into two inch cubes) My grocery store usually has these pre-packaged this way so it's ready to use right out of the package.
- 48 ounces of beef stock (1.5 containers), I prefer Kitchen Basics or Kirklands brand from Costco
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into roughly half inch circles
- 3 celery stalks, sliced into roughly half inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion, medium diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 and ½ pound yukon gold petite potatoes or petite baby red potatoes, whole
- ½ cup of Cabernet Sauvignon red wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper + more to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons parsley for garnish
- Optional: loaf of french bread for serving
Instructions
- Add the beef into a large bowl and toss in ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ cup of all purpose flour. Coat each beef piece in the mixture.
- Next, cut the carrot and celery into thin pieces. Dice the onion, and mince the garlic.
- On the stovetop, heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once heated, split the beef into 2 batches. Add the first batch in an even layer in the dutch oven. Allow the meat to sear for 2 minutes, then flip and cook another 2 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and complete next batch.
- The dutch oven should be empty, except for brown bits at the bottom. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the salted butter and remaining ¼ cup of flour to create a roux. This will create the rich, thick texture for our beef stew. Do not let this burn. Continue to stir until the butter melts and it has a creamy texture. Note: The roux doesn't need to get dark like in a gumbo. Cook for a few minutes, just until creamy and combined.
- Now, add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well and cover for 3 to 5 minutes to soften the veggies.
- Remove cover and add the wine. Stir it up well with a wooden spoon to de-glaze those brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the beef stock. Then the bay leaf, and remaining black pepper. Place the beef back into the dutch oven. Lastly, add in the potatoes. Give it a good stir and bring to a low boil. Drop the heat to a notch over low.
- Cover and cook for 3 hours, coming back to the stove to stir every 30 to 45 minutes (make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot). If you are getting a lot of boiling action when you open your lid and items sticking to the bottom, reduce the heat a bit.
- Top with parsley! Serve in bowls beside crusty French or Italian bread and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to stir frequently over the 3 hours of cooking time. If the stew comes to too high of a boil, it will start sticking to the bottom of the pan. I prefer using a wooden spoon so it doesn't scratch.
- The meat really needs to cook for the full time to make sure it's tender enough. If you reduce the cooking time, it will be tough still.
- If you want more broth, feel free to add a bit more beef stock into the stew.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Donna says
Loved the Beef stew recipe… perfect for this time of year and my new Dutch oven! And my husband loves it as lunch leftovers as well!
Tara Smithson says
Yay!! So happy to hear that! Glad Scott liked it too:)
Robert says
DELICIOUS!!