Beef and Root Vegetable Stew

If you were to ask me which recipe I make most often from this blog, it would hands-down be this beef and root vegetable stew. It’s my go-to comfort food for fall and winter and I couldn’t love it more!

{Gluten-Free | Low-Carb | Stovetop | Instant Pot | Slow Cooker | Freezer Friendly}

This post was orignally published in February of 2015 and has been updated with new content and photos – enjoy!

Valentine’s Day Memories

Saturday seemed like a stew kind of day. From the looks of my social media feeds, you all celebrated Valentine’s Day with a visit to a favorite restaurant or a nice dinner at home – steak dinners and Shrimp Alfredo seemed to be popular choices. But I was craving stew. It just made sense, as the weather temp was in the teens and I knew our plans would center around a weekend nuzzled under blankets in the apartment. If you’re thinking we haven’t adapted to the Nebraska winter yet, you guessed correctly!

Making stew on Valentine’s Day also made sense because it marked the 4th birthday of my beloved goldenrod-hued Dutch oven from Le Creuset. It’s my favorite kitchen item; hands-down, and I’m in love with it’s story. Two months in to my first dating relationship, I celebrated Valentine’s Day with my first romantic Valentine {who happens to now be my husband!}. I was 23 at the time; and had zero expectations for what a Valentine’s celebration with a boyfriend should be like {for those of you that know me well, you’ll remember I had been very anti-romance until Ryan came along and swept me off my feet!}.

Even though we’d only known each other for a few months, Ryan was well aware of my love for cooking and had been educated thoroughly on the pros and cons of my tiny apartment kitchen, what my dream kitchen would one day look like, and what kinds of dishes I wanted to learn to make in the future. One of those dishes was braised beef short ribs.

A few days before our first Valentine’s, I was heading towards his car to climb in for an outing. I opened the door and much to my surprise and sheer delight sat a shiny new Le Creuset Dutch oven. Ryan had a nervous look on his face and asked hopefully with raised eyebrows “is this what you need to make the short ribs?” Of course I assured him that this was, indeed, the pot that was needed to make the best short ribs {according to Bon Appetit magazine} and we chattered on for a long time about the details of Ryan’s journey to find the perfect Valentine’s gift.

A few days later, we celebrated our first Valentine’s Day together over a succulently braised pot of beef short ribs. My Dutch oven has seen the likes of many hearty stews and braises over the last 4 years, and it’s proven its worth to me with each recipe attempt. The enameled cast iron perfectly sears and caramelizes any protein or vegetable that touches its surface, and it heats evenly all the way up to the top of the sides. It’s without a doubt on the top of my list for kitchen essentials, and is the kind of piece that you’ll use for a lifetime and then pass on to future generations!

The beef stew I chose to make for my Dutch oven‘s 4th birthday is a rich, hearty concoction of slow-cooked stew meat and colorful root vegetables. It’s made with fresh herbs, red wine, and the best beef stock that I can purchase off a grocery store shelf {Kitchen Basics brand}, and will warm you from the inside out. Please make it and promise me you’ll serve it with the crustiest of bread you can find or a batch of fresh cornbread! This is really the most reliable way to ensure that every drop of the velvety stew broth gets transferred from your bowl to your belly!

Tips for Making Beef Stew + Recipe Modifications

As written, this recipe is gluten-free, low carb, and can easily be adapted for the stovetop, slow cooker, or Instant Pot, allowing it to fit into a wide variety of nutrition needs and lifestyles. 

• Brown the beef – for the deepest flavor and richest texture in your stew, brown your meet regardless of how you plan to cook the stew. The caramelization that forms on the meat as it has contact with direct heat produces an irrestible flavor base that will make your stew irresistable!
• On the stovetop – this is my favorite way to cook beef stew, because the low, slow simmer in my enameled cast iron Dutch oven produces a rich, silky texture that just can’t be replicated in the Instant Pot or slow cooker. While both of those methods produce a delicious stew, the stovetop method is the best, and will take 2 hours of cooking time.
• Instant Pot – clocking in at only an hour of cook time, the Instant Pot is the fastest way to cook beef stew and yields great results. I finish the stew in the oven at really high heat for about 10-15 minutes to brown the tops of the beef and vegetables, which gives the stew the taste/texutre as if it were simmered for a long time.
• Slow cooker – if you need to set it and forget it over the course of a work day, the slow cooker is a great option for making a beef stew. You can leave the meat and liquid in the slow cooker for 7-8 hours, adding the vegetables during the last hour of cooking.
• Beef substitutions – I love to substitute venison stew meat in this recipe whenever I have it available. The wine, herbs, and flavor additions take away any hint of gaminess in the meat. You could also subsitute elk or bison just as easily!
• Veggie substitutions – I typically use a combo of butternut squash, carrots, and turnips in this stew but have played around with the use potatoes and parsnips too. The butternut squash and turnips are very low in carbohydrate, and are a great option in lieu of potatoes for diabetics. Feel free to use whatever combo of root vegetables that you like!

