Irish Stew
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Make a warm and cozy meal with this traditional Irish Stew recipe. Made with chunks of beef and Guinness beer, it’s incredibly flavorful and easy to make in the oven, or a slow cooker, with only 20 minutes of prep time!
Table of contents
On cold winter days, there’s nothing that will warm you up quite like a big bowl of this Irish beef stew! It’s filled with hearty vegetables, chunks of beef, and a combination of spices, beef broth, and Guinness beer that makes the base for this stew incredibly flavorful.
It’s easy to prep in 20 minutes, then you can cook it in the oven for a couple of hours, or in the slow cooker all day. Either way, you’ll end up with tender beef and a flavorful stew that will warm you up from the inside out!
It’s easy to make a double batch of this Irish stew, and store half in the freezer for another warm winter meal. All you have to do is heat up the frozen stew and you have a super easy dinner!
I highly recommend serving the stew with warm Irish soda bread, a crispy baguette or pull apart rolls to dip into the broth. It’s a delicious addition to the stew and really completes the ultimate comfort food meal!
Ingredients
- Beef chuck roast – the rich, beefy flavor of this cut makes a delicious beef stew. It’s also a great cut for braising into deliciously tender pieces of beef, which makes it perfect for this recipe. You can also use another cut of beef. A flat cut beef brisket, beef stew meat, or a bottom round roast will also work. For a more authentic Irish stew, you can use a lamb shoulder, instead of beef.
- Beef stew seasoning – click the link for my homemade seasoning. This is my secret ingredient for making incredibly flavorful beef stew. It’s a delicious blend of 9 herbs and spices, including pantry staples like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, dried rosemary and dried oregano. It’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes, and you can keep it in the pantry for up to 6 months, so you can make it ahead of time.
- Olive oil – or another neutral-flavored oil to sear the chuck roast and cook the vegetables.
- Onions – you’ll need one cup of diced yellow onion for this recipe, which is equal to about half of a large onion.
- Celery – you’ll want to dice up about a half pound of celery stalks to get 1 cup of diced celery for the beef stew.
- Garlic – I recommend fresh minced cloves for the best flavor.
- All-purpose flour – to thicken the broth of the stew.
- Beef broth – since this is the main liquid in the base of the stew, I recommend purchasing, or making, a high-quality beef stock, or broth. Beef stock has a richer, deeper flavor than beef broth. I found this Custom Culinary Beef Base at a restaurant supply store in San Diego and am absolutely obsessed with it.
- Guinness – or another brand of stout beer.
- Tomato paste – since tomato paste is cooked down to a thick paste, it adds a wonderfully sweet and acidic umami flavor to the beef stew.
- Worcestershire sauce – this amazing condiment adds so much flavor to the Irish stew. It’s sweet, salty, tangy and adds a wonderful layer of umami flavor to the dish. If you don’t have any Worcestershire sauce in the kitchen, you can use soy sauce instead.
- Potatoes – for this recipe you can cut larger potatoes, like russet potatoes or gold potatoes, into 1 inch cubes, or you can use whole baby potatoes. If you keep the potatoes whole, they’ll cook all the way through, but have a firmer texture in the end. If you dice whole potatoes, they will end up with a much softer texture, and may start to break apart in the stew. I like potatoes with a firmer texture, so I use whole baby potatoes, but this is just a personal preference, and either one will work fine in this recipe.
- Carrots – you’ll want to peel about a half pound of whole carrots to get 1 cup of carrots for this recipe. I recommend cutting the carrots into 1 inch pieces so they don’t fall apart in the stew.
- Fresh thyme – you can also use fresh rosemary sprigs if you prefer.
- Bay leaves – adding a couple of leaves to the stew will add another layer of flavor to the dish.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Brown the beef. Dice the beef chuck roast into 1 inch cubes. Toss the pieces of beef with beef stew seasoning. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat. (I used a 7 quart dutch oven for this recipe.) Once the oil is hot, add the seasoned pieces of beef and cook until they’re browned on all sides, around 4-6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef from the pot and set it aside.
- Cook the veggies. Add more olive oil to the same pot, then add diced onions and celery. Cook for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Pour ¼ cup beef broth into the pot to deglaze it. Stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables in the pot and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute, or until the flour starts to brown.
- Add the liquid and season. Pour more beef broth into the pot, along with the Guinness. Add tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, and stir to combine everything. Turn the heat up to high and bring the broth to a boil.
