Irish Beef and Guinness Stew is the ultimate comfort food! Simmered all day, this easy beef stew recipe delivers fall-apart tender beef, perfectly cooked vegetables and thanks to Guinness Beer, a rich and hearty flavor that melts in your mouth.

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

When it comes to perfect comfort food, it gets no better than Irish Beef and Guinness Stew.

I mean let’s break it down. Beef stew is AMAZING! Slow simmered tender beef and perfectly cooked vegetables in a rich stew sauce .. MMM!!

But when you add Guinness Beer to your beef stew.. well .. we are taking everything delicious about beef stew and now we are kicking it up to the next level.

Guinness Beer brings such a hearty, robust flavor to this stew sauce that this is the simmered stew dish you will crave when the weather turns cold.. 

.. or you are under the weather … 

.. or it’s St. Patrick’s Day … 

… or it’s just the third Thursday of the month …

This is a classic stew recipe with a Guinness Irish twist to it. It is rich, hearty and will bring any celebration to life!

Seriously, this Irish Beef Stew recipe is so good, you will be making up reasons just to break out your soup pot!

Looking for more Irish inspired recipes? Check out my Irish Macaroni and Cheese, Irish Soda Bread and Chocolate Bourbon Maple Bacon Cupcakes.

what is Guinness Beer?

This Irish Beef Stew recipe calls for Guinness Beer which may make you wonder … exactly what IS Guinness Beer?

Guinness is a very stout, very dark beer. It’s brewed with notes of coffee and chocolate and it has a rich roasted flavor thanks to the roasted unmalted barley.

It is a black full bodied beer with a bold flavor. 

Basically, it is the best thing that has ever happened to beef stew!

why this is the BEST Irish Beef Stew!

• Irish Beef Stew is easy to make with just a few familiar ingredients .. nothing too exotic going on here!
• Slow simmering this recipe all day delivers melt-in-your-mouth tender chunks of beef and perfectly cooked veggies. Perfection!
• Guinness Beer brings the best robust flavor and dark delicious stew sauce. This is the Cadillac of beef stew recipes.
• Stew pot or slow cooker, this is hands down the easiest stew recipe to make. Simply throw everything in a pot and walk away for 8 hours.
• Breaking out the homemade beef stew is the perfect way to feed a hungry crowd.
• Nothing screams ultimate comfort food like a steaming bowl of slow cooker beef stew.

Ingredients in Guinness Beef Stew

• Chuck roast 
• All purpose flour 
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Bacon  
• Onion 
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Beef stock
• Spices
• Guinness Draught or Guinness Extra Stout

how do you make Irish Beef and Guinness Stew?

Start by heating a large stock pot over high heat on your stove top.

Cut the chuck roast into 2 inch chunks or use pre-cut stew meat from your grocery store.

Add in olive oil and chuck roast chunks, working in 2 batches.

Brown all sides of beef, remove and repeat with 2nd batch. Remove the meat and set aside.

Lower heat of stock pot to medium and add in the bacon pieces. Cook until crisp and remove pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add butter to the bacon grease and then add in the flour, whisking constantly for 1 minute and then pour in the beef stock.

Add in tomato paste, seasonings, Worcestershire and stirring to combine, bring to a low boil.

Pour in Guinness and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add onions, garlic, potatoes and carrots and return beef into the pot (including any juices).

Cover and lower heat so that it is just gently bubbling. cook for 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High

Serve with crusty bread and parsley for garnish.

pro tips for perfect Guinness Beef Stew

• Cut your chuck roast into 2 inch cubes or use pre-cut stew meat from your grocery store. You want big chunks of meat to stand up to the long cooking time and the long cooking time ensures tender fall-apart beef.
• Grabbing a chuck roast is the perfect meat for this stew. You want meat that has a bit of fat (for flavor) and slow cooking it allows the meat time to tenderize.
• Don’t skip searing the meat! Browning the meat gives the meat extra deep, rich flavor. 
• Adding fresh herbs at the end of the stew cooking time adds a whole new layer of delicate flavor. Sprinkle on fresh parsley, thyme or rosemary before serving.
• Guinness Beer is one of a kind and there are no substitutions. If you prefer not to add the beef, offset with 3 extra cups of beef stock instead.
• By letting your beef stew simmer all day, you are guaranteed tender chunks of meat. Stop lifting the lid, let the stew do it’s job!
• Cook this Irish stew in either a large stock pot or move it to your slow cooker. Either work perfectly for this recipe.
• Potatoes are personal .. use whatever potatoes you like in this recipe. I prefer Yukon gold potatoes.
• Feel free to make life easy and substitute ‘real’ bacon with pre-cook bacon pieces from the salad dressing aisle of your grocery store. 

