Italian Beef Stew The Perfect Fall/Winter Dinner!

Today I’m sharing an easy recipe for Italian Beef Stew. Cooking slowly, on the stovetop by covering and occasional stirring is key. Your kitchen will smell like heaven. What you get is tender meat that has a flavorful sauce that can spoon over noodles, rice, mashed potatoes or just serve with bread.

This stew makes the perfect fall dinner/winter dinner. Especially, when you are hanging out at home for the entire day. Your kitchen will smell amazing, everyone can’t wait to grab a big bowl full of beef stew, along with a slice of good French bread for dipping. 

Italian Beef Stew 

You might remember my Slow Cooker Italian Beef Stew Recipe. This is a similar beef stew recipe but, cooked in the crockpot or slow cooker. If you prefer you can use either recipe in the slow cooker but, I highly recommend dredging the meat to get the flavors started and give the meat a nice browned look.

How to dredge beef for stew

To coat the beef for dredging add flour, salt, and pepper and cut up beef to a gallon size bag. Close the ziplock bag and shake, then add the coated beef to a heated skillet to start braising the beef.

Next, I add the onions. Then add the garlic, halfway or towards the end so it doesn’t burn.

If you need more step by step images for how to dredge and cook the stew meat you can view this Italian Beef Stew recipe which shares those dredging steps and other steps. Then just follow this recipe. Let’s get started cooking this beef stew. 

Italian Beef Stew 

Supplies

• 1-2 lb. package of lean beef for stew (or see this article on best cuts of meat for beef stew)
• 1 (yellow) sweet onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• bag of mini carrots (or peeled, chopped carrots)
• 2-3 zucchini
• Italian Spices
• Bay Leaves
• 1 small can up to 1-2 cups beef broth
• 1- 14.5 oz or 28-ounce (large) can stewed tomatoes
• 14.5 – ounce tomato sauce or 1 can tomato paste (use tomato paste for a thicker sauce)
• flour
• salt 
• pepper
• olive oil
• pasta noodles to serve the beef stew over rigatoni, penne and bow tie pasta 

On this night I decided to add 3 peeled and cut up potatoes to my sauce. Traditionally the recipe includes onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and red wine. The addition of a little fresh chopped Italian parsley and basil. Adapt to either recipe. 

Cooking utensils you’ll need. A deep skillet (5-6 quart) with lid, a fork, chef knife, cooking spoon. 

How long do you cook beef stews on the stovetop?

For Cooking stews the longer the better, at least 2-3 hours or until beef is really tender.

Italian Beef Stew Recipe

Yield: 6

Italian Beef Stew

Print

This stew will make your kitchen smell amazing when cooking. It's a flavorful Italian Beef Stew that can be served over noodles. A family favorite that can easily be adapted. See recipe for full instructions and variations.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1-2 lb. package of lean stew beef
• 1 (yellow) sweet onion peel and chop
• 3 cloves garlic peel and chop
• bag of mini carrots use half the bag
• 2-3 zucchini wash and chop into bite-size pieces
• potatoes optional
• 2 tsp. Italian Spices
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 small can up to 2 cups beef broth *if you want the sauce thicker use less and add more if needed
• 1- 14.5 oz or 28 ounces large can stewed tomatoes *see notes
• 14.5-ounce tomato sauce or 1 can tomato paste
• 3 tbsp. flour or as needed
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 2- 3 tsp. olive oil - more as needed 

Instructions

1. Chop all your veggies and set into a bowl.
2. Add olive oil to your skillet and add your chopped veggies. Saute them and then add back to your bowl.
3. Next: Add a tablespoon or two of flour, a dash of salt and pepper to a big plastic bag. Toss in your cubed beef, close and shake until coated. Add the floured beef by taking a fork, shake off excess, add to skillet with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. On medium heat cook just browning edges and turning. About 5 minutes.
4. When done browning add your veggies back. Then add your beef broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and spices.
5. Cook on low stirring occasionally until meat is tender.
6. Before serving cook pasta noodles al dente according to package directions and drain.
7. Spoon over cooked noodles.

Notes

If you want your recipe more traditional you can adapt this recipe by using regular carrots, add celery, add 1 cup of red wine and omit zucchini. Also, substitute potatoes with mushrooms. Or just add mushroom. We make it often so I just use what I have on hand and adapt the recipe just to switch things around. As with the stewed tomatoes, I will use whatever I have on hand. But, if purchasing for the stew I use the 28-ounce size.

• The stew is done when the beef is tender. Additional cook time may be needed if your beef is cut into larger chunks.
• pasta noodles to serve the beef stew over rigatoni, penne and bow tie pasta 

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Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 428 Total Fat 16g Saturated Fat 5g Trans Fat 1g Unsaturated Fat 10g Cholesterol 150mg Sodium 1043mg Carbohydrates 20g Net Carbohydrates 0g Fiber 3g Sugar 7g Sugar Alcohols 0g Protein 53g

Not all nutritional information is 100% accurate

Cold, rainy weather calls for soups and stews. This one is a family favorite that is flavorful and easily adaptable. The key to getting a tender beef stew is cooking it for a long time for the meats to soften. 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Beef Stew.

The dredging with flour and cooking a long time is what thickens up your sauce creating a thickened stew sauce. Also towards the end of the cooking time, you can take off the lid, which allows the sauce to thicken. You will need to check on the stew to ensure you don’t evaporate all your liquids off. 

We make it often so I just use what I have on hand. Which makes this easy for meal planning and adapting the recipe or to just to switch things around. I think you and your family will love it anyway you make this Italian beef stew recipe.

When the sauce is thickened, the meat is tender it’s ready to serve with your noodles or bread! Enjoy this for a family dinner. 

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Do you have a favorite way to cook stew?