Garlicky Beef Stew

Name: Garlicky Beef Stew
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 170 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds stew meat or, preferably, chuck roast; Salt and pepper; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 large white or yellow onions; 1 head of garlic; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 3 cups beef stock; 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice; 2 ribs celery (diced); 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Serve this Garlicky Beef Stew with loads of onions and a whole head of garlic for your Halloween dinner. It'll keep the vampires away!

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes

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A serving of garlic lovers' beef stew over steamed rice in a white bowl.

Serve this Garlicky Beef Stew with loads of onions and a whole head of garlic for your Halloween dinner. It’ll keep the vampires away!

The weather is cooling. The leaves are changing. This is the time of year when everyone starts craving comforting, hearty recipes to warm themselves from the inside out.

Take today for instance. It’s chilly. The wind is blowing. And the last thing I want on my dinner plate is a salad. No, thank you. I want something substantial. Something that will stick with me for a while. Something like this Garlicky Beef Stew.

This is the perfect garlic lover’s beef stew. If you like onion and garlic flavors as I do, you’ll be crazy about this recipe.

This recipe uses two big onions and a whole head (yes! a whole head) of garlic. Yum. And just in time for Halloween, too! Serve up brimming bowls of this delicious stew and you’ll ward off any sign of vampires :-)

A wooden spoon holding finished stew suspended over the cooking pot.

💗 Why We Love This Recipe

One pot meal!
Prep quickly and leave it to simmer.
Full of delicious onion and garlic flavors.

🥘 Ingredients You’ll Need

Stew Meat (See my notes below about stew meat and optional cuts.)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil and Butter
Onions
Garlic
Tomato Paste
Beef Stock
Canned Diced Tomatoes
Celery
Fresh Parsley

Most of these are standard pantry items. You probably have everything except the beef on hand to make this stew right now!

You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.

🥩 About “Stew Meat”

Now, before you grab a package from your grocery’s meat case labeled “stew meat” just remember that those often contain odds and ends leftover from lots of different cuts of beef. You might get a bit of chuck, a bit of round, and some bits of who-knows-what. All those different cuts will have different cooking times and some will be tough, some chewy, and some tender.

Chuck roast on a cutting board with a chef's knife.

I prefer to buy a nice chuck roast and just cut it up myself. That way, I’ll know exactly what I have and what to expect for the cooking time. I can also trim away most of the gristle and other undesirable bits. Of course, a nice pot roast, rump roast, or round roast are also good choices.

🔪 How to Make Garlicky Beef Stew

Brown the Beef

Whatever cut of beef you choose, cut it into about 1-inch pieces. Then pat it dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
In a heavy bottomed pan heat the olive oil over medium heat.
When the oil is hot, add the beef in batches and cook until browned on all sides. Remove the browned meat to a plate and set it aside.

TIP: When browning the beef, cook in batches and do not crowd the pan. Do add additional oil with each new batch if it’s needed.

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Add the Onions and Garlic

Butter added to cooking juices in the pan.

Onions and garlic browned in the cooking pan.

Add the butter to the pan.
Add the onions and garlic and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have begun to wilt and brown.

TIP: To make peeling the garlic easy, cut off the end of each clove where it was attached to the root of the bulb. Then whack the individual cloves on a board with the flat side of a chef’s knife. It will crush the cloves a bit, but the skin will pop right off.

Add Remaining Ingredients

Tomato sauce added to onions and garlic.

Stir the tomato paste into the onions and garlic.
Cook the tomato paste for a minute or two.
Add the beef stock, diced tomatoes with their juice, diced celery, and fresh parsley.
Return the browned stew meat to the pan and stir everything together.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook at a low simmer for about 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the beef is very tender.

🍽 How to Serve

Serve over brown or white rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with additional fresh parsley for garnish.

🍚 Storage Information

Any leftovers can be stored covered and refrigerated for up to three days. You can freeze the stew in airtight containers for up to three months.

❓ Questions About Garlic Lovers’ Beef Stew

What goes well with this stew?

Honestly, this stew is a meal just by itself. But, a little garlic bread or rolls on the side will go very well.

Can I make this in the slow cooker?

Sure! To make this stew in the slow cooker, brown the beef and saute the onions. Put the beef, onions, garlic, and remaining ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for 4-6 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.

My beef stew is more like soup. How can I thicken it?

My preferred method for thickening beef stew (or any similar recipe) is to use a cornstarch slurry. Mix two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons cold water. Slowly pour the slurry into the bubbling stew, stirring until mixed well. It should thicken on contact.

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