Guinness Beef Stew
This Guinness Beef Stew recipe is rich and hearty, with a robust gravy-like sauce that is flavored by Guinness. A must for St. Patrick’s Day!
We have a couple of weeks until St. Patrick’s Day and I kicked things off a little early last week with my grasshopper chocolate bark, and today I want to share with you this absolute favorite stew of mine.
This Guinness beef stew hails from Cook’s Country magazine; it’s incredibly easy to prepare, and nearly all of the cooking time is hands-off. The meat is exceptionally tender, there are tons of potatoes and carrots, and it’s all drowning in a perfectly smooth and rich Guinness-spiked gravy. Absolutely delicious!
One of the best parts of this stew is that, unlike most stew recipes, you don’t have to brown the meat first – WIN! Instead of browning the meat, it is stirred into the sauce and then the whole pot is transferred to the oven and cooked, uncovered. By using this method, the uncovered meat browns and caramelizes, and the sauce thickens up perfectly. I have to admit that when I stirred the stew part way through cooking, I thought the sauce seemed a little on the thin side. I was completely amazed at how perfectly rich and thick it was once it was ready to serve. Magic!
I use my favorite Dutch oven to make this stew, and I’ve had some people ask if it’s possible to make it a slow cooker. While I’ve never done so, I’ve received feedback from some who have, and their assessment is that the stew is fine in a slow cooker, but nowhere close to as good as it is in a Dutch oven made as directed.
My husband isn’t the biggest fan of stew so I sort of gave him a heads up when I made this, but he couldn’t stop eating it… he said it was the best stew he’d ever had. I, on the other hand, have always loved stew (my hearty beef stew with a nice piece of crusty bread to soak up that fabulous sauce is total comfort food for me!), and I can confidently say that this Guinness beef stew is absolutely the best, ever.
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Guinness Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 3.5 to 4 pound (1.6 to 1.8 kg) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup (31.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (720 ml) chicken stock
- 1¼ cups (287.5 ml) Guinness Draught, divided
- 4½ teaspoons (4.5 teaspoons) dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1½ pounds (680.39 g) Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound (453.59 g) carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 325 degrees F.
- Season the beef with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the onions and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Whisk in the chicken stock, ¾ cup of the Guinness, brown sugar and thyme, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beef and return to a simmer.
- Transfer the pot to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 90 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
- Stir in the potatoes and carrots and continue cooking until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour, stirring halfway through cooking. Remove the pot from the oven and stir in the remaining ½ cup of Guinness and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
We made this for a St. Patrick’s Day Party and it was a HUGE hit. We made the stew as instructed from start to finish the day before. On the day of the party we put it in a crock pot on warm (or lowest setting) in the morning, and it was ready to eat by 2:00. We doubled the recipe for about 20 people to enjoy.
Quick question; is there any way to make this is a slow cooker?
Thanks :)
Hi Kaitlyn, I would say no in this case, because cooking it uncovered in the oven helps to concentrate and thicken the sauce. You wouldn’t be able to replicate that in a slow cooker.
Can i make this without the beer. I tried this recipe with beer a few times and it was delicious. What do you think?
Hi Menchie, I think it would be okay, just substitute beef or chicken stock in its place.
Looks incredible! have you ever tried this type of recipe with coffee?
I just made this on Sunday. I didn’t realize until I was ready to cook, that I had no onions, and I accidentally bought Guinness Extra Stout, so I just added a little brown sugar to compensate. Even with my little blunders, this stew was absolutely fantastic. I served hard rolls with it, for sopping up the leftover juice. It was SO easy, as well as being tasty, that it will definitely go into the rotation for winter.
Thanks for the inspiration:
http://laravalera.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/guinness-draught-irish-stew-made-in-bcn/
I made this for St Patrick’s Day since I had leftover guiness from making the cupcakes.
Just a thank you for this excellent recipe. Made it as directed and it came out perfectly. I did keep it in the oven an extra 20 minutes for the veggies to get softer. Everyone said it was the best stew they had ever had.
