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This classic beef and veggie stew with cauliflower mashed potatoes is a comforting dish sure to warm you up on a cold day.
No matter what, a bowl of classic beef and veggie stew always seems to hit the spot and warm the soul. A warm rich stew with braised beef, baby potatoes and large chopped carrots simmered in a wine broth makes the most heart-warming meal. And since we added potatoes to the soup, we opted for creamy cauliflower mashed ‘potatoes’ to serve with the stew.
The cold weather is here to stay for a while and we have been craving soup on the weekly. That means, we always are looking for new soup recipes. And, there are some recipes that are tried and true, like this classic beef and veggie stew! Keep this recipe in your pocket for a cold day this winter when you are craving a warm cozy meal.
This classic beef and veggie stew delicious on it’s own but if you are wanting to make a more filling meal, pour the stew over a healthy scoop of cauliflower mashed potatoes. Cauliflower mashed potatoes have become one of our favorite ways to eat cauliflower. They’re so easy to make and taste like a creamy lighter version of mashed potatoes. They pair so well with the classic beef stew. Keep reading for the recipe!
Classic Beef and Veggie Stew with Cauliflower Mashed ‘Potatoes’
What’s in this Recipe:
Stew Beef: Beef stew chunks can be bought pre-cut and packaged in your local grocery store. Stew meat becomes nice and tender when cooking for longer times in broth.
Flour: The beef chunks are rolled and coated in flour before tossing the chunks into the dutch oven to cook. The flour caramelizes the meat, giving it a nice flavor.
Carrots: Large chopped carrots add a hearty sweetness and nice texture to the stew.
Baby Potatoes: Baby potatoes make the perfect bite-sized potatoes for this stew. You can also use larger potatoes for this stew but we like the texture and buttery flavor of the baby potatoes.
Yellow Onion: What is a soup or stew without onions? They are almost non-negotiable because they add such a great flavor to the dish. We think chopped yellow onion is best for this beef stew versus the alternative sweet or purple onions. They add a great flavor to the stew.
Red Wine: The KEY ingredient to the stew! Believe it or not, red wine makes for the perfect pairing with red meat.
Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar complements the wine and meat to add a sweet and tart notes to the broth.
Beef Broth: Beef broth pair the best with this soup and is used to create the yummy stew broth. As all of the ingredients simmer in the broth, they seep into the beef broth to create a super flavorful soup.
Thyme and bay Leaves: Fresh herbs add yummy extra flavor to the broth.
How to make the cauliflower mashed potatoes…
Start by chopping up two heads of cauliflower into chunks. In a medium pot over medium heat, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and pour 1 cup water in the bottom of the pot. Next, cover pot and stem for 15 minutes, or until tender. While that is cooking, roast a couple cloves of garlic. This will help to release the garlic flavor. In a small pot, roast your garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil for a couple minutes until just tender. Remove from heat and wait for you cauliflower to finish steaming.
Once cauliflower is soft, remove from heat and strain out water. Next, you are going to add the cauliflower, garlic and remaining ingredients to a high powered blender. Pour steamed cauliflower into a high powered blender and add nutritional yeast, milk and seasonings. Blend on high until reaching a smooth consistency.
You can enjoy by itself or as a base in your stew. To serve with stew, start by putting a healthy scoop of mashed cauliflower at the bottom of your bowl and ladle the stew on top.
Classic Beef and Veggie Stew
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
Ingredients
Beef and Veggie Stew
- 1 lb stew beef cubes
- 1/2 cup flour (to coat stew beef cubes)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup red wine
- 4 large carrots (chopped into large rounds)
- 1 24 oz bag small assorted potatoes
- 1 yellow onion (chopped)
- 5 cups beef broth
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 3 bay leaves
Cauliflower Mashed 'Potatoes'
- 2 heads cauliflower (chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (roasted in olive oil)
- 1/2 cup milk (or milk alternative)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp cyanne
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard seed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Start by prepping your meat. Pour flour in a small bowl and toss each beef cube to coat in the flour.
- In a dutch oven or large pot, over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and start to cook your beef cubes. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook until beef is browned and caramelized.
- Once beef is browned, add wine and scrape the browned scraps off the bottom of the pan. After you’ve scraped the bits off the bottom, add your vinegar, beef broth, thyme and bay leaves.
- Toss in your chopped veggies – carrots, potatoes, onion- reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for 1 hour. Check and stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- While the stew is simmering, start making your cauliflower mashed potatoes. Chop up your head of cauliflower. In a pot over medium heat, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and pour 1 cup water in the bottom of the pot. Cover pot and stem for 15 minutes, or until tender. In a small pot, roast your garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil for a couple minutes until just tender.
- Once cauliflower is soft, remove from heat and strain out water. Pour steamed cauliflower into a high powered blender and add . Blend on high until reaching a smooth consistency.
- After your stew has cooked for an hour, check to see if beef is tender and veggies are soft. If needed, cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaves from stew and serve.
- To serve, place a heaping scoop of mashed cauliflower in the bottom the bowl. Ladle stew on top of mashed cauliflower. Season with salt, pepper if needed and enjoy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Category: dinner, Main Course
- Cuisine: American, healthy dinner
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