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 like I do, you'll be crazy about this stew.
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 :-)
How to Make Garlicky Beef Stew
A Few Notes About "Stew Meat"
Now, before you grab a packaged 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, what to expect for the cooking time, and I can cut out most of the gristle and other undesirable bits. Of course, a nice pot roast, rump roast, or round roast are also a good choices.
If you decide to use a roast, 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. Do not crowd the pan and do add additional oil with each new batch if it's needed. Remove the browned meat to a plate and set it aside.
Prep and Add the Onions and Garlic
While the meat is browning, you can prepare the onions and garlic. Peel the onions and slice them into rounds. Peel the garlic cloves and leave them whole.
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 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 just a minute or two and then add the beef stock, diced tomatoes with their juice, diced celery, and fresh parsley. Stir 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.
Serve over brown or white rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with additional fresh parsley for garnish.
FAQs
Honestly, this stew is a meal just by itself. But, a little garlic bread or rolls on the side will go very well.
Any leftovers can be stored covered and refrigerated for up to three days.
Other Beef Stew Recipes Curated for You
- Beef Stew from My Baking Addiction
- Winter Oven Beef Stew from Taste of Home
- Beef Stew with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme from Amanda's Cookin'
- Irish Beef Stew from TasteFood
- Beef Stew from For the Love of Cooking
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Garlicky Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pound stew meat or, preferably, chuck roast
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large white or yellow onions
- 1 head of garlic
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups beef stock
- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast, if using, into about 1-inch pieces. Pat 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 chuck in batches and cook until browned on all sides. Do not crowd the pan. Add additional oil with each new batch if needed. Remove browned meat to a plate and set aside.
- While the meat is browning, prepare the onions and garlic. Peel the onions and slice into rounds. Peel the 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. Add the tomato paste and stir it into the onions and garlic. Cook the tomato paste for just a minute or two and then add the beef stock, diced tomatoes with their juice, diced celery, and fresh parsley.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook over a low simmer for about 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the beef is very tender.
- Serve over brown or white rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with additional fresh parsley for garnish.
Notes
- Note about stew meat vs. chuck roast: Very often, the “stew meat” available in markets is simply odds and ends leftover from lots of different cuts of beef. All those different cuts may have different cooking times and some will be tough, some chewy, and some tender. My recommendation is to purchase a chuck roast and cut it into cubes yourself.
- 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.
- Serve over brown or white rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with additional fresh parsley for garnish.
- This stew is a meal just by itself. But, a little garlic bread or rolls on the side will go very well.
- Any leftovers can be stored covered and refrigerated for up to three days.
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 30 October 2012.
Lana Stuart is the cook and occasional traveler here at Never Enough Thyme. Lana has been cooking since she was tall enough to reach the stove and started this blog in 2009 to share her delicious home cooking recipes. You'll find about 700 recipes here so there's sure to be something your family will like!
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Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
What a great way to change up stew. We're garlic lovers at our house.
Uncle J
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. :-)
Lana
So glad they liked it! And by the way, it's even better the next day.
Miss P
Looks great. Love the pot.
Miss P
Lana
I love that pot, too! Use it all the time.
Matt mmWine Horbund
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
Lana
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.