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What’s better than a nutrient-dense, even-better-the-next-day hearty beef stew for cozying up on cold evenings? This isn’t your grandmother’s beef stew. Packed with superfoods, it’s beyond delicious, keeps for days, and doesn’t involve dredging the beef in refined white flour. Truly the best beef stew you’ll ever make.
They key to this stew is caramelizing the veggies in rounds and deglazing the skillet with broth after each round. Then you add the deglazed bits with broth to the stock which yields an amazingly rich and delicious broth base.
This beef stew is nearly nightshade-free: no tomatoes or tomato paste, but I do add potatoes. You could leave them out if you’re nightshade sensitive or following an autoimmune protocol (swap them out for parsnips). I also add shiitake mushrooms for umami flavor and immune support. Shiitakes have a meaty texture and are a star among the cancer fighting medicinal mushrooms.
I have used duck fat to brown the beef, and that was the best version of this stew I’ve made, but any saturated (solid at room temp) fat will work. Olive oil is fine too, but the saturated fats are the most stable for high heat sautéing.
This is a special stew recipe, and once you make it, you’ll see why. This is the only beef stew recipe you’ll need. You won’t be disappointed!
The Best Damn Beef Stew Ever
Ingredients
- 2 lbs grass fed beef stew meat (chuck or round, don't get the lower fat option!), chopped in ½ inch or inch cubes.
- 2 tbsp olive oil, butter, or bacon fat
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2-3 large carrots, chopped
- 2 large red or purple potatoes (not Idaho!), cut into 1-inch cubes OR 2 parsnips for AIP option
- 4-6 cloves garlic, minced, more if you like it that way (I am a garlic fiend and usually double the garlic called for in recipes)
- 2-3 cups dry red wine OR 2 cups additional broth + 1-2 tbsp balsamic
- 2 cups homemade bone broth or beef broth
- 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms (great for immune health)
- 2-3 strips kombu (a mineral-rich sea veggie you can find at Whole Foods or any natural foods store)
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (omit if AIP)
- 1 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- sweet green peas, optional (no on AIP)
Instructions
- First, chop and prep all your ingredients.
- Season the cubed meat with a little salt and pepper.
- Start up the broth and red wine in a large dutch oven: bring it to a low simmer. I typically start off with about ½ bottle of wine and 2 cups or broth, then add more to desired thickness as the stew cooks. (I like it very thick).
- Heat the oil, bacon fat or butter in a cast iron skillet over a medium flame then cook the meat until browns on all sides. You may need to cook the meat in two batches to avoid crowding.
- Add the beef to the dutch oven. Add kombu strips to the dutch oven (heretofore referred to as the "pot").
- Deglaze the skillet with some of the broth from the dutch oven and scrape the browned bits + deglazed broth back in to the pot.
- Add onions and garlic to the skillet and sautee til translucent - about 5-8 minutes, then add to pot.
- Deglaze the pan with a little of the simmering stock; add deglazed broth back to pot, and then add the potatoes; cook until they start to get a little crust on them but not all the way done. Add to pot. Deglaze skillet, add deglazed broth back to pot.
- Do the carrots next: saute; add to pot, deglaze, etc etc; then finally the mushrooms.
- NOTE You don't want to cook all the veggies until they're all the way done, because they come out mushy. Just about ½ way there or so.
- Add more wine/stock if needed for desired thickness, then add all other spices. I typically add garlic powder and possibly some Italian seasoning too.
- Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and cook for about an hour or so, adding more wine/stock as needed.
- Taste to adjust the seasonings. Add whatever is needed, or more wine/broth if you want it less thick. If it's too watery for your taste, add a little coconut flour.
- Add the optional frozen green peas (I love them because they give it a bit of a fresh green crunch) and heat through until done but not mushy.
- Garnish with the chopped parsley if desired. Enjoy!
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
i love this but it needs to be printer friendly – please –
Where is the nutrition data for this recipe?
I don’t calculate the data for recipes. You can easily do it yourself here: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
(or a google search for “calculate nutrition data for recipes”).
Can’t see where to print this recipe, so I’ll copy it piece meal in between the adds. If you could put a ‘print recipe’ on this site, that would be great. I’m going to make it tomorrow!
Sorry Cathy! This is an older recipe before I had the print-ready recipe plug-in. I’ll update it! 🙂
The title fits! My daughter even said This was the best stew I’ve ever made and she’s 16. Thanks for posting!
Yay! Glad it was a hit, Theresa.
I didn’t think mushrooms were allowed if you have candida — and you reference this recipe on one of your blog posts about treating candida. Could you clear that up? Thank you!
Patty, you’ll see that mushrooms are excluded on strict candida diets because they are a fungus. However shiitakes boost the immune system to help fight infections. Some medicinal mushrooms (like reishi also) are ok. It depends on the person and how strict they have to be.
I am on the AIP Protocol. I took you basic recipe and adapted it to make it mine. For more greens I added parsnips and kale from my garden. and cooked beets. I flavored my stew my homemade beef and chicken broth. my homegrown pinneaple sage, basil, terragon and parley.
It was yummy! Thank you for the great start of a fall day beef stew!!
Glad you liked it, Donna!
What volume would you consider a “large” Dutch oven? I have a 5qt so I wasn’t sure if it would all fit.
Standard size is usually 5-7 quarts so that should be fine.
Mary I’ve never tasted parsnips and at your suggestion, gave them a try. The stew was delicious! I used arrowroot to thicken it a bit parsley instead of thyme, added celery and omitted the mushrooms. I’m on AIP and cannot have potatoes nor fungi. Thanks for your recipe and I’ll definitely make it again.
Glad you enjoyed it Tracy! Parsnips are a great sub for potatoes if you’re nightshade sensitive or on AIP.
This is great stew with deer meat. Thank you for sharing this.
Victoria, glad you liked it! I’d love to try it with venison.