Home » Recipes » Main Dish

The Best Beef Stew Recipe

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my disclosure policy.

This delicious beef stew with shiitake mushrooms and baby vegetables braised in wine tastes amazing. It is not the quickest recipe, but the extra time is well spent for a deep and rich recipe that everyone will love!

I have a couple other beef stew recipes on the blog, including Instant Pot Beef Stew and Easy Slow Cooker Beef stew. This recipe isn’t the simplest or the fastest, but in terms of taste it is definitely the best!

Save This Recipe Form

Want To Save This Recipe?

Enter your email below & I will send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes each week!

How do I know this beef stew is the best? After I served this my husband went out to his workshop to finish up a project he was working on. 

Two minutes later he came back in, gave me a big hug and kiss and said he just had to come back in because he realized he hadn’t told me how delicious dinner was. 

I don’t think I have ever made anything that has inspired him to do that before!

Why is this Beef Stew the Best?

  • Good quality wine
  • Everything is added separately, so nothing is overcooked

High Quality Wine

bottles of wine

When cooking with wine it can be temping to just buy a cheap $5 a bottle wine. But for this recipe I used Three Saints Steak House Red Wine, a nice quality wine that retails for about $20 and is about 80% Cabernet Sauvingnon.

The high quality wine made this stew very rich and thick and gave it an amazing taste.  The quality wine of a wine really makes a difference makes, even in something that cooks for hours!

Ingredients

  • Beef – You can use beef chuck, sirloin or stew meat.
  • Onions – I used a large diced onion, but pearl onions would also be great.
  • Shiitake mushrooms – Using an alternative to boring white button mushrooms.
  • Potatoes – small red potatoes work well, or russet potatoes.
  • Carrots – using baby carrots saves some chopping time.
  • Squash – Yellow squash adds a nice burst of color, but zucchini works too.
  • Red wine
  • Tomato paste
  • Beef broth
  • Butter
  • Salt, pepper, marojam, sugar, flour
beef stew in a bowl

Step by Step Instructions

This is not a stew recipe where you just dump everything together and cook it, it takes time to make. With this recipe you add each ingredient at a different time, so nothing ends up overcooked and mushy.

When I make this I chopped everything up, and then just set a timer and went back in the kitchen to add the ingredients at the appropriate time. So even though it takes a while to make, most of the time is hands off.

1. Brown the Beef and Onions

Mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Then coat the beef cubes in the mixture.

Heat the butter in a large, heavy pan over low heat. Once it has melted brown the beef in the butter and remove it from the pan.

beef after browning

Add more butter to the stock pot and saute the diced onions for 5 minutes.

cooking the onions for stew

2. Braise the Beef

Add the tomato paste and wine to the stock pot and deglaze it. Then retunr the beef to the pot and stir in the beef broth and brown sugar.

mixing the broth into the stew

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer it partially covered for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Add the Potatoes and Carrots

After 1 1/2 hours add the diced potatoes and carrots to the pot. Put the lid back on partially covering the stew and continue to let it cook for 25 more minutes.

carrots and potatoes for stew

4. Add the Squash

After 25 more minutes add the squash to the stew and let it continue to simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.

chopped yellow squash

5. Add the Mushrooms

Finally add the mushrooms and marjoram and let the stew simmer for 5 more minutes. Season it with more salt and pepper if desired.

chopped shiitake mushrooms

How to Serve

Of course you should serve this with the rest of the wine you used to cook it! It is goes well with a crusty bread or a green salad as a complement.

Can I Make This Ahead?

This stew is delicious when it is made ahead of time and reheated. As it sits overnight in the refrigerator the flavors blend together and get richer and deeper.

To reheat it cook it over low heat for about 20 minutes so it is heated through but nothing overcooks.

Find More Recipes with Wine

overhead view of beef stew in a stock pot
overhead view of beef stew in a stock pot
5 from 1 vote

Beef Stew with Shiitake Mushrooms and Baby Vegetables

Published By Anne
This delicious beef stew with shiitake mushrooms and baby vegetables braised in wine tastes amazing.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Print Save Rate Pin

Ingredients
 

  • flour
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck, sirloin or stew meat
  • 1 large onions
  • 1/8 cup tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
  • 16 oz. beef broth
  • 1/2 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3/4 lb baby red potatoes
  • 15 baby carrots
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms
  • 1/2 Tablespoon dried marjoram

Instructions

  • Mix the flour, salt and pepper. Coat the beef cubes in flour.
  • Then melt butter in a large stock pot over low heat. Once the butter is melted brown the beef in the butter. Remove from pan and set aside for a few minutes.
  • Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the stock pot and then saute the onions for 5 minutes.
  • Mix in the tomato paste and red wine and use it to deglaze the stock pot. Then return the beef to the pan, along with the beef broth and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the stew simmer, partially covered for 1 1/2 hours.
  • Add potatoes and carrots, and cook, partially covered, for 25 more minutes.
  • Then add the yellow squash and simmer for 10 more minutes.
  • Add mushrooms and marjoram and simmer about 5 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Notes

Nutrition facts are estimates.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 576kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 38g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 724mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g

Nutrition facts are estimates.

Enjoy this recipe?Follow Family Friendly Foods on Facebook
beef stew with potatoes and onions in a red pot
anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

12 thoughts on “The Best Beef Stew Recipe”

  1. I had never cooked with wine before and wanted to try making Julia Childs Beour Bourginion and it was SO good! I don’t usually like wine flavor but paired with the veggies and meat along with the “gravy” it wasn’t overpouring and added just the right amount of flavor.

    Reply
  2. If you are going for multichannel, you’ll be wanting from five to eight speakers.
    Many speaker companies also sell re-foam kits, diaphragms plus
    more. It is also the most adaptable device as users can optimize their
    music with all the bass and treble fine-tune options – perfect options
    for the music connoisseur.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating