Chipotle Beef Stew
This easy homemade Chipotle Beef Stew has a great depth of flavor, spicy and smoked (from adobo sauce – dried and smoked jalapeño chillies) is simply off the charts delicious! Starting off on the stove-top and finishing in the oven. One pot, pure comfort, a great family favorite.
Hearty Dinner Recipe
The first time I tasted chipotle peppers (in adobo) I fell in love with the flavors (love Mexican food) and they can be added to anything from chicken fajita’s to slow cooks, tortillas, dips and so much more!
In this recipe, I used a jar of store-bought chipotle marinade, something to tenderise the meat and keep it juicy.
Serve this meat stew up with your favorit side dish or carve it into a bowl with a sprinkle of black pepper and a dollop of sour cream and crusty bread, flour tortillas or naan to scoop!
Can you use dried chipotle chiles? Yes you can, but you’ll need to soften them first by simmering on the stove before blending into a sauce consistency with a little cumin, lime, garlic, salt to taste and I like adding a pinch of birds eye chili and paprika too!
It lasts for weeks in the fridge in an airtight container and you can add it to your dishes either like a marinade or for flavor while cooking.
If you can’t find dried chipotle chillies then look for the canned version it’s labeled Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. With this, you can use it also in a number of ways.
Here’s the problem with the canned chipotles, because these little fiery crackers are so full of spicy flavor, you never need to use the whole lot right? So there’s always left-overs, what to do with it?
Here’s how I use the left-overs: Add them into a food processor so they turn into a sauce then transfer into an airtight container and that week, use it. If not, freeze it in a little ziploc bag.
To use it, add a little into all your favorite eats! Add it to a Chicken and avo Sandwich, to wraps, to fajitas, to stews, take your dips and sauces up a notch, basically you can elevate any food.
What Makes This Beef Stew Good?
Adobo marinade imparts a smokey meat-like flavor on its own before adding it to the beef, aromatics and rich red wine sauce, so together the flavors deepen!
The ingredients work well together so add them as per the recipe card below, and for example, where the recipe says ‘add half the wine and let it cook down for a minute’ then pour the remaining wine, it’s not for nothing, it’s all about the flavors welcoming each other and sort of melting in together, like a partnership. Therefore season in layers as you go because even one pot meals need love.
The Oven now listen, if you follow this blog and my newsletter, you know that I’ve fallen in love with the instant pot and air fryer because they are the most convenient kitchen appliances, it’s true! However, perhaps I’m old school but my goodness, the oven cooks your food like no other appliance can.
Each cooking method has it’s own advantage.
In a nutshell, The next time that you crave a delicious recipe with smoky heat, give this hearty dish a try!
Ingredients You Need to Make Chipotle Beef Stew
You need these ingredients for this beef stew recipe.
- Stew meat (Beef chuck short rib, top sirloin, beef chuck)
- Beef broth
- Chipotel marinade (store-bought or homemade, see notes above on how to make it)
- Onion (large onions suggested)
- Greek yogurt, or any plain full fat yogurt
- Oil and butter (yes both)
- Cloves garlic
- Tomato paste
- Beef stock
- Water
- Tomatoes
How To Make Chipotle Beef Stew
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius 356 Fahrenheit.
Season: Season the meat generously with salt and pepper, and add the yogurt and mix it in. You can use a spoon or your hands to get the yogurt into the meat pieces. Add the remaining spices.
Chipotle Marinade: Add your favorite meat spices, chipotle marinade and tomato paste. At this point, you can leave it covered in the fridge for half hour to overnight in the marinade. OR cook immediately.
Searing/Browning: In a Dutch Oven, large skillet or large pot on medium-high heat, brown the meat all round in oil.
This step (browning the meat) is where the flavor elevates and carries through to the final taste, so try not to skip it.
Large Onions: The pot will have sticky parts at the bottom after searing the meat, add the onions and add a dash of the beef stock to help deglaze. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits up. Cook the onions, the stock will cook down quickly. Lower the to medium heat if it’s too hot.
Add The Butter: While the onions are cooking and the stock is almost cooked down, add the butter to coat the onions.
Return The Meat: Return the meat to the pot, stir it into the butter and onions. Add the liquid.
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Simmer: Bring the stew to a boil (bubbly simmer). Turn the heat off, place the lid on and transfer to the oven. Cook on 160°C/ 320°F for 4 hours.
Add the Veg: Carefully remove the pot from the oven and add the veggies (add a little water if needed). Continue cooking for another hour or until your veggies are just over the fork tender mark.
Recipe Notes
- Use a thick pair of gloves as you carefully transfer the hot pot from the stovetop to the oven.
- I like quite a bit of sauce in a beef stew so I added about a cup of water with the veggies.
- Don’t forget to taste for seasoning.
- It will take a couple of minutes to sear the meat, but it’s so worth the flavor so be patient
Slow Cooker Beef Stew Method
- Even though you will set the meat stew to low heat you swant to start on high with the slow cooker. It’s called a slow cooker for a reason, it’s slow! Brown your meat on the stove (yes I know you’re wondering if it’s even necesary to brown the meat when using a slow cooker and no it’s not but it’s worth it!) and then continue with the recipe.
