One-Pot Beef Stew
Old-school beef stew: lean chunks browned hard, then simmered slowly with potatoes, carrots, and peas until the beef gives way and the broth turns to gravy. One pot, no cream, no roux, 41 grams of protein a bowl. Cold-weather food that behaves.
Method
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Toss the beef with the flour, salt, and pepper. Brown it hard in the oil over high heat, in two batches, and set aside.
💡 Tip: Real color on every batch. This step is most of the flavor. -
Cook the onion and celery in the same pot for 4 minutes, then the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute.
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Return the beef with the broth, Worcestershire, thyme, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour 15 minutes.
💡 Tip: A lazy bubble, not a boil. Lean beef boiled hard goes tough and stays tough. -
Add the carrots and potatoes and simmer uncovered 30 to 40 minutes more until the beef is spoon-tender and the broth has thickened.
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Stir in the peas for the final 5 minutes and fish out the bay leaves before serving.
Notes
Ask for lean stewing beef or trim a chuck roast yourself. Surface fat rendered into the pot is where stew calories hide.
Brown in batches, hard. Grey beef makes grey stew.
The flour dusting on the beef is what thickens the broth into gravy. No slurry needed.
Better on day two, like every stew ever made.
Nutrition Information
| Calories | 385kcal |
| Total Fat | 11g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 29g |
| Protein | 41g |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which cut of beef should I buy?
Pre-cut 'stewing beef' varies wildly, so the reliable move is a chuck or braising roast you trim and cube yourself. Trim hard: the collagen that makes stew tender survives trimming, the surface fat does not need to come along.
Can I do it in the slow cooker or pressure cooker?
Both. Brown the beef first regardless. Slow cooker: 8 hours low, vegetables in for the final 2. Pressure cooker: 35 minutes high pressure, then 5 more with the vegetables.
How is this only 385 calories?
Lean trimmed beef, one measured tablespoon of oil, and a broth thickened by the flour dusting rather than butter roux or cream. Nothing else about the stew changed — which is the whole point.
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