A few years ago, I was out for drinks with some friends at an Irish restaurant and we were starving. It was after midnight and the kitchen was closed, but the bartender said he could still serve their Irish beef stew. I had never had Irish stew before, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was the most delicious stew I had ever tasted, and the big bowl – complete with creamy mashed potatoes – was gone in less than 5 minutes.
Last year, Marc and I went to Dublin for the Christmas break and Irish stew was the only thing I wanted to eat. Sadly, I was disappointed with the few times I had it on the trip. Maybe it was because we chose the wrong restaurants, but nothing tasted as good as what I had at home. The trip itself was amazing though. The city was beautiful and full of Christmas spirit.
We went back to Ireland with my parents later that year to check out the rest of the country and see the city where my grandfather was born. We even ended up meeting some distant relatives, which was pretty cool. This time, I avoided ordering the stew though. Instead I had the best bucket of mussels in the world… okay, maybe they weren’t the best mussels in the world, but they were to me and I definitely had more than one bucket of them.
After both trips, I came home determined to make the best Irish beef stew ever, and the secret ingredient turned out to be parsnips! It gives it the unique flavor and makes the sauce thick and creamy – perfect for spooning over a heaping helping of mashed potatoes.
Irish Beef Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 6
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound beef stew meat
- 4 large carrots, peeled & chopped
- 1 parsnip, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 large bay leaf
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 3/4 – 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Mashed potatoes:
- 4 baking potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 5-6 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Brown the meat over medium-high heat in olive oil.
- Add garlic, onion, carrots, parsnip and spices.
- Cook for 5 minutes before adding beef broth.
- Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for at least 2 hours.
- After about 1 1/2 hours, make mashed potatoes.
- Boil potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes or until fork tender.
- Strain potatoes and mash with the butter and milk.
- Mix the melted butter and flour together to make a roux.
- Add the roux, peas and salt & pepper to the stew.
- Raise heat to medium-high and continue to cook for ten more minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Serve the stew over the mashed potatoes.
Nutrition
- Calories: 0
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Recipe adapted from Lauren’s Latest.
Looking for more St. Patrick’s Day recipes? Check out some of my other Irish inspired posts:
23 Comments
Amy
March 18, 2013 at 2:42 amI made this for St. Patricks Day and it was a huge hit. Will be making again and again! Yummy!!
P
July 7, 2013 at 1:24 pmTraditionally Irish stew is made from the cheapest cuts of lamb or mutton – sheep. But beef is nice. I’m Irish, from Galway.
Mary
January 24, 2014 at 8:04 pmI know someone from Galway. Cool stuff.
Paula
January 25, 2014 at 7:50 am🙂
Sara
November 20, 2013 at 1:41 pmYou should state when to add the herbs, that part is missing.
Sara
November 20, 2013 at 1:46 pmSorry, my computer completely cut off half of the instructions.
Melissa Belanger
November 21, 2013 at 2:47 amOh no big deal! I’m glad that part wasn’t missing though 🙂
Roxanna Tyler
March 16, 2014 at 11:00 pmMy husband & I made your Irish Stew and it was delious. We both have cooked stew before, but your recipes never tasted as good as yousr. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Katrina
August 14, 2014 at 4:02 pmI made this for my family for dinner tonight and everyone absolutely loved it. The parsnips were so good and the thick meaty gravy smothered mashed potatoes was divine. Thank you for posting. Were having this again soon!
Samantha
September 16, 2014 at 6:53 pmLove the recipe ! We just substituted beef for lamb and added a stout beer. So good!
Amie
September 29, 2014 at 3:11 pmThis is by far some of the best Irish Stew I’ve had in a long time! Thanks for the post. I’ll be adding this to my menu rotation for fall/winter. Thank you!!
Lindsay
February 28, 2015 at 4:18 pmI just made this…and I planned on cooking it ahead and having it for dinner tomorrow and its taking ALL my self-control to not dive into a big serving tonight. I’ll just continue to “taste test” this a while longer 😉
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September 21, 2015 at 8:03 pmHas anyone tried this in the crock pot? If so, any recommendations? How long to cook it?
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Kat
April 15, 2016 at 7:48 pmI just have a question about the mashed potato recipe – when do you add the garlic? I’ve actually seen recipes where you boil the garlic with the potatoes so I’m not sure what your recipe calls for. Thanks!
Melissa Belanger
April 16, 2016 at 9:41 amYou boil it with the potatoes in this recipe.
Sarah
June 23, 2017 at 12:09 pmMy husband and I love this recipe! It’s my husband’s favorite thing that I make. I’d never cooked with parsnips before, but they really make the dish. Such a nice, sweet flavor and it’s just so good over the mashed potatoes. Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Melissa Belanger
June 24, 2017 at 12:10 amI totally agree! I love the addition of the parsnips. So glad that you like the recipe!
Angelique
March 25, 2018 at 6:14 pmI made this today. It was delicious. I used baby potatoes red,white and blue potatoes. Thank you.
★★★★★
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