Beef Stew and Dumplings Recipe

Beef Stew Recipe 

Due to the ever-rising energy costs, beef stew can also be made in a slow cooker or crockpot for a cheap and easy dinner. This is comfort food at its best. 

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My Mum's beef stew is the best and I'm going to share her recipe with you. Oh, and yes, there are dumplings underneath all that stew - I should have taken a picture before I added more of the beef stew!

Why you should make this

Cheap dinner - although braising steak is a little on the expensive side, this stew can feed up to eight people if served with bread and potatoes making it a cheap dinner per portion. 

Filling meal - this is proper stick-to-your-ribs food!

Comfort food - beef stew and dumpling is proper comfort food.

Easy dinner - apart from giving it a stir now and then it can look after itself most of the time too. So please don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. Pearl barley can be found in any good supermarket. 

Can you freeze beef stew?

You can also freeze it in portions if you wanted to and all it would require once defrosted before reheating.

But I would make fresh dumplings when you have reheated the stew - just add the dumpling mixture on top of the hot stew and cook uncovered for about 25 minutes.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

• Yes, you can make this beef stew and dumplings in a slow cooker or crockpot.

• One thing to remember though is, food cooked in a slow cooker doesn't evaporate during cooking. Therefore you might want to add less liquid you will probably need to thicken it towards the end of cooking.

• You must do this after you've added the soup mix and before adding the dumplings.
• I use McDougalls thickening granules, they dissolve instantly and without leaving any lumps - far better than the usual cornflour dissolved in a little water method.

• Once the stew is done just add the dumpling mixture on top of the bubbling stew.

• Turn the heat to low and remove the lid - cook the dumplings for about 25 minutes.

Ingredients in this recipe

• 2 tablespoons pearl barley - boil for 15 minutes then rinse and drain

• 3 tablespoons of country soup mix - soaked overnight in cold water then rinse and drain

• 800g braising steak

• Approx 600 ml water

• 2 large carrots - sliced

• 2 onions - sliced

• 2 stalks of celery - sliced into chunks

• 2 OXO beef cubes

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 x 400g can of Heinz classic vegetable soup

• 1 x can of baked beans

• 1 x 400g can of Oxtail soup

• 1 x 62 g packet of Knorr minestrone soup mix - needed towards the end for thickening

• 1 small handful of macaroni or pasta shapes

Oh dear, I seem to have buried the dumplings!

Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!

beef stew and dumplings, slow cooked beef stew, beef stew recipe,

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English

Yield: 6

Author: Jan Bennett

Beef Stew and Dumplings Recipe

Serve with crusty bread or mashed potatoes.

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 4 H & 25 MTotal time: 4 H & 45 M

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons pearl barley - boiled in water for 15 minutes and well drained
• 3 tablespoons of country soup mix - soaked overnight in cold water then rinse and drain
• 800g braising steak
• Approx 600 ml water
• 2 or 3 large carrots - sliced
• 3 medium-sized brown onions - sliced
• 2 stalks of celery - sliced into chunks
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 x 400g can of Heinz classic vegetable soup
• 1 x 400g can of Oxtail soup
• 1 x 400g can of baked beans
• 1 x 62 g packet of Knorr minestrone soup mix - needed towards the end for thickening
• 1 small handful of macaroni or pasta shapes
• 2 OXO beef stock cubes

Instructions

1. Get a very large saucepan with a lid or a large casserole with a lid.
2. Trim the braising steak trimmed of any fat and cut it into bite-size pieces. Add 600ml water and bring to a boil. Remove any scum that might have formed from the meat with a spoon and discard.
3. Add the cans of vegetable and oxtail soup along with the carrots, celery, onions, pearly barley and country soup mix.
4. Bring back to a boil then turn it down to a simmer. Add the OXO cubes and Worcester sauce. Don't add the macaroni just yet.
5. Partly cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 3 hours stirring occasionally.
6. DO NOT mix the packet soup as per their instructions - you want it to thicken and flavour the stew. Instead, mix in a cup with a little of the stew to form a thick paste - gradually add to the simmering pan stirring all the time to avoid any lumps.
7. Now add the macaroni and simmer for a further hour. There's no need to be exact with the cooking times - all you need to do is make sure the meat is cooked and tender. Add a little more water if you need to.
8. Taste and adjust the seasoning, you can add another OXO or a little more Worcestershire sauce if you need more flavour.
9. Finally, make the dumplings following the instructions on the pack. 'Atora' shredded suet mix is the best. When the dumpling mix is ready put the dumplings on top of the simmering stew to cook, cover with a lid and cook for about 25 minutes.

Notes

Braising/Casserole steak should be cooked at least 3 hours - the longer the better or it will be tough. This stew can be kept in a fridge and reheated the next day if you want to, or it can even be frozen.

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