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St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to bust out your dutch oven and make a big batch of Guinness Beef Stew! Featuring a rich and hearty Guinness beef broth, tender chuck roast, and plenty of carrots and potatoes, this hearty Irish stew is always a crowd-pleaser! And don’t worry, if you have leftovers, they freeze great!
Best Guinness Beef Stew Recipe
I know St. Patrick’s Day is still a month away, but I couldn’t resist sharing this deliciously hearty Guinness Beef Stew with you today! It’s the definition of comfort food and perfect for the bone chilling weather we’ve been experiencing lately. It’s definitely not a quick meal, but it’s worth every minute of prep! And it’s not hard… just one of those meals you should make on a day you have plenty of time to hang around the kitchen.
What makes this the BEST Guinness Irish Beef Stew?
Well for starters, this recipe features a deep & dark beef broth base that’s spiked with an entire bottle of Guinness stout! It’s so rich and one of my absolute beers to cook with. In addition, there’s plenty of tender stew meat, onions, carrots, and potatoes. If you want to add even more veggies, you could toss in parsnips and celery. Stew is pretty flexible, so you can make it your own. Add a dash of hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce or more of whatever floats your boat!
My family enjoys this stew ladled over buttery egg noodles, but it’s honestly hearty enough to serve on its own. Or with a simple piece of crusty bread! There’s something about a big dish of Irish stew and crusty piece of bread that just hits the spot, ya know? Lots of healthy nutritious calories and carbohydrates, what’s not to love? And of course if you’re looking to add more nutrition, a small salad would be a lovely addition.
What’s in Guinness Beef Stew? Here’s what you’ll need:
How to make Guinness Beef Stew
- Dredge the meat in flour mixture. Add into a well oiled pan and brown well on all sides.
- Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Then add in the apple cider vinegar and Guinness and vigorously stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beef, beef broth, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary, and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 2 hours.
- Add in the brown sugar and veggies and cook for another hour, or until the vegetables have softened.
How to Freeze Guinness Beef Stew (If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers…!)
- Cool your delicious Guinness beef stew completely! Then transfer the stew into a large freezer-safe container, leaving about 1/2 -inch of space from the top of the container.
- Place the container in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to chow down, simply remove the container from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator.
Although you can freeze beef stew, I personally find it tastes best eaten fresh. But the good news? It’ll keep, stored in the fridge, for up to 4 days! So you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy it!
Can I make it in the Slow Cooker?
This Irish stew should definitely start being cooked in a dutch oven on the stove top. The reason? The beef needs to be browned and so do the root vegetables. Cooking these ingredients in a large skillet and letting them brown adds so much flavor to the beef stew. And you wouldn’t get the best flavors or textures if you just dumped everything into a slow cooker and let it boil.
All of that being said, you can definitely cook this recipe to step 4, then dump everything in the slow cooker and let it simmer away. The cooking time might vary a bit since the heat in a slow cooker is less predictable. Add the slurry about 10 minutes before you plan on serving, so the stew has plenty of time to thicken. This takes a little bit longer in the slow cooker.
If you try this recipe for Guinness Beef Stew, let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes:
- Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake
- Guinness Double Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
- Brown Butter Soda Bread
- Guinness Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Mini Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecakes
- Black and Tan Brownies (Spiked with Guinness!)
Guinness Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 and 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, divided
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
- 3 pounds boneless beef chuck
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 11.2 ounce bottle Guinness beer
- 5 cups beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 large yellow onions peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 pound baby potatoes, cut in half
- 6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks, sliced on the diagonal
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a large, wide, shallow bowl, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Dredge the meat in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour.
- In a large dutch-oven (or heavy bottomed pot) heat half of the oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, or until shimmering. Add the beef, a few pieces at a time, and brown well on all sides, adding more oil after each batch. Using tongs, remove the browned beef and set aside on a plate. Repeat until all beef has been browned.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the color becomes a deep, rusty red, about 2 minutes. Add in the apple cider vinegar and Guinness and vigorously stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beef back to the pot. Add in the beef broth, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to barely a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 2 and 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. *The stew should NOT be boiling at all, but very lightly simmering.
- Add in the brown sugar, onions, potatoes, and carrots, and cook for another hour, stirring occasionally, or until the vegetables have softened.
- In a small measuring cup combine the cornstarch and water. Pour this into the stew and cook until the broth has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Ladle into bowls and serve! Garnish with freshly chopped parsley .
OMG! This was just the best ever! Made just as the recipe directed. No add-ins or add-ons. My husband & I were just gushing about how good this recipe is every bite we took! The meat is incredibly tender. Every bite is full of flavor! Definitely a keeper! Thank you Ashley for a wonderful recipe on a cold spring night!
I made this for our St Patrick’s Day dinner and it was so flavorful! My husband and I both said this recipe was definitely a keeper. Other than adding portobello mushrooms that I quartered, I followed this recipe as shown.
I was really leery about this recipe because my guys don’t like Ginness. Well I was absolutely wrong. The flavor was great and you could not tell at all that it had Ginness it.
Thank you very much for sharing this.
Extraordinary! Best beef stew my wife or I have ever tasted. The Guinness makes all the difference, along with fresh vegetables and good beef. Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Ashley,
How can I buy your book if I live in Australia?
I tried Guinness a few years ago and really didn’t like it. Can it be left out or substituted? My usual stew has red wine.
I really like some of your recipes and bought your book because of it, but I’m hesitant to try this.
Thanks.
Did you ever end up trying this with red wine ?
We just made this tonight and it’s incredible! Normally we like to wait til the next day to have something like a stew but it smelt so amazing we couldn’t wait. It did not disappoint. I used a GF flour, added portabella mushrooms, red radishes and some fresh rosemary that I had leftover from your parmesan rosemary biscuits (that were also a delicious triumph). I absolutely love all of your recipes. It’s my life’s goal to make all of them at least once.
Trying it now! Can’t wait for the outcome!
The absolute most amazing soup I’ve ever tasted!! My father told me it reminds him of his grandmother’s soup so I think it’s a winner
thanks for sharing such a nice delicious recipe.
I’ve tried this! And this is lit!