Learn how to make a flavored packed beef stew on the stove top in a cast iron skillet. The secret to this stew is browning the meat beforehand and using the best quality spices so that no beef broth is needed for this recipe!
📋 What's New In This Post (1/22/26) - Streamlined the post to make it easier to read
The Instant Pot Isn't Always Better
I love my Instant Pot. I really do. But you know what? I actually like to cook my beef stew the old fashioned way.
I have been testing out different stew recipes this winter and when I made it in my cast iron skillet, I think it came out better. It does take longer but I think it's worth it.
Why choose it over the Instant Pot? It's easy to add the veggies. I wait until the beef is just about tender and then put all my veggies in, so that they are done perfectly. Most of us aren't going to stop the Instant Pot, release the pressure and add the vegetables. Then put the lid back on, bring it back up to pressure, and wait for the veggies to finish. And even if you did do that, you aren't going to be able to check on them without de-pressurizing again.
With that being said, let me take you through the steps of making this stew in a cast iron skillet.
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🙋 Why Cook in a Cast Iron Skillet?
There are a couple main reasons why you should choose to make your beef stew in a cast iron skillet. Let me share those with you:
- Cast iron is a good insulator. This means it gets hot and stays hot and distributes that heat evenly.
- Cast iron is great at browning the meat, which is the key to building a flavorful liquid without beef broth. You want some stuff to stick to the bottom of the pan. That way when you are done cooking the meat, you can add water and scrape the bottom of the pan to get all that flavor into what will become your cooking liquid.
🛒 Shopping List
You have so many options when it comes to what to do to your beef stew. Here are the ingredients I use.
- Beef stew - You can buy this from many stores, but I have found that the beef stew from Costco released less water when browning, making it brown better and faster.
- Potatoes - For the potatoes I like to use small potatoes that have thin skins such as fingerling potatoes or the bags of medley potatoes you find a lot in stores nowadays
- Carrots & Parsnips - These root vegetables bring different flavors to your stew. Save some time and skip the peeling; it is not necessary.
- Pearl onions - Pearl onions are a great option to add if you dislike chopping onions. You can just throw them in whole and they will just fall apart and flavor the stew as it cooks.
Want to add celery? Go with 3 stalks. Want more veggie ideas? Check out my blog post: Best Vegetables for Beef Stew
🧂 How to Season Beef Stew with Spices
Great spices can turn a good stew into something worthy of a five-star restaurant. I use Burlap & Barrel Single Origin spices because they source directly from the growers. That way, more of your purchase goes straight to the farmers.
Here is what I use in my latest batch of stew. You certainly don't need to use all these spices like I did, just my recommendations.
- Caribbean Bay
- Red River Coriander
- Purple Stripe Garlic
- Noble Sweet Paprika
- Sun-Dried Tomato Powder
- Black Urfa Chili
- Dried Thyme
🌿 Herb Highlight : Caribbean Bay - This herb comes ground instead of whole. I feel this helps the flavor better mix into the whole stew. I could definitely taste it whereas when I have used bay leaves in the past I wasn't sure they were there! These bay leaves are completely different from your standard bay leaf. They add a rich, sweet, warmness to the soup. It actually reminds me of gumbo when I use it. It reminds me of the file powder popular in gumbo which is made from dried leaves of the sassafras tree.
I use ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon to start. I taste the cooking liquid and add more if necessary, after I salt to taste of course!
🛒Give These Spices a Try!
Ground bay leaf is so much easier to use than whole. And these Caribbean Bay leaves had a rich, sweet warmness to everything they touch. Skip the tomato paste and try Sun Dried tomato powder to provide the umami flavor. Click/tap below to try for yourself.
🍳 Step by Step Instructions
Let me take you through my steps for making this beef stew, showing you how I made it in my camper showcasing that anyone can make this recipe!
You will start by browning the raw beef stew meat in the cast iron skillet.
Add a bit of cooking oil to the bottom of the skillet. Heat it up over medium high heat. Add the meat. Brown on all sides.
When the meat is browned, remove from the skillet. Turn off the heat. There will be pieces stuck to the bottom of the skillet. You are now going to deglaze by adding some of your cooking liquid to the skillet. Using a metal spatula scrape the bottom of the skillet until all the bits on the bottom are unstuck.
🔑 Key Step - Add the water or broth and spices. Here is the most important step, taste the liquid. Is it strongly flavored? Does it need more salt? Add whatever to it until you are happy with the taste.
Now add in the beef stew meat and the pearl onions. I like to cook the onions with the stew so they get really soft to infuse the flavor into the liquid.
Next, bring to a boil, then simmer for 90 minutes with a lid on. I actually don't have a lid for this skillet so I used a metal camping plate that fits perfectly on top.
When the stew meat is almost falling apart when you pierce it with a fork, add the vegetables. Cook them for 30-45 minutes stirring every so often until all the veggies have softened. Then taste to see if it's to your liking.
If your stew is too soupy and you want to thicken it, check out this blog post - How to Thicken a Watery Beef Stew.
🔥 How to Cook the Stew in the Oven
If you want to make it in the oven instead of the stove top, here is what I would do:
- Set your oven to 225 degrees. You want a low temperature. It will take somewhere between 3-5 hours.
- Add your vegetables in the last 45-60 minutes of cooking. Just as in my skillet instructions the stew meat should be almost falling apart when pierced with a fork.
Cast Iron Skillet Beef Stew
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef stew meat
- 3 tsp cooking oil
- 1 pound potatoes
- 3 parsnips sliced
- 3 carrots sliced
- 12 pearl onions any color
- 3 cups water
- kosher salt to taste
Spice Amounts I Used (see notes for substitutions)
- 1 tsp Taurus Mountain Thyme dried
- 1 tsp Caribbean Bay ground
- 1 tsp Red River Coriander ground
- 1 tsp Purple Stripe Garlic ground
- 1 tsp Noble Sweet Paprika ground
- 1 tsp Sun-Dried Tomato Powder ground
- ½ tsp Black Urfa Chili dried
Instructions
- Add 3 teaspoons of oil to the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Heat the skillet up over medium high heat.
- Season the beef with salt, then add to the skillet. Cook on each side until brown, should take about 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.
- Remove from the skillet from the heat. Take the beef out of the skillet. Add about ½ cup of water. Using a metal spatula scrap the bottom of the pan to get off anything that stuck.
- Add in 2 ½ cups of water. Now add in all of your spices and salt to taste. Make sure to taste your cooking liquid. It needs to be very well seasoned. Add more spices or salt if needed.
- Put the beef back in the skillet. Add in the pearl onions. Bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cover the skillet with a lid. Simmer for 90 minutes.
- Now add in your vegetables - parsnips, carrots, potatoes or any other vegetable you are using. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook the veggies with the lid on for 30-45 minutes.
- Stew is now ready to serve.
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