Slowly cooked Beef Stew with Root Vegetables features fall apart tender meat and a succulent sauce, served with mashed potatoes for some serious comfort food. Serve with a Côte-Rôtie or other big red wine for best results! We recently tried it with an excellenent Pessac-Léognan red wine.
Planning ahead: We recommend marinating the beef for at least 6 hours. Make the marinade the night before or early in the morning you intend to serve it. If you are opening the Côte-Rôtie we paired with the stew, allow at least one hour to decant the wine. Disclosure: the wine was sent as a complimentary sample, the opinions are entirely my own.
Table of contents
Recipe inspiration
Here’s a another recipe that started with the wine in mind.
I had a bottle of Côte-Rôtie to sample as part of my French Wine Picks for Valentine’s Day post with the Winophiles group. This big Syrah based red wine from the Northern Rhone certainly called for hearty fare. I decided Beef Stew with Root Vegetables would be just the thing!
Beef stew is such classic winter comfort food. After a modest amount of work to get it going, the Beef Stew with Root Vegetables slowly braises in the oven for three hours while you enjoy the smells wafting through the house. Make yourself a batch of mashed potatoes in the final hour of braising time for the full comfort food effect. Of course if you are cutting back on carbs you can skip that.
After developing this recipe awhile back, it remains a great option for a hearty meal with a bold red wine pairing. Recently we had a chance to update the recipe a bit while pairing it with a very good red wine from the Pessac-Léognan region of Bordeaux.
Making Beef Stew with Root Vegetables
Here are some tips and an overview of the steps for making root vegetable beef stew. Head to the recipe card for all the details.
Planning ahead: As noted earlier, you want to do some advance planning when making this Beef Stew with Root Vegetables recipe. Start marinating the beef the night before you want to serve it, or early the morning you are having it for dinner. There’s about 30 minutes of active prep, prior to 3 hours of braising.
Lately I’ve been using my oven proof Copper Chef Pan for preparations like the beef stew with root vegetables, rather than the Dutch oven as it cooks things very evenly and is easy to clean (Amazon affiliate link included there in case you are interested in one). Either the copper pan or Dutch oven will work here.
OK, let’s go to the overview of the recipe steps.
Make the marinade: Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
Start with the vegetables and herbs, as shown above.
Pour in the red wine after you’ve added the other ingredients, stirring to combine.
What kind of wine to use? This recipe calls for 4 cups of red wine, more than a whole bottle of wine. I would use inexpensive red wine, but of a quality you wouldn’t mind drinking. You can also use leftover red wine if you have some.
Pat the beef dry with a paper towel after the marinade is ready.. Place the beef in a large, sealable plastic bag – or you can divide the beef into two bags to make things fit a bit easier.
Prop up the plastic bag with the beef and open the bag. Carefully pour in the marinade into the bag. Note: if you have someone else around who can hold the bag open for you as you pour, that can make this a bit easier!
Seal the bag, and gently toss the bag to coat the beef. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least six hours, or overnight.
Get ready to make the stew about 3 ½ hours before you want to eat dinner. Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees.
Get the vegetables chopped. I went heavy on the parsnips in the initial version of this root vegetable beef stew, but you can certainly mix up the root veggies you use. I used more carrots the most recent time I made this, as you can see from the picture.
Place a strainer inside a large bowl. Pour the beef mixture into the strainer, using the bowl to capture and reserve the marinade.
Remove the beef, scraping off big pieces of veggies, herbs and spices from the marinade. Set the beef aside in a bowl to cook.
Heat the oil in a large oven proof pan on medium heat. Add the onions, and cook until the begin to soften.
Add the beef to the pan. Brown one side of the beef, then turn over to brown the other side.
Stir in the root vegetables and mushrooms, cooking for a few minutes so they begin to soften.
Add the other stew ingredients to the pan with the beef and root vegetables– the reserved marinade, thyme, rosemary, soy sauce, cinnamon, ketchup, and beef broth.
You might note I used a bit of ketchup and soy sauce here. Not classic French ingredients but they add some good flavor!
Bring the pan to a simmer, then cover. Place in the oven to cook on 300 for 3 hours.
At the end of the cooking time, carefully remove the stew pan from the oven. Ladle the stew into a bowl, along with mashed potatoes if desired. Enjoy!
If you are looking for a slow cooker beef stew recipe, try our Chanterelle Beef Stew. That also comes with another great French wine pairing. And the same is true for our Beef Daube recipe!
Wine pairing
Beef stew definitely calls for a hearty red wine. We’ve got two excellent beef stew pairing ideas that we have enjoyed, to share with you.
Pessac-Léognan Pairing
We have had a bottle of 2018 Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan ($47, 14% ABV) waiting for the right meal to open it. Root vegetable beef stew seemed like just the dish to pair with red wine from Bordeaux!
