Guinness Beef Stew
This hearty Beef and Guinness Stew uses rich and delicious beer to turn classic beef stew into an even more satisfying comfort meal. Great for Sunday dinner or a fun option for a festive St. Patrick's Day meal, you'll love how easy it is to make this hearty Guinness beef stew!
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Adding Guinness beer makes this the best beef stew recipe around! With tender veggies and filling beef, the flavors of this dish make it one of my favorite comfort foods.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Guinness Beef Stew
- ⏱️ Ready In: ~2 hours
- 👨👩👧👦 Serves: 6 servings
- 🍽️ Calories: ~412 per serving (estimated)
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: chuck roast, carrots, potatoes, stout beer,onion, beef broth
- 👌 Difficulty: Easy
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Why this Recipe Works
Take classic beef stew and add Guinness to make this a comforting and filling Irish stew version of the dish you know and love. Add veggies like peas and carrots to a hot and hearty broth for deep flavour and satisfying texture.
This is a great recipe for meal prep, Sunday dinner, or something flavorful and delicious any night of the week.
And if you and your family love dishes like this, try my One Pot Chicken Stew or my Slow Cooker White Bean Stew!
Ingredients Needed
- Beef Chuck Roast: This is a great cut of meat for a stew thanks to its mid-range price and ability to cook to tender perfection
- Bacon: Adds more savory flavor and pairs well with the tender beef cubes.
- Potatoes: I used Yukon Gold potatoes, but Russets or red potatoes will also work.
- Guinness Stout Beer: This not-so-secret ingredient adds depth of flavor and makes your beef stew extra hearty and delicious.
- Dried Thyme: Fresh thyme would also work, but dried thyme is more convenient and still provides flavor.
How to Make this Beef and Guinness Stew
- Step 1: In a large stock pot, cook the bacon for about 3 minutes, then remove and set aside.
- Step 2: In the same pot, add oil to the remaining bacon fat and add beef. Brown on each side, then remove browned beef from the pot.
- Step 3: Add onions and saute for 3 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook another minute, or until fragrant.
- Step 4: Mix in the flour and cook for an additional minute.
- Step 5: Stir in the Guinness, scraping up any browned bits leftover on the bottom of the pot from the beef.
- Step 6: Add carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, and beef stock.
- Step 7: Stir well to combine.
- Step 8: Return beef and bacon to the pot. Add thyme and bay leaf, then cover and simmer for 70 to 90 minutes. Remove bay leaves and add frozen peas, then stir to combine until the peas are heated through and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Use boneless beef chuck roast or stew meat for the best results. A more tender cut will fall apart too easily during the simmer, but stew meat is a slightly tougher cut that cooks perfectly over a longer period of time.
- Guinness stout (rather than extra stout) is the best option for this Guinness beef stew recipe. It will add richness and deep complexion to the flavor, rather than excess bitterness.
- Serve with a side of crusty bread for a filling dinner. Irish soda bread is a great option as well.
- If you have leftovers, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat soup one portion at a time in the microwave, or return to a soup pot over medium heat and cook until hot, stirring occasionally.
Recipe FAQ's
No, while the soup cooks it cooks out all of the alcohol. What's left behind is a deep, rich, and hearty beef stew with a complex flavor that pairs well with the broth, beef, and veggies, but doesn't taste much like beer.
Yes, make sure the stew is tightly sealed in either a ziplock bag with the air removed or a plastic container. The stew should last up to 2 months frozen, and make sure to thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating it.
Absolutely. Brown the beef first, then cook on LOW for 7–8 hours or HIGH for 4–5 hours.
Crusty bread, Irish soda bread, mashed potatoes, or buttered egg noodles are all perfect pairings.
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Guinness Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast cut into 1” cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 slices bacon diced
- ½ Tablespoon oil
- 1 cup yellow onion large diced 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup carrots sliced ½” thick (about 2-3 carrots)
- 2 cups Yukon potatoes rinsed and cut into 1” pieces (about 1 pound)
- 1 (12 ounce) bottle of Guinness Stout beer
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Season the cut beef chuck with salt and pepper.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat add the bacon and cook for about 3 minutes until the fat starts to render out and the bacon is just cooked through. Remove the bacon and set aside.
- Add the oil to the bacon fat and increase the heat to medium high. In batches, add the beef to the pot, browning each piece on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Remove to a plate.
- Once all the beef is browned and removed, add the onions and saute for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute then stir in the flour and cook for an additional minute. Add the Guinness and stir, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove all the browned bits.
- Add the carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, and beef broth and stir to combine. Return the cooked beef and bacon and stir again. Add the dried thyme and the bay leaf and mix again.
- Cover and simmer on medium low for about 70-90 minutes, stirring occasionally. The beef should be cooked through and tender and potatoes soft.
- Remove the bay leaf and add the peas, stirring to combine. The stew should be slightly thicker than a normal soup yet not thick like a gravy. Season with salt and pepper as desired and serve while hot.
Notes
- Chuck roast or stew meat is best—it gets fall-apart tender after a long simmer and stays juicy.
- Use Guinness stout (not extra stout) for the best balance of deep flavor without bitterness. It adds richness, not “beer taste.”
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Can I substitute Guinness with something else?
Yes! If you don’t want to use beer, swap it with beef broth plus 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce for depth.
