Cooking After Class: Old Fashioned Beef Stew

This recipe was the first soup I made that my kids would actually eat. I kept telling them that it wasn’t soup, it was Beef Stew. They finally gave it a try and LOVED it. For years following that day, whenever I made soup, I referred to it as a stew so they would eat it 🙂 I always serve this Beef Stew with homemade bread. Delicious!

This recipe is one of Kenxie’s favorites so I made it the week of her birthday. I got home later than anticipated the night it was on the menu so I had to figure out how to get this on the table as quickly as possible.

Instead of browning the meat in batches, I threw it all in at the same time. I used venison instead of beef so I did not cook it long. Once the broth was added and came to a boil, the directions say to simmer the meat for 1 1/2 hours. I simmered for about 15 minutes before adding in the carrots and onions. Those cooked for about 10 minutes and then I added in the potatoes for the last 30 minutes. Once the potatoes were done, I added some salt and pepper and it was ready to serve.

Even though I rushed through this recipe, it was absolutely delicious. I’ve made this Beef Stew numerous times in the past following the time suggestions in the recipe and I think it turned out just as good this time around.

I used my Tramontina Dutch Oven to make this stew. For this recipe, I used the larger size in this set. I love the color and how versatile it is. I don’t know what I did without my dutch ovens!

Substitutions/Additions made by Cooking After Class for Old Fashioned Beef Stew:

used venison steaks instead of beef stewing meat
instead of 5 teaspoons of vegetable oil, I used about 2 teaspoons of avocado oil
added 4 cups of beef broth

Tips from Cooking After Class for making Old Fashioned Beef Stew:

you can certainly follow the time guidelines in this recipe but if you need to speed it up, as long as your meat is done and potatoes are tender, you should be good

RECIPE: Old-Fashioned Beef Stew