Carne Guisada

This easy and delicious Carne Guisada is a flavorful Latin beef stew made with chunks of beef, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and warm and smoky spices.

You are going to love this tasty stew. It is just that darn good! Serve with warm tortillas, refried beans, black beans, or cilantro lime rice.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.

• Beef stew: You can also use a chuck roast, which is the most common cut for precut beef stew. I trim it up and cut it into bite-sized pieces. 
• Bell pepper: Green bell pepper is more authentic, but you can use any color bell pepper.
• Tomatoes: I use fresh ripe Roma tomatoes. You can substitute a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes.
• Smoked paprika: Not to be confused with sweet paprika. The red peppers are smoked over an oak fire before grinding.
• Beef broth: Preferably low-sodium.
• Bay leaves: Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.

How To Make Carne Guisada

This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.

1. Salt and pepper the beef stew.
2. Brown it in a bit of olive oil over medium heat. Remove the browned beef to a plate.
3. Add the bell peppers and onions. Cook over medium-low heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.
4. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in the beef broth, bay leaves, and browned beef.
6. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1-1½ hours or until the meat is fork-tender. Remove the bay leaves. Garnish with cilantro.

Preparation Tips

• If using a Dutch oven, you can cover and bake it in the oven instead of simmering.
• To peel tomatoes, add them to boiling water for a minute. Then, using a slotted spoon, move them to an ice bath. The tomatoes will peel so easily.
• There will be brown bits in the pot after browning the meat. In culinary terms, this is called fond. After adding the vegetables and beef broth, scrape the bottom of the pot to collect the browned bits. They are loaded with flavor.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve this with Mexican rice, pinto beans, or ranch-style beans. Other great choices are skillet cornbread, sweet potato cornbread, corn fritters, or flour tortillas.

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