There’s no greater comfort food than a hearty stew. And Irish Beef and Guinness Stew might be the king of them all! Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavour, and the beef is fall-apart tender. Stove, oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker – directions provided for all.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Irish Stew may well be the mother of all stews. I mean, you know that anything simmered for hours is going to be a good thing. But this…. this is the stew of your dreams. Arguably the most deeply flavourful sauce of all stews, with a rich dark brown flavour, this is the best of the best.
THIS is the stew I make for company when I want to impress!
With it’s deeply flavoured rich sauce, Guinness Beef Stew is THE stew you make when you want to impress!
What kind of beer goes in Guinness Stew?
The not-so-secret ingredient that goes into Guinness Stew that gives the sauce the deep flavour and colour is Guinness Beer.
Guinness Beer is so dark it is almost black and it’s why the gravy of the stew is such a beautiful deep brown colour. Guinness is also much richer than most beers, which you can see just by looking at the thick creamy head (the foam) that Guinness is famed for.
It’s pretty widely available these days – here in Australia, you’ll find it at most liquor stores.
Meat in Guinness Stew – beef OR lamb
Traditionally, Guinness Stew is made with lamb. But in many parts of the world including here in Australia and North America, Guinness Stew is more commonly made with beef.
I hope the Irish aren’t offended! 🙂 I’ve made it with lamb and to be honest, I do prefer it with beef.
Tip: Use big chunky hunks of beef. Don’t even think about using tiny cubes of beef. It needs to be chunky pieces so it can be cooked for a looooong time to get all that flavour into the sauce! If the pieces of beef are too small, they will cook too quickly and fall apart in the stew before it’s had enough time to develop the deep flavours.
Ingredients in Guinness Beef Stew
In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew.
Garlic and onion – essentials
Bacon – adds extra flavour! Can be skipped, or sub with pancetta or speck
Carrot and celery – potatoes could also be added
Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour;
Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids. I prefer using chicken rather than beef broth because it allows the flavour from the Guinness beer to come through better. Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like beer at all, it transforms into a deep savoury sauce! Also, all the alcohol is cooked out.
Thyme and bay leaves – to add a hint of flavour the sauce.
How to make Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Though this Irish Beef and Guinness Stew takes time to cook, it is very straightforward. The steps are no different to usual stews like classic Beef Stew:
Brown the beef – brown them well, this is key to flavour. It’s not just the browned beef itself, also the brown bits left on the bottom of the pot (fond) adds extra flavour to the sauce;
Sauté flavour base – onion, garlic, bacon (speck or pancetta), carrot and celery;
Cook off flour and tomato paste;
Add liquids – beer, broth and herbs;
Simmer covered for 2 hours until the beef is pretty tender, then simmer for a further 30 minutes uncovered to let the sauce reduce a bit and for the beef to become “fall apart tender”.
Yes it takes hours but your patience is rewarded with beef so tender you can eat it with a spoon!
The one thing I do differently to most Guinness Beef Stew recipes, including very traditional Irish recipes, is to thicken the sauce slightly with flour. If you don’t do this step, the sauce is quite thin and watery, and while the flavour is still lovely, I really prefer the sauce to be more like a thin gravy.
What to serve with Irish Stew
Serve Beef and Guinness Stew over mashed potato or cauliflower mash for a low carb option. And what about some warm crusty Irish Soda Bread to mop your bowl clean??
I am so glad I have a tub of this in the freezer. I cooked most of the day but gave it all away. The minute I hit Publish on this post, I’m going to get cracking reheating some of this Irish Stew for dinner tonight! – Nagi x
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Beef and Guinness Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2.5 lb / 1.25 kg beef chuck , boneless short rib or any other slow cooking beef (no bone)
- 3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 onions , chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 6 oz / 180g bacon , speck or pancetta, diced
- 3 tbsp flour (all purpose/plain, Note 3 for GF)
- 440ml / 14.9 oz Guinness Beer (Note 1)
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock/broth (or beef broth – Note 4)
- 3 carrots , peeled and cut into 1.25 cm / 1/2″ thick pieces
- 2 large celery stalks , cut into 2cm / 1″ pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme (or sub with 1 tsp dried thyme leaves)
Instructions
- Cut the beef into 5cm/2″ chunks. Pat dry then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy based pot over high heat. Add beef in batches and brown well all over. Remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Lower heat to medium. If the pot is looking dry, add oil.
- Cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softening, then add bacon.
- Cook until bacon is browned, then stir through carrot and celery.
- Add flour, and stir for 1 minute to cook off the flour.
- Add Guinness, chicken broth/stock and tomato paste. Mix well (to ensure flour dissolves well), add bay leaves and thyme.
- Return beef into the pot (including any juices). Liquid level should just cover – see video or photos.
- Cover, lower heat so it is bubbling gently. Cook for 2 hours – the beef should be pretty tender by now. Remove lid then simmer for a further 30 – 45 minutes or until the beef falls apart at a touch, the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
- Skim off fat on surface, if desired. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves and thyme.
- Serve with creamy mashed potatoes!!
