Best Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe - Meatloaf and Melodrama (2024)

The Best Dutch Oven Beef Stew Recipe with red wine, carrots, potatoes cooks low and slow until tender and delicious. Easy comfort food! This classic beef stew recipe is a one-pot meal the whole family will love!

This hearty Dutch oven beef stew recipe is one of my family's favorite cold weather dinners. It's loaded with tender chunks of meat and root vegetables in a thick, rich gravy, and it's absolutely delicious.

I have made a lot of beef stew recipes over the years, but this is seriously the best!

I combined my grandma's old fashioned beef stew with Julia Child's classic beef Burgandy or Bouef Bourguignon recipe. When your kids say it's the best beef stew recipe they ever had, you know it has to be good!

Even though I love making quick beef stew in my Instant Pot, the Dutch oven really brings out the flavor -- same with my Roast Chicken Dinner. I use my Le Creuset enameled cast iron Dutch oven for this easy Dutch oven beef stew recipe.

Dutch oven recipes rock! While this oven baked beef stew takes a couple of hours to cook, you can relax or get stuff done while it's in the oven! You can check out more soups and stews in the recipe archives

Ingredients

You just need some very simple ingredients for this beef stew dutch oven recipe. If you don 't already have them in your pantry or fridge, you can find them at your local grocery store.

• Beef chuck -- This is the best cut of beef for stew meat. Have it cut by the butcher or you can cut up a chuck roast.
• Flour -- all purpose flour to coat the meat and thicken stew
• Olive oil or avocado oil or vegetable oil for browning the meat
• Onion -- yellow or white onion
• Garlic -- I use both garlic cloves and garlic powder (adds great flavor)
• Red wine -- Pinot noir works well here or any dry red wine
• Beef broth -- use low sodium beef broth if you can
• Tomato paste -- adds richness and flavor and helps thicken the stew
• Worcestershire sauce
• Baby potatoes -- or Yukon gold potatoes
• Carrots -- chopped carrots are perfect, but baby carrots work in a pinch
• Celery -- adds flavor and texture
• Seasonings -- salt, black pepper, garlic powder and herbes de Provence seasoning
• Peas and parsley -- optional but adds color and flavor

How to Make Beef Stew in the Dutch Oven

First, pat the beef dry with a paper towel. This removes moisture and helps the meat brown faster.

Then, season it all over with salt and pepper, and heat oil in a large Dutch oven.

Coat the beef in flour. Then, add a few pieces of meat at a time in a single layer to the Dutch oven. Cook on medium heat to medium-high heat until brown.

Use kitchen tongs to turn the meat over. When it releases easily, it's time to turn it over.

Brown the meat in batches, and keep covered on a plate until you're done.

Next, add the chopped onion and garlic to pot. Stir and cook until tender and fragrant.

Pour the wine into the Dutch oven, and deglaze by using a wooden spoon to gently stir and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

You can add the rest of the ingredients, and bring the stew to a simmer. Then, add the lid, and place the stew into your oven.

You can go put your feet up and relax for a couple of hours!

Cooking Time

This Dutch oven stew needs to cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours. After 3 hours, your stew will be thick, rich, tender and perfect!

And, your home will smell amazing!

When you can easily pierce the tender beef with a fork, and the veggies are soft, it's done.

You can throw in some frozen peas near the end if you want. A little bit of chopped fresh parsley adds an extra pop of color and freshness.

What to Serve with Dutch Oven Stew

Stew is perfect and filling on its own as a complete meal. But, we love to make some Rosemary Beer Bread to dunk in the thick rich gravy. If you don't want to cook anything else, any crusty bread works well with this delicious dinner.

If you aren't using potatoes in the stew, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes or rice or buttery pasta are all great choices.

Best Wine for Beef Stew

So, what's the best wine for beef stew? Don't cook with any wine you wouldn't drink.

It doesn't have to be expensive, but it shouldn't be labeled cooking wine.

Pinot noir or other Burgundy wines work best here, as do merlot or cabernet. A Bordeaux might overpower the stew.

Variations

If you're looking for a beef stew recipe without red wine, here are some substitutes for red wine: cranberry juice, grape juice, beer, or all beef broth.

Feel free to use your favorite hearty vegetables-- a couple of turnips, whole chopped potatoes, green beans, or baby carrots, for example-- instead of the listed ingredients.

You can also add fresh thyme or bay leaves for extra flavor.

If you don't want to use the oven, you can let the beef stew simmer on the stove top. Just make sure to stir frequently so that it doesn't burn.

How to Store

To preserve its great flavor, keep your leftover stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator--it will be good for 3 to 4 days after your initial serving date.

Wondering how to freeze beef stew? It's simple. Just store in a freezer bag or freezer safe containers. Beef stew reheats easily in the microwave or on the stove.

Cooking Tips

Have all ingredients prepped and ready to go. This is huge timesaver and makes the cooking process go smoothly.

Don't skip browning the meat.

Make sure to deglaze the Dutch oven after browning the meat. A wooden spoon is best, but a silicone spatula works too.

Allow plenty of time for the vegetable beef stew to cook low and slow. This will give you tender meat and vegetables and an incredibly flavorful stew.

If you want more liquid in your stew, you can add some during the cooking process.

Recipe

More Easy Recipes with Chuck Roast

• Instant Pot Italian Beef
• Mom's Best Pot Roast
• Crock-Pot Chuck Roast
• Crock-Pot Mississippi Chuck Roast

I hope you enjoy my beef stew recipe in the Dutch oven as much as we do. If you do try this easy recipe, please add a comment and/or star rating.

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Recipe was originally published in February 2021 and updated in 2023.