Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes, a hearty and comforting dish that will impress even a fussy eater. The perfect family dinner no matter the season, but particularly nice in Fall and Winter, this beef and sweet potato stew is healthy, delicious and nutritious. The beef is beautifully tender, melting in your mouth, and the veggies bring colour and extra goodness.
In need of meal ideas? It happens sometimes that I have no idea what else to cook. This lovely stew is so super easy to make and you can get on with other things while it is cooking, no need to stay there waiting. Because it is slowly cooked, the meat and vegetables are so tender, that they simply melt in your mouth.
It does take some time to make it, purely because the longer you cook it, the more tender the meat becomes. Just keep adding beef stock to it, and cook it over a medium heat until you are happy with the texture, no need do rush it.
The vegetables have to be added towards the end if you want them to still have a nice texture, otherwise they become mushy by the time the beef is cooked.
No need to go for any expensive cut of the beef, the stewing beef is just perfect here. It makes for a cheap, but delicious meat that goes down well with absolutely everyone. My little girls love it, so it must be good!
And becomes it's Fall, and the sweet potatoes are at their best now, I find that they go wonderfully well with beef. But butternut squash or pumpkin should be great substitutions too.
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Ingredients needed
- diced beef -or stewing beef
- large onions - I prefer yellow onions for this dish, but shallots can work too
- carrot
- sweet potatoes
- potatoes
- vegetable oil - for frying
- beef stock - broth - it adds a lot more flavour than just water
- tomato passata
- fine sea salt
- black peppercorns
- bay leaves
- dried parsley - or fresh if you have any
Step-by-step photos and instructions
This stew is super easy to make, even if the cooking time is a bit longer than with the recipes I am used to post.
- To make it, start by heating up some oil in a pan, and browning the beef.
- Once the beef is brown (but not cooked through at this stage), remove the beef pieces, add more oil if necessary, and sautee the chopped onion.
- When the onion is soft, add the beef, beef stock, bay leaves and peppercorns, and cook for at least an hour, or until the beef is tender.
- add the veggies, and cook for 15 minutes more or until the vegies are tender, then add the tomato passata (or any tomato sauce you like), season to taste, and your stew is ready.
Expert tips
Note! Never overcrowd the pan, if you cook more beef, fry it up in batched, otherwise the meat is more steamed than browned.
The vegetables are added only when they beef is cooked, otherwise they will become mushy if cooked for too long.
Can I make the stew in the slow cooker?
Yes, absolutely! Beef is particularly good cooked in a slow cooker, as the meat will be super tender, and melting in your mouth. Unlike cooking it on the stove, in the slow cooker you can add the vegetables right from the start, since they don't cook as fast.
And the amount of beef stock (broth) will be considerably less, probably no more than 2 cups maximum. Cooked on slow, it should be ready in 8 hours, where on fast in 4 hours.
Anyhow, what is your favourite stew ever? Do you like hearty meat-based ones, or vegetarian or vegan stews? I would not mind any to be honest, as long as they are healthy and nutritious, the rest really does not matter.
For more beef stew recipes, why not try my Irish Beef Stew with Guinness? It's hearty, delicious, and as easy to make.
If you’ve liked my BEEF STEW WITH SWEET POTATOES or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 400 g diced beef (1 lb)
- 2 large onions
- 1 carrot
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 medium potatoes
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1.5 litre beef stock
- 3 tablespoon tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 black peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
- Heat up one tablespoon of oil, add the cubed beef and fry in batches until brown.
- Remove from the pan, add the remaining oil, and fry the chopped onions.
- Add the beef back to the pan, pour over the beef stock, bay leaves and peppercorns and cook for at least 1 hour until really tender. Add more stock if necessary.
- Peel and chop the potatoes, carrot and sweet potatoes and add them to the pan once the beef is cooked, otherwise, if boiled for too long, they will be too mushy.
- Stir in the tomato passata, dried parsley and season with salt to taste. Cook for a further 15 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
- If you'd like to see the ingredients listed in cups and ounces, please check the US Customary Link.
- Also, the amount of ingredients changes depending on the servings, so click on the number listed to change it to the number you prefer.
Nutrition
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Lynz Real Cooking
yumm very hearty!
Daniela Apostol
Thank you 🙂
Chris
Very hearty stew recipe!
Daniela Apostol
Thank you, Chris!