Recipe: Beef Vegetable Stew
Soup vs. stew – what’s the difference? It may depend on who you ask, but stews generally have less liquid than soups and may contain a thickening agent like the flour in this recipe. This Beef Vegetable Stew uses just enough broth to provide a tasty base for onions, celery, beef, mixed veggies, and the star… sweet potato!
Sweet potato is a starchy veggie that delivers important nutrients. This orange root vegetable has over 350% of your daily requirement of vitamin A in just a 1/2 cooked cup serving! This fat-soluble vitamin is known for its importance in supporting our vision but is also needed to form and maintain skin and teeth. Sweet potatoes also help protect your body against damaging free radicals through good amounts of the micronutrient manganese as well as vitamin C.
Beef Vegetable Stew
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 lbs top sirloin steak, diced in 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp pepper, divided
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 12 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans, and corn)
- 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves garlic, minced)
- 1 Tbsp flour
- Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium-large (approximately 1-1 ½ lbs) sweet potato, cubed
- 4 C low-sodium beef broth
Directions:
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Season steak with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add steak to pot and cook for 6-8 minutes until evenly browned. Work in batches if necessary. Remove browned steak from the pot and set aside.
- In the same pot, add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, yellow onion, celery, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook veggies for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant and slightly translucent. Add the bag of frozen veggies and garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add flour and stir until veggies are coated. Then add browned steak, thyme, bay leaf, sweet potatoes, and broth. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat and potatoes are tender. Serve warm.
Swaps:
- For the steak:
- Rotisserie chicken: Shred the rotisserie chicken and add to the stew 5 minutes before serving.
- Ground turkey: Brown turkey and use in a similar manner to the steak.
- Tofu: Sub vegetable broth for beef broth. Cube tofu and add it after the other soup ingredients have been simmering for 10 minutes. Soft or silken tofu will absorb more flavor but is more delicate, so stir carefully. Firm or extra-firm tofu will keep its shape better.
- Chickpeas or white beans: Sub vegetable broth for beef broth. Rinse and drain a 15 oz can of beans and add after the other soup ingredients have been simmering for 10 minutes.
- For the frozen veggies: a mix of fresh veggies or any veggie in your kitchen that needs to be used
- For the sweet potato: butternut squash or white potatoes