Sweet Potato Beef Stew
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours 45 minutes Total Time: 3 hours Servings: 6
A fall harvest beef stew with sweet potatoes and a hint of apples and cinnamon.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound beef, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups (2 medium) potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups (1 large) sweet potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (gluten-free for gluten-free) (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or soy sauce) (gluten-free for gluten-free) (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the beef, tossed in the flour, and brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side, before setting aside.
- Add the onions and celery and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic tomato paste, rosemary, and thyme, mix well and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add 1/2 cup of broth and deglaze the pan by scraping up any brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon as the broth sizzles.
- Add the remaining broth, apple sauce, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, and beef, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, until the beef is falling apart tender, about 2 hours.
- Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots and simmer, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and enjoying!
Slow cooker: Optionally implement steps 1-4, add all of ingredients up to and including step 5 to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours, before adding the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots and cooking on high until they are tender, about 20-30 minutes, and continuing on with step 7.
Option: Add 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced, along with the veggies.
Option: Add 1 teaspoon sage, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage)!
Option: Replace the sweet potatoes with butternut squash.
Option: Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries along with the sweet potatoes.
Option: Add 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen) near the end.