Beef Stew Meat Recipes: Beef Dishes That Bring Warmth to Your Dinner Table

We believe nothing helps bring people closer than a pot of steamy beef stew—especially when having it on those chilly winter days. In our collection of beef stew meat recipes, you’ll find a wealth of cooking ideas that are healthy, easy, and incredibly tasty.

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Reasons to Love Beef Stew Meat

There’s a never-ending list of reasons why we love making and enjoying beef stew meat, and it will take forever for us to share all of them. Here, we will name only the three most crucial qualities that make our versions worthy of being on your menu.

Beef stew meat is healthy: Loaded with vegetables and red meat, two essential food groups, you will gain access to an abundant source of nutrients. Beef is rich in B-complex vitamins, heme iron, and zinc, while vegetables offer dietary fiber and other micronutrients. Our chefs always keep a strict eye on the amount of saturated fat, added sodium, and calories to ensure our recipes are diet-friendly.
Most of its cooking time is hands-off: Beef stew may need hours of slow-cooking for the meat and veggies to become fork-tender and flavorsome. However, most of the cooking time is hands-free. You can either continue preparing other dishes or sit back, relax, and wait for your delectable beef stew to come together.
It requires minimal cooking skills: Your work is made easy—chop up the beef and vegetables, combine the seasonings and liquid, cover the lid, and let it cook. Plus, if you have an Instant Pot stand-by, you will be able to make the dish in half the time compared to the traditional technique.

Best Beef Stew Meat Recipes

Listed below is our highly-recommended collection of beef stew meat recipes. Do try them out and share your experience with us by leaving a comment.

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Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe

A dish like Pot Roast makes you fall in love with cooking — and dish duty. It requires the typical “dump and cook” technique to limit dirty dishes and increase your downtime without sacrificing its flavors. Now tell us, who doesn’t love that?

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Instant Pot Mongolian Beef Recipe

When the family is gathered around the dining table, you can’t go wrong with this Instant Pot Mongolian Beef. It’s the laid-back version that allows you downtime while it cooks. And a lovely meal right after.

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Instant Pot Brisket Recipe

Your perpetual quest for a crowd-pulling meal ends with this Instant Pot Brisket. Its thinly sliced pieces of meat atop a hearty potato and carrot stew are well worth the hour's wait to achieve such flavors.

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Instant Pot Meatloaf Recipe

Turning a traditional classic into an instant pot version can be either genius or disastrous. You be the judge. Make this 35-minute meatloaf, dig into it, and let us know!

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Beef Bourguignon Recipe

Bourguignon is a French stew for a hearty feast. It includes tender beef, mushroom, and onion pieces in a stew so robust you’d think it was cooked in a peasant’s kitchen.

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Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon Recipe

Bourguignon is the perfect base for a rich, succulent sauce. In just an hour, red wine and mushrooms take it from mundane to magnificent. Be prepared to dine so fine.

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Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup Recipe

This barley soup is a rustic stew made with basic pantry ingredients. Add in some red wine to set it apart and give it a good simmer, and every guest will be satisfied at the gathering.

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Beef Stew Recipe

This stew is everything you could ask for in a weekday meal. Cooked in one pot, the chunky mix of peas, carrots, and potatoes delivers taste and texture in one go. It’s guaranteed to satisfy.

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Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe

Somehow, your menu feels incomplete without a good ol’ Mississippi Pot Roast. You won’t find a dish more fulfilling yet low effort to bail you out on hectic days. Save the recipe!

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Instant Pot Salisbury Steak Recipe

The brilliance behind Salisbury Steak is how it incorporates ground beef and turns it into “patties”to create a tasty steak. Now you can dine like a king for a few pennies.

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Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

If there’s anything you should have on your menu, it’s a gratifying stew or soup for rough days. This veggie medley is nourishing and comforting to the body and soul.

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Instant Pot Sloppy Joes Recipe

These Sloppy Joes will knock your socks off with pleasure-prompting aromas. It doesn’t help that the classic burger flavors are simmered soft in an instant pot until balmy. It’s a game changer, to put it mildly.

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Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe

Thanks to the Instant Pot, your stews can go off without a hitch. The bonus is a delightful meal of unmatched red wine and brown gravy aromas where you did only half the work.

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What Are the Best Cuts of Beef for Stewing?

Beef cuts fall into two categories—tough and tender—and each serves different cooking purposes.

While tender cuts ( filet mignon, ribeye, tenderloin, etc.) are great for grilling, pan-searing, and braising, tough cuts work best for stewing. The high content of collagen-rich connective tissues are broken down into gelatin once they are slow-cooked for hours; this helps tenderize the meat and thicken the broth.

Chuck: Due to its desirable toughness and medium-fat concentration, this lean shoulder cut is the first option that comes to mind whenever we plan to make beef stew.
Round: Bottom round cuts come from the outer legs of the cow. These are slightly tougher, lower in fat content than the chuck and somewhat less flavorful. However, this meat cut is relatively inexpensive, so if you have to work with a tight budget, we suggest choosing the round.
Brisket: Brisket point cut is another fantastic and economical beef choice for stewing as it possesses a good balance of lean muscles and fat.
Sirloin: The toughness of sirloin lies between that of the chuck and the round. This cut leans on the more pricey side as it has a noticeable beefy taste.

What Seasonings Are Good in Beef Stew

Here are some staple spices and herbs that will help accentuate the flavor of your beef stew meat.

Spices

Salt and black pepper: A pinch of salt and ground black pepper will do the trick for a wholesome beef stew.
Brown gravy mix: This spice blend imparts a robust flavor to your beef. You can purchase instant gravy mix at your local grocery store, or make it at home by combining beef bouillon granules, all-purpose flour, and pepper.
Paprika: Paprika gives your stew an alluring deep red hue and a tongue-tingling sensation.
Cayenne powder: For those who are looking for a more impactive spicy punch, stir some in your pot of beef stew.

Herbs

Oregano: This Mediterranean-native herb goes naturally well with the stew. The earthiness and subtle bitterness of oregano add greater depth to your beef stew.
Bay leaves: Only a few bay leaves are enough to help enhance the taste of your broth. However, we recommend adding this ingredient near the end of the cooking process to ensure it doesn't turn bitter.
Thyme: It’s the notes of peppermint, lemon, and pepper from this aromatic that make your stew taste warm and comforting.
Rosemary: Rosemary's woody scent makes it a perfect fit for many beef dishes, such as steaks, soups, and stews.