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!
Absolutely delicious. Made this as per the recipe just to compare it with my own version. I would agree with the comment that recommended a dash of Lea & Perrins. I’ve also always added some Colmans English Mustard. This will definitely go in the rotation though.
There is an even better beer for this stew, though (although I don’t know if you can get it in Oz): Theakston’s Old Peculiar. It’s a bottled ale from North Yorkshire here in England and gives Guinness a run for it’s money in the beef stew stakes.
I made this recipe for Easter, with lamb. I followed the exactly directions and amounts. OMG! It was the best lamb me and my husband eat for a long time! It made a big batch so I even had enough to freeze! Super recommended! Nagi, you have the best recipes in internet. Made so many of your dishes and they are always a sucess! Thank you!!!
I have gone to the butchers and bought way too much meat. Now thinking of making a double batch in my huge instnt pot (presdure or slow cooking) for freezing for future dinners. If I may ask… would you extend the cooking time much?
This was so delicious!!! Even better than my go-to stew recipe I’d been making for years. The gravy is out of this world. I used Guinness zero non-alcoholic beer as some others have also. I added mushrooms as well. Served over mashed potatoes it’s the ultimate comfort food. Thanks for a great recipe!
Soooooo good. Make this with 0% Guinness, and it’s perfect for anyone who doesn’t drink. Didn’t quite have enough meat, so I just added a couple chopped potatoes to bulk it up.
It never fails, anything I make out of either of your cook books or online it always turns out fabulous. I could just drink the broth from this stew. So tasty. Thank you again!!
I’ve been making this for several years now. Always a favorite. I do add small red potatoes to it. We prefer that to serving over mashed.
A dash of Worcestershire Sauce in required but apart from that this is a good Irish Stew Recipe.
Hi Nagi, your recipe notes say that there isn’t a non-alcoholic version, but since the recipe was originally posted 5 years ago, I’m wondering if you’ve tried it with the Guinness 0.0% that has been available for a couple of years now? I have, and I think it deserves a taste-test on your part!
Hi! I wanted to use up my leftover medium rare prime rib roast, gravy, peas, roast potatoes from Christmas dinner, to make Guiness pot pies.. thoughts on adding these to the base veggies and sauce ingredients? How long should I cook it, so the meat is tender and delicious?
Thanks!
People who wish to have non-alcohol in stew. Guinness now have a zero alcohol version available. It is Guinness 0.0 imported in the 440ml cans.
(Nice drop, same taste and colour as the original)
Came here to say this too
Guiness 0%
Even made in Ireland
Rating 5
Perfection. 🙂
Great recipe, my Irish partner approved! We added baby potatoes in the last hour of cooking & it was perfect.
This stew was delectably delicious, and the recipe did exactly what it says on the tin. A luscious rich sauce with melting beef chunks – I made the oven version using beef stock. I’m going to try chicken stock and the alcohol free guiness which many commentors have recommended next time and post again.
I have tons left over – only two of us – and the fussy adult eater wants a pie! 🙂 The rest can go into the freezer, and I can use it for friends – puff pastry topped in mini ramekins.
Thank you so much Nagi and huge congratulations on your ‘Dinner’ release – I’m off to K-Mart today! xx
It is heart wrenching to see Dozer looking so heart broken. I can’t believe you didn’t at least sneak him a couple of pieces of seared beef! 🙂
Love it!!! Best recipe yet!!
I have a bottle of guiness extra stout. Have you ever made this with extra stout? Just wondering if it will work in terms of overall flavor of the stew?
I made this stew last night for a dinner party with your make ahead mashed potatoes and some green beans. It was delicious! The flavour was really rich and beautiful and the gravy from the stew was delicious with the mashed potato. I made it the day before as suggested and then reheated it so it was easy on the night. Thank you Nagi!
This is outrageously good. I felt like I was transported back to a little pub in Galway. I sent this recipe to everyone in my family after making it because it’s too good not to share.