This hearty winter beef stew with red wine is a warming wintertime favorite. It’s a delicious bowl of hot beef stew bursting with rich layered flavors and tender meat. The thick hearty broth is the best part and it’s always at the top of my cold-weather cravings.
Make an Easy Beef Stew with Red Wine Marinade
In this recipe, the marinated beef is what really gives this stew such richness and deep flavor and makes it special. When you cook this beef stew on the stove in a large pot or dutch oven, it creates that perfect environment with low steady heat that romances the meat into a soft, juicy bite of heaven.
Make A Delicious Marinade For The Beef Stew with Red Wine and Herbs
Before anything else, I try to marinade the beef stew meat every time I make this. I find that this helps the meat come out more tender and the marinaded meat infuses tons of flavor into the rest of the beef stew. What you’re left with is soft, delicious meat that releases so much depth of flavor into the stew as it cooks low n’ slow and goes from the stovetop to the oven.
Related: Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
1. Marinade Beef Stew with red wine
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The marinade itself is pretty easy to put together.
Toss Meat With Marinade:
- Add stew meat to a wide large freezer size ziplock bag.
- Open the bag with the meat and sprinkle in 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cracked pepper, 2 to 3 whole fresh rosemary sprigs, about 1/4 cup of dry red wine, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 to 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp minced garlic (reserving the rest of the minced garlic for later).
- Toss around gently in the bag and rub around the bag to help coat the meat. Set marinade bag in a large bowl and put in the fridge. It’s a quick step you can do in the morning before work to get the flavors rolling while you’re out!
- Let marinate for at least 2 to 3 hours or overnight if desired.
2. Dice Vegetables to make Beef Stew with red wine
When the meat is finished marinating, start dicing the vegetables. Dice carrots, celery, and onion. Toss in a big bowl and set aside.
3. Dredge the Beef Stew Meat
- Begin by dredging the meat in about a cup of flour that’s been tossed with a small pinch of salt and cracked pepper. Set this up in a wide bowl with raised edges (or use old pie tins) to help keep things neat. Coating the beef cubes with a little flour and browning them will help seal in the juices and flavor. Dip the cubed stew meat and toss in the flour mixture to coat. Set dredged pieces aside in a separate large bowl. Discard any leftover dredging flour.
- When you’re ready to put everything together, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- (Optional) cut a few strips of bacon into a small dice and toss them in a large heated cast iron dutch oven on medium (medium high) heat. This quick bacon step will add a little smoky taste to the stew and deepen it in flavor. If you’re not a big fan of bacon, skip this step and just go straight to browning the meat.
- Render/brown the bacon pieces and then remove them from the pan once crisped with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel to drain. Set aside. If not using bacon, skip this step.
4. Brown Your Beef Stew Meat
- In the same cast iron dutch oven or large pot you used to brown the bacon, begin browning the stew meat.
- Drizzle a little more olive oil into the pot with the juices leftover from the bacon and brown the dredged beef stew meat on all sides until golden.
- Work in batches adding a handful of meat pieces at a time so as not to overcrowd the pan. If the pot is overcrowded, the meat will steam, not sizzle or brown.
- Remove browned meat from the pot and set aside on a clean plate.
5. Add Vegetables and Beef Stew meat to the pot on the stove top
- Set aside the browned meat and deglaze your pot with about 1/4 cup splash of dry red wine or beef stock. Get your wooden spoon and pick up all those good brown bits up from the bottom of the pan.
- When most of the liquid is just about done reducing/cooking out, drizzle another tablespoon or so of olive oil and toss in diced carrot, onion, celery and potatoes.
- Cook vegetables and stir around for 5 minutes then add the rest of the reserved minced garlic and stir in.
- Cook the vegetables for 10 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to soften and tenderize.
What is the best red wine for beef stew?
Preferably a red wine that is dry and good enough to drink! Any dry red wine from Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Noir. When added to the beef stew, a nice red wine will deeply enhance the flavors of the beef as it slowly stews away in the pot. The red wine used will also make a wine that you can pair with and enjoy alongside the meal (which elevates the experience even more).
6. Deglaze the pan and Toss in hearty Vegetables
- Once vegetables are softened, add the browned meat plus browned bacon pieces (if using) along with any juices back into the pot.
- Top all of these off with a carton of beef broth or beef stock. Optional, you can splash in a touch more red wine at this point and season with a few pinches of coarse salt/cracked pepper. Stir to combine.
7. Cook Easy beef stew with red wine low and slow
- Cover everything up with a nice tight-fitting lid and set your large dutch oven or large pot in an already pre-heated 300 F degree oven. We’re gonna cook this easy beef stew recipe low ‘n slow until everything is tender and soft.
- Cook for about 2 to 3 hours. If it’s falling apart and fork-tender, it’s done. If the beef stew meat is still a little firm, leave it in a tad longer checking as needed until tender. Set a timer if needed.
When you reach this point, it’s pretty much a ‘set it and forget it’ situation. The dutch oven on low heat is gonna slowly break down the meat and make all the delicious juicy magic happen. You just let it do its thing…
What you’re left with is soft tender meat and delicious slow roasted vegetables in a savory rich broth.
8. Make Beef Stew Thicken, If Desired
When we dredged and browned the beef stew in the pot at the beginning, it should’ve added a little thickness and body to the cooking liquids in the stew throughout cooking process.
If you find that you would like to thicken your beef stew more, remove about a cup of the cooking liquid from the pot and ladle into a small bowl. Whisk in around 2 to 3 tablespoons of all purpose flour until silky and combined then pour back into the pot and stir in until combined. Cover and cook beef stew until slightly more thickened, about 10 to 15 more minutes or until desired consistency is reached. Check throughout for desired thickness.
