This hamburger stew recipe is thick, hearty, and easy to make! It's a delicious family meal that uses inexpensive everyday ingredients.
You may also like my Hamburger Soup or this American Goulash recipe.
Easy ground beef stew
Ground beef stew is sometimes referred to as "poor man's stew", but this dish is full of rich flavors! Sometimes it's nice to spend some extra time making a Classic Beef Stew, but when you're looking for a comforting stew that's ready fast (about an hour including prep time), this is your recipe!
Your whole family will devour this budget friendly stew, and you can feel good knowing you're serving up a complete one pot meal with real ingredients like beef, vegetables, and hearty potatoes.
What goes into hamburger stew
- Celery, onion, garlic, and olive oil - sauté these aromatics to make a wonderfully flavorful base
- Beef - ground beef is one of the most affordable proteins
- Flour - don't skip the flour as it's a thickening agent
- Tomato paste - easy way to add more savory flavor
- Beef broth - way tastier than simply using water
- Worcestershire sauce - gives this stew more umami flavor; it's not overpowering!
- Italian seasoning - a herb blend that includes rosemary and thyme. It's fantastic in soups and stews
- Potatoes, carrots, and peas - hearty and filling vegetables to round out this stew
What kind of beef to use?
- I use lean ground beef. It's a good compromise between saving a few calories but keeping flavor and moisture, and you typically don't have to worry about draining extra fat after it's been browned.
How to make hamburger stew
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Sauté the onion and celery in a soup pot for 5-7 minutes, then add in the garlic. Stir in the ground beef and cook until browned.
Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often (this cooks the floury taste out). Stir in the tomato paste.
Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, potatoes, and carrots. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Stir in the peas and season with salt & pepper to taste.
Substitutions and variations
- Feel free to throw in any extra veggies you happen to have on hand! This is a very forgiving stew, and you can clean out your fridge of any extra vegetables. Root vegetables would work especially well.
- I used Italian seasoning to give the stew some extra flavor, but you could use a different kind of dried herb blend or even something like steak seasoning if you prefer.
- Like a little heat? Add in some crushed red pepper flakes.
Tools for this recipe
- Any soup pot will work, but I love my Staub Dutch oven.
- I quickly crush the garlic using my garlic press. I do this for most recipes that call for minced garlic!
What to serve with it
- It's a complete meal in itself, but I'll never say no to a slice of crusty bread to make it even heartier. Or go all out with a slice of Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread.
- You could also pair it with a side salad. Try mixed greens and this Homemade Ranch Dressing. You'll never buy the bottled stuff again!
Leftovers and storage
- This stew is even better the next day after the flavors have a chance to meld more. Reheat on a low heat, and if you find the leftovers are a little dry, simply add a splash of beef broth when reheating to make more sauce.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container, and this stew also freezes well.
More delicious hamburger recipes
Questions about this ground beef stew recipe? Ask me in the comments below!
Hamburger Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 sticks celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 4 cups beef broth + more if needed
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 Russet potatoes peeled & diced
- 4 medium carrots peeled & sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the oil, onion, and celery to a soup pot and sauté over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the beef to the pot and cook, breaking it up with your spoon as you go along, until it's browned (about 8 minutes).
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes (stirring often).
- Stir in the tomato paste.
- Add in the broth, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, potatoes, and carrots. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a rapid simmer and cook, covered (with the lid slightly open), stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender and the flavors have had some time to build. Add more broth if the stew starts to get too thick, and if you want it thicker, cook it for longer with the lid off.
- Stir in the frozen peas and season with salt & pepper as needed.
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Cherrie Z says
Made this tonight for dinner. Super easy and tasted great! Great meal for a cold Iowa day. Thanks for sharing!! Happy Holidays 🙂
Natasha says
You're very welcome!! 😀 Happy holidays, Cherrie!
Dale says
This was really very tasty. Great combination of flavors!
Natasha says
Fantastic!! Thanks for your review, Dale!
Melissa says
OMG this was amazing! I made this yesterday on a gloomy dark raining chicago day and wow, just blown away! I followed your recipe to the T and added lots of garlic powder because, well, we live on garlic powder 🙂 This is a 5 star meal and so much leftover for lunches and to freeze. Oh and the aroma from cooking it...my apt building floor smelled DIVINE! hank you for sharing this one!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
That's so nice to hear, Melissa! So glad it warmed you up. We love Chicago 🙂
Nicki Smith says
Is this 1 cup serving size?
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Hi Nicki! The nutrition info is for a single serving, or 1/6 of the recipe. We use an online calculator; you'd have to measure it out with your specific ingredients if you need it to be more precise than that. Enjoy the stew!
Kristen Wagnon says
This was so so yummy! The whole family loved it! Easy, delicious comfort food!
Natasha says
Wonderful!! 🙂 I appreciate your review!
Terry B. says
Natasha,
Outstanding!!! Although my wife hates peas which I love, I left them out 😡. Fortunately I had broccoli which I needed to use so I added that instead. This is an easy recipe to follow and since I work from home I made this on my breaks and it was ready by the time I finished work!
I’m anxiously waiting to try again for lunch
Natasha says
I'm so glad that you enjoyed it, Terry!! 🙂 Thank you so much for your review! You could probably add peas just to your portion next time hehe.
Spencer Cundy says
I made this for dinner last night.
I made a couple of changes.
I added 200grams of Diced mushrooms
I put sweat potato instead of what was suggested.
Put in a cup of frozen peas and corn.
I had a little bit of Cauliflower so it went in.
After I cooked it all I placed it in a pie dish and topped it with mashed potatoes and coloured it under the grill.
Yummy yummy.
Thank you Spence.
Natasha says
Love how you adapted it, Spence!! That sounds so delicious.
Carol says
So it wasn't at all the same recipe lol