Beef and Bean Stew

Overhead photo of two bowls of White Bean Stew with slices of bread.

This Beef and Bean Stew is how to fall in love with beans. Loaded with flavor, tender beef and buttery beans. One of the yummiest ways to stay warm in the winter.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword Beef and Bean Soup, Beef and Bean Stew, White Bean Stew

Total Time 2 30

Servings servings

Calories 749kcal

Author Heather

Ingredients

Beans

1 lb navy beans *or white bean of choice (see Note 1 below), approximately 2 cups
2 tsp salt

Stew

3 tbsp oil *I used avocado oil
2 1/2- 3 lbs chuck roast *cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lg brown onion *diced, about 2 cups
4 med carrots *cut into rounds
6 lg cloves garlic *crushed or diced
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 tbsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
2 bay leaves
28 oz diced canned tomatoes *with juice
1 qt beef broth
8 oz fresh baby spinach
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Beans

Rinse beans well in a colander.
Place into lining of Instant Pot. Add 8 cups of water to beans and stir in salt.
Attach lid and close valve to sealed. Cook on high pressure for 30 mins. (See Note 2 below for cooking times of other white bean choices.)
Once cooked, allow beans to do a natural release for 30 mins and then do a quick release. Drain beans of water. (See Note 3 below.)

Stew

Cut meat and pat dry excess moisture. Generously salt and pepper. (See Note 4 below)
Place a large enameled dutch oven over medium/high heat with oil until oil is bubbly, about 2-3 mins. Working in batches of 3, brown the beef. Setting aside each browned batch into one large bowl.
Once beef is browned, sauté onions in beef drippings, about 3 mins.
Add in carrots and continue sautéing for another 3 mins. Add garlic and saute an additional min.
Add in wine and stir well.
Return beef to dutch oven. Add tomatoes, herbs and beef broth. Stir well.
Bring to a boil over medium/high heat and lower heat to a simmer. Cover, stir occasionally and cook for approximately 1 hour- 1 hour and 20 mins or until beef is tender.
Once stew has simmered and beef is tender, stir in beans and continue simmering for another 25 mins.
Working in batches, stir in spinach and continue simmering for another 5 mins or until spinach is cooked.

Notes

* Please use as many organic ingredients as possible.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Other white bean options would be Great Northern Beans, Baby Lima Beans or Cannellini Beans.

Note 2: Instant Pot cooking times for: Great Northern Beans= 30 mins, Baby Lima Beans= 40 mins and Cannellini Beans= 35 mins. (see above in post for stovetop and slow cooker instructions.)

Note 3: Natural release on an Instant Pot simply means letting it sit past the allotted time of cooking. In other words, once the Instant Pot as reached the 30 mins of cook time, just let it sit for an additional 30 mins. Quick release means using a long handled spoon to carefully turn the valve from sealed to venting. This is the point that steam can be released so it is very important to use a long handled spoon to keep your hands away form the hot steam.

Note 4: To generously salt and pepper means to cover the surface of the meat with a fair amount of salt and pepper. It is not a precise amount, but rather a visual appearance of being able to see a light coating of salt and pepper.

Note 5: I highly recommend purchasing no salt added canned products. This is an excellent way to ensure that sodium levels do not become too high.

Nutrition