Hamburger Stew is a thick, savory weeknight dinner with tender potatoes, carrots, and browned ground beef in a tomato-rich broth. You can serve it from the pot, with plenty of beef and vegetables in every bowl.
How to make hamburger stew: Brown the beef with onion, celery, and garlic, then stir in flour and tomato paste before adding the broth and vegetables. Simmer on the stovetop for at least 30 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
Why You’ll Love It
- One pot: You brown the beef and simmer the vegetables in the same soup pot.
- A hearty texture: The flour and tomato paste give the broth body while the potatoes and carrots remain in pieces.
- Easy to adjust: You can loosen or thicken the stew before serving, depending on how you like it.
- Useful leftovers: You can refrigerate or freeze extra portions for another meal.
Ingredient Notes
Lean ground beef: Buy lean ground beef for this stew. Break it into small pieces as it browns so you get beef throughout the pot rather than large chunks in some bowls and none in others. I like to give the beef room to brown before the broth goes in.
Onion, celery, and garlic: Chop the onion and celery before you heat the oil; they go into the pot together. Mince the garlic separately because you’ll add it after those vegetables have cooked. Keep a spoon nearby for stirring when the beef goes in.
Flour and tomato paste: Measure the flour before you start cooking and have the tomato paste ready to stir in. They go into the browned beef before the broth, so this is not the moment to search the cupboard for a can opener. You want the flour stirred through the pot rather than sitting in dry patches.
Beef broth and Worcestershire sauce: Start with the broth amount listed below. Keep more broth available if you prefer a looser stew or need to adjust it as it cooks. Worcestershire sauce adds a savory note alongside the browned beef and tomato paste; I wouldn’t skip it when shopping for this dish.
Russet potatoes and carrots: Peel and dice the potatoes, then peel and slice the carrots. I choose Russets here because I like tender potato pieces against the thick broth. When you check the pot near the end, check both vegetables rather than judging doneness by the potatoes alone.
Frozen peas: You can leave them out. If you use them, keep them frozen until you’re ready to finish the stew; they don’t go into the pot with the potatoes and carrots. I usually decide about the peas when I taste and season the pot.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 can tomato paste (6 ounces)
- 4 cups beef broth, plus more if the stew gets too thick
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas, optional
- Salt and pepper, to taste
How to Make Hamburger Stew
1. Cook the onion and celery. Add the olive oil, chopped onion, and celery to a soup pot. Sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring as they cook. You’re starting the stew in the same pot you’ll use for the beef and broth, so leave yourself enough room to stir.
2. Add the garlic. Stir the minced garlic into the onion and celery and cook for 30 seconds. Have the ground beef ready to go in next; you don’t need to leave the garlic cooking on its own while you prepare anything else.
3. Brown the beef. Add the ground beef and cook for about 8 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon until browned. Move the spoon through the vegetables as well as the beef so everything is mixed together. Browning builds the savory base you’ll taste in the finished stew.
4. Add the thickening ingredients. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the tomato paste until it is mixed with the beef and vegetables. The contents of the pot will look much thicker at this point; the broth goes in next.
5. Simmer the stew. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, potatoes, and carrots. Increase the heat to high and bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook with the lid slightly open, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes, until both the potatoes and carrots are tender.
6. Adjust and finish. If the stew gets too thick, add more beef broth. If you want it thicker, cook it longer with the lid off. Stir in the optional frozen peas, then taste and add salt and pepper. Before serving, use a food thermometer to verify that the ground beef has reached 160°F; browned color alone is not the check.
How to Make Hamburger Stew Thick, Not Soupy
You want broth that coats a spoonful of beef, potatoes, and carrots, not a bowl in which the vegetables seem to float apart. The flour goes into the browned beef first and cooks briefly; tomato paste follows before you pour in the broth. That order gives you a substantial base for the simmer.
Start with the listed 4 cups of broth rather than adding extra at the beginning. If the stew looks thinner than you want once the vegetables are tender, leave the lid off and keep simmering until you like the consistency. Stir the pot as it cooks and judge it by what’s in your spoon, not by the clock.
If it becomes thicker than you enjoy, stir in more beef broth. Add what you need to make the stew spoonable while keeping those pieces of beef and vegetables in a rich broth. The browned beef supplies the savory foundation, while tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce round out its flavor.
Tips for Success
Why are some vegetables firmer than others?
Look at how the potatoes are diced and the carrots are sliced before they go into the pot. If your pieces vary widely in size, check several from different parts of the stew before serving. Keep cooking if you find a firm piece; you want the potatoes and carrots tender throughout.
Why do I see patches of flour in the pot?
Dry-looking spots mean the flour needs more stirring before you move on. Work your spoon through the beef and vegetables so the flour is distributed, then stir in the tomato paste. Pay attention to the bottom of the pot, where it’s easy to miss a patch.
Why does the broth taste underseasoned?
Take a spoonful after the vegetables have cooked, then add salt and pepper to taste. I wait until the end to make that decision because I want to taste the broth with the beef, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce already in it. Stir after seasoning, then taste again.
Storage & Reheating
Divide leftover stew into shallow covered containers and refrigerate within 2 hours; keep it refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months. Thaw frozen stew in the refrigerator, cold water, or microwave, or reheat it from frozen. USDA FSIS says to bring reheated stew to a rolling boil and check that leftovers reach 165°F with a thermometer.
What to Serve With It
Hamburger stew makes a substantial bowl on its own. For another stew night, try cowboy stew or Instant Pot beef stew. If you’d rather set up a slow-cooker dinner, look at slow cooker poor man’s stew, slow cooker Mulligan stew, or creamy potato and hamburger soup. For a different ground-beef dinner, there are also hamburger steaks with onion mushroom gravy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ingredients in hamburger stew?
You’ll need ground beef, onion, celery, garlic, potatoes, carrots, beef broth, tomato paste, flour, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, and olive oil. Salt and pepper finish the pot, and frozen peas are optional. If you’re making a shopping list, remember that the tomato paste is a 6-ounce can.
What gives hamburger stew the most flavor?
Brown the ground beef before adding the liquid. Tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce add flavor to that beef-and-vegetable base, so make sure both are ready when you start cooking. Taste the stew at the end before you decide how much salt and pepper it needs.
Final Notes
Keep a spoon beside the pot so you can check the vegetables and taste the broth before filling your bowls. If you have a question or make the stew, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Hamburger Stew
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 can tomato paste 6 ounces
- 4 cups beef broth plus more if the stew gets too thick
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 Russet potatoes peeled and diced
- 4 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, onion, and celery to a soup pot. Sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the tomato paste.
- Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, potatoes, and carrots. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer and cook with the lid slightly open, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
- If the stew gets too thick, add more broth. For a thicker stew, cook it longer with the lid off. Stir in the optional frozen peas and season with salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, verify that the ground beef has reached 160°F with a food thermometer.
