The Best Irish Beef Stew

There is nothing better than a comforting Irish beef stew, simmering to perfection. The Guinness gives the sauce an incredibly rich, deep flavor, and the beef is fall-apart-tender and can be made on the stovetop, in an instant pot, or in a slow cooker.

There is nothing better than having a warm stew on the back of the stove slowly cooking or being able to place all the ingredients into a slow cooker or instant pot.

If you’re looking for a comforting Irish-inspired stew to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, this is great when cooked all day or quickly in your instant pot and served in a nice bowl, along with some crusty bread or Irish soda bread for dipping into this richly seasoned Guinness broth.

Ingredients in Beef Stew

• Olive Oil used to sear the beef and vegetables
• Boneless Chuck Roast I like to use chuck roast because it gets incredibly flaky and tender in the broth. If you’re wanting a more traditional version, you could use lamb.
• Salt and Pepper This is to help build the base of flavor.
• Onion A yellow onion adds a hint of sharpness to your broth base.
• Garlic For the savory flavor, use freshly minced garlic.
• Carrots I like to use large carrots to create larger chunks, but you can slice them or dice them.
• Potatoes I like using new potatoes or fingerling potatoes, but you can use a Yukon gold or yellow potato and dice them up.
• Flour To thicken up your broth sauce, as an alternative, you can make a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch and water).
• Beef Broth I recommend using a good-quality beef broth because this is the base of your stew.
• Guinness Beer This is where your broth flavor transforms; you want to use either Guinness or your favorite stout to round out your flavors.
• Tomato Paste adds acidity and caramelized flavor.
• Worcestershire Sauce I love adding Worcestershire; it has a nice combination of flavors: a little sweetness, some savory notes, and to finish it off, a little bit of tang.
• Italian Seasoning You can use store-bought Italian seasoning or, as I love to do, make your own at home. You can find the recipe here.

Recipe Variations

This recipe can be customized to your own personal preferences.

• Add extra vegetables Add in any other stew-friendly veggies that you love, such as mushrooms, celery, parsnips, or peas.
• Use Lamb The traditional version of this Irish stew uses lamb, but you are welcome to use lamb or beef.
• Add Bacon I like to add a few slices of bacon to add a little bit more flavor and some smokiness.
• Different Beer You can use a different kind of beer if you don’t like the strong flavor of a stout. You can use something like a pale ale or a darker craft beer.
• Gluten-Free option Instead of using flour, you can use cornstarch and make a slurry to thicken it with equal parts cold water and cornstarch.

How to make Irish Beef Stew

This Irish beef and Guinness stew takes time to cook on the stove but is definitely worth the time. If you don’t have the time, I will show you how to do it in the instant pot or a slow cooker option that can cook all day and be ready for you at the end of the work day.

Stove Top

• Cut Beef  Prepare the beef by cutting it into 1-1/2-inch chunks or bite-sized pieces. Pat dry and generously season the beef with salt and pepper.
• Sear Place the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the beef in small batches so that you can achieve the browning of the meat and the bottom of the pan. You just want to make the meat brown; you don’t need to be concerned about cooking it through.
• Saute vegetables In the same pot, add an additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the diced onion and cook until it becomes translucent and starts to turn golden. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. You want to cook the flour a little bit, and if it becomes too dry, add a little more oil.
• Remaining ingredients Pour in the Guinness and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of your pan. Stir in carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning.
• Simmer and cook Add in the cooked beef, cover the pot, and simmer on low for 1-1/2 hours. Occasionally stir the stew and cook until the beef is tender and the potatoes and carrots are soft.
• Season and Serve taste the beef stew to see if your personal preference is for more seasoning like salt and pepper or additional Italian seasoning, and then serve with the crusty bread of your choice.

Slow Cooker

With a slow cooker, the process is pretty simple. Like most slow cooker recipes, you can dump everything into it and set it and forget it. This is one of my favorite ways to make Irish beef stew.

• Sear Place the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the beef in small batches so that you can achieve the browning of the meat and the bottom of the pan.
• Deglaze Add Guinness, beef broth, and tomato paste to deglaze the pan, pick up all the flavor, and transfer to the slow cooker.
• Stir in Place potatoes, carrots, and onions in a Dutch oven and cook on low for 8 hours without opening the lid during cooking.
• Thickening mix flour and water together and allow the stew to thicken and serve.

Instant Pot

• Sear Season the beef with salt and pepper, turn the instant pot to the saute function, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add the beef in small batches, and let cook for about 2 minutes or until golden brown. You want the meat to be golden brown and the bottom of the pan to be brown as well.
• Saute Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the diced onion; sauté for 3-5 minutes, and then add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
• Deglaze Add Guinness, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and beef stock to deglaze the pan.
• Pressure cooker  Place the meat in the pot, secure the lid, and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the timer for 30 minutes on the meat and stew function. Use a quick release to release the steam.
• Add vegetables Remove the lid and add the potatoes and carrots. Secure the lid and set to pressure cook for 4 minutes. Use quick release to release the steam.
• Thicken In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water. Add the cornstarch to the stew and stir to thicken and serve.

The Best Irish Beef Stew

There is nothing better than a comforting Irish beef stew, simmering to perfection.The Guinness gives the sauce an incredibly rich, deep flavor, and the beef is fall-apart-tender and can be made on the stovetop, in an instant pot, or in a slow cooker.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 43 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine irish

Servings 4 Servings

Calories 977 kcal

Equipment

• 1 pressure cooker optional
• 1 slow cooker optional
• 1 stock pot

Ingredients

  

stewing beef

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 lb boneless chuck roast cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Stock

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 2 tsp garlic minced
• 3 large carrots cut into 2 inch pieces or smaller
• 1 lb baby potatoes or yellow potatoes diced cut in half
• ¼ cup flour
• 4 cups beef broth
• 12 oz Guinness or stout beer
• 5 oz tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Instructions

 

• Prepare the beef by cutting it into 1 1/2-inch chunks. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Generously salt and pepper the beef
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the beef to the pot and sear on each side for about 3 minutes. There is no need to cook it through, just give it a nice golden sear. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.
• In the same pot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the diced onion until translucent and golden. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
• Pour in the Guinness and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the beef stock, carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning.
• Add in the cooked beef, cover the pot, and simmer on low for 1 ½ hours. Occasionally stir the stew, and cook until the beef is tender and the potatoes and carrots are soft.
• Season with salt, pepper, and more Italian seasoning if needed. serve with crusty artisan bread!

Keyword beef, irish, stew