Marsala Beef Stew
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Cozy, filling, and full of rich flavor. This Marsala Beef Stew is slow simmered until tender with a deep, savory sauce that’s perfect for warming up chilly nights. Serve over noodles or rice or put it in a bowl for a hearty winter meal.
This recipe originally published in February 2015.
Is anyone else tired of winter? I can only take so much cold and snow before I start going crazy. Probably not a good idea to live in the mountains where it is cold 7 or 8 months of the year. Plus this past week the windchill has made the temperature in the negative numbers!
The one thing I do enjoy about winter is cooking soups and stews weekly along with homemade breads. I look forward to a large pot of soup or stew every week to warm me up.
One of my favorite hearty soups is Creamy Chicken Soup with pasta. I also love a thick and creamy Potato Soup. You can’t go wrong with Beef Vegetable Soup. As for bread, I enjoy my soup with a nice roll like these Honey Milk Rolls. Classic White Sandwich bread is also tasty on the side of one of my hearty soups.
What is the difference between soup and stew?
Soup usually has more liquid and and is lighter. It also has a shorter cooking time. It is always eaten with a spoon. On the other hand stews are thick and have a lot less liquid. They simmer for a longer period of time so all of the flavors really mix together. They can often be eaten with a fork because they are served over rice or noodles and the meat and vegetables are the main part of the stew.
Another thing I love about soup is that I always have enough left over to take to school the next day. That makes packing lunches easy in the morning.
I first made this Marsala Beef stew recipe years ago. I used the slow cooker because it was easy for me to fix it in the morning, go to work, and get home in time to eat what I made.
However, I’ve found that I like it much better when I make it on the stove top so that everything isn’t quite as soft. The longer you cook this stew, the thicker it will become.
Can I make this stew in the slow cooker?
You sure can. Simply cook the beef in a pan and then add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high heat or 6-8 hours on low heat.
Since this is a hearty stew with beef, wine, and vegetables it can be served in a bowl or it can be served over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
- olive oil (or vegetable oil)
- beef stew meat (or your preferred cut of beef, cut into 1 inch cubes)
- salt and pepper
- onion
- carrots
- celery
- garlic cloves
- tomato paste
- Marsala wine (or your favorite dry red wine)
- beef broth
- mushrooms
- thyme
- flour
To make the soup add the oil to a stock pot. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and saute over medium high heat until browned on all sides. Add in the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic cloves and saute for 5 minutes.
Add in the tomato paste, Marsala wine, beef broth, mushrooms, thyme, and flour and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
This soup smelled amazing while it was cooking. All the beef and vegetables mixed together with the wine smelled delicious.
I cooked the soup for 25-30 minutes but you can continue simmering for 1 hour to get additional flavor out of the soup.
What can I serve this stew with?
I like to serve the stew over top of rice, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles. It’s fairly hearty so it works well over top of these. If your stew is thinner, serve with a side salad, bread, or rolls.
This soup is so tasty. You can taste the beef and wine as well as the vegetables. It’s rich and bursting with so many flavors. While the vegetables are soft they aren’t mushy which is perfect.
If you like a thicker stew you can either cook it for longer, add more tomato paste, add a cornstarch slurry, or reduce the amount of liquid you added to the pot.
If you’ve tried my Marsala Beef Stew or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lb. beef stew meat cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 c. Marsala wine
- 5 c. beef broth
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 8 oz. mushrooms sliced
- 4 carrots chopped
- 3 sticks celery chopped
- 2 Tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Heat half the oil in a large skillet. Add the beef and sprinkle with salt. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until browned. Place the beef in a crock-pot.
- Add the onion, garlic, tomato pasta, Marsala wine, beef broth,pepper, thyme, mushrooms, carrots, and celery to the crock-pot. Mix everything to combine.
- Stir in the flour to thicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Serve over top of mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.
Notes
