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Beef stew in a black bowl topped with chopped parsley.
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5 from 113 votes!

Homemade Beef Stew

A great homemade beef stew recipe is a handy one to have. Hearty, healthy and loaded with flavour this is one beef casserole the whole family will love!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time7 hours
Total Time7 hours 15 minutes
Course: Lunch and Dinner
Cuisine: Australian Keto
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
Recipe Category: Low Carb
Servings: 6 serves
Calories: 297kcal
Author: Megan Ellam

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 500 g chuck steak cubed, see notes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 0.5 onion roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves finely minced
  • 2 bacon rashers sliced into strips
  • 0.5 chorizo sausage diced
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • 1 medium carrot sliced
  • 4 radishes roughly chopped
  • 100 g brown mushrooms roughly chopped
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • thickener of choice see notes

Instructions

SLOW COOKER OR STOVETOP METHOD

  • Season the beef with paprika, salt, and pepper. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the beef, onion, garlic, bacon, and chorizo (in batches if the pan is not big enough) until browned on all sides. Pour into the slow cooker. (See notes). If cooking on the stovetop, brown the beef in a large cast iron pot and add the remaining ingredients to the pot after browning the beef.
  • Add the remainder of the ingredients, except the thickener. Slow cook for 6-7 hours until beef is super tender. Extend time if the beef is not soft and tender. For stovetop, cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat down to low and stir every hour until beef is soft.
  • Turn the heat up in the slow cooker or pour the sauce into a saucepan. whisk through the thickener and simmer over high heat until thickened to your liking. It should be noted that the sauce will thicken with resting without any added thickeners.

INSTANT POT (multicooker) METHOD

  • Season the beef with paprika, salt, and pepper. Set to Sauté and add the oil and butter. When the butter has melted add the beef, onion, garlic, bacon, and chorizo and brown, stirring occasionally.
  • Scrape the bottom of the bowl for any burned-on spices and add the remaining ingredients, except the thickener. Lock the lid and steam valve in place. Set to Pressure Cook/High/35 minutes. Leave to natural release for 10 minutes then quick release.
  • Remove one cup of the broth and add the thickener of choice. Stir to remove any lumps. Pour back into the stew and set to sauté. Cook until thickened. (See notes).

THERMAL METHOD

  • Season the beef with paprika, salt, and pepper. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the beef, onion, garlic, bacon, and chorizo (in batches if the pan is not big enough) until browned on all sides. Pour into the slow cooker. (See notes). If cooking on the stovetop, brown the beef in a large cast iron pot and add the remaining ingredients to the pot after browning the beef.
  • Add the remainder of the ingredients, except the thickener. Slow cook 4 hrs/98°C/reverse/stir. Extend cooking as needed.
  • To thicken the stew, pour the broth into a saucepan and add the thickener. Whisk to combine and simmer over medium heat until it thickens. Add to the stew and stir to combine. (See notes).

Video

Notes

Slow Cooker Tips
Some slow cookers or crockpots have the ability to sauté built into them making this a one pot beef stew recipe. If yours does not just follow the instructions to brown in a skillet. Same with the option to turn up the heat for thickening. 
Pressure Cooker Tips
Make sure to follow any manufacturer's recommendations for pressure cooking. This recipe has been tested in an Instant Pot. If you have a tough piece of beef that is not tender after cooking, then you can add more time under pressure as needed or sauté until the beef softens.
Thermal Cooker Tips
The size and cut of the beef can affect the cooking times needed. Extend the time until the beef has softened. This recipe is suitable for all Thermomix® models and can be used with the Slow Cook function. A blade cover is not needed for this recipe when the reverse speed is in use.
If making beef stew in a Magimix Cook Expert use the slow cook function or set to the times and temperatures specified in this recipe. The beef can be browned in the Cook Expert using the stir fry setting before slow cooking.
Thickeners 
If you are not low carb 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder, plain flour or cornstarch will thicken this recipe. For our low carb and keto followers, I used 1 tablespoon of hemp flour to thicken the stew. This can be replaced with 1 tablespoon hemp seeds, 0.25-0.5 teaspoons to be used, or glucomannan powder.
The ratio for xanthan gum to liquid is 1/8 teaspoon per cup of liquid. I ALWAYS exercise caution and err on the side of less is more with thickeners. The sauce will also thicken with resting. If you have over thickened, add more stock to thin the sauce out.
Extra vegetables can be added to the stew to thicken it. 
Protein Choices
I use chuck steak for stewing. You can use blade, gravy beef, lamb neck chops or any of your preferred "stewing" meats. The quality and age of the cow before slaughter can affect the properties of the meat. More time may be required than the recipe states. If your beef is not tender after the suggested cooking then extend the time until it is. 
This recipe yields approximately 4-6 servings. The actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes. 
 
To calculate the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe by 4-6. The result will be the weight of one serving. 
 
Nutritional values shown are guidelines only. They are for 1 serving using the ingredients listed. 
 
All recipes have been tested using all of the cooking methods included by various recipe testers.
 
The recipe card instructions contain the most basic of steps and a list of ingredients. If you have any queries, questions, or are unsure of substitutions, please scroll up to the blog post for more information.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serve (complete with 1 dumpling) | Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 368mg | Potassium: 679mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2287IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 3mg | Magnesium: 32mg | Net Carbs: 5g