Beef and Guinness Stew

RECIPE VIDEO ABOVE. The iconic Irish Beef and Guinness Stew is easy to make but requires patience while it slow cooks! The Guinness Beer is the secret weapon ingredient in this, creating a sauce that has wonderful deep complex flavours.

Recipe by Nagi | RecipeTin Eats on March 15, 2020

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT180M

Total time: PT190M

Rating

4.99 stars (504 reviews)

Keywords

Guinness stew, Irish Beef and Guineess Stew

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2.5 lb / 1.25 kg beef chuck (, boneless short rib or any other slow cooking beef (no bone))
3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
3 garlic cloves (, minced)
2 onions (, chopped (brown, white or yellow))
6 oz / 180g bacon (, speck or pancetta, diced)
3 tbsp flour ((all purpose/plain, Note 3 for GF))
440ml / 14.9 oz Guinness Beer ((Note 1))
4 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock/broth ((or beef broth - Note 4))
3 carrots (, peeled and cut into 1.25 cm / 1/2" thick pieces)
2 large celery stalks (, cut into 2cm / 1" pieces)
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme ((or sub with 1 tsp dried thyme leaves))

Cuisine

Irish

Steps

Cut the beef into 5cm/2" chunks. Pat dry then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a heavy based pot over high heat. Add beef in batches and brown well all over. Remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
Lower heat to medium. If the pot is looking dry, add oil.
Cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softening, then add bacon.
Cook until bacon is browned, then stir through carrot and celery. 
Add flour, and stir for 1 minute to cook off the flour.
Add Guinness, chicken broth/stock and tomato paste. Mix well (to ensure flour dissolves well), add bay leaves and thyme. 
Return beef into the pot (including any juices). Liquid level should just cover - see video or photos.
Cover, lower heat so it is bubbling gently. Cook for 2 hours - the beef should be pretty tender by now. Remove lid then simmer for a further 30 - 45 minutes or until the beef falls apart at a touch, the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
Skim off fat on surface, if desired. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves and thyme.
Serve with creamy mashed potatoes!!

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 497 g
Calories: 646 kcal
Carbohydrates: 15.3 g
Protein: 72.2 g
Fat: 29.1 g
Saturated Fat: 9.2 g
Cholesterol: 200 mg
Sodium: 1499 mg
Sugar: 4.7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 19.9 g

Reviews

Betty on 2026-06-28 (5 stars):
I cooked the stew with the non-alcoholic Guinness (USA). It had a smoother finish than when I used the alcoholic Guinness (more sharper taste). Both versions were very tasty. Instead of flour, I added cornstarch at the end to thicken up the stew. I also added cubed potatoes during the last thirty minutes of cooking with the cover off. Turned out great.
Margaret on 2026-06-25 (5 stars):
Husband was not a fan of his mother’s Irish stew. I knew yours would be a winner and he loves it 🙌 Excellent cold night dinner
Evie on 2026-06-21 (5 stars):
So good for a winter night!
Silvana Smith on 2026-05-31 (5 stars):
Guinness do make a non alcoholic beer. It’s called 0.0 the can has a light blue ring around it. It’s a 4 pack for around $20 in Perth.
John on 2026-05-14 (5 stars):
Have not cooked this in a while... Can't believe I left it so long after tasting it again! A real winner.
alimak on 2026-04-26 (5 stars):
O.M.G. Perfection!
Neety on 2026-04-25 (5 stars):
Made this tonight for 3 servings. The serving scale was perfect. I used beef cheeks and served with mash and green beans. My partner loved it and helped himself to a seconds. Will make again.
Megan on 2026-04-11 (5 stars):
Absolutely stunning 🤩 So tasty! FYI there is non alcoholic Guinness available but I’m in the UK so maybe it’s different? Anyway, Nagi, I love your recipes. They are all fantastic! You’re an inspiration to home cooks and truly gifted in what you do.
Carrie on 2026-04-08 (5 stars):
Make this recipe as instructed and serve it over mashed potatoes. Perfect that way.
Mike on 2026-03-29 (5 stars):
When it starts getting colder here in Sydney around April the first dish I cook is this - it's simply the bomb. I leave out the celery but apart from that this is just the ultimate in cold weather comfort food, and it's not even unhealthy :-)
Karin on 2026-03-27 (5 stars):
On your note on making the dish non-alcoholic, there is, at least in Europe, 0% Guinness :)
Andrew Benz on 2026-03-19 (5 stars):
I have in the past. I reheat the leftovers and thicken it a little more until it's the consistency of normal pie filling. Delicious
Kelsea Ballard on 2026-03-19 (5 stars):
I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s absolutely my favorite among others stew recipes! I’m just wondering if I want to use baby carrots how I would incorporate that in the recipe without them getting mushy.
Beth on 2026-03-19 (5 stars):
I made this almost the sam except I had a 2lb flank steak I pulled out of the freezer. This was so, so good.