Guinness Beef Stew (Stove Top)

This hearty Guinness Beef Stew is a rich, slow-simmered classic cooked on the stove top with stout beer, potatoes, carrots, and peas and makes the perfect comfort food for winter and St. Patrick’s Day.

It’s been pretty gloomy here in Pittsburgh. I mean, that’s pretty typical for weather here, but it’s still hard to deal with sometimes.

As much as I love listening to the rain, I want my sunshine back.

Of course the best way to help cheer any person up is some nice, hearty comfort food such as this stove top Guinness Beef Stew.

It’s a rich homemade Irish beef stew made with potatoes, carrots, peas, and stout beer and cooked all on the stove just like my stove top beef stew.

The stout beer cooks off in the stew, leaving behind its flavor. You certainly won’t get drunk as most of the alcohol evaporates, but there still are trace amounts.

If you don’t want to consume any beer at all, substitute it for more beef stock.

Because of the Irish beer, it’s perfect to serve with Mini Irish Soda Bread or Irish Soda Bread Muffins for St. Patrick’s Day.

This Guinness stout stew does take a a few hours to make given the low and slow cooking method, but you can speed it up a little by following the directions for my Instant Pot beef stew where using a pressure cooker helps cook the meat faster without sacrificing tenderness.

Why You’ll Love This Guinness Beef Stew Recipe

• One pot meal! – Everything is made in a Dutch oven so you only have one pot to wash.
• Mostly hands off cooking! – Once you get the beef stew going, all you have to do is let it simmer with minimal stirring.
• Makes 4 servings! – This hearty beef stew for two leaves you with no or few leftovers.

Ingredients For Guinness Beef Stew

Here’s what you need to cook your Irish beef stew:

• Beef chuck roast: This is the cut of beef preferred for stew (see more below)
• Salt and pepper: Seasoning for your meat
• Vegetable oil: Used to sear your beef
• Onion and garlic: Aromatics to build your base
• Beer: Use a stout beer such as Guinness because it’s robust and can hold up to the beefiness in the dish.
• Beef stock or broth: Liquid needed to cook your stew
• Worcestershire sauce : Adds some umami taste
• Brown sugar: A touch of sweetness to balance the flavors
• Carrots, potato, and peas: Vegetables that pair well with beef
• Thyme or rosemary: A hearty herb that adds freshness
• Lemon juice: Acidity that cuts through the richness
• Cornstarch and water: If your liquid is a little too thin, you may need to use cornstarch to help thicken it for a gravy

What cut of beef is best for stew?

The best cut of beef for stew is boneless chuck roast because it won’t dry out after cooking and is more affordable than a more tender cut. The marbling breaks down during the long cooking process, making the meat fork tender.

I highly recommend cutting a chuck roast yourself. If you buy the pre-cut stew meat, they usually don’t have enough fat on them for stew. You definitely need some beautiful marbling for flavor.

Since this is a beef stew for two recipe, you only need 1/2 pound of meat. However, the smallest chuck roast I could find at the store was 1.5 pounds, which is a lot for 1-2 people!

If your store has a butcher counter, ask them to cut it down for you.

If not, you can divide the meat into 1/2 pound portions when you get home and freeze the rest. That way in the future all you have to do is grab what you need for your next dinner.

How To Make Guinness Beef Stew

Here’s how to make your beef stew with Guinness stout:

1. Sear beef in Dutch oven until brown on both sides.
2. Cook onion and garlic.
3. Whisk in beer, broth, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil then add beef and thyme.
4. Simmer until beef is tender, about 60-90 minutes.
5. Add carrots and potatoes then cook another 30 minutes.
6. Stir in peas, lemon juice, and cornstarch if needed.

Refrigerate leftover stew in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Can you freeze Guinness beef stew?

Yes, you can freeze beef stew with some adjustments.

First – If you know ahead of time you’re freezing it, you’ll want to undercook the carrots and potatoes, about 15-20 minutes instead of 30 minutes. The vegetables in stew tend to be softer after freezing, so undercooking will help with that.

If you didn’t plan ahead and freeze it after fully cooking the vegetables, the stew will still be fine. Sometimes I find myself picking out the potatoes if they’re too soft, but you’ll have to use your best judgment when reheating.

If they’re still a bit crunchy after thawing, you can reheat the stew until they’re more tender. It’s better to cook it more later than to overcook it in the beginning.

Second, because I use cornstarch to thicken it, there’s a chance the gravy may separate when reheating.

If you’re meal prepping and not eating the stew right away, you can leave out the cornstarch altogether then add it when reheating.

However, if you already ate dinner and want to freeze some leftovers, you can still freeze it with cornstarch.

If the gravy does separate after reheating, you can take some of the separated gravy, whisk it in a separate bowl with cornstarch, then add it back in. That should smooth the sauce again.

Leftover Guinness Recipes

Because this beef and Guinness stew doesn’t use a whole bottle of beer, you’ll have some extra. If you don’t drink the rest, here are some recipe ideas using leftover beer:

• Guinness Shepherd’s Pie
• Chocolate Guinness Mousse
• Guinness Brownies
• Guinness Ice Cream

First published May 10, 2012