9. Stir In Frozen Peas. Serve Hot
Stir in a pack of frozen peas about 5 minutes before the time is completely up and taste it. Adjust for seasoning as needed. This will add a little bite and texture as well as a pop of vibrant green color to the finished stew.
You’ll end up with rich hearty tender chunks of beef in your stew which we started on the stovetop and easily finished up in the oven. This simple beef stew with red wine really makes a delicious warming bite for those cold winter nights.
It’s a one-pot crowd-pleasing comfort food that will warm your tummy and your bones! So go ahead, break out the big crusty bread, dip it in! Ladle it over creamy mashed potatoes or steamed rice! You totally earned it.
Hearty Winter Beef Stew with Red Wine and Rosemary | Dutch Oven Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1.5 to 2 lb Beef Stew Meat - cubed into larger 1 or 2 inch cubes
- 3 large Carrots - sliced
- 3 stalks Celery - sliced
- 6 Small Red Potatoes or petite potatoes - quartered
- 1 Large onion - diced
- 3 large cloves Fresh Garlic - finely minced
- 3 to 5 tbsp Olive Oil - for marinade, browning meat, plus more for cooking vegetables
- 3/4 to 1 cup All Purpose Flour - seasoned with pinches of salt and pepper – for dredging, plus more if you're using to thicken stew later
- 1 tsp Coarse Sea Salt + Cracked Pepper - for marinade, plus more to season stew
- 1 carton Beef Stock or Beef Broth - 32 oz carton
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup Dry Red Wine - for marinading stew, plus another 1/4 cup or so to deglaze the pot after browning meat
- 3 strips Bacon - diced
- 2 to 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary - for tossing into marinade bag
Instructions
- Marinate Beef Stew Meat: In large ziplock bag, marinate the cubed beef pieces: sprinkle in 1 tsp of the minced garlic (reserve the rest). Now sprinkle in ½ tsp coarse sea salt plus ½ tsp cracked pepper, 2 whole sprigs of rosemary, 1/4 cup red wine, 1 tbsp good fruity olive oil, 1 to 2 tbsp or so Worcestershire sauce. Seal the bag (letting some air out). Toss everything around in the bag so it coats the meat. Marinate for 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Set the bag in a bowl and let rest in the fridge to marinate, massaging occasionally to re-coat meat.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. (Optional for flavor) dice your strips of bacon and add to a small bowl, set aside.
- Dredge the marinated beef cubes. Open the bag and toss out rosemary sprigs. Add meat to the flour mixture (about 1 cup of flour that's been tossed with a pinch of coarse salt + pepper) a handful at a time. I find doing this on wide flat plate with raised edges is easiest. If you're running out of flour, sprinkle in a little more and use until all the meat has been dipped and coated in flour mixture. Transfer dredged meat to a fresh clean bowl and discard any leftover dredging flour. Set the bowl with dredged meat right next to the stove near the dutch oven or large pot as you will need it readily. While the dutch oven heats over medium heat, add the bacon pieces to the pan and brown them. When finished browning, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a piece of paper towel.
- Add another tablespoon or so of olive oil to the juices left behind from the bacon and begin browning the beef stew meat on all sides. Pot should be hot over medium/medium high heat.–Brown the meat in batches. Don't add too much meat to the pot all at once or the pot will steam the meat instead of sizzle and brown it. Overcrowding the pot will cool it down too much and you won't get a golden brown finish to seal in the juices.-Add more oil as needed. Brown beef stew pieces on all sides until golden and remove from the pot, transferring to a clean wide plate or bowl.-Add oil as needed during browning process as you work in batches.
- Deglaze Pot and Add Stew Vegetables and Potatoes: Now, with the browned meat removed from the pan, deglaze your pot with about 1/4 cup of red wine (or stock), picking up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. -When most of the liquid is just about done reducing/cooking out, drizzle another tablespoon or so of olive oil and toss in diced carrot, onion, celery and potatoes. -Cook vegetables and stir around for 5 minutes then add the rest of the minced garlic and stir in. -Cook the vegetables for 10 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to soften and tenderize.
- Add Stew Meat Back To Pot and Add Cooking Liquid: Add browned stew meat and bacon bits back into the dutch oven or large pot and top everything off with a carton of beef stock or beef broth (adding as needed to just cover meat and vegetables in the pot). -Optionally, splash in a little more red wine, if desired. Season with little pinches of coarse salt + pepper. -Give it a gentle stir, cover with heavy tight-fitting lid and place in a preheated 300 degrees F oven until everything is softened and the meat is broken down and tender. About 3 hours or longer as needed for meat to completely break down and soften.
- Adjust Seasonings, Thicken The Stew If Needed: When meat is very soft, tender, and easily pierced/broken apart with a fork, it's finished cooking. If desired, add a cup or so of frozen peas and stir in. Let cook for 5 more minutes to heat peas through. -If you would like the stew thicker, ladle about 1 cup of the cooking liquid into a small bowl (or glass pyrex measuring cup) and whisk together with 2 to 3 tablespoons all purpose flour. Whisk to combine and add back to the pot. Stir in thoroughly. -Cover and cook until slightly more thickened as desired, about another 10 to 15 minutes or until desired thickness is reached. If thickening the stew, wait to add the frozen peas until after stew is thickened. -Taste it and adjust the seasoning/salt if needed.
- Serve hot with crusty French bread for dipping or ladle over fresh steamed rice or mashed potatoes. Serve hot.
Amazing meal anytime…my family love, love, love it!
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