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Classic Beef Stew in a white bowl with spoons and a cheddar cheese slice
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5 from 6 votes

Classic Beef Stew

This recipe for Classic Beef Stew is delicious and easy to make in your own crockpot at home. Fix it and forget it!  The post includes instructions for how to make this recipe on the stovetop, in the oven and in a pressure cooker as well. 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: homemade beef stew recipe, classic beef stew
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 300kcal
Author: Wendi Spraker

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs Stew Beef – cut into 1” cubes
  • 2 teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or one fresh clove garlic minced
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 medium onion – chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon tumeric
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 4 large carrots – quartered and cut into small pie shaped pieces
  • 3 celery stalks – halved and cut into small pieces
  • 2 Tbs corn starch
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

Instructions

  • Brown meat in the olive oil in a skillet on the stove top over medium high heat (2-3 minutes). Place into crock pot
  • Add the 2 cups of water and all ingredients to the crock pot. Cook in crock pot on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
  • 30 minutes before serving, in a small bowl mix 2 Tbs of cold water and 2 tbs of corn starch together and mix until corn starch is dissolved. Once dissolved, add to the crock pot. Add the packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix as well. Remove the Bay Leaves before serving

Notes

This recipe can be easily frozen once cooked.  Place in ziplock freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Once cooked, this recipe will keep 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
To reheat this recipe: 
  1. You can reheat this beef stew by placing the amount you want to serve in a medium sized sauce pot and heat over medium heat on the stovetop until heated through and bubbly.  
  2. If you prefer to reheat in the oven, place into an oven safe dish, cover with aluminum foil or lid and heat at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. 
  3. You may also reheat in the microwave by placing into a microwave safe bowl (make sure to lay something on top or you'll have exploded carrots everywhere, a papertowel will do) and reheat on high for 1 minute.  Stir and continue reheating in 30 second intervals until heated through.
You might want to experiment with this recipe by adding some of your own ingredients according to your tastes: 
  • Use beer instead of water 
  • Other herbs and spices can be added such as chili powder, cayenne, cardamom, majoram, curry etc. 
  • Apples
  • Potatoes
  • Other veggies that you need to use up that are in your fridge. 
  • Use broth instead of water in the recipe.
  • Add a bouillon cube for more flavor.
  • Parmesan cheese always bumps up flavor.
While this recipe makes 8 servings, you can easily increase or decrease the servings by multiplying (or dividing) the ingredients according to how many people you will have.  If making a different amount, you might need to increase or decrease the cooking time accordingly. 

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal