Dutch Oven Beef Stew

A tasty and savory Dutch oven beef stew, combining seasoned browned beef stew with onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes in a rich beef gravy, slow-cooked to perfection.

This is comfort food at its best. You will love every juicy, tender bite of stew, buttery potatoes, and sweet carrots. Serve with French baguettes, no-knead Dutch oven bread, or angel biscuits.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

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

• Beef stew: You can use prepackaged beef stew or trim and cut a chuck roast.
• Beef broth: Use low-sodium so you can control the amount of salt.
• Bay leaves: They add delicate eucalyptus-like flavors and complexity, but remember to fish them out of the pot.
• Potatoes: I like to use baby Dutch yellow potatoes, but you can use cut-up Yukon gold potatoes.

How to Make Dutch Oven Beef Stew

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

1. Whisk the flour, paprika, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, dried marjoram, crushed rosemary, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Dredge the beef stew pieces through the flour mixture.
3. Use a large Dutch oven to brown the beef in vegetable oil over medium heat. Work in small batches and plate the beef when browned.
4. Sauté the onion and celery in the pot until they are soft. Add the beef broth, bay leaves, and browned beef. Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the brown bits. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for an hour.
5. Remove the pot from the oven and add carrots and potatoes. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for an hour. Fish out the bay leaves and serve.

Preparation Tips

• A Dutch Oven is one of my favorite cooking vessels, and I especially love beef stew cooked in it. I sear and brown the beef in the pot and then deglaze the pot to include all those tasty brown bits (also known as fond).
• Don’t wash the pot after browning the beef. Those brown bits add so much flavor to the stew. Try to scrape up the brown bits after adding the beef broth. If they do not all come up, try again when adding the carrots and potatoes.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave at reduced power.

Serving Suggestions

There are many possibilities, but I like crusty French bread, corn muffins, easy sweet potato cornbread, and homemade dinner rolls. Healthier choices include rocket salad, pear salad, and Brussels Sprouts salad.

https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf