This easy Dutch Oven stew is hearty & will bring you back to your childhood! Packed with tender beef and vegetables it’s the perfect dinner or camping meal.
The first few things I tried in “this thing” was amazing, so last night I tried dutch oven stew, it was a huge hit!! Definitely one of our favorite dutch oven recipes. (originally published 11/17)
I was new to the whole idea of a dutch oven but saw one on a cooking show and was intrigued. I LOVE my cast iron skillet so a cast iron pot had to be amazing.
The first recipe I made in it was this dutch oven whole chicken and seriously that is probably the moistest chicken ever.
Packed with flavor (even the vegetables were more delicious than in a regular pan).
So why a cast iron dutch oven??
- Well if you don’t have one you can check out the one I have here.
Cast iron in general cooks or bakes everything more evenly than a pan that has hot spots, and it maintains great flavors the more you use it.
You see you don’t want to scrub scrub this pan or pot. You merely rinse it off and over the years it becomes “seasoned” as they say.
My pan was my husband’s grandmothers and it still looks great (as opposed to my Teflon pans that are totally shot after a few years).
If you’re around my age (40ish) you surely had stew growing up, beef stew is most common.
Crockpots were big “back in the day” and I remember many many stew dinners cooked in that. That was good but seriously this dutch oven beef stew is WAY better!!
- It is super easy to throw it in your cast iron pot too!
You literally throw everything in except the potatoes and mushrooms if you choose to add those. Then add them halfway thru. Stir and serve!
- No need to thicken the sauce at the end. It is plenty thick and hearty when you take the lid off at the end of 3 hours total.
Throw in some rolls and voila, you’ve got yourself the perfect comfort food ever!
This is what I used. Of course you can tweak it as you wish but if it’s something new you’ve never done you might want to stick with my specifics.
Dutch oven stew
- Dutch oven – this is the one I have
- Stew meat
- Small red potatoes – I buy the bag of baby ones that is about 1.5 lbs. at the store, quarter them, and use the whole thing
- Carrots – buy the mini snackable ones and just halve them
- Flour – as a thickener
- Diced tomatoes – I like the petite version
- Tomato sauce
- Onion
- Spices – I gently season and then add a bit of salt when served because everyone is different
Can I use chuck roast for stew meat?
If you use an already tender cut cut of beef, it will dry out and get tough as the stew cooks. It’s actually best to go with a tougher variety. The best beef stew meat is a boneless chuck roast.
It doesn’t dry out, and offers up all the rich flavor you want in a beef stew
What is also great about dutch oven recipes is that you can use the pot when you’re camping!!
- They are great to cook just about everything over a campfire. Here are some other easy camping recipes if you’re looking for that.
- Even baking bread in a Dutch Oven is fun! So yummy too.
You can also make this Crock pot slow cooked stew we love to make at home.
If you want a shorter cook time, you can follow this Instant Pot beef tips version that is heavy on the protein, or pressure cooker stew here.
Here are a few questions you might have in mind before you get started on this.
Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, Parsley, Paprika or some Cayenne Pepper for a bit or a lot of heat.
Low and slow is the key. That is why it makes a great slow cooker recipe as well as in your dutch oven cast iron pot like this. A low temperature for a longer time is what you need.
You can and it will add a bit of texture to the outside of your meat. You’ll get a bit of a caramelized flavor to it as well which will add a ton of flavor. I typically don’t for this method.
To thin any of these out you can add some beef broth or chicken broth. 1/2 cup of red wine can also be used for bolder flavors.
- After this try our dutch oven corned beef and cabbage. It’s not just for St.Patricks Day!
- And dutch oven ham for Easter time.
Time needed: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Dutch Oven Beef Stew
- Add ingredients
Put stew meat inside your dutch oven with onions, carrots, salt, oregano, w. sauce, and diced tomatoes. Pour beef broth on top ensuring all beef is covered and most veggies too.
Add a bit more than 12 oz. if you are adding more ingredients. I do not choose to brown beef over medium high heat beforehand but you could. - Whisk
Whisk together your flour and tomato sauce in a small bowl and pour it on top of your mixture in the dutch oven, stir until combined and coated.
- Bake
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes. Take out, add quartered potatoes and mushrooms if you’re adding those. Recover and cook an additional 90 minutes.
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***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉
Dutch Oven Stew
Ingredients
- 1 lb stew meat
- 1 onion sliced
- 3 carrots cut
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes 15 oz.
- 12 oz beef broth
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1/3 c flour
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
- 1-1.5 lbs baby red potatoes quartered
- 1-2 c mushrooms halved, optional
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt or more, may add additional when serving
Instructions
- Put stew meat inside your dutch oven with onions, carrots, salt, oregano, w. sauce, and diced tomatoes.
- Pour beef broth on top ensuring all beef is covered and most veggies too, add a bit more than 12 oz. if you are adding more ingredients.
- Whisk together your flour and tomato sauce in a small bowl and pour it on top of your mixture in the dutch oven, stir until combined and coated.
- Put lid on and put into your oven at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.
- Take out, add quartered potatoes and mushrooms if you’re adding those.
- Recover and cook an additional 90 minutes.
Nick says
Dont give me these 5 pages of soppy stories that i need to scroll past to get to the recipe. I want a recipe not your grandmas fucking culinary history.
Will cook on the weekend and let you know how the stew goes. Cheers.
Char says
Complaining about a free recipe is top-tier ass-hat level. Doesn’t cost you anything to scroll. We’re all sorry you have a small penis.
Jon says
I’m with Nick on this one. I have used the recipe as a base several times and it is solid but it is a headache to have to scroll through the entirety of the encyclopedia britannica to get to the recipe everytime I switch out of my browser.
Jim J says
This is fantastic! I made it today, and the only thing I altered was I added a bit of red wine into the pot from the get go. Everything is so fresh and savory. I sent pictures to my friends who all said it looked great. This is a blue ribbon winner! Thanks for sharing.
Ria says
So delicious. Second time making today. Added a little red wine to see if it adds any more flavor. Wasn’t necessasy as the dish was tasty as is, I just like to experiment. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Mark says
This is truly an amazing and easy recipe, thank you! I have a 9 qt dutch oven so i doubled everything and everyone in my family just loved it! Definitely going to make this on a regular basis, thank you! Going to try your other recipes soon also…
The Typical Mom says
Yay so glad you loved it
Becky J. says
Going to use this while camping for RockUSA in about a week. Doing a trial run today in the campfire, so wondering how long the cooking time is? Hubby wants to add biscuits as well. Any info would be great!
Kendra says
Do you need to sear the meat before you add everything else in?
The Typical Mom says
I don’t but you could.
LunarCanineBay says
Oh yes. This is nearly perfect. I’m cooking this inside and within 20 minutes our whole house smells like 1993.
Major change was adding 1/2 cup of CHICKEN broth. When calling for beef broth a bit of chicken broth makes it. 20+ years chef at Epcot, Walt Disney World.
Katie says
What size Dutch oven is needed for this recipe? Thinking of making this today!
The Typical Mom says
There is a recipe in the post for the one I used.
Sabrina says
GOODNESS GRACIOUS! I made this for the first time tonight for dinner, and it was a BIG hit with my family. My daughter already asked me to make it again, and she’s not even finished eating it! I wouldn’t change a thing.
The Typical Mom says
OH so glad they loved it!!
Sabrina says
They did indeed. I’m making it again on Sunday. 🙂
Annie says
Great information! This post is very informative and helpful for me love to read this thanks for sharing.