Easy Beef Stew recipe
This easy Beef Stew recipe might have some surprising ingredients like ketchup and cream of celery, but believe me it’s delicious. Make it in the oven or the slow cooker. Either way, it’s hearty and delicious.
I may earn commissions for purchases made through links on this post.
BEEF STEW
This is one of the first meals I ever made and one of the first recipes I ever posted on this blog. The pictures were horrible. And although it’s still not much of a looker, it tastes really good.
If you’ve read a little about me, you know that I wasn’t much of a cook before I got married. In fact, the first meal I cooked my husband while we were dating was a chicken broccoli Alfredo pasta from a prepackaged box.
I never expected for him to think that I had cooked it from scratch but before I had a chance to say anything he started raving on and on about it and kept asking questions like what was in the sauce. I wasn’t avoiding his questions but I wasn’t giving up information freely either.
The real trouble came when they discontinued the pasta at the grocery store. I thought great…I’m screwed. Lucky for me, my roommate Lisa had this recipe for beef stew that I cooked it for him and he loved it. Crisis avoided. Don’t worry, I came clean about my cooking and he married me anyway.
OVEN OR SLOW COOKER
The great news is this can be made in the oven or the slow cooker. Either way it’s great!
This is a thick hearty stew that leaves you wondering whether to eat it with a fork or a spoon. Stew meat has the reputation for being tough, but in this sauce it’s slow cooked into submission leaving it tender.
OTHER HEARTY RECIPES
- Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lasagna Soup
- Easy Tomato Soup
- Creamy Chicken Potato soup
- Spicy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Salisbury Steak
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup
- Egg Drop Soup
- Zuppa Toscana
- Mississippi Pot Roast
- Barbeque Ribs
- French Dip Sandwich
- Beef Stroganoff
- Robbie’s Brisket
Oven Baked Stew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs lean beef stew meat cut into bite sized pieces.
- 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 ounces baby Yukon gold potatoes
- 6 boiling onions or one regular onion cut into 2 inch chunks
- 6 carrots cut into 1-inch pieces, (or baby carrots can be used)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can cream of celery soup
- 1/2 cup ketchup
Instructions
- If using the oven baked method, preheat to 325℉.
- In a 9x13 baking dish (for the oven method) or in the bowl of a 6-8 quart slow cooker, add the meat, onion soup mix, paprika, and salt. Toss until coated well.
- Arrange potatoes, onions, and carrots on top of meat.
- In a small bowl combine cream of celery and ketchup. Pour mixture over meat and vegetables (I know it sounds weird but it is good).
- For the oven: Cover and bake for 2 hours @ 325 ℉. Slow Cooker Instructions: Prepare as directed above but cook in slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or until potatoes are fork tender. Garnish with parsley if desired. My husband likes to eat the potatoes with sour cream.
Mine wasn’t done either! I think I had needed a larger casserole dish. What size did you use, please?
I found this recipe and I tried it it my favorite recipe
Have made this recipe for several years. I still love it. I usually make it in the slow cooker, which makes it even easier! Thank you, and thank you to my friend who first shared your recipe.
Wow I wasn’t sure if anyone still made this recipe!
How much water do you add?
You don’t add any water. It kind of makes its own gravy.
I did this and it was just too thick. Not like a gravy! Not gonna lie it did taste good but there was zero gravy. I am making this again today with a little bit of vegetable broth added. What brand of celery soup do you use? I use Campbells condensed. Thank you! 🙂
Yes, I just use Campbells too. It is very thick gravy.
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes! We have had it at least twice a month for the last few years. It’s one of the meals my kids look forward to and then even ask for seconds 🙂
Thank you for saying that. I love it too. Ketchup and all.
I didn’t like the ketchup in the cream of celery :c but I ate around the sauce and it all tasted great!
It’s definitely an old school taste that I love.
Made this a few nights ago and for some reason my sauce came out bright orange. Definitely odd. I didn’t like the very obvious ketchupy taste to this stew either. It was edible but definitely not a make again recipe. I did however like how well the beef cooked up – low and slow.
It’s definitely a throw back recipe and my kids like it because of the ketchup taste. Sorry you didn’t care for it.
I made this a couple times last winter and it was a big hit! Had friends over the second time and one asked for the recipe. She made it the next week for her family and they loved it. Made the recipe just as it says and it’s perfect.
Thank you. It’s one of my favorites!