Check out  my whole grain buttermilk cornbread recipe as a side for the stew – it’s a perfect pairing!

Are you ready to make this beef and root vegetable stew? I’m so excited for you to try this recipe! Once you get the chance to make it, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment and rate the recipe below. This will help me with the creation of future recipes! I’d also love to feature your creation in my monthly newsletter, so you can upload a photo to Instagram or Twitter with the tag @sweetcayenne5 to be featured!

Beef and Root Vegetable Stew

Beef and Root Vegetable Stew highlights the bounty of winter produce in a rich and warming one-dish meal that's perfect for a cold winter's night. Make extra for the freezer and enjoy it all winter long! Serve with my favorite whole grain buttermilk cornbread. 

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free beef stew, Instant Pot beef stew, low-carb beef stew, slow cooker beef stew, stovetop beef stew

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Calories: 333kcal

Ingredients

• 2 pound chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1'' pieces
• Coarse ground Kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium medium shallot, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup red wine (recommend Cab Sav, Chianti, something robust)
• 1 bunch fresh thyme, about 6 sprigs about 6 sprigs
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 4-7 cups Kitchen Basics Unsalted Beef Stock, divided, with 1 cup reserved for thickening (amount depends on cooking method)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins brand for gluten-free)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 cups 1/2'' diced butternut squash (1'' dice for Instant Pot) (about 1 pound)
• 2 cups 1/2'' diced turnip (1'' dice for Instant Pot) (about 2 medium turnips)
• 1 cup 1/4'' diced carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

For the stovetop:

• Allow beef pieces to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes while you cut the vegetables. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture, and season liberally with salt and pepper.
• Heat a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once a drop of water sizzles on the bottom of the pot, add the butter and olive oil. Working in 2 batches, brown the stew meat pieces until caramelized, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer to plate and set aside.
• Measure out 1 cup of beef stock and place it in the fridge to chill while the stew cooks. 
• Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the shallots. Saute until soft and translucent, Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds more. Add the tomato paste and Dijon mustard to pan. Stir for about a minute before adding the wine. Add the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all of the brown bits from the bottom of your pot.
• Return the meat to the pot along with any accumulated juices. Add in the whole thyme and rosemary sprigs, 6 cups of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, until the meat is fork-tender, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add the butternut squash, turnips, carrots and additional stock if needed to cover the veggies. Simmer for an additional 45 minutes until the veggies are tender.
• Whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the reserved chilled cup of beef stock. Increase heat on stove to bring stew to a low boil. Whisk in the cornstarch-stock mixture and boil for 2 minutes. Remove the thyme and rosemary sprigs and season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve hot. 

For the Instant Pot:

• Saute the beef in the Instant Pot with the olive oil and butter on "saute" mode for 4-5 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, tomato paste, Dijon mustard, wine, 3 cups of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, root vegetables, and the herbs. Cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes, allowing for a 10 minute natural pressure release. Place 1 cup of stock in the fridge to chill while the stew cooks. 

  During the pressure release, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Carefully ladle/pour the hot stew into a large baking dish or cast iron pot or braiser (see photos). 

  Whisk the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the chillled cup of beef stock. Whisk this mixture into the beef stew. Place in the oven for 15 minutes to thicken the stew and brown the top. Carefully remove from oven and serve hot. 

For the Slow Cooker:

• Allow beef pieces to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes while you cut the vegetables. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture, and season liberally with salt and pepper.

  Heat a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once a drop of water sizzles on the bottom of the pot, add the butter and olive oil. Working in 2 batches, brown the stew meat pieces until caramelized, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to slow cooker. 
  

  Add the shallots, garlic, tomato paste, Dijon mustard, wine, 6 cups of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and the herbs. Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours. Place 1 cup of stock in the fridge to chill while the stew cooks. 
  

  During the last hour of cooking, increase heat to "high" and add the root vegetables. Cook for an additional hour. 

  During the last 10 minutes of cooking, whisk the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the chillled cup of beef stock. Whisk this mixture into the beef stew and cook for 10 minutes to thicken before serving. Serve hot!

Notes

This stew tastes even better the longer it sits, so chill in the fridge and enjoy the leftovers for up to 5 days after cooking. Freeze leftovers for up to 6 months. 

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