This Pesscac-Léognan has notes of cigar box and prunes on the nose. On the palate, bright, black cherry fruit and notes of lead pencil and leather. With supple tannins, this is a well-balanced red wine. As you might expect, it was an excellent wine pairing for the beef stew!
The wine is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc. The grapes come from 35 year old vines. This Pessac-Léognan wine is aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels for 14 to 18 months.
Château Larrivet Haut-Brion is a highly regarded winery located in the Pessac-Léognan appellation of Bordeaux. Situated on gravelly soils, the estate benefits has terroir well-suited for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc grapevarieties.
Château Larrivet Haut-Brion was cited as one of the leading wines in the commune of Léognan as early as 1840. The estate was acquired by the Gervoson in 1987, and they have built up the estates reputation through a modernization program that combines state of the art winemaking with traditional approaches. Visit Château Larrivet Haut-Brion’s web page for more information.
Côte-Rôtie Wine Pairing
I had a bottle of 2013 Vidal-Fleury Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde ($72) waiting to serve with our Beef Stew with Root Vegetables.
Côte-Rôtie is an appellation in the Northern Rhone known for its steep vineyard slopes and Syrah dominated red wines. The name Côte-Rôtie translates into “roasted hillside”. It is comprised of two slopes, Brune and Blonde, reflected in the name of the wine we opened for our beef stew with root vegetables.
This 2013 Côte-Rôtie is peppery on the nose. Blackberry fruit, currant and notes of leather, complex. This Northern Rhone wine is made from 95% Syrah, 5% Viogner grapes.
I did my initial tasting immediately after opening this wine, then decanted for an hour before dinner– I noticed a bit late that the winery suggested two hours of decanting. But one hour did give the wine good opportunity to open up, featuring plush fruit and a long finish after decanting.
As you might suspect, the Vidal-Fleury Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde is excellent paired with our beef stew! A robust wine that stands up well to the hearty dish.
Vidal-Fleury was established in 1781, making it the oldest house in the Rhone. They produce wines from throughout the Rhone region.
Recipe card
PrintRecipe card
Beef Stew with Root Vegetables
Beef slowly cooks with root vegetables for a succulent stew, with fall apart tender meat. Excellent served with a bold French red wine.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hrs 15 mins
- Total Time: 3 hrs 45 mins active plus 6 hrs marinating
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: Stew
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 6 sprigs of rosemary
- 6 cloves
- 5 bay leaves
- Onion cut into about 8 pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- ¼ tsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp honey
- tsp coarse salt
- 5 black peppercorns
- 4 cups red wine
- 2 ½ lbs stew beef
For cooking the stew
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- ¾ cup mushrooms, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup reserved marinade liquid
- 1 sprig rosemary, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Pinch cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 ½ cups low sodium beef broth
- Mashed potatoes for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Make the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients, from the rosemary through the red wine.
- Pat dry the beef with a paper towel, and place in a large, sealable plastic bag. Carefully pour in the marinade. Seal the bag, and gently toss the bag to coat the beef. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least six hours, or overnight.
- Prepare the Stew: When you’re ready to start cooking, preheat the oven to 300 degrees (convection setting if you have it).
- Place a strainer inside a large bowl. Pour the beef mixture into the strainer, using the bowl to capture and reserve the marinade. Remove the beef, scraping off big pieces of veggies, herbs and spices from the marinade. Set the beef aside in a bowl to cook.
- Heat the oil on medium heat in a dutch oven or oven proof copper pan. Add the chopped onion to the pan, cook for a few minutes until it starts to soften.
- Add the parsnips, carrots, mushroom and garlic to the pan, and cook for a few more minutes.
- Stir in the beef, combining it well with the onions and other vegetables. Salt to taste. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown on all sides.
- Add the remaining stew ingredients to the pan with the beef and vegetables–reserved marinade, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon, ketchup, soy sauce, and beef broth. Stir to combine the ingredients.
- Cover the Dutch oven / copper pan and move the stew to the oven, where it will braise for a total of 3 hours.
- Braise at 300 degrees for 3 hours. After the stew has braised for 3 hours, carefully remove the stew from the oven. Ladle the stew into bowls to serve, along with mashed potatoes if you are using them.
Notes
- Braising is a technique whereby the food slowly cooks in liquid at a low temperature. It’s a great way to turn inexpensive cuts of meat into a great meal. For more on braising, see this post on The Spruce.
- Typically braising is done in a Dutch oven. Lately I have been using my oven proof copper pan with good results (Amazon affiliate link provided for you convenience). It’s much easier to clean then the cast iron Dutch oven.
- The recipe calls for 3 parsnips and 1 carrot. You could do 2 of each, or 3 carrots and 1 parsnip if you like. And certainly experiment with other root vegetables for this beef stew recipe.
