This Comforting Irish Beef Stew is a delicious Irish meal that is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any cool weather day! Made with tender beef chunks, traditional root vegetables, garlic, and flavorful beef broth. We love to enjoy it over creamy mashed potatoes!
Ultimate Irish Beef Stew Recipe
I have strong Irish blood in my family, so St. Patrick’s Day is CELEBRATED. Growing up we always had Corned Beef and Cabbage, but my mom also makes a mean stew, so I used that inspiration to come up with a really easy and delicious Irish Stew that I know you guys are going to love!
This is Whole30 compliant and goes absolutely perfectly with my Creamy Whole30 Mashed Potatoes!
What’s In Irish Beef Stew
- chunks of beef or lamb – either is typical for a traditional Irish beef stew, just make sure they are 1-2 inch bite-sized chunks.
- ghee or olive oil – either will work or if you don’t have any dietary concerns, you can also use butter.
- garlic – everything is better with some flavorful garlic!
- kosher salt & ground black pepper – simple seasonings that are a must when making any type of meat.
- sweet yellow onion & baby onions – this combination of onions provides a great depth of flavor.
- Yukon gold potatoes & russet potatoes – if you plan to serve over mashed potatoes you can omit the russet potatoes.
- carrots – traditional ingredient when making any beef stew.
- chicken or beef broth – to keep it Whole30 compliant you will want to check the ingredients on the broth you use from your local grocery store.
- fresh thyme & a bay leaf – all about adding some great flavor!
How To Make Irish Beef Stew
This simple beef stew recipe begins by heating up a dutch oven on medium high heat to melt the ghee. Next, add the garlic and move around the pan for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Then add the beef (or lamb) to the pot and sear all sides for about 5-10 minutes. Now add the rest of your ingredients to the large pot, cover with a lid, and place in the oven for 1.5 hours. Make any taste adjustments and serve any way you want!
What To Serve With Irish Beef Stew
This classic Irish beef stew is full of so much great flavor that you can just eat a cozy bowl of stew all by itself. But if you are looking to make it even more comforting, you can pour the stew over some creamy mashed potatoes! Trust us, it’s SO good! Whether you make your mashed potatoes on the stovetop, in the Instant Pot, or in the slow cooker… you won’t regret it!
Irish Beef Stew In A Slow Cooker
This couldn’t be more easy! Simply follow the first five steps and then after you have your sautéed garlic with the seared meat chunks you can move them to your crockpot and add the rest of your ingredients. Let this all simmer on the low setting for 6-8 hours. Pro tip: you may want to wait on the carrots until the last hour, so that they don’t get too mushy.
Recipe FAQ
- thicker broth: if you like a thicker stew, you can coat your beef or lamb in arrowroot powder before you sear them in your stockpot.
- leftovers: after the stew has cooled a bit, you can place it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- freezing irish beef stew: simply place in a freezer-safe container (leave a little room for expansion) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw you can move to the fridge the night before you plan to reheat your stew.
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Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Comforting Irish Beef Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 8 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
Comforting Irish Beef Stew – a delicious Irish meal that is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any day!
Ingredients
- 2 – 2.5 lbs beef or lamb (you could really use any cut you want, I used a nice beef roast), cut into large 1-2 inch chunks
- 3 tablespoons ghee (use olive oil if dairy-free)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 large sweet yellow onion (or 1 small yellow onion) cut into wedges
- 10 baby onions
- 10 baby Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 1/2 russet potatoes, cut into large chunks*
- 2–3 carrots, peeled and cut into medium chunks
- 2 cups chicken or beef broth
- 4–6 fresh sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sprinkle cut up beef (or lamb) with salt and pepper.
- Add ghee to dutch oven, melt and coat the pan.
- Add garlic and allow to cook until fragrant, approximately 1 minute.
- Add beef to pan and cook on medium high heat, searing all sides, and continuing to cook for 5-10 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix.
- Cover and place in the oven for 1.5 hours.
- Remove and taste; add additional salt or pepper to taste.
- Highly recommend serving over these mashed potatoes!
Notes
- *Russet Potatoes: feel free to omit the russet potatoes if you are serving over mashed potatoes!
- Thicker Broth: if you want a thicker broth, lightly coat the beef in arrowroot powder before you cook in ghee.
