Guinness Beef Stew Recipe
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This Guinness Beef Stew Recipe has comfort food written all over it. Serve it alongside mashed potatoes or cornbread waffles for a meal that will leave everyone happy and satisfied.
Have you ever cooked with beer? I do enjoy cooking with beer, especially when paired with meat dishes. Beer adds subtle flavor and works perfectly with roasted and braised meats. This Guinness Beef Stew recipe is a delicious example of what beer can do when it mingles with meat and veggies. The method of slow cooking meat, otherwise know as stewing, has been around for centuries. And no wonder, not only is it a delicious way to prepare meat, but it is relatively inexpensive and a fabulous way to stretch meat and vegetables to feed a crowd.
When I began experimenting with a Guinness Beef Stew Recipe I immediately hunted down a version from Jamie Oliver as a starting point. We’ve enjoyed watching Jamie cook over the years. His enthusiasm for real food is infectious. He always keeps it real and simple, two good things when it comes to food. The recipe shared below is an ever so slightly adapted version from Jamie’s.
This Guinness Beef Stew is particularly tasty served atop mashed potatoes or Beer Cornbread Waffles. Oh yes! Check them out. It’s a fun and tasty alternative to potatoes.
Whatever you serve it with, I hope you enjoy this satisfying dish as much as we have.
Guinness Beef Stew recipe notes:
- If extra guests show up, to stretch the serving amount add a bit of beef broth and/or more diced tomatoes. If you happen to have any leftovers (fat chance) add more beef broth and diced tomatoes to create a scrumptious soup.
- This is the perfect dish to make ahead, refrigerate and reheat. I think it’s even better the next day!
- If you can’t get your hands on a Guinness, a dark beer will work nicely.
- Yet another delicious dish that puts a Dutch Oven to work. If you don’t own a yet, consider adding one to your kitchen arsenal. A 6-8 quart is a good size that can handle a variety of dishes. Our Dutch Oven is a workhorse in our home, acting as roaster, braiser, baker, fryer and chili maker.
More tasty dishes made with beer:
- Beer Braised Chicken Recipe
- Balsamic Beer Braised Pork Roast Recipe
- Beer Batter Hush Puppies Recipe
- Beer Cornbread Waffles Recipe
- Beer Bread from Dine and Dish
Guinness Beef Stew Recipe
Guinness Beef Stew
An easy flavorful beef stew perfect for a hearty meal when served with mashed potatoes or Beer Cornbread Waffles.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions, rough chopped
- 2 celery sticks, rough chopped
- 2 medium carrots, rough chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage (or thyme)
- 1 pound stew beef, cubed into 1-inch pieces (chuck or bottom round works great)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 16 ounces ale, Guinness or stout
- 14-15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
- In a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed oven-proof pot with tight fitting lid, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions, celery, carrots, bay leaves and sage; cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
- Add cubed beef, sprinkle in flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring for about 30 seconds. Stir in ale, canned tomatoes, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil.
- Stir, remove from heat, cover and transfer to 350-degree F oven. Cook for 3 hours, until meat is tender. Remove lid and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
If leftovers are desired (or seconds), go ahead and double this recipe.
To stretch the serving amount, add a bit of beef broth and/or more diced tomatoes. If you happen to have leftovers, add more beef broth and diced tomatoes to create a delicious soup.
This is the perfect dish to make ahead, refrigerate and reheat. I think it’s even better the next day!If you can’t get your hands on a Guinness, any dark beer will work nicely.
Originally published February 27, 2015.
So hearty and delicious! I like your idea of serving it over a waffle. I need to get a Dutch oven!
Genius over the waffle!!
Always needing a good sturdy weapon…and just happen to have a bottle of Guinness in the fridge door. Things are coming together for a great family meal this weekend. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a hearty, delicious stew! Love it over the waffles!
WHOA. That top photo is one of the most stunning photos I’ve ever seen.
Now I need stew.
Guinness is my man’s beverage of choice……. Dark, rich, like a milkshake – I’ve never put it in a stew. Great idea! He’ll love it.
Hi Amy,
I wanted to tell you I have made several of your recipes and we have enjoyed them all. Sometimes a dish looks great on a blog – but fails at my house.
Yours have been excellent.
Oh Candi, thank you so much for sharing that with me. I think all of us home cooks who share recipes online worry if they will translate well for others. There are so many factors that can make or break a recipe, like differences in ingredients, stoves, ovens, pots and pans, even the speed differences in mixers. So thank you so much for the encouragement. It really means a lot! 🙂
Looks great!! Do you think this would work in the crock pot?
The beef will need to be browned stovetop first and brought to a simmer, then covered and cooked at a simmer for about 20-30 minutes, then transferred to a warm crockpot to finish cooking. I’m not sure how many hours it would need to finish cooking. Depending on your crockpot (if you have one with a thermostat or not) you will have to judge on your own the proper cook time needed.
Isn’t this supposed to be beef not pork?
Yes it is. Brain fog! Thank you for letting me know. Fixed.
Looks delicious and I love Jamie Oliver! And, I ditto Marla’s comment about the waffle – genius! Pinning…
Those waffles are dangerous, especially when they’re warm. I hope you enjoy the stew!
