This AIP Beef Stew is so good that even your non-paleo pals will enjoy it. The beef melts in your mouth and the slow cooking makes for a super flavorful broth.
Are stews healthy?
Not all stews are made the same. This paleo stew is made with homemade bone broth, fresh organic veggies and grassfed beef. It has zero additives and chemicals.
How do you make beef stew meat tender?
Stew meat can be very tough which makes it a great option for slow cooking. You need to slow cook the stew meat for at least 3 hours for it to tenderize. It’s totally worth it though because the meat just falls apart. Another bonus of stew meat is that it’s a very affordable option. I get my stew meat from Sprouts or US Wellness Meats.
Do you need tomato paste for beef stew?
Nope. Traditionally, beef stew will have tomato paste to thicken the sauce and deepen the flavor. However I’ve found that it’s possible to create those rich and deep flavors that makes beef stew so yummy by slow cooking bone broth with herbs and spices. No nightshades needed!
Why do I need to brown meat for stew?
Browning the meat helps create a rich and deep meaty flavor. Definitely don’t skip this step. It’s a simple step that makes this paleo stew so delicious.
How do you thicken beef stew?
Slow cooking the broth means that the broth with deduce and thicken. There’s no need for thickeners with this stew.
How to make AIP Beef Stew
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over the beef pieces then set aside. Warm olive oil and butter in a large dutch oven (or heavy bottom stockpot), over high heat. Then carefully add beef and brown on all sides.
Once all beef is browned, add onion, garlic and celery and cook until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the beef broth, coconut aminos and Italian seasoning then stir to combine.
Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer. Allow soup to simmer 2 hours 30 minutes.
Next add sweet potatoes and carrots. Stir to coat vegetables and cover. Cook an additional 30 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
Taste broth. If necessary, add additional salt to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley to serve.
Tips for making the AIP Beef Stew aka the BEST Paleo Stew!
- Don’t skip the browning the beef step. It helps create the deep flavorful broth.
- The bone broth can be made with either chicken or beef. Either way, this stew is delicious.
- This recipe calls for sweet potato, parsnips and carrots but any root vegetable will do. Feel free to experiment.
- Yes, this recipe takes 4 hour to make. It’s for lazy Sunday afternoons when you have time to devout to a meal. It’s important that you don’t try and rush this recipe because the meat will be tough and the broth will be lacking the rich flavors.
- Make sure to use a dutch oven of heavy bottomed stock pot for this recipe. I used a Le Creuset but here is a more affordable option.
- I get my grassfed beef from either Sprouts or US Wellness Meats.
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AIP Beef Stew
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or stock pot
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Stew Beef or Beef Chuck Roast trimmed and cut into 1 – 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons Salt plus additional for serving
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Ghee AIP reintroduction, substitute with additional olive oil
- 1 Onion diced
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup Celery diced
- 6 cups Beef Broth Chicken Broth is a good substitute
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Aminos
- 1 tablespoon Dried Italian Seasoning
- 4 cup Root Vegetables peeled and chopped into pieces about 1/2” (I used a combination of sweet potato, parsnips and carrots)
- Fresh parsley to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over the beef pieces then set aside. Warm olive oil and butter in a large dutch oven (or heavy bottom stockpot), over high heat. Then carefully add beef and brown on all sides.
- Once all beef is browned, add onion, garlic and celery and cook until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the beef broth, coconut aminos and Italian seasoning then stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer. Allow soup to simmer 2 hours 30 minutes.
- Next add sweet potatoes and carrots. Stir to coat vegetables and cover. Cook an additional 30 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
- Taste broth. If necessary, add additional salt to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley to serve.
Notes
- Don’t skip the browning the beef step. It helps create the deep flavorful broth.
- The bone broth can be made with either chicken or beef. Either way, this stew is delicious.
- This recipe calls for sweet potato, parsnips and carrots but any root vegetable will do. Feel free to experiment.
- Yes, this recipe takes 4 hour to make. It’s for lazy Sunday afternoons when you have time to devote to a meal. It’s important that you don’t try and rush this recipe because the meat will be tough and the broth will be lacking the rich flavors.
- Make sure to use a dutch oven of heavy bottomed stock pot for this recipe. I used a Le Creuset but here is a more affordable option.
- I get my grassfed beef from either Sprouts or US Wellness Meats.
Nutrition
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise.
- I always use Himalayan sea salt or Celtic sea salt, unless otherwise noted.
- The majority of my recipes are strict AIP or include notations for reintroductions. However while I make every effort to label non-AIP ingredients and recipes sometimes they slip past me. If you have questions, please ask in advance.
Did you make this recipe? I love hearing your thoughts on my recipes so please rate and comment below.
Excellent recipe. Don’t miss my yellow potatoes at all. I did add a bit of complaint low sodium bacon and sautéed it with the onions. Will definitely add this recipe to the rotation. Thank you!
I'm so glad you liked it. Thanks for leaving such a kind review.
New aip staple in our home, my husband is on a new journey with the diet and this is now one of his favorites! Followed exact recipe and turned out great! Fed us as a family of 4 (i think we eat bigger portions ) Thank you !
Wonderful! Thanks for letting me know.
Delicious stew!
I'm glad you agree!
All I have to say is WOW! This was so dang good. I am making it again this month. So easy fairly quick and not many dirty dishes!!!!!!!!!!
That's great! I'm so glad.
It doesn't say to cover it while simmering for 2.5 hours. So, I didn't. Now it is greatly reduced 🙁
You shouldn't need to cover it. You may have had the simmer, closer to a boil which would reduce the soup too much. Try adding a little bit of broth if it's too thick.
