Beef Stew in Half the Time ! Served with Rice

Beef Stew in Half the Time!  Beef Stew is made easily in half the time most stews take to make and it’s one of our favorite meals during the winter months.  Beef stew is the one meal you can count on that is always filling and satisfying, and when you serve it over rice or mashed potatoes to soak up that savory gravy, it’s becomes classic comfort food at its BEST!  And one the whole family will enjoy!

Tender chunks of beef are quickly browned on stove-top, then simmered with red wine, beef broth, carrots, celery, onions and sometimes with some fingerling potatoes added, and served over a bed of steamed rice, makes this a perfect one-dish meal.  What’s even better, the meal costs about $12.00 for a family of 4.

Years ago, beef stew was a meal made for Sunday dinners and it needed hours to simmer just to get the meat tender enough to eat.

When it comes to beef stew, everyone has a family favorite, and our favorite is Mom’s recipe.

Easy and delicious, no need to spend hours cooking in the oven, which means you have to be home all day waiting for it to cook.  This is done on stove-top, in one pot and in 1 hour it’s ready to serve!

Beef Stew is a wonderful dish to make for dinner on any chilly night.

We sometimes make beef stew on a lazy Sunday, and even double the recipe so we can reheat it during the weeknight or just freeze a batch.

Red wine is the secret ingredient to making a savory and delicious gravy.  It’s fabulous!  So don’t skimp on the wine!

Another reason to love this beef stew, is when it’s served over a bed of rice or mashed potatoes.

As you can see, we served it over rice.

But take my word for it, serving beef stew over either one, mashed potatoes or steamed rice goes really – really WELL… simply because they both will soak up all that delicious gravy, making this meal even MORE amazing!

Most of all, when you make this beef stew not only will it make the entire house smell like HEAVEN, it will bring everyone to the table without having to call them!

When shopping for beef chunks, we recommend buying the best quality of beef.  Make sure the package will say, Beef for Stew!  It makes a huge difference on how long you need to simmer the stew for the meat to get tender.  Less quality in the meat = more cooking time needed.

You may add in mini potatoes to this recipe, but we recommend you add them in at very last 10 minutes before it’s done.   Also, you can add in a Parmesan rind to make the gravy more flavorful and give it a creamier texture.

Toss some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top of each dish before serving,  and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley and you have a win-win dish!

Plus, if you prefer to use a Crock Pot or a Slow Cooker, this recipe will definitely work with one as long as you brown the meat first, before adding all the rest of the ingredients.  If you don’t have the time, you can throw everything into your slow cooker as is, and your stew will still taste good.

 ENJOY!!

You can Follow along below or jump down to the bottom of this post for our full recipe card!

Beef Stew in Half the Time!  Served with Rice

• 1+ 1/2 pound beef chuck (for stew) cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 onion- peeled, chopped
• 3 carrots – peeled, sliced
• 3 celery stalks – sliced
• Optional: 1 pound of fingerling potatoes – rinsed
• 4 cups all-natural Beef Stock
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley-chopped
• 4 cups steamed long grain rice

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil and butter.
Open your package of beef chunks and cut each piece of meat into halves. They usually come in large pieces and cutting all the pieces in halves will cut the cooking time in half as well.  Then lightly season the meat with some salt and pepper.  Set aside.

In a small dish, place the flour.  Dip each piece of meat into the flour and coat all sides.  No need to dust off excess flour.

Drop each piece of meat into the pot with melted butter and oil.  Raise the heat to medium heat and cook the meat to brown all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Pour in the red wine and simmer on low heat, 2 to 4 minutes, allow the wine to reduce a little. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen the flour as the wine begins to thicken.
Then add all the vegetables, seasonings, herbs and beef stock.

Bring to a low boil, then lower the heat to lowest, and simmer for about 45 minutes, uncovered.  Stir occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If desired, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of cornstarch or flour to thicken the gravy.  Pull out a piece of meat to see if meat is tender.  If tender, turn off the heat.  Fish and remove the sprig of rosemary and discard.  Cover until ready to serve.

Meantime, in a medium size pot, cook the rice, following the directions to the package.  When rice is ready, spoon some rice into serving dishes, then create a well in the center of the rice and fill the center with a heaping scoop of beef stew and gravy.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6