- Beef Broth: for Whole30 just double check your beef broth ingredients!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 304
- Sugar: 10.7 g
- Sodium: 526.1 mg
- Fat: 8.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Protein: 29.4 g
- Cholesterol: 79.2 mg
Keywords: Irish stew, beef stew, healthy beef stew
Lisa says
Great easy recipe! Full of flavour. I made this for St.Patrick’s Day and the family loved it!!! I chose to cook it in the crock pot ease as I was working. The meat was so tender.
Thank you !
★★★★★
Kevie says
This was my first Wooden Skillet recipe. It is so yum, that I keep coming back for more. Irish Beef Stew is a great fall/winter recipe. It’s nice to cook and let the oven do the work. Serving it with mashed potatoes is a must!
★★★★★
Erin says
Thanks, Kevie!! I love this recipe too!
Jacqueline says
Question, what would you advise subbing the ghee out for? We are dairy free in our house so ghee can’t be used! Thanks!
Erin says
I would just use some olive oil!
Carolyn says
So good on cold school night! Made with the mashed potatoes and fam had no clue it was whole 30! I ended up adding a little more stock towards the end. YUM!
★★★★★
Erin says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Maura says
This recipe was amazing! The beef came out so tender and the vegetables were cooked perfectly. I followed the suggestion of serving it over mashed potatoes, and it did not disappoint! Will definitely be adding this to our regular dinner rotation.
★★★★★
Erin says
That is awesome to hear, Maura! And I agree – the mashed potatoes are so good with this! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review + feedback – I really appreciate it!
Sara says
Made this over the weekend and it was super good. We had it for leftovers too, and it was even better the 2nd time. I’ve neve made beef stew before, so it was nice to switch things up!
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Sara!! And thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback – I really appreciate it!
Jenna says
Hi! Quick Questions for you… is the meat cooked first in a separate pan on the stovetop or in the Dutch oven on the stovetop?
Also, how can this be made in a slow cooker?
Thank you!
Erin says
Hi Jenna! The meat is cooked in the same Dutch Oven for the entirety of the recipe (no extra dishes!)! I haven’t tested this in a slow cooker yet, but it is on my to-do list and I will update the recipe at that time!
Megan M says
I would love a slow cooker version of this too!
Tara says
Have you had a chance to try this yet
Jackie says
I LOVE this recipe and have made it more times than I can count! Some adjustments I made after the first time making it: swapped ghee for avocado oil (can’t stomach taste or smell if ghee), left out baby onions and yukon potatoes to simplify prep and instead trippled carrots and added extra Russet potatoes and sweet onion slices, and it comes out perfect. Thank you for this wonderful meal idea.
★★★★★
Erin says
That is so awesome to hear, Jackie! And thank you so much for sharing your tips – always so helpful for everyone else to read – I really appreciate it! Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Kait says
Hi Erin! I absolutely loved this recipe as did my family! Only question is.. the stew meat was a little overcooked though I followed instructions.. I took it out after an hour to check on it and the meat was more on the well side. How could I make the meat more tender? Thanks!
Lauren F says
So easy and very tasty!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Thanks, Lauren!! So glad you enjoyed it!! And thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, I really appreciate it!
Rose Martine says
This recipe is AMAZING. I will eat this for the rest of my life! So good and easy-peasy.
★★★★★
Danielle says
If you do t have a ditch oven can you use a crock pot?
Patty says
My second recipe from this site today! Both 5 stars. Excellent stew. I did use the arrowroot starch for thickening. Didn’t do much but no worries. Just to save on prep, I would probably use just one type of potato. Same on onions. The baby onions had great flavor. Maybe another clove or two of garlic. Great recipe!,
★★★★★
Erin says
Thank you so much, Patty!! So glad you enjoyed it! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback – I really appreciate it!
RK says
Should the stew be completely covered with just the two cups of fluid? Cooking it as we speak and it definitely isn’t.
Erin says
You are fine! It doesn’t need to by fully submerged to cook, you are braising the meat in the liquid!
Georgie | The Home Cook's Kitchen says
this looks beautiful Erin!!! absolutely love Irish stew!
★★★★★
Erin says
Thanks, Georgie!! I love it too! The epitome of comfort food!
Linda says
The stew looks great ! Yes we are proud of our Irishness! ☘️?
Erin says
We certainly are!!