The Best Beef Stew
Nothing screams warmth and comfort like a bowl of hearty and rich beef stew. Better yet, served with some vermicelli rice for a delightful weeknight meal that the whole family will enjoy. What makes this the best beef stew you may ask? The fact that it is so decadent with its spices, texture, and flavors. The beef and vegetables are fork-tender and the broth is seasoned to perfection. Also, my husband has told me twice last week when I was developing this that it is the best beef stew he has ever had! And I have to agree with him!
Typically, the local butcher should have a section of beef stew meat, or even if you go to the supermarket to buy prepackaged; it will be there. I have found that you can also use chuck roast and cut it into cubes for beef stew. Chuck roast has nice marbling of fat in the meat making it super tender when cooked. As for vegetables, the best are potatoes and carrots for this stew. The carrots add a nice sweetness that balances off the warm spices. The potatoes add that extra heartiness that is appreciated in this stew. So, I highly recommend using both!
One of the seasonings I used was Spice Tribe’s smoked paprika. It offers so much flavor to the dish. Their spices are some of the best quality I have ever come across. Feel free to use my discount code: Fufuskitchen10 at checkout as well! They thrive on sharing seasoning blends from all over the world with optimal freshness. I have been using their seasoning blends in my cooking for weeks now and love it.
As always, I would love to hear what you think of my recipes once you try them! Have a lovely day !
The Best Beef Stew
Ingredients
Beef Prep
- 1.5 lbs Beef Stew Meat
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp All spice seasoning
- 1 tbsp Ground Coriander
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Spice Tribe Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Spice Tribe Smoked Paprika
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/2 tbsp Spice Tribe Chili Powder
Vegetable Prep
- 1 Large Onion chopped
- 4 Garlic cloves minced
- 2-3 Carrots chopped into chunks
- 2 Potatoes chopped into chunks
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp All-Spice seasoning
Other Ingredients for the Stew
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3 Cardamom pods
- 1 Bouillon Cube crushed
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1.5 tbsp Corn Starch
- Vegetable or Beef Broth/stock enough to cover the stew components
Instructions
- In a pot, add the olive oil and beef on medium heat. Season with the components under beef prep. You want to achive a nice sear on the meat. Once that is done, after a few minutes then set aside the meat onto a plate.
- In the same pot, add another spoonful of oil. To that, add the onions and garlic. Season with the spices under vegetable prep. Cook until fragrant and slightly translucent for a few minutes. To this, add the meat once again. Then, add the tomato paste and bouillon cube. Stir everything together.
- Add the carrots and potatoes to the pot at this point along with the bay leaves and cardamom pods. Season the potatoes and carrots with salt and pepper. Cover all the components of the stew with stock of choice.
- Bring this to a simmer. Allow to cook together for about 1.5 hours. At that point, in a small bowl add a ladle or two of the stew broth and the corn starch to create a slurry. Mix it well together then add it back into the pot and stir. This will help thicken the stew the last half hour of cooking. If you like it thicker, then repeat this step with a bit more corn starch. It is really up to your preferance.
- After 2 hours of simmering, all the components should be fork tender. You can taste and season more if necessary.
- To make the vermicelli rice, in a pot, add 1 tbsp of ghee along with 1/3 cup of vermicelli. Let this toast a bit with the ghee. Then, add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of white rice. Season with a bit of salt. Mix together and let this come to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes until cooked through. Fluff every few minutes while cooking. Enjoy this with the beef stew for a hearty meal!
this was such a good recipe I have to say that I was a little nervous about the amount of seasoning but it came out so so good! best comfort food for winter 🙂
This was so so yummy! All the flavors mixed together was awesome. And I’m not usually a huge fan of leftovers but the leftovers tasted EVEN better than the day before (I guess because the flavors got to mix together even more)! Thank you for the recipe ❤️❤️
Came out very delicious, the spices are what separate this stew from regular beef stew. It’s certainly my new favorite way to make beef stew! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
As an amateur cook, I found this recipe easy to follow and the stew turned out delicious. It was mama-approved too, so you know that’s a success! It tasted even better as left-overs too! I highly recommend this recipe and I’m so glad I found it. I can’t wait to make more :))
I am so happy to hear that!