A nice, hardy, flavorful comfort food. Perhaps we are big eaters, but this barely fed the six of us with bread. Good thing I had dessert and coffee for dessert or my guest would of left hungry.
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out awesome. The thickness of the stew and flavor was perfect. The only problem I had was that the meat did not turn soft even after being in the oven for 2.5 hrs. Had to cook on stove top for additional 45 minutes. How did you manage to get it done in the oven?
Hi Pooja, It may have just been the specific cut of meat; that should be more than enough time for the meat to soften.
If I peel the potatoes will that have an adverse affect on the outcome?
Hi Jessica, No, it will just be a bit less rustic.
Hi! This recipe looks so delicious! Is there any way to make this without alcohol? Thank you.
Hi Jai, Yes, you can omit the Guinness. I would substitute more stock in place of it.
I made this for St Patrick’s Day since I had leftover guiness from making the cupcakes. It was delicious. It was sweeter that I was expecting for a stew, but not in a bad way. I really enjoyed the flavors and probably even make it when it’s not St Patty’s Day.
I have tried this recipe twice now and going for it again tonight. Just want you to know that each time it was the best beef stew I have ever had! Thank you for a fantastic recipe!
I love stews where the meat has been browned in the pan first. Do you think browning the meat first and then cooking in the oven would make it too melanoiden rich?
Hi Adam, I have a great stew recipe that browns the meat first: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2007/10/10/hearty-beef-stew/. I personally love that you don’t have to brown this meat first, so much easier! The flavor is tremendously hearty.
Last post about this, I promise….. But HOLY COW! I have tried so many beef stew recipes (stove top, oven, crock pot) and have been disappointed every time. This one blew us away! Amazing! Outstanding!!!!
Thank you so much for your speedy reply. I love all of your recipes that I have made ! You are a big star in my house!!!!
Hi
This looks and sounds amazing! I live in Montreal, Canada and cannot find Guinness beer. Can you recommend a replacement beer that would work? (It doesn’t have to be Irish- I promise not to tell:)
Thanks!!!!!!!
Hi Bunny, Any dark, thick beer will do. I’m not a big dark beer drinker, so I don’t have a specific name to recommend, but anything along those lines should work. Enjoy!
Very surprised to see that you use chicken stock instead of beef as most recipes I’ve seen for Guiness Beef stew call for beef stock! Looking forward to trying this recipe!!
This is the best stew I have ever made. Everyone went nuts over it. I made mashed potatoes instead of putting potato chunks in the stew and ladled the stew over the mashed potatoes. Just personal preference. A+++++++
I made this stew last weekend. It was delicious! The veggies took quite a bit longer to cook than I expected – which is probably due to the high altitude we live at. Also my husband was helping chop and we had some pretty large chunks! We took the left over stew and threw it in the crock pot the next day. It was even better as leftovers :-)
I made this yesterday and it was the best stew I ever made. My husband loved it and I’m making it again this weekend. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Can this be done on the stove top?
Hi Nessa, I don’t think you would get the same flavor or texture on the stovetop. I would recommend doing it in the oven.
So I made this stew last night but adapted it for the crock pot and tossed the beef with about 1/4 cup of flour and salt and pepper to taste and simply dropped it in the bottom, layering the everything else on top and cooking for 10 hours.
I replaced the chicken stock with veal stock.
It’s perfection.
Made this stew and it was awesome. Hubby ate 3 bowls. Barely any leftovers. Love, Love, Love-another recipe for the kids recipe boxes~!!
Amazing! -16 degrees last night so was a perfect meal. So good and my kids LOVED it
Excellent!!! A very hearty meal. My family thoroughly enjoyed this dish.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was, hands down, the best beef stew I’ve ever eaten! I did substitute a good local lager for the guiness but it worked really well. I will definitely be making this one again. Thanks for the recipe!
I would like to make this recipe but I have a 5 quart Dutch oven. Will this recipe fit in a 5 quart or will I need to halve the recipe? Thanks!
You should be fine with a 5-quart. Enjoy!
This is the best beef stew we have ever had…such a good flavor..added extra carrots..this and your pumpkin pie recipe are the yummiest ever..thank you, debby