With this homemade beef stew recipe, you can turn a regular can of beef stew into a hearty meal that will keep you warm on the coldest days. Beef chunks, roasted potatoes, and carrots are cooked in a tasty sauce made from beer, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth. It’s pure comfort food in a bowl! This stew is usually served with something crunchy, but mashed potatoes, ham, and gravy make it taste just as good.
Canned beef stew can seem bland and unexciting compared to a hearty homemade beef stew. Thankfully, there are many quick tricks you can use to make canned beef stew taste significantly better.
In this article, I’ll share 15 of my favorite methods to easily add more flavor, texture, and overall yumminess to canned beef stew. With just a few extra ingredients and simple steps, you can transform boring canned stew into a mouthwatering meal.
Why Enhance Canned Beef Stew?
Improving the taste of canned beef stew is worthwhile for several reasons
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Canned stew is convenient, but often lacks robust flavor. Enhancing it makes it more enjoyable to eat.
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With more flavor and better texture, canned stew becomes a meal the whole family will devour rather than just settle for.
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Boosting canned stew’s taste makes it feel more like homemade, satisfying comfort food.
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More flavorful stew stretches your food dollars further since canned stew is inexpensive.
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Adding herbs, spices, veggies and thickeners gives canned stew much more nutritional value.
15 Easy Ways to Upgrade Canned Beef Stew
Here are my go-to methods for making canned beef stew taste restaurant-quality delicious
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Sauté aromatics like onion, garlic, and celery first.
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Brown the beef before adding to the stew.
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Use beef broth or stock instead of water.
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Splash in some red wine or balsamic vinegar.
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Mix in a spoonful of tomato paste for depth.
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Add a bay leaf or two while simmering.
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Toast the flour before using to thicken.
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Throw in lots of thyme, rosemary and other herbs.
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Customize the spice blend with paprika, cumin or chili powder.
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Stir in Worcestershire sauce near the end.
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Swap out plain carrots for colorful rainbow carrots.
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Sneak in nutrient-rich kale or spinach.
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Top with crispy fried onion strips or oyster crackers.
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Finish with a splash of cream or heavy cream.
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Grate insharp cheddar cheese just before serving.
What’s in Our Stew?
Out of all the tasty comfort foods, we always choose beef stew when we’re feeling down. It often requires hours of slow cooking, though. Stocking up on ready-to-eat beef stew in jars is a smart way to save time and make a tasty, comforting meal.
Want to improve the taste of canned beef stew? All you have to do is add a few more flavorful ingredients, and it might become the best beef stew recipe you’ve ever tried! Here are the simple beef stew ingredients you need:
- Bean stew from a can: For the best stew, use the best brand of bean stew from a can that tastes and feels great.
- Roux: We mixed raw butter, all-purpose flour, and olive oil. It’ll help thicken the beef stew.
- Tomato paste: This is added to make the sauce thicker and give it a strong tomato flavor.
- Beer: For this simple beef stew recipe, dark lager, stout, and porter are the best beers to use. But you can just add something you enjoy drinking.
- Beef broth – It intensifies the beef flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce gives the stew a hint of umami flavor.
- Foods: For this easy beef stew recipe, we used potatoes, carrots, red onion, and frozen peas.
- Seasonings: Our beef stew seasoning has salt, pepper, and a little Italian seasoning that gives the roasted vegetables a woodsy, herbal taste.
- Parmesan cheese—Adding cheese to your homemade beef stew will make it taste better.
How To Make Canned Beef Stew
Beef stew is classic comfort food that never ceases to keep us feeling comforted and satisfied. In some recipes, beef stew is cooked slowly in an Instant Pot, while in others, a slow cooker is used.
One hour or so is all it takes to make this recipe for beef stew on the stove. Still, it tastes so rich that you’d think it had been cooking all day! Here’s how to make beef stew:
1. Make a roux. Begin by heating the unsalted butter in olive oil. Then, add the all-purpose flour. Stir until the mixture turns brown and reaches a paste-like consistency.
2. Then, add the tomato paste. Together with the roux, tomato paste acts as a thickener in this quick beef stew recipe. It also lends rich tomato flavor and color.
3. It’s time for that alcohol trick! We like adding alcohol to stew meat recipes to make them taste more rich and deep.
In this recipe, we opted for beer, but feel free to use dry red wine instead. Or, you can completely skip the beer. Don’t worry! A beef stew without wine, beer, or alcohol is still delicious.
4. Next, add the other liquid ingredients. Stir in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the sauce by half by simmering it for 40 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F and prepare the veggies. Combine the chunks of potatoes and carrots in a bowl. Then, season them with Italian seasoning, olive oil, and salt.
After that, transfer the well-seasoned veggies to a greased roasting tray.
6. Get the onion ready to roast by adding the rest of the olive oil, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt to the onion chunks. Then, spread evenly on another roasting tray.
7. Roast the veggies until tender. Keep in mind, though, that the onions cook a bit faster. To cook them more evenly, don’t overcrowd the roasting tray.
8. Pour the canned stew, frozen peas, and parmesan cheese into the simmering sauce. Then, continue to simmer until the stew thickens. But if this beef stew with canned beef is too thick, simply add a splash of beef broth!.
9. Then, add the roasted veggies to the stew. Stir until the ingredients are well-combined.
10. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Make your own beef stew and enjoy it! For a full comfort meal, serve it with a loaf of crusty bread or mashed potatoes.
Comforting and Savory BETTER CANNED BEEF STEW | Recipes.net
FAQ
How do you doctor up a can of beef stew?
What can I add to my beef stew to give it more flavor?
How to make canned beef taste good?
How to make beef stew with canned beef?
Pour the canned stew, frozen peas, and parmesan cheese into the simmering sauce. Then, continue to simmer until the stew thickens. But if this beef stew with canned beef is too thick, simply add a splash of beef broth! 9. Then, add the roasted veggies to the stew. Stir until the ingredients are well-combined. 10. Season with salt and pepper. 11.
What vegetables do you use to make canned beef stew?
I used potatoes, carrots, and onions to make my canned beef stew. Other vegetables that you can use are celery, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, parsnips, and corn. Sea salt and ground pepper – to taste. I used simple seasoning to let the natural flavors shine through. This is important, especially if you are using seasoned broth.
What can I use to make a beef stew?
Stew beef – you can use chuck, brisket, or shanks sliced into bite-sized pieces, about one-and-a-half inches. Make sure they are not cut too big, or you will find it hard to take them out later on. Smaller cuts also mean they will turn out well-seasoned and tender. Vegetables. I used potatoes, carrots, and onions to make my canned beef stew.
Can you eat canned beef stew if you have a cold?
Out of all the delicious comfort meals, we always turn to any beef stew recipe to combat the cold. It often requires hours of slow cooking, though. So, stocking up on jars of ready-to-eat canned beef stew is a great idea and a clever shortcut to a tasty, comforting dish.