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!
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.
In the last 2 years I’ve tried numerous beef stew recipes that were all highly rated. But none impressed me until THIS ONE. I can honestly say eating this stew was an experience I’ll never forget. The flavor was so savory, deep and comforting. My Irish husband just about blew his top after trying it. Thank you! My search is finally over! Just so delicious.
This is a delicious stew, which I make time and time again and everyone loves it!
You say Nagi that it is traditionally made with lamb. I’m Irish and have never heard of lamb in Guinness, always beef. I’d be interested to hear thoughts on this from any other Irish contributors on here
I have, I’m from Dublin, but my relations in Wex do this with lamb. It’s nice but not as nice as the beef option
I love the look on people’s faces when they take the first bite!!
Wonderful recipe!!
Made the Irish Steak and Guinness stew last night. Was Delicious. Steak was so tender (I used a mix of sirloin and stewing meat…couldn’t tell the difference). Gravy was so good.
This is great, it should clarify to make with “draft Guinness in a can” not Guinness foreign extra stout (usually bottles). different drinks.
Does anyone know how to tone down the sweetness, mine is a little sweet…..
Absolutely delicious!! I got to cooking it too late to do in the slow cooker so I did it on the stove – I was dubious…but it turned out fantastic! I used chicken stock (not beef), and made 2/3 of the recipe because I didn’t need 6 serves.
Made some brown Irish soda bread to go with it too. Yum
Non-alcoholic Guiness 0% is GREAT in this.
Yes! Indeed we use the zero alcohol Guinness can too, and it is perfect
They now sell 0% alcohol Guinness. Not sure if it’s any good as a substitute but may be an option for those that don’t drink.
Hi Nagi, I really want to give this recipe a go, sounds delish, but I’m wanting to make it healthier. Can I used Round beef instead of Chuck? I read that as long as it’s kept in liquid and cooked slow (intending on using the slow cooker method) then it should still be tender but will have 5% fat rather than 20%. Will this work? Have you tried Round beef cuts?
I can’t say for using beef round, but maybe using gravy beef would be a pretty good substitute. Gravy beef is essentially beef shin/beef shank/osso buco depending on where you are, but with the bone removed. Looking at the nutrition, it’s something like 4-8% fat and contains plant of connective tissue to keep it tender from braising.
Made stew first time bloody superb great recipe easy to follow