Chef notes

Ready to try the best beef stew of your life? Our flavor-packed version is incredibly easy to cook because it all comes together in one pot. Beef chuck roast slowly braises with red potatoes, carrots and onions for a couple of hours until they’re tender. And the best part is that this winter comfort food recipe is so hands off — once you add everything to the pot, it cooks for two hours, untouched. No finessing needed. We recommend serving it with slices of crusty bread to sop up the sauce (and perhaps a glass of full-bodied red wine).

Some traditional beef stew recipes call for tomato paste, which adds a deep acidity and tomato flavor. But if you’ve ever cooked with tomato paste, you know that storing the leftovers (and there are, unequivocally, always leftovers) can be a pain. Instead, we call for ketchup because everyone has ketchup in their fridge and it’s so much easier to manage the leftovers.

If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.

Technique Tip: Coat cubed beef chuck roast in a little bit of flour, which not only helps the meat to sear evenly, but also helps the stew to thicken.

Swap Option: Use low-sodium beef broth to control the level of salt in each bite.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil, divided
2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 medium yellow or red onion, thinly sliced
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thin rounds

1 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup ketchup
1 pound baby red potatoes, halved or quartered
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 cups beef broth

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Preparation

Toss the beef, flour, and salt together in a large bowl until the beef is evenly coated.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, wide Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.

Add enough beef cubes to cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer without crowding. Cook for about 3 minutes until the beef is browned and can easily be removed from the bottom of the pot without sticking, then flip and brown for about 2 minutes more. Set the beef aside in a bowl and repeat with the remaining oil and beef cubes.

Add the onion, garlic and carrots to the pot and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally as the vegetables soften.

Add the wine and cook until mostly evaporated, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the ketchup and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, thyme and broth.

Cover and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and continue to simmer for about 2 hours until the beef is very tender.

Taste and add more salt as desired. Serve with rolls or crusty bread.