Wonderful recipe, thank you! I made it today with a bunch of adaptations to accommodate my low-fodmap and low-histamine needs. I used a pinch of asafoetida powder instead of the onion and garlic, no celery and no coconut aminos. I used carrots, rutabaga, kabocha squash and red radishes. I also added thyme to the italian seasoning. I love that the veggies didn't get all mushy... I'll add even more veggies next time!
Wow. You created a whole new recipe. Glad I could help and that you enjoyed it!
I made the recipe and loved it though it was more soup than stew. Next time I’ll decrease the liquid or increase the veggies. I can’t have sweet potatoes and used butternut squash, beets and carrots.
"Add butter"? I thought dairy was not allowed on AIP?
Also, I have always read that olive oil should not be used for cooking (especially not frying) as it is not heat stable. Is there an AIP-friendly oil we can substitute for olive oil and butter in this recipe?
Ghee is an AIP reintroduction as it says in the recipe. It also says that if you don't tolerate or haven't reintroduced ghee, then you can use additional extra virgin olive oil. Additionally, we're not frying anything so it's ok to use olive oil. Olive oil doesn't have a high smoke point which is why it's not recommended for frying. In this case, we're just using it to saute onions/garlic and help brown the meat. However, if you need more comfortable, you can use coconut oil or avocado oil or even lard in this recipe.
Thanks for the reply! In the ingredients list it does call for ghee (I missed that) but in the description and in the main article you said "butter" so I was confused. Thanks for the clarification - in this case, "butter" means "ghee."
I am making this recipe today and I don't feel comfortable cooking my meat and veggies in olive oil, so I will use lard instead, which is heat-stable. Great suggestion! Thank you!
*eye roll*
We love this recipe - my kids ask for it all the time! I’m wondering if I could make it a freezer meal? Would you make it and then freeze and reheat or do you think I could freeze it uncooked and then cook in a crockpot or Insta Pot?
This freezes really well once cooked. Not sure how it would do uncooked though. I've never tried it.
At long, long, long last I found a beef stew recipe that I truly LOVE. Followed instructions to the letter and the beef melts in my mouth. I took a plunge and used carrots, sweet potatoes and BEETS for my root veggies. Yes, the broth and sweet potatoes are more colorful, but the taste is incredible.
Oh Wow. That's an amazing review. Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed the recipe so mcuh!
This has to be my 4th or 5th time making this beef stew and everytime I’m sad I didn’t make a larger quantity! Sooooo good!
Oh, how sweet. I love that you've made it so made times. I hope this recipe becomes a family favorite for a long time to come.
My favorite AIP beef stew recipe….
That makes my day!! Thanks for sharing.
I literally was cooking it thinking great another healthy soup that won’t taste good and no one will eat. I was completely wrong. I can’t believe how much I liked it and so did the family. I followed the recipe but only bought1 1/2 pond meat to save $. It turned out great I did add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar an old trick I learned to make meat more tender. For the family I served it over Trader Joe’s frozen wild rice medley. Love the recipe !
Haha. I really strive to make flavorful recipes to share. Food should be fun, delicious AND healthy. I'm thrilled that you and your family enjoyed the dish.
Yum! What a perfect Sunday dinner.
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed.
Excellent! As someone learning to manage my autoimmune illness, I'm so grateful you have created such delicious AIP-compliant recipes! It makes me feel less deprived and excited to try more of your AIP recipes. This one was a slam dunk. Thank you!
You're so kind. Thanks for letting me know. I'm happy you enjoy my recipes.
This stew is delicious! I made it just as your recipe states except I cut it in half because I only had one pound of stew meat. I am disappointed I didn’t make more as it is so good! Next time I will definitely make the regular portion so I can freeze some of the left overs.
Oh wow! This is such a great review. Thanks for sharing.
I made this stew in the slow cooker, it turned out really well and soooo tasty! I reduced the water to 3 cups and added 2 Tablespoons of arrowroot towards the end. Such a hearty and yummy stew perfect for the winter. My husband loved it! And so easy to make. Thanks for a great recipe
Thanks for letting me know Millie! It's nice to know that this recipe can work in the slow cooker.
Could you tell how you did it with the slow cooker? Time
This would be difficult to adapt to a slow cooker without testing it out which I haven't done. I don't want to give instructions that may or may not work. Sorry!
Thank you so much for creating this recipe for us AIPers. I've been craving beef stew now that's cold outside. This stew was delicious! Even my husband said it was good which is a huge compliment.
I made this stew in our Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting, for 6 hours. I had roasted a few parsnips to add to this meal. The coconut aminos and white sweet potatoes added a mild sweetness to this savory stew. I'll make this again this winter. Yum!
Sounds yummy. Roasted parsnips are a great addition. Thanks for sharing.
So easy and delicious. Used a crooked pot for 4 hrs on high. Totally a dish. Will make once a month
Yeah! I love that this works in the crock pot. Thanks for sharing.
Eating this as we speak and just had to leave a review! This recipe is delicious, and perfect as the weather where I am is starting to get chilly. The recipe was easy to follow and the meat was so tender. Thank you thank you!!
I'm so glad! Thanks so much for sharing.
Add potatoes? Is not potato a nightshade though?
The ingredients call for sweet potatoes. That's the type of potato that I'm referencing. Sorry for the confusion. I've updated the recipe.
Awesome recipe! Looks delicious! What restaurant have you had the best beef stew? Remember to add it to your Besty List! http://www.thebesty.com/foodfashionandfun
Actually, this is an original recipe and is only found on my site. Can't buy it in a restaurant. Sorry.