Guiness Beef Stew, a hearty Irish dish for your Saint Patrick's Day celebrations, but also great all year round. It's a nutritious and delicious stew made with stewing beef, potatoes, carrots and celery, cooked slowly in a rich and flavourful sauce made with tomato paste, beef broth and Guinness stout. Easy to make, this is a dish fit for a king.
Stews are my kind of comfort food, they go down very well no matter the season, and usually even the fussiest of eaters love a good bowl of hot stew. Stews have been around for so long, and you can tell why, they are not only delicious, but you can throw in pretty much any meat and vegetable you have.
And, bonus point, it's all made in one pot, so no need to worry about a mountain of dishes to clean after. A good stew is best cooked slowly, so that the meat can become tender, and the full flavours can be released. Beef is one meat that you can't rush, otherwise it will be chewy and tough to eat.
A slow cooker would be great, but you can cook it on the stove top too and achieve the best results. Just leave it to cook on a slow heat; depending on the size of the beef chunks, it can take anywhere between 1.5 and 2 hours.
Guinness might not be your usual addition to a beef stew, but it adds so much flavour, without overpowering everything else. I used Guinness Draught Stout 0.0 alcohol free, but your regular Guinness works well too.
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Ingredients used
- braising stew - that's regular stewing beef which needs to be cooked slowly and for long to become tender
- potatoes - any kind
- carrots - I cut mine into chunks, as they have enough time to become tender
- celery stalks
- onion - I used one large onion, otherwise 2 regular-sized onions should do
- garlic - the more, the better
- Guinness - alcohol free or regular stout, both work
- beef stock / broth
- tomato puree - adds colour and a natural sweetness to the stew
- vegetable oil - for browning the beef and frying the onions
- parsley - for garnishing
- salt and pepper - to taste
- bay leaves
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- season the beef chunks with salt and pepper, and dust them with flour
- heat up the oil in a pan, add the beef, and cook on both sides until brown - the meat won't be cooked at this point, we just need a bit of colour
- remove the beef from the pan, and set aside
- in the same pan, fry the onions until golden - they also help deglaze the pan of any brown bits left from the beef
- add the peeled and chopped carrots together with the celery and garlic
- return the beef to the pan, pour over half of the beef stock, all the Guinness and bay leaves
- leave to cook with the lid on on a medium heat until the beef is nearly tender
- add the peeled and chopped potatoes, and the remaining stock
- cook again until the potatoes and cooked and the beef is tender
- season with salt and pepper, add the tomato puree, and garnish with fresh parsley
Expert tips
I like stews with quite a bit of liquid in them, so that I can dip fresh bread in that wonderful sauce - that's the best thing ever! I used 3 cups of beef broth and 1 cup of Guinness, and that was more than enough for the amount of ingredients I used.
No need to go for expensive cuts of beef, the normal diced beef for stews does a very good job. That's the beauty about stews, you get some nice and affordable ingredients in the same pot, and the result is the most delicious dish to make you lick your fingers clean.
Since the beef had already been dusted with flour, there is no need to add any more at this point to thicken the stew, but if you like it quite thick, add one more tablespoon of plain flour or cornflour ( do make sure you mix them with water first, then add it to the pot).
Do not add the potatoes from the beginning, as they will become mushy by the time the beef is tender. Add the potatoes towards the end.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! I still like to brown the beef and fry the onions in a pan, then add the remaining ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours and high for 4 hours. Half the amount of beef stock used, as the slow cooker doesn't need that much liquid.
I like to coat the beef chunks with flour before browning them, in this way the liquid is already slightly thickened. Alternatively, you can add a tablespoon of flour or cornflour to a bowl, mix it with 2 tablespoons of water, then add it to the stew once the beef and veggies are cooked.
What to serve with an Irish stew
The stew is hearty enough to be served on its own, but some carbs can take this stew to the very next level. You can either go for a good old mashed potatoes. For a more Irish kick, add some greens to the mash, and you get the famous Colcannon.
However, my favourite way to serve it is with freshly made soda bread. It's another traditional Irish recipe, so the two go perfectly well together. I have a few more variations of the traditional Irish bread, these are mini soda bread rolls, Guinness Brown Bread, or my Soda Bread with Cheddar Cheese, Olives and Red Peppers.
Dipping bread in the rich sauce is just pure heaven! Other carbs that go well here are rice, couscous, flat bread, bulgur wheat or even pasta.
If you’ve tried my IRISH BEEF STEW WITH GUINNESS 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.
Guinness Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 500 g diced beef (1.1 lb)
- 2 medium carrots
- 3 medium potatoes
- 1 large onion
- 2 celery stalks
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste / puree
- 3 cups beef stock / broth
- 1 cup Guinness stout ( I used Guinness Draught Stout 0.0 alcohol free)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoon plain flour
- fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a pan set over a medium heat.
- Season the beef with half of the amount of salt and pepper, dust with the flour shaking the excess off, then fry the beef in the pan until brown - work in batches so the beef can fry well.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Peel and chop the onions julienne, the potatoes, carrots and celery can be cut into big chunks, and the garlic chopped finely.
- In the same pan, fry the onions until golden, then add the garlic, celery and carrots.
- Give a good stir, return the seared beef to the pan, then add the stout, half of the beef stock and bay leaves.
- Put the lid on, and leave the stew to cook on a low heat until the beef is nearly tender.
- Add the potatoes and the remaining stock, and leave to cook again until the potatoes are cooked and the beef is tender.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, add the tomato puree, and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
- I like stews with quite a bit of liquid in them, so that I can dip fresh bread in that wonderful sauce - that's the best thing ever! I used 3 cups of beef broth and 1 cup of Guinness, and that was more than enough for the amount of ingredients I used.
- No need to go for expensive cuts of beef, the normal diced beef for stews does a very good job. That's the beauty about stews, you get some nice and affordable ingredients in the same pot, and the result is the most delicious dish to make you lick your fingers clean.
- Since the beef had already been dusted with flour, there is no need to add any more at this point to thicken the stew, but if you like it quite thick, add one more tablespoon of plain flour or cornflour ( do make sure you mix them with water first, then add it to the pot).
- Do not add the potatoes from the beginning, as they will become mushy by the time the beef is tender. Add the potatoes towards the end.
Nutrition
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Rachelle says
Hello! Just a note: you didn’t say when to add the beef back in! I assumed it was the same time as the veggies. Smells glorious! Can’t wait to eat it.
Daniela Apostol says
Thank you for letting me know, I will update. I hope you like it!