Easiest Beef Stew Ever!

Beef Stew is a hearty dish of comfort food. Made with meat and vegetables, it ticks all the boxes of a dinner meal, but is cooked in one pan.

I dice potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. I hesitate to list measurements here, because I don’t know how many people you’re trying to feed. Let’s go with a 1 to 1 ratio. So, if you’re using 2 cups of beef, you’ll want at least 2 cups of roasted veggies. Then, I line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spread olive oil on the foil, and spread the veggies out on the oiled foil. I sprinkle salt and pepper on the veggies and then fold the foil over the vegetables so that it looks sort of like an envelope. This keeps the steam in. I roast the veggies in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for half an hour or until I can insert a fork easily into the potatoes and carrots.

I use about 2 cups of roast beef, cut into bite sized pieces. I usually use leftover pot roast, but you could certainly use stew beef pre-cut by your local butcher or grocer. (If you choose to go the stew beef route, fry up the meat to medium rare, it will cook a little more in the stew.)

Once the vegetables and meat are ready, put the veggies in a Dutch oven pan, and then pour enough beef stock in to cover them. Turn the burner to high and wait for the stock to boil. Once it’s boiling, make a corn starch slurry (2 tablespoons corn starch stirred into 4 tablespoons of cold water) and stir into the stock. This will make a thick gravy.

Now turn the heat down to medium and add the cut-up beef. If the gravy is still bubbling a lot, turn the heat down a little more. You’re looking for small occasional bubbles. DO NOT boil the meat, as it will make it tough and chewy. Let the mixture warm through, probably for about 10 minutes, and then taste. Add salt and pepper to your taste, and then serve in soup bowls or mugs.

I add canned green beans to my stew, so if there’s a vegetable you like, feel free to experiment.