READY IN 3+ hrs

Mom's Hearty Beef Stew with Dumplings

Read Reviews (28)

"My mom's beef stew recipe that she's perfected over 25 years. Tender chunks of beef couple with hearty vegetables in a rich gravy for a soul-warming treat. And Oh! The dumplings!" — ambikins

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering, and place the onion and beef into the hot oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the steak seasoning, stir the meat and onions well, and sprinkle with 1 more teaspoon of seasoning. Add the celery, and cook and stir until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes.
Pour in 2 cups of water to just cover the meat, onion, and celery, bring to a boil, and stir and scrape the browned bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the beef is very tender, about 2 hours. Remove the meat and celery pieces from the pan, set the meat aside, and discard the celery.
In a bowl, whisk together the gravy mix with 4 cups of water. Add the mixture to the juices in the pot, bring to a boil, and stir the meat back into the gravy mixture. Stir in the turnip and carrots, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cover, and simmer an additional 20 minutes.
To make dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture looks crumbly. Pour in the milk, and lightly stir the mixture just until it combines to form a dough.
Remove 2 cups of gravy from the pot, and reserve. Drop the dumplings by heaping tablespoon onto the meat and vegetables in the pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not peek until the time is up. Pour the reserved gravy back over the dumplings, stir lightly, and serve.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 30 mins
COOK 3 hrs 10 mins
READY IN 3 hrs 40 mins

Reviews More Reviews

May 03, 2010

amazing! i just made this. made a couple changes to suit me and my boyfriends preferences. 1) used beef broth instead of the water and only added 1 package of the gravy mix (just to thicken) 2) used only 4 potatoes and added 1 large sweet potato 3) added fresh herbs to the dumplings other than that i followed the recipe to a "T" everybody loved it, i will deffinetly be making this again! thanks

—cassie

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Jan 25, 2010

Very tasty stew. However, I used Swanson's beef broth in a carton instead of water simply because I prefer a richer flavor to the gravy. I also added about half a cu of Merlot wine. I used all the other ingredients as given and it was excellent. My problem is with the dumplings, but maybe I jut don't understand dumplings. The recipe doesn't say how big the spoonfulls should be. Mine turned out gummy and tasted of flour. I tossed them out and served mashed potatos on the side. We enjoyed the stew just as well.

—Krys

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34 Ratings

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Jan 09, 2012

Awesome! I had to tweak it a bit, but only because I didn't have a some of the ingredients. No olive oil, so I used canola. No gravy mix, so I used onion soup mix and a can of cream of mushroom soup. No turnip, so I used a can of diced tomatoes - Italian style. I also used a bag of frozen stew vegetables instead of fresh. Because there was no gravy mix, I had to thicken it up with a bit of flour and cold water, which worked out great! Made the Bisquick dumplings to accompany and it was DELISH! There is no need for any other stew recipe, IMO.

—LA Harperman

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May 25, 2011

This was absolutely fantastic! Great flavor. I did reduce the potatoes to about 4, and added canned green beans and corn. I used Bisquick for the dumplings.

—Norwegian_25

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Jan 18, 2010

Fantastic! Tender beef and satisfying dumplings! YUM!

—sunnycherries

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Dec 09, 2010

WOW may family loved this even my 12 year old son who HATES stew. I used bizquick for my dumplings and beef broth as someone else suggested.

—canadianbacon

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Feb 04, 2010

Was very good! I left out the turnip since I couldn't find one at the store. The sauce/gravy was a bit runnier than I've had in other stews, but yet not thin enough to call it more of a "soup". We enjoyed this - thanks!

—Diane A.

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Jan 21, 2010

Is your mom adopting? Childhood memories of really good cooking flooding back.......... Thank you for sharing!!

—Cynthia

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Nutrition

Calories
515 kcal
26%

Carbohydrates
64.7 g
21%

Cholesterol
62 mg
21%

Fat
15.1 g
23%

Fiber
6.5 g
26%

Protein
29.7 g
59%

Sodium
1261 mg
50%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Mom's Hearty Beef Stew with Dumplings

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 515
Calories from Fat: 136

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15.1g 23 %
Saturated Fat 4.7g 23 %
Cholesterol 62mg 21 %
Sodium 1261mg 50 %
** Potassium 1306mg 37 %
Total Carbohydrates 64.7g 21 %
Dietary Fiber 6.5g 26 %
Protein 29.7g 59 %
** Sugars 5.3g
** Vitamin A 122 %
** Vitamin C 70 %
** Calcium 22 %
** Iron 52 %
** Thiamin 49 %
** Niacin 85 %
** Vitamin B6 57 %
** Magnesium 30 %
** Folate 54 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.