Ground Beef Stew
If you think comfort food has to be cooked for hours and feed 12 or more, think again! Ground Beef Stew is quick to make, and it’s the kind of meal that makes dinner for two feel extra cozy. It tastes like you’ve let it simmer all day, but you’re done in no time at all. Warm, hearty, and perfect for a pot of comfort in small households.
Ground beef stew is rich and savory, with tender vegetables in a thick, glossy gravy that clings to every spoonful. The ground beef is a budget-friendly option for stew meat which helps keep costs down.
When the weather is cold, nothing feels better than a bowl of stew. Add in a wedge of quick dutch oven bread for two or a couple of bisquick biscuits. Nothing beats a fresh piece of bread and butter with a bowl of stew.
What I Need To Make This Recipe
A few key pantry and fridge staples come together to make this stew possible. Add everything to your shopping list so you’re prepared for cooking dinner.
- oil
- chopped onion
- lean ground beef
- minced garlic, fresh, or jarred garlic
- diced carrot
- diced potato
- sliced mushrooms
- beef broth base or beef broth or bouillon
- bay leaf
- garlic powder
- Worcestershire sauce
- cornstarch
- cold water
- salt and pepper
How To Use Corn Starch In This Recipe
You can thicken stews in two ways: one by dredging the stew meat in flour and browning it. When liquid is added, the flour thickens the gravy, bringing the stew together. The other way to thicken up stew, or anything liquid for that matter, is to use cornstarch and cold water.
Flour and cornstarch both work to thicken up a stew just fine, and they both have faults. Flour-thickened stews can become lumpy if the flour clumps together when the broth is added. Cornstarch can clump together if you mix it and then pour it in.
To effectively use cornstarch, make a slurry of a small amount of cold water and the cornstarch, but don’t just pour it into the hot, bubbly stew base. Whisk in a little of the hot liquid from the pot to “temper” it.
Once smooth, stir it back into the stew while the liquid is hot but not boiling. Keep stirring until the broth thickens, then turn up the heat briefly if you need to finish it off.
Ground Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tbsp onion chopped
- ½ lb lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- ½ cup carrot diced
- ½ cup potato diced
- ½ cup mushrooms sliced
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup cold water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pot over medium high heat
- Add the ground beef and onion and cook until browned
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds
- Add the beef broth, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, bay leaf, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce
- Bring to a boil
- Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 10–15 minutes
- Lower the heat to low
- Mix the cornstarch with cold water in a small bowl to make a slurry
- Add a spoonful of hot stew liquid to the slurry and stir to combine
- Pour the slurry back into the pot
- Whisk until smooth and stir until the stew thickens
- If needed, turn up the heat slightly to finish thickening
- If your stew gets too thick, it may have reduced itself while cooking, add a little water to thin it down
- Remove the bay leaf
- Taste and add salt and pepper as needed
- Serve hot