It’s in the oven as I write this, and I cannot tell you how mouthwateringly delicious it smelled while cooking on the stove…can’t wait to eat it in a few hours!!!
It is one of the best aromas ever! I hope you enjoy it.
How do I double this recipe? If i put double beer won’t it be too liquid?
Hello Carole, I would double everything to keep proportions correct.
Hi Amy! I realized that I follow you on both Pinterest and Facebook, but never put the two together. Yay for lots of ways to get your yummy recipes!
Anyway, I don’t have a Dutch oven, but do you think this stew could be made entirely on the stovetop? If so, how? I have a ceramic crock pot, I just checked the manual and it says the stoneware is oven safe, so I suppose I could do that, too, with a tight foil “lid”.
Thanks!
What would be a substitute for the beer? We don’t drink alcohol around here!!
Well, the beer is what gives this recipe the name, so I’m not sure. Maybe try a non-alcoholic beer?
Daphne: sorry to butt in 🙂 Even though you don’t drink alcohol, it will evaporate during the cooking process and you will only be left with the flavor of the beer. I make this for my boyfriend who doesn’t drink and he is fine with it. Hope this helps!!
I’d like to buy a Dutch oven, but not sure what size to buy. Any suggestion?
I would look for a 5 or 6 quart.
This Guinness beef stew is now the second recipe of yours that I have made within a week or so. Again, I was not disappointed; in fact, I was very pleasantly surprised with this one as I am normally not a huge fan of beef stew. This will now be my go-to recipe for it.
I did alter it a bit, as I do with almost any recipe I come across on the Internet. I omitted one of the onions, then added several potatoes and several more carrots as well as fresh mushrooms. I cooked the meat for a bit longer than the 30 seconds the recipe called for in a separate frying pan as the vegetables would have given that nice braised effect due to the liquid in the pot, then after a minute or so (more like ‘or so’), I emptied the meat and browned scrapings from the pan into the Dutch oven. Due to the extra vegetables, I upped the salt, pepper, and brown sugar by 1/2 tsp. each, and I used 1/2 tsp. sage and 1/2 tsp. thyme rather than the original 1/2 tsp. sage. I also added 1 extra bay leaf because the ones I have are very small or are broken into pieces, so I wanted to make sure the flavor was imparted to the extra vegetables I added. I let it cook for 2 1/2 hrs. instead of three at the same temperature. I don’t have a waffle iron, so instead of waffles (which do sound good, though), I served it with a fresh chunk of baguette. Ooh, la, la! The final result not only smelled divine, the taste was simply ambrosial! This recipe is most certainly staying in my recipe book for future occasions. I wouldn’t be surprised if I decide to make this for family when they visit or when there’s a nasty winter storm outside and I feel the desire to make some comfort food!
And by the way, to add to what I’ve already submitted, I had never tried Guinness before. I used Guinness draught in the cans for this recipe–I tried buying it as a single can because I don’t usually like beer and I only have a glass of wine about once a month, but could only find it in a carton of four cans. I was curious as to what it tasted like, naturally, so before putting it in the recipe, I poured a bit into a small glass to sample. Not only was it excellent in the recipe, but I discovered I actually like the taste of it far, far more than our light-colored lager beers here in the U.S. It is something I will regularly keep in my cabinet for cooking now and to have on hand when I want a cold, refreshing drink in the summer as a treat. I have even seen it used with vanilla ice cream in a glass to make a Guinness float–when I heard about this, it sounded like a repulsive idea to me, but I will have to make one to try this summer when our temperatures finally hit the 80s here.
I love those adaptations, Michelle! And now I want this beef stew with a crunchy baguette. 🙂
I would like to try this but I do not have a Dutch oven, can I use my SLOW COOKER and for how long.
I have not made this using a slow cooker so I don’t know what amount of time would be required.
omg it was amazing! thank u!!! q. can i also make it on the range? and is the celery really necessary?
Hi Amy,
My husband despises tomatoes….would I be able to just use tomato sauce in the can? If so, how much? Since there won’t be diced tomatoes should I put in more carrots and celery to replace the chunkyness the tomatoes would’ve added? We’ve made this once already and loved it but my hubby wasn’t thrilled about the tomatoes so I wanted to make again tonight without if I can.
Just to add…we went out and bought a Dutch oven just to make this recipe and we are sooooo glad we did.
Adding more carrots or onions to account for some of the tomatoes would be a good idea. Let me know how it turns out!
This really tastes as good as it looks, even without using any beef broth!? I’m amazed. I make steak pie sometimes, and I definitely use beef broth in it. Anyway, I’m planning on making this in the next few days. Excited to try it!
It really is delicious, Nicole. I hope you enjoy it!
Ok, I made it, and YES! It IS as delicious as it looks. I’m making it again tonight! Thanks so much for the recipe! This is going to become a regular.
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Nicola!
We’re making this right now but it shocked me to find out that there are NO potatoes in the recipe! Who in their right mind doesn’t put potatoes in stew?! I immediately had my boyfriend take it out of the oven to add them. This is a travesty.
We also really don’t get the waffle thing but that’s besides the point.
Now that’s what the French call Flemish style cooking (a la Flamande). We cook a lot with beer. If you don’t like dark beers go for a blond Belgian Tripel style beer or even combine two different beers.