Recipe Notes:
– SLOW COOKER: Reduce chicken broth by 1 cup. After you add the Guinness and broth/stock into the pot, bring to simmer and ensure you scrape the bottom of the pot well. Transfer everything into slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients per recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. If sauce needs more thickening, simmer with slow cooker lid off (if you have that function), to ladle some of the sauce into a separate saucepan and reduce on stove.
– PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, cook on HIGH for 40 minutes (this might seem longer than most but we’re using chuck here which needs to be cooked for a long time until tender and also the pieces are large). 3. FLOUR: I prefer my stew sauce a bit thick, not watery, so I always add flour to slightly thicken the sauce. Some recipes say to dust beef with flour before browning – I prefer not to use this method because the flour burns then this permeates throughout the whole stew. 4. Beef vs Chicken Broth – I use chicken broth because the flavour is slightly more mild which lets the guinness flavour come through more. But beef broth works just as well and you can definitely still taste the Guinness!! 5. Nutrition per serving, excluding mashed potato. This nutrition is overstated because it does not take into account the fat that is skimmed off the surface.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published July 2016, updated with new video and step photos. No change to recipe.
More slow cooked fall-apart beef recipes
Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
Browse Winter Warmer recipes and see more Stews!
Life of Dozer
Sulking because he didn’t score any Irish Stew.
Let’s not feel badly for him though. He lives a very cushy life!
This was so flavorful and tender, one of the best beef stews I’ve ever made. It’s a keeper! The browned beef/guinness gravy a bit thickened really made it a great stew. V delicious with mashed potatoes and peas.
Excellent! I used an oatmeal stout that is brewed nearby because our rural grocery stores don’t carry Guinness — the flavor the stout adds is amazing! As Nagi notes, it is an essential ingredient to differentiate this from regular stew. I love every Nagi recipe I’ve ever tried. I made the macaroni and cheese from her cookbook just last week. Also excellent! And knowing Dozer is by her side as she develops these recipes just makes me smile!
2nd time making this recipe. This time I omitted the bacon (didn’t even notice it was in there last time) and added a small bag of mini potatoes, halved, when I removed the lid. I also added a small package of button mushrooms at the same time, and a slurry of 2 tbsp each cornstarch & water to further thicken it up toward the end. It was delicious yesterday and even better today! Can’t wait to try the oven baked and slow cooker versions.
Congratulations Nagi on purchasing your new home!!!
Just saw it on the news. I’m sure you and Dozer will be very happy there. Nagi, you deserve it, you are an absolute legend and an inspiration. I love all your recipes. Thank you 🙏 for being you.
Great recipe. I serve with colcannon.
I love your recipe for both the Irish Stew and Soda bread, we make them for St Patrick’s Day.
I use a slow cooker and Y-Bone Steak instead of chuck, adds flavour and thickens nicely, plus I use potato starch instead of flour.
Than you so much for the helpful tips as well.
Hello, just wondering if it’s okay to substitute the beer with red wine. Thank you!
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS STEW!! I have made it many times and it’s always a hit. It’s one of my show off meals! I serve it ontop of mashed sweet potatoes that I lightly season with cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s a flavor bomb! I also drop biscuits dough over the top, let them steam a bit with the lid on, and finish them off in the oven. Soild, stick to your ribs comfort food 💚💚💚
Guinness stew just brilliant
And I’m Irish!
This is my favorite Irish stew recipe. Over the years I have made 9 different irish stew recipes. I’ve got to say that this one never disappoints. Just like Mom used to make…maybe better. It’s my go to when cooking for family and other visitors. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Absolutely beautiful I used coopers dark extra stout with spuds in the strew so yummy will be a favourite dish from now on .
Amazing and the very first Guinness Stew I have ever cooked. Hubby wants to me to cook this gem again !
This is the best stew that I have ever tasted. Who knew a stew could be so flavourful! Thank you for such a comforting dish.
This was an excellent recipe. Everyone in my family loved it, including a picky teenager. I followed the recipe and cooked in the oven instead of stove. Only deviation is that I added a big squirt of catsup (about 2 TBSP) at last 30 mins. of cooking because carrots and celery were end of season. I served it over mashed potatoes and, let me tell you, that was a revelation. Definitely a keeper! Thank you.
This is one of the most fabulous dishes I have tasted. I added bellini mushrooms with the other veggies which made it even better. Hat tip to “recipetineats.” I’m going to try the other recipes on here as well. Affordable and bursting with flavor! Kudos!
This was the best beef stew I’ve ever made! I followed the recipe to a tea but I did add about 1.5 lb of red potatoes. I put them in when I added the carrots and celery. The meat was so incredibly tender and there was such a simple, delicious flavor. I want to eat the whole pot. Served it with some fresh sourdough bread but would absolutely be equally delicious over creamy mashed potatoes. Thank you!
Excellent Recipe. In the notes section it says you can not get non alcoholic Guinness. Well you can now, and it is excellent and would work perfectly in this dish
Wow! This is my favorite version of this stew. I added potatoes which made a huge impact to the texture and taste. It was seasoned very well. I’ve made versions in the past that aren’t as noteworthy but this recipe I highly recommend making.
I’ve made this recipe many times, and it never disappoints! My wife doesn’t eat beef, so I recently made it with chicken, otherwise exactly the same recipe. It was amazing!
Guinness now make a zero alcohol version, here in Ireland. Lots of non-alcoholic STOUT’s available