Italian Beef Stew

Here’s serious comfort food. Slow-simmered Italian Beef Stew combines tender beef, hearty vegetables, and fragrant herbs. My Italian Beef Stew is a complete meal served with creamy polenta. This rich and comforting dish cooks easily on the stove top or in a slow cooker.

This is the easiest Italian beef stew recipe, bursting with rich, deep flavor. Braised beef cubes are cooked along with Italian flavors of onion, garlic, rosemary, bay leaf. My secret flavor enhancer—fresh fennel. 

The rich, deep flavor of this stew is due to beef broth and Italian dry red wine that make up the liquid portion. A little concentrated tomato paste (thick tomato sauce concentrate called tomato purée in the UK) adds depth and richness.

A Hearty Beef Stew Recipe

When the weather cools down, I warm up with a one-pan stew. Besides this variation, I also make Irish Beef and Guinness Stew and Creamy Chicken Stew with Dumplings. I can turn all of these into slow cooker recipes.

How Long do you Cook Beef Stew?

The cooking time varies with the size of your beef and vegetables. I cook them until the beef becomes tender. On the stovetop, this takes 2 to 3 hours. In a slow cooker, it can take up to 8 hours.

Beef Stew Meat

Lean cuts of beef with collagen and connective tissue, along with a little marbling (fat), are best. These cuts come from the hardest working parts of the animal, such as chuck beef (beef chuck roast) from the upper shoulder and neck, bottom round, or short ribs. 

If you choose a more tender cut like filet, ribeye, or strip, they have less collagen and more fat, and the long cooking time could result in a chewy texture. When the collagen melts, it turns into gelatin, which adds both flavor and thickness to the stew.

Browning Beef for Beef Stew

Browning the beef in olive oil over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes per side before slow cooking is an important step. Getting some caramelization on the beef creates what we call ‘sucs’ (brown bits) at the bottom of the pan, which adds a lot of flavor. This can also be done in an Instant Pot.

Best Pan for Beef Stew

I love using my large Dutch oven with a lid. It retains heat well, ensuring even cooking all around. A wide braising pan is also a good option.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

This recipe can be easily made in the slow cooker. For the reasons mentioned above, I highly recommend browning the beef before adding it to the slow cooker. Then, proceed to add everything to the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Beef Stew without Wine

If you don’t want to add wine, you can use a non-alcoholic red wine, or replace with the more beef broth or beef stock.

Italian Beef Stew Additions

Potatoes, celery, butternut squash, pretty much any seasonal vegetable will work well. If you’re going to add vegetables that requires less cooking time, add them towards the last 20-30 minutes of cooking so they don’t get too soft.

Serving Beef Stew

In keeping with the Italian theme, I love to serve this tender beef stew over creamy polenta (pictured below). Just four ingredients (plus water) are all it takes to make, and it’s just as easy as making mashed potatoes. Crusty bread (Italian of course) is also acceptable. Buon Appetito!

Leftover Beef Stew

Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It also freezes well in a freezer-safe container. Just defrost in the fridge and reheat slowly in a pan.

If you’ve tried this Italian Beef Stew or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see daily recipe updates.

Continue to Content

Yield: 6

Italian Beef Stew

Print

Tender beef pieces are cooked low and slow with carrots, fennel, rosemary, Italian wine, fennel, tomato and beef bone broth. 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 22 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 32 minutes

Ingredients

For the beef stew

• 2 pounds (1 kg) braising beef (chuck roast or round roast) cut into large bite size pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped into large pieces
• 1 medium fennel bulb chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 cup (236 ml) full bodied Italian red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (tomato purée in the UK)
• 2 cups (472 ml) beef broth
• 1 pound (453 kg) carrots cut into large pieces
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

For the polenta

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (150 grams) ground cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

1. For the beef stew:
   Stovetop directions:
   
2. To a large heavy soup pan or dutch oven or large high-sided frying pan over medium high heat, add the oil and the butter. When the butter is bubbling add ¼ of the beef (or as much would fit in the pan without crowding) to the pan and cook until browned, turning the pieces often. Remove to a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the beef.
3. Once all the beef is browned (it doesn't need to be cooked through), turn the heat down to medium add the onions and fennel and cook until they start to soften, about 10 minutes
4. Stir in the garlic and rosemary, cook for 1 minute. Do not brown or burn the garlic.
5. Sprinkle in the flour and mix with the vegetables and cook, while stirring for 1 minute, taking care not to brown the flour.
6. Add the wine, tomato paste and beef broth stir until the paste is mixed. Add the carrots, bay leaf and pepper and the browned beef.
7. Cover and simmer on a low boil for 1 hour and 45 minutes stirring occasionally. While this cooks, make the polenta.
   
8. Slow Cooker Directions:
9. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Coat lightly in flour and brown in a heavy pan in the oil and butter. Add to the slow cooker along with the onion, fennel, garlic, rosemary, wine, tomato paste, broth, carrots, bay leaf and pepper.
10. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, low for 8 hours.
    
11. For the polenta
12. Add the water and milk to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in the cornmeal and salt until well combined.
13. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, whisking every few minutes so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Stir in the butter before serving.
14. After 1 hour and 45 minutes, remove the lid and allow to simmer for 15 more minutes until the liquid is thickened and the meat is tender. If the sauce is not thickening, remove a few tablespoons of the hot liquid and mix with a little flour and pour back into the pan until it is as thick as you like. Remove the bay leaf and serve warm over the polenta.
    

Notes

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 321Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 33mgSodium 596mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 4gSugar 9gProtein 11g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.