This quick and easy family-friendly Hamburger Stew is made in about forty minutes right on the stovetop. It is full of nature’s wholesome goodness and a hearty, satisfying meal that the whole family can enjoy.
This stew is delicious year-round, but I love to serve it during those chilly cold winter days. For a company-worthy meal, serve with Cheddar Biscuits, Cornbread, or Sweet Maple Dinner Rolls.
Why this recipe works
- This fun and easy recipe comes together quite quickly, making it doable for a weeknight meal.
- Hamburger Stew is made with wholesome ingredients for a hearty meal that you can feel good about feeding your family.
- The ingredients for this recipe are easily found at any grocery store, and many of them you may already have on hand.
- Ground beef is still one of the most economically friendly meats that you can cook.
How to make Hamburger Stew
Start by browning your ground beef over medium heat in a Dutch Oven or heavy stockpot. When it is about halfway done browning, add the onion and cook until it is soft and the ground beef is fully browned. Then reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, oregano, crushed rosemary, thyme leaves, and parsley, cooking for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Next, add the potatoes, carrots, and fire-roasted tomatoes. Now whisk together the beef broth and tomato paste and pour it into the pot. Then simmer covered for 15 minutes. Finally, add the peas and simmer covered until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe notes and tips
- Use lean ground beef or lean chili grind beef, draining any excess grease after cooking the onions.
- For aesthetic purposes, peel your carrots. The small amount of effort is well worth the bright, beautiful orange color.
- Diced tomatoes can be substituted for the fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Russet, red, or gold potatoes all work well with this recipe.
- Store cooled leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 2 months in a Ziploc freezer bag. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and heat on the stovetop on low or in the microwave at reduced power.
- Do you like everything with a little kick to it? Then add a little crushed red pepper to taste.
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Easy Hamburger Stew
This wholesome hearty old fashioned hamburger stew is made in less than forty minutes with ground beef, fresh vegetables, and a perfect blend of spices, most of which you may already have on hand.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: main meal beef
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 russet potatoes peeled and cut in small cubes
- 1 (14.5) ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 1/4 cup low sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2/3 cup frozen baby peas
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium heat, brown the ground beef. When it is about halfway through the browning process, add the onion and cook until the onion is soft and the ground beef is browned, approximately 5-6 minutes. Drain any excess grease.
- Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and thyme; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the potatoes, carrots, and fire-roasted tomatoes.
- In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the beef broth and tomato paste. Stir it into the pot. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
- Add the peas and simmer covered until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Use lean ground beef or lean chili grind beef, draining any excess grease after cooking the onions.
- For aesthetic purposes, peel your carrots. The small amount of effort is well worth the bright, beautiful orange color.
- Diced tomatoes can be substituted for the fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Russet, red, or gold potatoes all work well with this recipe.
- Store cooled leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 2 months in a Ziploc freezer bag. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and heat on the stovetop on low or in the microwave at reduced power.
- Do you like everything with a little kick to it? Then add a little crushed red pepper to taste.
Keywords: ground beef stew, beef and potato stew, old fashioned hamburger stew
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Paul Grotrian
Very good recipe i had the same problem as other with the potatoes taking a long time to get tender my potatoes look to be the same size as in the pictures, i upped the heat a bit on the simmer i did add a bit more broth and a dash of hot sauce
Jim
Very good base recipe and thank you for sharing! I tweaked it a bit by adding about a tablespoon of herbs de Provence in addition to everything you listed, as well as a tablespoon each of A-1 and worcestershire sauce. and came out great!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the tips, Jim. I am glad that you liked the recipe!
Gary Elliot
I just made this recently and it was great. I made it on a stove as I don’t have a crockpot. I added more beef stock to make it more souplike. The only drawback was that the carrots never got tender even after simmering for a long time. I’m not much of a cook so maybe I didn’t do something quite right.
★★★★
Beth Pierce
Glad that you liked it. Maybe the pieces of carrots were too large. Try chopping them a little smaller next time. If the carrot is too thick cut it in half lengthwise and then chop it.
Susan
We recently had a steer butchered and I have been on the hunt for ground beef recipes. My husband doesn’t care for the usual Mac, tomato and ground beef type dishes so I tried this one. Pretty darn good so now I have one more thing to add to the ground beef file.👍🏽
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Susan! So glad that you and your husband like the hamburger stew recipe!
