Simple Ground Beef Stew

This hearty pot of veggie-packed comfort food is perfect for a cool Fall day: Simple Ground Beef Stew.

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Just look at all these hearty vegetables! Simple Ground Beef Stew is a delightfully filling recipe as the days start to get cooler. One of my favorite parts of autumn that it provides a built-in excuse to make multiple batches of soups, stews, and chilis; today’s simple stew recipe is a case in point.

So, I don’t know what has been happening with the price of beef stew meat over the years, but it’s gradually become much less affordable. This week I was looking at a clearance pack of ground beef from my freezer and thought: Why not try making a ground beef based stew, and see how that goes?

I mean, why not, right? Ground beef is delicious in recipes such as taco soup, so it would likely work equally well in a beef stew recipe. Happily, it does. While you don’t get the same texture as you would with stew meat, you do get all of the the hearty beef flavor you’re looking for in a comforting pot of stew.

Simple Ground Beef Stew

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about six cloves)
1 lb russet potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
4 oz baby carrots, sliced into very thin coins or diced
1 can green beans, drained
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
32 oz beef broth
2 cups water
1/2-1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, to taste
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp oregano
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup water

Directions

Chop your onion (and garlic, if not using pre-minced). Cook the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat until beef is browned and cooked through, breaking it up as you go. Drain the beef and return it to the pot.

While the beef is browning, cut up the mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots. Drain the green beans. (Note: This all may take you longer than the beef takes to cook. It’s OK. Just return the browned beef to the pot, turn off the heat, and finish what you need to do.)

Stir potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, green beans, and tomatoes into the ground beef.

Add the broth, 2 cups water, and red wine vinegar, then stir in all of the spices. Bring stew to a boil, stir, and reduce heat to medium-low.

Simmer stew over medium-low heat for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are tender.

When the veggies are tender, stir together 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water in a separate small bowl until smooth. Stir the flour slurry into the stew to thicken it, then continue to simmer for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Taste the stew, and add a little more salt and/or pepper as needed.

Serve your ground beef stew with a nice crusty bread and/or salad.

Note: If you’re gluten free, substitute gluten free flour or use a cornstarch & water mixture to thicken the stew. Slice carrots a little thinner than shown here, so they get softer than mine did. 🙂

That’s some stick-to-your-ribs stew

Hearty, filling, and comforting, simple ground beef stew is a great fall recipe to simmer away on your stove on a long fall afternoon. The longer, the better; and, it reheats beautifully for lunch the next day.

Give this ground beef stew recipe a try the next time you’re craving a bowl of comfort food. I don’t know about you, but I’m much more likely to have a pack of ground beef on hand in the freezer than a pack of stew meat — so, it’s easy to make this one any time!

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Simple Ground Beef Stew

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This hearty pot of veggie-packed comfort food is perfect for a cool Fall day: Simple Ground Beef Stew.

Course dinner

Cuisine stew

Keyword beef stew, comfort food, ground beef, ground beef stew, stew

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

dutch oven

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic about six cloves
• 1 lb russet potatoes chopped into bite sized pieces
• 8 oz mushrooms chopped
• 4 oz baby carrots sliced into very thin coins or diced
• 1 can green beans drained
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 32 oz beef broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2-1 Tbsp red wine vinegar to taste
• 2 tsp parsley
• 2 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp oregano
• Sea salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

• Chop your onion (and garlic, if not using pre-minced). Cook the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat until beef is browned and cooked through, breaking it up as you go. Drain the beef and return it to the pot.
• While the beef is browning, cut up the mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots. Drain the green beans. (Note: This all may take you longer than the beef takes to cook. It’s OK. Just return the browned beef to the pot, turn off the heat, and finish what you need to do.)
• Stir potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, green beans, and tomatoes into the ground beef.
• Add the broth, 2 cups water, and red wine vinegar, then stir in all of the spices. Bring stew to a boil, stir, and reduce heat to medium-low.
• Simmer stew over medium-low heat for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are tender.
• When the veggies are tender, stir together 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water in a separate small bowl until smooth. Stir the flour slurry into the stew to thicken it, then continue to simmer for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Taste the stew, and add a little more salt and/or pepper as needed.
• Serve your ground beef stew with a nice crusty bread and/or salad.

Notes

If you’re gluten free, substitute gluten free flour or use a cornstarch & water mixture to thicken the stew. Slice carrots a little thinner than shown here, so they get softer than mine did.

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Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!