As the weather turns colder, there’s nothing more comforting than a homemade stew cooking on the stove. My Healthy Beef Stew will help you beat the winter blues and keep you warm and cozy. Tender pieces of beef come together with baby potatoes, carrots, onion, and a decadent combination of nutrient-dense ingredients for a beef stew that is bursting with flavor. If you don’t think beef stew is “your thing”–you should think again. This Healthy Beef Stew is everything I love about lightened-up cooking, and you’re sure to love it too.
Why you should make this Healthy Beef Stew
Beef stew seems to get a bad rap–simply because of the name. I promise you this isn’t your grandmother’s sloppy stew that you wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole. This beef stew combines beef with a list of other ingredients like potatoes, broth, vegetables, herbs, and spices for a dish that is savory and rich in flavor. Plus, it’s packed with nutrients! You’ll get the protein from the beef, healthy carbs from the potato, and vitamins and fiber from the vegetables.
If you’re on the fence about making a beef stew, I encourage you to give this one a try. I know you’ll be pleasantly surprised. This stew is essentially a thicker soup with more solid ingredients–meaning more to love! Whether it’s a chilly weekend or busy winter weeknight, this Healthy Beef Stew is comfort food heaven.
What do I need to make Healthy Beef Stew?
- Bottom round
- All-purpose flour
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked pepper
- Olive oil spray
- Celery
- Baby carrots
- Onion
- Thyme
- Red wine (dry)
- Beef broth
- Balsamic vinegar
- Tomato paste
- Golden baby potatoes
- Corn starch
- Water
- Fresh parsley
- Equipment: dutch oven or large soup pot
- Dutch ovens can be a pricey investment, but with the holidays coming up it’s a great time to splurge. Check out these dutch ovens from Le Creuset
How to make this Healthy Beef Stew
Trim the fat off the beef, and then cut the beef into bite-sized chunks. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to the flour, and toss the beef into the flour until thoroughly coated. Preheat a dutch oven over medium high heat and add olive oil spray. Working in batches, sear the beef on all sides to get a golden crust (it will not be cooked through). Be careful not to overcrowd the meat, as it will not crisp up; it will steam. Work in two smaller batches to ensure proper browning. Remove the partially cooked beef from the pot and set aside.
Add more olive oil spray to the empty dutch oven, and add the onions. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Next, add the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape any burnt bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the beef broth, tomato paste and balsamic vinegar, as well as the carrots and celery. Add the cooked beef back in, along with the thyme sprigs and another 1/2 tsp kosher salt.
Cover the pot and simmer on medium low for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, add the baby potatoes and cover and simmer for another 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, combine the cornstarch with the water to form a slurry, and pour it into the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the stew is thickened to your liking. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Comforting meals for the cold winter months
With the cold winter months just around the corner, it’s easy to lose sight of your health goals. Stay on track with some of my healthy recipes that are sure to help you feel good–and stay warm!
- Healthy Chicken Cacciatore
- Healthy Tortellini in Broth
- Lightened-Up Chili with Cornbread Topping
- Classic Stuffed Shells
Healthy Beef Stew
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or large soup pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Bottom round
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- olive oil spray
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup baby carrots
- 1 onion, large; chopped
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2/3 cup red wine, dry
- 5 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 lb golden baby potatoes
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup water
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- Trim the fat off the beef, and then cut the beef into bite-sized chunks.
- Add the garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to the flour, and toss the beef into the flour until thoroughly coated. Preheat a dutch oven over medium high heat. and add olive oil spray.
- Working in batches, sear the beef on all sides to get a golden crust (it will not be cooked through). Be careful not to overcrowd the meat, as it will not crisp up; it will steam. Work in two smaller batches to ensure proper browning. Remove the partially cooked beef from the pot and set aside.
- Add more olive oil spray to the empty dutch oven, and add the onions. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tender.
- Next, add the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape any burnt bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beef broth, tomato paste and balsamic vinegar, as well as the carrots and celery. Add the cooked beef back in, along with the thyme sprigs and another 1/2 tsp kosher salt.
- Cover the pot and simmer on medium low for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, add the baby potatoes and cover and simmer for another 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, combine the cornstarch with the water to form a slurry, and pour it into the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the stew is thickened to your liking.
- Garnish with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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This stew recipe is soooo good! Saw it come in my email this morning and immediately had to go get the ingredients! I was hesitant to try it because we use my Irish family’s recipe but this one compares to my grandmothers. Everything Steph does you can tell she puts her heart in. This is definitely a keeper of a recipe. Everyone loved it!
I’m planning on making this today and wondering if it can be done in a crock pot or instant pot? How would I want to sear the beef? And how long to cook?
Looks so good! Could I make in the crockpot?
This recipe is amazing! I used venison instead of beef and it came out incredible. The flavor is so good and the meat was very tender. My new go to stew recipe!
Stephanie you did it again!! So delicious! This is a keeper for sure!
Would this recipe work with chuck roast instead?
Made this recipe for the family last week and everyone raved! A definite repeat!
Very tasty. Was in a hurry so I started with stew meat. Mine didn’t thicken much so I used one more tablespoon of corn starch and then it was perfect. Served with corn bread muffins. Just perfect for a cold night.
Update. Made this for the 2nd time.Yummy! Love this recipe!
My tweaks used sweet red wine instead of dry. Used 2-3 pds of chuck roast so plenty of meat to last a few days. 2 pds potatoes cut in half and 2 cups of each carrots/celery. Additional seasoning to taste. So delicious! Thanks for sharing Steph!
YUM!!!! So delicious 🤤
Made it for my husband and he loves it. (: Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I searched for a beef stew recipe and thought I’d give this a try since it sounded by the ingredients very flavorful and it was! Best beef stew I have personally made, loved the bit of balsamic vinegar in here. I actually baked potatoes separately and didn’t add them in but served the stew over the baked potato for a very hearty meal.
This was delicious!!!! Followed it exactly and served it to guests and it was amazing. Thanks for another wonderful recipe. Don’t know where i’d be without your recipes!!!!
I made this on Sunday and it was amazing. We had snowy weather and it just was the perfect most flavorful dish. My 16 year old already asked me to make it again! 🍲
Such a delicious recipe! The meat was so tender and everything was overall so flavorful.
This recipe is an affront to anyone that actually knows how to cook. Do yourself a favor and check out serious eats recipe for beef stew. It’s only “healthy” because the author substituted oil for spray oil. All other ingredients are mostly the same other than the stuff the author didn’t include.