- Tip: To make this faster, warm up the stock on the stove before adding it to the slow cooker.
- Add The Remaining ingredients: Add any other spices you may want to use, and tomatoes, tomato paste and the rest of the ingredients accept the veggies.
- Timer and Cooking: Cook it for 6 hours on high OR if you going out for the day, or to sleep for the night then cook it on low for 10 hours (overnight).
Slow Cook Recipes
These are all full of flavor slow cooks that never dissapoint.
FAQ’s
Mix one teaspoon of Maizena (or flour) with one tablespoon of room temperature water and make a paste which is called a ‘slurry” great as a thickener.
Unlike my stove-top Beef Stew South African Recipe where we add the potatoes in the very beginning, (and they still don’t mash up) here we add them in the last hour to hour and a half to the slow cooker. Different appliance, method and technique.
It’s best to brown the meat in batches to get a good sear all round. Overcrowding the pot will only result in the meat steaming instead of browning so don’t waste your time.
Cuts Of Meat Are Used For Beef Stew
Chuck, ox-tail, short rib or shank. In this Beef Stew South African Recipe (stove-top) I used bone-in short rib.
What To Serve With Chipotle Beef Stew
This is an independent beef stew! It’s honestly so good that it needs nothing else BUT here are some lovey side dishes:
- Rice White, brown, basmati, long grain, short grain, any rice
- Noodles These are very versatile and there’s many options!
- Bread You know I won’t leave without talking about bread! Possibly the best way to serve any stew! Dunk homemade crusty bread into it!
- Quinoa Another great idea is a bowl of quinoa, fluffy quinoa, white, red or mixed?
- Mashed Potato The most popular way to serve stew is with mashed potato and I have the most delicious fluffy buttery mashed potatoes right here for you. The lovely taste of sweet potato mash or Oven Roasted Butternut cannot be ignored with this stew!
- Salads and Veggies Beef stew is more of a comfort food for us which means we will generally be serving just carbs on this day!
Storage
Refrigerate: Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Store in airtight containers for up to 3 months and try not to over-fill the container, no sooner divide stew into seperate freezer containers.
Reheat: Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
More Beef Recipes
I think you may like these other recipes, so if time permits, do take a look at them.
- Beef Stew South African Recipe
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Slow Cooked Short Rib Ragu (Oven)
- Eggplant Beef Involtini
- Beef Brisket Slow Cooker
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Chipotle Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 500 grams beef cubes
- 1 kg beef short rib
- 3 tbsps. plain yogurt
- 1 cup chipotle marinade in a jar
- 3 tbsps oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 50 grams butter unsalted (4 tablespoons)
- 2 tsps. Involtini spice
- 2 tbsps tomato paste
- 500 grams beef stock
- 3 tbsps smoked paprika
- 1 cup water
- 410 grams chopped tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Prep the meat: Cut the meat to more or less the same size and remove some bones and fat if too much from the short rib. Place all the meat in a large enough dish and pay it dry with kitchen tissue paper. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Add the yogurt and chipotle marinade. Use your hands to combine it all.
- Brown the meat: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or any oven friendly deep pot. Add the meat and brown it all round. You will have to do this batches so as not to overcrowd the pot and get a nice sear. Make sure the heat is on medium high however, all stoves are different so lower your heat and feel free to remove the pot from the heat until you've managed to stabilize a medium heat without burning the pot. Each batch will take about 4 to 5 minutes on medium heat. No need to cook the beef through now, it will cook finish in the oven, we just want a sear for flavor. Transfer the browned meat to a bowl/dish and set aside covered with foil or a lid.
- Cook onions and garlic: Add the onion to the pot and a small dash of stock (like a couple tablespoons) this will help the pot deglaze and the onions cook without burning. Add minced garlic and butter, stir and cook for a minute.
- Make the sauce:: Return the meat and paprika, stir in with the onions. Add the tomato paste, taste for seasoning, add stock and tomatoes and water.
- Oven: Bring the pot to a light boil, place the lid on, place the pot into the oven and drop the heat to 160 degrees Celsius. Cook for for 4 to 5 hours.
- Serve: It will be very hot so allow to cool down before serving and taste for seasoning.
Notes
What To Serve With Chipotle Beef Stew
Let’s start by saying this is an independent beef stew! It’s honestly so good that it needs nothing else BUT I know how you may want a side dish regardless so here’s some ideas:- Rice White, brown, basmati, long grain, short grain, any rice
- Noodles These are very versatile and there’s many options!
- Bread You know I won’t leave without talking about bread! Possibly the best way to serve any stew! Dunk homemade crusty bread into it!
- Quinoa Another great idea is a bowl of quinoa, fluffy quinoa, white, red or mixed?
- Mashed Potato The most popular way to serve stew is with mashed potato and I have the most delicious fluffy buttery mashed potatoes right here for you. The lovely taste of sweet potato mash or butternut squash cannot be ignored with this stew!
- Salads and Veggies Beef stew is more of a comfort food for us which means we will generally be serving just carbs on this day!