Marsha
This recipe is excellent! I made it exactly as written except I pureed the fire roasted tomatoes because my husband does not like chunks of tomato in anything. I served it over freshly made biscuits.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Marsha! So glad that you liked it!
Al
This was super easy and used ingredients I already had – except for the fire roasted tomatoes. Instead I used a can of diced tomatoes then ended up tossing a beef bouillon cube in because it was lacking flavour. I bet the fire roasted tomatoes make it that much better. The family enjoyed this.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Al! Glad that you enjoyed it.
Elle
My family loves this recipe! My toddler had three bowls and he can be a pretty picky eater. Thank you!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Elle! So glad that your family liked it!
William L. Fox
It wouldn’t be stew with out chopped celery.
★★★★
Susie
1st time I made this my husband said I should make this more often. There were no leftovers, the whole family enjoyed this stew. I do modify recipe some; 4 gold Yukon potatoes, 1 small bag of baby carrots (carrots chopped in 1/2). 1 can veg-all, 1 can corn, 1 can green beans, and no frozen peas, and I also use extra beef broth. I serve with jiffy cornbread, crackers, or homemade cornbread, and it is a new family favorite. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Beth Pierce
My pleasure Susie! So glad that you and your family like it!
Theresa
This is very good. I took advice of a previous post and added one tablespoon. of flour to the ground beef. Now to wait for my husband to get home to have a bowl.
★★★★★
Dan
What did adding flour to the ground beef do, did it make the broth thicker?
Beth Pierce
Yes
Debbie
Very simple and easy to make..the only I did was add more beef broth we liked it more soupy…but this is a keeper for sure.
★★★★
Beth Pierce
Awesome! So glad that you liked it!
Rita
I made this today and it’s simmering almost done. Cannot wait perfect meal for weather like today. I used ground turkey instead of hamburger. I will fix almond flour cornbread to go with. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
My pleasure Rita! I sure hope you enjoyed it! So darn cold here too!
Tammy
I would love your recipe for almond flour cornbread.
Michele Rush
This hearty stew is simple tastes delicious and easy to put together . Also, I like the fact that all the dishes are done ahead and the kitchen is tidy. Another option to this stew would be to thicken it with a tablespoon of flour in the meat browning process, then add more beef broth. ( 1/2 cup or so ) This would give you a bit more gravy! Enjoy with
cheddar buiscuit and a green salad and youve got yoursef a great meal! I would serve this as a casual dinner to friends anytime! Yummy!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the tips Michele!
Gary Elliot
I also added more low sodium beef broth and more when I reheated it. Even better the next few times. For added flavor try some garlic salt. I used both cut green beans and peas along with pearl onions and diced tomatoes.
Unfortunately my taters and carrots remained a bit too firm even on the second day after simmering for 1.5 hours.
Is there some way to soften these before adding to the stew? My microwave has a stem option. Maybe that might help?
😊
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Hey Gary! Yes, you could steam the vegetables a little before adding them to the stew. You could also cut your veggies into smaller pieces.
kushigalu
Love the flavors in this stew recipe. Thanks for sharing. SO delicious.
Thena Franssen
I can’t wait to make this stew! The ingredients sound amazing and I love the heartiness of it!
Ntensibe Edgar
Nnnniiiiicccceeeeeee….I am so saving this recipe! Hamburger Stew has never been this simplified and broken down, like you have done here. Thanks for sharing.
Ebony
This recipe is as good as it looks! I substituted beef broth for chicken since we did not have any and it still turned out great! Keeper recipe for sure!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Ebony! So glad that you liked it!
Fransic verso
This looks great. We had it before but I find;t really know the recipe. Now I can cook it for myself haha. Thank you for sharing!
Marysa
This sounds like such a hearty stew, perfect for winter. And I like how easy it is to prepare.
Brianne
This stew is perfect for the cold weather. My mood right now is for this kind of food.
★★★★★
Neely Moldovan
Oh I haven’t made stew like this before but its such a fun take on it!
Elise Ho
I am looking for some quick dinner ideas for tonight and for tomorrow. This looks like it might be a good one. I’ll give it a try.