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter
This recipe looks like a total crowd pleaser! Great comfort food indeed.
Cooking Chat
Thanks Tania! Definitely great winter fare.
Carlee
What a flavorful looking stew, perfect for the cold weather that seems to keep lingering in our neck of the woods!
Jenni
This is such a perfect winter evening meal! Rich and hearty and so comforting! Love it!
Cooking Chat
Thanks Jenni, it definitely warmed us up on a cold winter night!
Jacque Hastert
Comfort food at its best!
Swati Saxena
I love stews, and yours look so comforting,perfect for this weather
Cooking Chat
The cold briefly left here but it is back so we might need more of this stew soon!
Rupal Shankar
I will definitely have to try that recipe. Perfect for a cold romantic snuggle up kinda night. And what a fantastic Cote Rotie.
Cooking Chat
Thanks Rupal, we really enjoyed the combo!
Nicole Ruiz-Hudson
Such a beautiful bottle and it looks so perfect with the beef stew!
Cooking Chat
Thanks Nicole!
Dominique | Perchance to Cook
I am juuuust drooling looking at these photos and reading the recipes. I’d love to try this with that cote du rhone that you had set aside for the meal. I bet it was such a great pairing. 🙂
Cooking Chat
Thanks, it really did go beautifully!
Sarah
I haven’t tasted as many French wines as I’d like- we usually grab an Italian wine instead! But this wine sounds delicious!! (And who really decants for 2 hours anyway lol)
Cooking Chat
I’m a big Italian wine fan, too! But there is so much great wine from France, I like to get beyond the best known and often pricey areas…although Cote Rotie is pretty pricey b/c it’s such a small region.
Neriz
This is what I need after a stressful work week. 🙂 Slow cooking at its finest.
Cooking Chat
Hope you get a chance to enjoy something like this over the weekend!
Analida @ ethnicspoon.com
This stew looks fabulous! I make a Vietnamese stew from Hanoi where my daughter lives and they put the red wine in the stew. It must be the French influnce: https://ethnicspoon.com/vietnamese-beef-stew-bo-sot-vang/
Thanks for a great recipe!
Cooking Chat
Interesting! I forget sometimes about the French influence in Southeast Asian food.
Eileen Kelly
This is such a perfect beef stew and the root vegetables are great. I love that you marinate the beef before the braise. Paired with the wine, an amazing meal!
Cooking Chat
Thanks Eileen, we really enjoyed it! I do think the marinade step is worthwhile for stew meat.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
I do like cooking with wine as well as sipping it. 🙂 It certainly adds a depth to the dish that you don’t get by just adding a broth or plain water. And absolutely always add good drinking wine – not the rotgut called cooking wine. I shutter to think. I love the addition of the root veggies to the stew. I don’t use them often enough.
Cooking Chat
very true about cooking with decent drinking wine! Thanks Marisa.
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago
Such a great recipe for cold winter nights! I’ve got lots of good red wines to pair with this one!!
Cooking Chat
If you try it I’d be curious to hear what wine you have with it!
Heather
Gorgeous dish!! I love the use of the Côte-Rôtie Wine.. that is not something I have ever added into my stew before and I cannot wait to try it.
Cooking Chat
Thanks Heather…I should clarify, I had less expensive red wine used for cooking the stew. I recommend saving the Côte-Rôtie for drinking with the stew!
Jordan
We’re almost done with dry February and this recipe/pairing has me DROOLING. I love beef stew and red wine together. A match made in heaven.
Kristina
Wow, this looks delicious! The perfect winter comfort food for cozy, chilly nights. It’s going in my recipe rotation for sure!
Rezel Kealoha
Beef stew is just pure comfort food and reminds me so much of my mom. Thank you for sharing!
Britt @ A Lil' Sweet, Spice, & Advice
This really does look like the perfect bowl of beef stew! Reminds me of my mom’s version. I’ve never heard of Côte-Rôtie wine before, and I still have yet to trie a Syrah wine, but I’m loving the sound of those blackberry and currant notes. Will definitely be adding it to my list!
Cooking Chat
Hi Britt–Syrah is definitely a versatile wine. This is an intense version of it! Very good.
Ben Myhre
Oh good gosh this looks like a hearty meal. My kind of stuff! With a vegetarian in the house, the times I can enjoy this kind of food are a little limited, but absence makes the heart grow fond, right?
Cooking Chat
Ah, yes, this would not be for the vegetarian! My wife was eating vegetarian when we first met. She started going back to meat when pregnant!
Alyssa
This sounds so delicious…I love using seasonal produce so I can’t wait to make this. Thanks for sharing!
Cooking Chat
Thanks, it is a delicious stew!