Here’s a classic old-fashioned beef stew—slow-simmered, hearty, and the kind grandma used to make 🥩🥕🥔
🥘 Old-Fashioned Beef Stew
Ingredients (serves 4–6)
- 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into bite-size pieces
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp oil or butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Optional: 1 cup peas (added at end)
Instructions
- Coat the beef
- Season beef with salt and pepper.
- Toss with flour until lightly coated.
- Brown the meat
- Heat oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Brown beef in batches; don’t crowd the pan.
- Remove beef and set aside.
- Build flavor
- In the same pot, sauté onion until soft.
- Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
- Simmer
- Return beef to pot.
- Add broth, thyme, and bay leaf.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Cover and simmer 1½–2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Add vegetables
- Add carrots, potatoes, and celery.
- Simmer another 30–40 minutes, until vegetables and beef are tender.
- Finish
- Remove bay leaf.
- Stir in peas if using; cook 5 more minutes.
- Adjust seasoning.
- Serve
- Serve hot with crusty bread or biscuits.
Old-Fashioned Tips
- Chuck roast gives the best flavor and tenderness.
- Low and slow is key—don’t rush it.
- Stew tastes even better the next day.
If you’d like, I can also give you a very old farmhouse version, a slow-cooker method, or a no-tomato version like some grandmas made.