★★★★★
Heather Castillo
I am always on the hunt for easy meals, especially during the week. Can’t wait to try this.
Jei Laine
I am looking for a new easy recipe. I am glad I found this. Thank you for sharing.
Heather Klein Wolf
Don’t look at this recipe when you’re hungry or you’ll start drooling! Now I need to run to the store to buy the ingredients. It’s a must-make dinner.
★★★★★
Sienna
This looks like something my whole family would like. Perfect for cold nights in! And love that it’s one pot!
Kori
Very good and so easy to make, thanks so much for the recipe 💜
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine!
Janet Graves
The weather was raining cold and damp yesterday this stew was the best. Full of favor sooo
Good. Is now our favor for Hamburg stew/soup. Thank you for sharing
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
My pleasure Janet! So glad that you liked it!!
Anne
I have made this for many many years but have never browned the hamburger first. Just crumble in with rest of ingred. Also add a few pats of butter for extra richness.
★★★★★
Mairead
This stew looks amazing. It reminds me of a dish my mom made when I was a child in Ireland. We called this stew “savory mince.” Hamburger meat is known as minced meat in Ireland, so that’s where the name savory mince comes from. Thank you for reminding me of one of my favorite childhood meals.
★★★★★
Dannii
I love how many vegetables are packed in to this. It looks really hearty and comforting.
★★★★★
Jo
Our new favorite dinner, Love all the flavors in this stew!
★★★★★
Anjali
This stew was so hearty and delicious and I love that it’s filled with veggies too! A true one pot meal!
★★★★★
Jenny
This recipe sounds so good! Making it today, have 2lbs if meat, so will add just a little extra seasonings to it. Can’t wait to try it!
★★★★
Laura
Sounds and looks so yummy. Some dumplings on top would be a nice little addition, too. Will be trying this soon. Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Dumplings on top of this would be delicious!
Mary
We made a simpler version of the Hamburger stew when we were camping. Hamburger meat, onions add a package of beef stew seasoning & a can of mixed vegetables. Brown meat & onions added stew seasoning following directions on pkg then add mixed veggies I added garlic powder, salt & pepper..we had cornbread or crackers. Taste great sitting around a camp fire with family & friends.
Beth Pierce
That does sound delicious Mary! Thanks for sharing!
Nancy Kirkendall
I make a similar stew that I have called poor man’s stew. I will definitely add carrots next time I make it! Looks so delicious!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Nancy!
Irina
This stew recipe sounds so comforting and delicious that I cannot wait to give it a try! It is perfect for a winter cold day. 🙂
★★★★★
LIsalia
Yummy! The BEST dinner. Hearty and filling for this cold winter time. My family loved it.
★★★★★
Chris Collins
I’m always looking for new stew recipes around this time of year, so I’ll definitely be giving this a go! 🙂
★★★★★
Lisa
Can you make this in the crockpot? If so, how long should you cook it?
★★★★★
sherree I lott
Yes, I braise the hamburger,makes its own broth. I cook it on low for 9 hours
★★★★★
Jenn
I love this recipe – I love that it is easy and quick, and I especially love that the kids actually eat the veggie in it! We’ll be making this often!
★★★★★
Sandra
This is really good! Such a huge hit at my house!
★★★★★
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
Oh! This looks so hearty and tasty! I love this and never have thought to make a stew like this before. A must-try!
★★★★★
Michelle
This is really turning out good. Unfortunately right after I got it simmering my Propane went out and it was about 4 hours before I was able to resupply. I am getting very hungry but the potatoes are not cooking that fast because they are some weird potatoes in this country that I live in that just take forever to cook. They do cook eventually is just you gotta be patient. So far it’s delicious though.
★★★★
Beth Pierce
So sorry to hear about the propane and the potatoes. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!
Beti | easyweeknightrecipes
Oh my, this hamburger stew looks incredibly delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
★★★★★
katerina @ diethood.com
This is such a fantastic idea! My family would LOVE this!
★★★★★
Allyson
This stew looks so yummy and hearty! I will have to make this soon!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
This hamburger stew is such an exciting idea!
★★★★★
Dorothy Reinhold
This looks like a big bowl of comfort food. I have all of the ingredients! This will be perfect for dinner tomorrow night.