Some of these spices were not cheap, but I’ve been looking for a “that hit the spot” stew. I found it! Though a long process, it was delicious and rich with flavor.
Happy this stew hit the spot for you!
This is the first time I have ever made stew.. or beef for that matter!
After a lot of research and messaging Heifa to ask questions I gave it a try and it came out great!
My husband loved it and I am so excited to try more of her recipes inshaAllah! This stew recipe is going to be my go to from now on!
Iman, thanks for giving my stew a try! To know it was loved means a lot!
Amazing recipe! It came out delicious. I will definitely be making this again 😄.
Thank you!
Super delicious! My husband, toddler and myself really enjoyed this over some rice.
I am so happy to hear that!
This stew was perfect and has some unique flavors that I normally would not have used. We ate as an extended family and I got so many compliments from adults and kids alike! Thank you for this recipe, this will be on repeat during these winter months.
This recipe is amazing. Followed exactly and it was so flavorful and tender. Wish I would’ve doubled it! All of your recipes are amazing Ab.
Thank you so much, Zaina!
Our new favorite way to make beef stew. Delicious as always!!
Awesome!
One of my favorite recipes on this website! Super easy to make and the recipe is user friendly. My mom was surprised I made it since I always ask her to make me some, but this time I made it all on my own using this recipe! Thank you Heifa! ♥️
Thanks, Ayah!
This a recipe which yields awesome results with so little effort! It really is fool-proof. The stew was yummy and my husband absolutely loved it. I tried telling him that some people say the flavour is enhanced on the next day, but he said he doesn’t believe there is any room for it to become even more delicious. 😁 I added frozen green beans towards the end of the cooking time just to increase the veggie content. Also, I’ve found it works well for me to mix the cornflour with a little water first before adding hot liquid from the stew, as otherwise I struggle to break all lumps.
Thanks for this amazing recipe! 🙏
Thanks, Gergana! I am so happy it was enjoyed!
I’m so happy I tried this! It was a huge hit during Ramadan and the best thing was that I already had everything I needed in my kitchen. So flavorful, filling, and easy to make on top of that. Great recipe!
I took the risk and use the slowcooker!
O M G! It came out so delicious. I could eat everyday! I will definitely be making this again! Thank you Thank you for the recipe!!
Happy you loved it!
My husband absolutely loved this and asks for it all the time! Do you think I can substitute beef with lamb next time?
Go for it! I would do small to medium pieces of boneless lamb.
So delicious!! My whole family loved this.
Thanks, Samantha!
Just made this and it turned out amazing! The directions were so clear and precise so it made it super easy to follow and not mess up! Thanks so much!
Thanks, Zehra!
My husband commented this was the best thing he’d eaten in a long time, and I wholeheartedly agree with him! Best part, it took minimal prep work, some simmer time, and then we ate really, really well for 2 days.
That means so much! Thanks, Rachael for the review!
Delicious recipe and so easy to make. I added mushrooms too because I needed to use them and came out great.
I love the addition of mushrooms! So happy it was enjoyed!
This beef stew came out so good! I made it and was kind of in disbelief of myself, I was so proud of my work! The recipes from this site are my good too now, I just basically come here for a solid recipe now when I wanna make something fun and yummy!
I am so thrilled you enjoyed it!
This recipe is so flavorful!!!! I love cooking stews and this recipe caught my eye so fast. I absolutely loved the potatoes in this meal. Whatever you do, don’t leave out the vegetables!
Simply delicious! Was a nice change from my go to ‘Kabab 7ala’/Egyptian meat stew.