more soup and stew recipes

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Ground Beef Chili with Beans
• Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli Ham Bone Soup
• Beer Cheese Soup
• Mexican Chorizo Chili

Enjoy ♥ Heather

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew is the ultimate comfort food! Simmered all day, this easy beef stew recipe delivers fall-apart tender beef, perfectly cooked vegetables and thanks to Guinness Beer, a rich and hearty flavor that melts in your mouth.

4.50 from 4 votes

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Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 429.1kcal

Author: Heather - A Wicked Whisk

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 pounds chunk roast cut into 2 inch cubes
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 6 ounces bacon cut into small pieces
• ▢ 1 medium onion quartered
• ▢ 4 large garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 5 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups beef stock
• ▢ 5 ounces tomato paste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon worchestershire
• ▢ 22 ounces Guinness Draught or Guinness Extra Stout Beer
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt to taste
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• ▢ 4 large carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
• ▢ 4 cups Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
• ▢ Parsley for garnish and good crusty bread

Instructions

• Start by heating a large stock pot over high heat on your stove top. Cut the chuck roast into 2 inch chunks or use pre-cut stew meat from your grocery store.
• Add in olive oil and chuck roast chunks, working in 2 batches. Brown all sides of beef, remove and repeat with 2nd batch. Remove the meat and set aside.
• Lower heat of stock pot to medium and add in the bacon pieces. Cook until crisp and remove pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add butter to the bacon grease and then add in the flour, whisking constantly for 1 minute and then pour in the beef stock. Add in tomato paste, seasonings, Worcestershire and stirring to combine, bring to a low boil.
• Pour in Guinness and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add onions, garlic, potatoes and carrots and return beef into the pot (including any juices). Cover and lower heat so that it is just gently bubbling. cook for 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High. Serve with crusty bread and parsley for garnish

Notes

• Cut your chuck roast into 2 inch cubes or use pre-cut stew meat from your grocery store. You want big chunks of meat to stand up to the long cooking time and the long cooking time ensures tender fall-apart beef.
• Grabbing a chuck roast is the perfect meat for this stew. You want meat that has a bit of fat (for flavor) and slow cooking it allows the meat time to tenderize.
• Don't skip searing the meat! Browning the meat gives the meat extra deep, rich flavor. 
• Adding fresh herbs at the end of the stew cooking time adds a whole new layer of delicate flavor. Sprinkle on fresh parsley, thyme or rosemary before serving.
• Guinness Beer is one of a kind and there are no substitutions. If you prefer not to add the beef, offset with 3 extra cups of beef stock instead.
• By letting your beef stew simmer all day, you are guaranteed tender chunks of meat. Stop lifting the lid, let the stew do it's job!
• Cook this Irish stew in either a large stock pot or move it to your slow cooker. Either work perfectly for this recipe.
• Potatoes are personal .. use whatever potatoes you like in this recipe. I prefer Yukon gold potatoes.
• Feel free to make life easy and substitute 'real' bacon with pre-cook bacon pieces from the salad dressing aisle of your grocery store. 

Nutrition

Serving: 10ea | Calories: 429.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.9g | Protein: 33.8g | Fat: 19.2g | Saturated Fat: 6.8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.3g | Cholesterol: 98.3mg | Sodium: 749.3mg | Potassium: 833.38mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 4.7g | Vitamin A: 1660IU | Vitamin C: 30.2mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 3.9mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @AWickedWhisk or tag #AWickedWhisk!

Update Notes: This post was originally published in March of 2017 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in January of 2021.