- Add the beef back to the pot. Also add potatoes, carrots, fresh thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Cover the pot with a lid, or wrap tightly with a piece of foil, and transfer it to a preheated 350°F oven to slow braise for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove the Irish stew from the oven and remove the lid. Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
How to make it in a slow cooker
Want to set it and forget it? It’s easy to make a slow cooker Irish stew using the ingredients listed in this recipe and by following these simple steps.
- Dice a 2 pound beef chuck roast into 1 inch cubes. Toss the pieces of beef with 2 tablespoons beef stew seasoning. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the seasoned pieces of beef. Cook until they’re browned on all sides, around 4-6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef from the pot and place it in a Crock Pot slow cooker.
- Pour another tablespoon of olive oil into the pot on the stove. Add 1 cup of diced onions and 1 cup of diced celery, cook for 5 minutes. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour ¼ cup beef stock into the pot. Stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle ¼ cup flour evenly over everything in the pot, stir to combine, and cook for 1 minute. Add 3 ¾ cups beef broth, a 14.9 ounce bottle of Guinness, 2 tablespoons tomato paste and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce to the pot. Stir to combine everything, then transfer everything from the pot to the slow cooker with the beef.
- Add potatoes, carrots, fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and set it to high heat for 4-6 hours, or low heat for 8-10 hours.
Recipe notes
- A cast iron dutch oven is best for this recipe as it will maintain an even temperature throughout the cooking process, and it’s large enough to hold the recipe. If you don’t have a cast iron dutch oven, use an oven-safe pot that’s at least 12 inches wide with sides that are 6 inches tall so that the recipe will fit in the pot.
- If you don’t have a lid for the pot, tightly cover it with foil before placing it in the oven.
- You can make this recipe ahead of time. After cooking the Irish stew for 2 hours at 350°F, turn the oven to warm. Leave the stew, covered in the oven, for up to 2 hours.
- You can cook the beef stew on the stove, instead of the oven, if you prefer. Simply cover the pot and set the stovetop temperature to medium-low heat. Allow the stew to simmer for 2 hours on the stove.
How to store and reheat
Store leftover Irish stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat the stew, add it to a pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Bring it to a simmer, then stir the stew occasionally for 5-7 minutes on the stovetop. You can also reheat one portion of the stew in a microwave-safe bowl, covered in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
You can also store prepared Irish beef stew in the freezer for up to 6 months. You’ll want to let the stew cool down to room temperature, then transfer it to a freezer-safe storage container. Freeze the stew for up to 6 months. To defrost, I recommend transferring the stew from the freezer to the refrigerator for 24 hours. You can then reheat the stew in a large pot on the stove over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes.
More comfort food recipes
Try these other classic comfort food recipes for your next family dinner!
Irish Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons beef stew seasoning, click link for the recipe
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup onions, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 14.9 ounces Guinness stout
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound potatoes, baby potatoes or peel and cube larger potatoes
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Slice the chuck roast into cubes, then toss with the beef stew seasoning.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chuck roast and sear the pieces for about 4-6 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef from the pot and set it aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot. Add the onions and celery, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Pour ¼ cup beef stock into the pot and stir to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle the flour evenly over everything in the pot, stir to combine, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining 3 ¾ cups beef broth, 14.9 ounces Guinness, 2 tablespoons tomato paste and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce to the pot. Stir to combine everything, turn the heat on the stove up to high, and bring the broth to a boil.
- Add the seared pieces of beef back to the pot, along with the potatoes, carrots, fresh thyme and bay leaves.
- Cover the pot with a lid, or tightly with a piece of aluminum foil, and transfer it to the oven for 2 hours.
- Remove from the oven and remove the lid. Use tongs to remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Serve in bowls with Irish soda bread on the side.
Notes
- Refer to the blog post above for step-by-step instructions on how to make the Irish stew in a slow cooker.
- You can cook the Irish beef stew on the stove, instead of the oven, if you prefer. Simply cover the pot, set the stovetop temperature to medium-low heat and allow the stew to simmer for 2 hours on the stove.
- You can use another cut of beef besides chuck roast to make this recipe. A flat cut beef brisket, beef stew meat, or a bottom round roast will also work.
- Store leftover Irish stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat the stew, add it to a pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Bring it to a simmer, then stir the stew occasionally for 5-7 minutes on the stovetop. You can also reheat one portion of the stew in a microwave-safe bowl, covered in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
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