Easy Beef Stew
Servings 6 servings
Calories 285kcal
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs stew meat OR cubed chuck roast
- 4 large carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 large sweet onion peeled cut into wedges
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 10 3/4 oz can condensed tomato soup
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp steak seasoning or 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 tsp dry Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 cup frozen petite peas (no need to thaw)
- tomato paste for thickening optional
- chopped parsley for garnishing and mashed potatoes, rice or noodles for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray a Dutch oven or oven safe *3 quart baking dish with cooking spray. (*13 x 9 inch dish)
- Place the beef, carrots, onion, celery, tomato soup, beef stock, worcestershire sauce, steak seasoning (or seasoned salt), thyme, dry Italian seasoning, black pepper, sugar and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine and everything is evenly coated in the soup.
- Pour evenly into prepared pot or dish. Tuck the bay leaf into the stew. Cover with lid or aluminum foil and place into the oven.
- Bake for 3- 4 hours or until the beef is fork tender and the liquid has slightly thickened. (Smaller the beef chunks will cook faster, larger will cook slower. Check at 3 hours and stir.)
- Once beef is done uncover and to the pot add the peas mixing throughout. Replace cover and let stand on the counter for 10 minutes to allow the peas to warm.
- Serve over mashed potatoes garnished with parsley.
- How to Thicken: You can thicken at the end of cooking using tomato paste. Stir in 1 tablespoon at a time until melted. Repeat as desired.
Notes
-
- If you prefer to add potatoes to the stew you can! You'll need 3 medium golden or russet potatoes cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes added to the beef stew with the remaining ingredients.
- To keep things easy for this recipe, I skip browning the beef. You can certainly do so, if you have time and you prefer to go that route. To brown the beef, drizzle a Dutch oven with olive oil, then heat on the stovetop over medium high heat. Toss the cubed beef with 1/4 cup all purpose flour until lightly coated. Add the beef chunks to the pot in a single layer and turn to brown on all sides. After browning, add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Cover then proceed with the recipe as written.
- Crock Pot Beef Stew:
- Follow the recipe through step 3.
- Pour evenly into a 6 quart or similar size slow cooker.
- Place the lid firmly on top then cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
- Add bite size chunks of russet potatoes halfway through cooking, if desired.
- Once the beef is fork tender add the peas at the end of cooking, mixing though. (Also test potato chunks, if adding.)
- Thicken the sauce using tomato paste, one tablespoon at a time. Repeat, stirring well until desired thickness is reached.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 285kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 277mg | Potassium: 926mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 8212IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 4mg