Red Wine Beef Stew
This easy, dairy free beef stew is tender and delicious! Filled with veggies and seasoned with thyme and rosemary – creating a hearty comfort food. Serve it over mashed potatoes or homemade dumplings!
Why I love this red wine beef stew
There’s really nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of hearty stew. I absolutely love it when the weather is cold, and this red wine beef stew is one of my favorites. I’m also really fond of Irish beef stew, but I typically save that for St. Patrick’s day.
This recipe doesn’t have potatoes in the stew itself. I prefer to serve mine over creamy, dairy free mashed potatoes instead, but if you’re in the mood for a complete one-pot meal, feel free to throw a few cut up potatoes into the mix.
If you like this recipe, you have to try this buffalo chicken chili, this beef paprikash – this one’s a slow cooker recipe, and this red wine braised chuck roast.
Looking for recipes to serve with stew? We love to serve this with the best dairy free mashed potatoes or sometimes I will make my favorite, easy drop biscuits. Another option would be easy vegan cornbread, for something a bit different.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Red wine – Skip the cooking wine and use your favorite dry, red wine, it adds so much depth to the flavor of this dish. I’ve linked below, some more information regarding types of wine for the stew.
- Flour – You can make this recipe with cornstarch as well, so I’ve added the measurements in the recipe card. Swapping to cornstarch will help make this recipe gluten free, just make sure to use a gluten free beef stock as well.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make red wine beef stew
Brown the beef. Start by seasoning the stew meat with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven to medium-high heat and sear the beef on all sides.
Sauté the veggies. Remove the beef from the pot and let it rest on a plate while you sauté the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. You can add the tomato paste now, too. This will help deglaze the pan and get all the brown bits off of the pot and into the stew.
Simmer the stew. After about 5 minutes, return the meat to the pan and add the wine and broth. Submerge the herbs in the liquid and cover the pot.
Let the stew come to a boil and the reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for about an hour and a half, or even a bit longer if you want.
This let’s the stew meat break down and get nice and tender. You don’t want to rush this part.
Thicken the sauce. When the meat is tender (and the veggies should be too), whisk your thickener with some water until smooth.
Pour the mixture into the stew and stir to combine. Let the stew continue cooking until the sauce has thickened.
Frequently asked questions
Ingredients
- 2 pounds stew meat
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 carrots sliced (about 3 cups)
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup beef stock
- 3/4 cup red wine
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Season the stew meat with salt and pepper. Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven to medium-high. Brown the beef on all sides. Remove the meat and any juices from the pan and set aside.
- Add olive oil, vegetables and tomato paste. Stir until evenly coated and sauté until the onions have become translucent.
- Pour in the red wine, beef broth and thyme, stirring as needed. Then submerge the rosemary and bay leaves in the liquid.
- Cover the pot and simmer for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk the flour (or cornstarch) and water together until smooth. Increase heat to medium and stir the mixture into the pot. Let the stew continue to cook until the liquid has thickened.
- Adjust seasoning to taste and remove herbs before serving.