I made this recipe over the weekend and it was fabulous! Simple to make and delicious, even for my two young boys. I did have one problem though. I baked the stew as directed, at 325 for 2 hours, in a metal covered baking dish. When I took it out of the oven, it was nowhere near done. I cranked the heat to 400 and baked it for another hour, which did the trick. Not sure where I went wrong, but it turned out well.
What wasn’t done? The potatoes or the meat? It does depend how big you cut everything. If you have bigger chunks you may need to cook longer.
Just tried your beef stew for the first time. Worked great. Very easy and tasty. Thank you
You’re welcome!
This is literally the best stew I have ever had. I made it late last night to have for dinner tonight, but me and my husband just couldn’t wait so we ended up at midnight last night eating this stew and we both agree that it is definitely one of the best things that we have ever eaten. The meat was so moist and tender. You were correct when you stated that the cream of celery and ketchup don’t look very appetizing because it didn’t but it turned out great. Thanks for sharing your recipes I am a new wife and know how to cook somewhat but your recipes are helping a lot.
Thanks Christy!
Was going to try this recipe… but am thinking of doing it was 1/2 BBQ smokehouse sauce and cream of mushroom.
Think it will work? 🙂
Thea,
Sure! I think it would be good.
I thought this looked fantastic so I gave it a try today. After 6 hours on low, all of the vegetables are still hard and the sauce is very thin and soupy. I must say that I am very disappointed.
I’ve cranked it to high and we’ll see what happens.
Also, my slow cooker has made many other things successfully so I’m fairly certain this isn’t the problem. Perhaps the layering of meat and vegetables is to blame?
@Danielle,
Yes, the sauce is pretty thin but it sounds like it just needs to cook a little longer. Every slow cooker is different so yours just may need a little more time.
So, I cranked it and all of the vegetables except for the onions are perfect. Aside from that, it’s very tasty and I will definitely make it again! I think perhaps I will layer the onions with the meat on the bottom and cook on low for half the time, then turn it to high for the rest.
Thanks very much for the recipe, Christy!
Christy, I’d like to share my Old Fashioned Beef Stew recipe because there is nothing like it anywhere. And since I LOVE your recipes, I thought I would share my favorite one for this. I think the Allspice and pepper make the difference. Also, I add an 8-oz can of tomato sauce (like your ketchup) to make the sauce more flavorful. I’ve been making this beef stew since I was 20 and now I’m 61. My husband and 3 kids loved it and a guy from Brazil asked me for my recipe!! I was so shocked. It’s a BH&G recipe from the 60’s. Since my old collection of recipes is gone, I always have to Google this now in order to find it!
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 T Lemon juice; optional
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp Sugar
1 Garlic clove (or 1 tsp minced fresh garlic in the jar)
1tsp Pepper
2 med sweet Onions; chopped
2 tbs olive oil
1 T Salt
1/8 tsp Allspice, or a little more
2 lbs Beef chuck; cut in 1 1/2″ pieces
4 c Boiling water
1 small can tomato sauce
6 Carrots, sliced diagonally
4 large potatoes, cubed in 1″ pieces
3 T. flour for thickening
Thoroughly brown the meat on all sides in hot fat, (oil) turning often. Add water, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, chopped onion, bay leaves and seasonings. Cover; simmer (dont boil) 2 hours, stirring Occasionally to keep from sticking. Remove bay leaves and garlic. Add carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook 30 minutes or more, or until vegetables are done. Thicken liquid for gravy if desired. Makes 6-8 servings. I usually double the recipe. (and often triple the spices) After the meat and broth are ready, I take out 1/2 to freeze for a later meal. It freezes well and is very versatile. Sometimes I cook this in a crockpot all day long while I’m at work. YUM! and easy. Recipe by: Better Homes and Gardens (1962)
Ooh! Sounds yummy! Thank you…
I made this for dinner tonight, and it is easy and delicious! I ended up using chicken because that’s what I had, but it was still very tasty. Would be even better with the stew meat. 🙂
Looks delicious. I sure could use a nice big bowl of this right now. We have wind chill in the 20’s BRRRRRR
thanks 4 the recipe.
ColleenB.
Texas
That looks good!!! I pinned it, so this recipe is definitely on my to-do list for this winter. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
I think your new pics are mouthwatering. Sounds delicious!
Looks good- how many does this serve?
Carole,
Great question. I would say about 4-6. It fed my family of 6 but we have some smaller children.