Garlicky Beef Stew
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 :-)
💗 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.
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
- 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
- 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
Honestly, this stew is a meal just by itself. But, a little garlic bread or rolls on the side will go very well.
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 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.
🧾 More Recipes You’ll Like
- Chocolate Pretzel Spiderwebs Halloween Treats
- 3 Fun Kid Friendly Halloween Ideas
- Seafood Stew
- Banana Monster Pops
- Sunday Beef Stew
- Halloween Party Snack Mix
- Cute and Easy Halloween Ghost Cupcakes
- Classic Irish Stew
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?
I’d LOVE to know what you thought!
Leave a rating below in the comments and let me know how you liked it!
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📖 Recipe
Garlicky Beef Stew
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
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post was originally published on October 30, 2012. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
What a great way to change up stew. We’re garlic lovers at our house.
From the girls: Two Thumbs UP!! Great stew for Halloween. Neither of the kids seemed to notice that there were garlic and onions in the stew. They just said that it was yummy. :-)
So glad they liked it! And by the way, it’s even better the next day.
Looks great. Love the pot.
Miss P
I love that pot, too! Use it all the time.
I absolutely LOVE beef stew! Robin has a go to recipe she got from Emeril, but I like your use of Garlic. I LOVE Garlic!
I’ll have to make this, and pair it with some wines on A Good Time With Wine!
Cheers
Matt
Thanks, Matt. If you’re a garlic lover, then this stew is definitely for you! No worries either about an after taste since the garlic literally melts into the stew and becomes very mild and sweet. I’d be very interested in seeing what wine you pair with this recipe.