Use this stove top beef stew recipe to make the most delicious and tender Irish Beef Stew. Cook beef, potatoes, and carrots in a hearty Guinness beer broth.
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to create rich and hearty flavors with simple browning and slow simmering
Worth It: Great for meal prep and make-ahead
Bonus: Freezes and reheats well
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- St Patty’s Day favorite – Most people love their corned beef and cabbage on St. Patty’s Day, but I prefer something a little more comforting like this Irish beef stew. After you’ve had your green beer its important to fill up on something nutritious and delicious.
- Cozy comfort food – Stew is one of my favorite things to make throughout the cold months. It warms you up and tastes so satisfying.
- Great leftovers – Irish beef stew makes the best leftovers. I love making this on a Sunday and enjoying the leftovers all week long.
Serving Suggestions
Traditional Irish stew is made with lamb or mutton. I prefer beef so although this is not traditional, it is still a fantastic beef stew recipe.
This stew is a hearty and complete meal. It is great on its own, but I like to serve it with fresh herbs. If you want to make it creamy you can mix in a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.
Although this dutch oven stew is a full meal on its own, you may want to serve a simple salad or veggies with it. I like to serve this with some fresh sourdough bread and a simple arugula salad tossed in this green dream dressing. You could also serve it alongside some overnight bread or focaccia which would be delicious to dip in the stew.
Want to make a delicious beef stew in a slow cooker? Try this crockpot beef stew recipe. For a creamy beef dish, try this Beef and Mushrooms with Cauliflower Mash.
ingredients
- Stew beef – beef chuck roast is my go to for beef stew meat
- Butter – you can use unsalted or salted and adjust your final salt amount to taste as needed
- Guinness or other stout beer – the dark stout beer creates such an amazing depth of flavor to the stew that you don’t want to miss
- Tomato paste – the tomato paste adds acidity and flavor to your stew while also thickening it
- Salt, pepper, smoked paprika – this simple spice blend adds a touch of smokiness to the stew
- Potatoes – you can use any potatoes you would like for this stew
- Olive oil – I used extra virgin olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil
- Onion and garlic – these aromatics are the base of your stew that bring out so much amazing flavor
- Carrots – I love the sweetness and brightness of the carrots in this stew
- Beef broth – the broth brings everything together in this recipe
Ingredient substitutions
There are many ways to prepare guinness beef stew recipes. I like using Guinness or another stout beer to add deep flavor to the stew with a little bitter maltiness. To keep this Irish beef stew recipe gluten free you can use red wine in place of the beer. For some extra flavor, add in a bit of Worcestershire sauce.
This would also be great with some thick cut bacon pieces or pancetta added in.
I like to use yellow potatoes because they have a creamy texture. Any style of potatoes will work like russet or sweet potatoes. You could even use parsnips in place of potatoes for an earthy flavor.
You can play around with different herbs in your stew as well. Thyme would be delicious, or let it simmer with a couple of bay leaves in it. Alongside your onion and garlic cloves, you could also add celery.
How to make Irish Beef Stew
Step 1: Prep ingredients and brown stew meat
To begin, dice onion and mince garlic gloves and cut the beef into 1-inch pieces to 2-inch pieces. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy bottom pot like a dutch oven.
Add the stew beef cubes to the pot along with the teaspoon salt. Continue to cook, browning the meat and stirring occasionally until seared on all sides.
Then, remove meat from the pot and add butter, diced onion, and minced garlic to the pot along with the smoked paprika and black pepper.
Sauté until the onions and garlic are soft and fragrant, 3-5 minutes.
Step 2: Simmer stew in Guinness broth
Next, add the beef back into the pot along with the beef broth, 12oz beer, and three tablespoons tomato paste. Stir to mix. If needed, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
Then, allow the stew to continue cooking and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cover and simmer for 2 hours stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Mix in veggies and simmer again
While the stew simmers, peel and slice carrots into rounds and quarter potatoes. When the stew has simmered for 2 hours, add the potatoes and carrots into the pot.
If your stew seems too thick you can add in 1-2 cups of water, but I enjoy a thick stew. If yours is too thin, you can add a flour or cornstarch slurry to thicken it.
Simmer for an additional 30 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are soft. Take the pot off the heat and stir in 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar.
Finally, serve the stew with fresh chopped parsley.
Slow Cooker instructions
You can make this hearty beef stew in your slow cooker or crockpot instead of on the stove top. Brown the beef on the stove top until you have a good sear on it.
Then, add all ingredients except potatoes and carrots into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours. Add the potatoes and carrots into the cooker and cook on high for a total time of 1-2 hours or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
Storage and reheating
Once prepared allow the Irish beef stew to cool completely. Then, transfer the stew to airtight containers.
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stove top adding more water or broth if necessary.
You can also freeze this stew. Thaw in the fridge for a day before you want to enjoy, then heat on the stovetop.
Check out these other hearty soup recipes
For another Irish inspired dish, make this Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie.
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Irish Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2.5 lb stew beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 cups beef broth
- 12 oz Guinness beer or other stout
- 4 large carrots
- 2 lb red potatoes
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Fresh parsley
- Optional: 2 cups water
Instructions
- Dice onion and mince garlic. Heat oil over medium heat in a large heavy bottom pot like a dutch oven. Add the stew beef to the pot along with the salt. Cook beef, stirring occasionally until seared on all sides.
- Remove meat from the pot and add butter, diced onion, and minced garlic to the pot along with the smoked paprika and black pepper. Sauté until the onions and garlic are soft and fragrant, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the beef back into the pot along with the beef broth, 12oz beer, and tomato tomato paste. Stir to mix. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 2 hours stirring occasionally.
- While the stew simmers, peel and slice carrots into rounds and quarter potatoes. When the stew has simmered for 2 hours, add the carrots and potatoes into the pot. If your stew seems too thick you can add in 1-2 cups of water.
- Simmer for an additional 30 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are soft. Take the pot off the heat and stir in 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Serve the stew with fresh chopped parsley.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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