I have made this Guinness® Irish Stew four times before actually posting the recipe, it gets eaten too fast for photos every single time! Adults enjoy the darker depth of flavor that the stout imparts to the stew and the kids love eating it over garlic mashed potatoes – it’s a total winner in our house.
This Irish stew uses Guinness to reinforce all of the classic stew flavors you’d expect, making something that’s really tasty in its own right and you get to drink beer while making it. Win-win!
Need more great recipes for St Patrick’s Day? Why not serve this stew with some Colcannon, some Irish soda bread, and a green beer to wash it all down! Then have an Irish coffee for dessert!
Easy Guinness® Irish Stew Recipe
There is just something about Guinness beer that makes everything taste incredible, and this stew is easily the best example. Now a traditional Irish stew uses lamb, but I deferred the choice of meat to the actual Irishman in the family (Mr. Magpie) who will only eat lamb in a curry.
That said, I will tackle a real Irish stew one of these days with lamb (and I’ll bet you money that he will eat it), but for now we are going with beef for our Guinness version.
The deep, intense flavors of the beer just pair wonderfully with the beer and vegetables to make a stew that somehow manages to taste of Ireland.
Make sure you are only getting the real, proper Guinness for this recipe!
Guinness® Irish Stew Ingredients
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the exact quantities needed for this recipe.
- Bacon
- Stewing meat
- All-purpose flour
- Salt & pepper
- Yellow onions
- Garlic
- Guinness
- Tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- Beef broth
- White sugar
- Bay leaves
- Thyme
- Carrots
- Celery
- Mashed potatoes
- Irish soda bread
How to Make Guinness® Irish Stew
- Combine the flour, salt & pepper in a bowl
- Toss the beef cubes in the mixture until completely coated
- Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven until tender-crisp, and then remove to a plate
- Using the bacon fat, fry the beef in batches until browned on all sides
- Remove the beef, and then add the onions to the pan and sauté until softened
- Once translucent, add in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, maybe two minutes
- Deglaze the pan with a small amount of Guinness, scraping the browned bits off of the bottom
- Add in the remaining beer, the Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, tomato paste, and sugar
- Add in the beef, bacon, bay leaves, thyme, and vegetables into the pot, stirring until combined
- Bring the stew to a low boil, then reduce to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours until everything is tender, stirring every 30 minutes to avoid burning bits
- Once cooked, remove the bay leaves and thyme and serve over mashed potatoes
Use a Guinness Can Instead of a Bottle if You Can
While cans of Guinness are sold everywhere in Europe and the UK, they aren’t as frequently sold in North America.
This means you might have more luck with finding bottles of Guinness rather than cans. However, if you are able to find cans though, definitely spring for them, as they make a huge difference.
The key with cans of Guinness is the little ball of nitrogen within the cans – that’s the weird rattling sound you can hear when you shake a can of Guinness.
This ball of nitrogen gives the Guinness a really luxurious mouthfeel that can improve the taste of this stew and the Guiness. And hey, why not do a taste test between bottles and cans if you can!
How to Serve Irish Stew
This Irish stew is perfect just eaten on its own, but the best way to enjoy it is to serve it over a big bowl of mashed potatoes. Keen readers will notice that I don’t have potatoes in the actual stew. That’s because you are supposed to eat this over mashed potatoes, and cubed potatoes in a stew over mashed potatoes is a little redundant, even though I love potatoes.
This should be a stew that is loaded with beef, onion, carrot, and celery that is ladled over a heaping pile of hot mashed potatoes. The potatoes help soak up all of the flavorful liquid and pairs really deliciously with the beef.
There is just something so fitting and Irish about mixing together potatoes and Guinness! Try my crock pot mashed potatoes or my Instant Pot mashed potatoes for this recipe.
If you don’t want to make mashed potatoes, add 3 large cleaned and chopped Russet potatoes to the stew to bulk it up as a meal.
More Beef Stew Recipes to Try
I love a good beef stew! Try some of these reader favorites!
Happy cooking! Hope you enjoy!
Love,
Karlynn
Guinness® Irish Stew
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon diced
- 2 pounds stewing meat cut into one-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large yellow onions chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- one 14.9 ounce can Guinness®
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups beef broth or more as needed to cover ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3-4 large carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 large stalks celery cut into 1-inch pieces
- mashed potatoes *
- Irish Soda Bread
Instructions
- Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss the beef cubes until they are completely coated. Set aside.
- Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven or heavy pot until tender-crisp. Remove the bacon to a plate.
- Using the bacon drippings, fry the flour coated beef in batches until browned on all sides. Transfer the beef to a plate.
- Add the onions to the pan and sauté until softened. Add in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, around two minutes.
- Pour a small amount of the Guiness into the pan, deglazing the bottom of the pot by scraping up the browned bits off of the bottom.
- Add in the remaining beer, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, tomato paste and sugar,
- Place the beef. bacon, bay leaves, thyme and vegetables into the pot. Stir until combined.
- Bring the stew to a low boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beef and vegetables are tender. Stir every 30 minutes to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Remove the bay leaves and thyme.
- Serve over mashed potatoes. The stew should be thick and perfect for over potatoes.
Notes
- * if you are not making mashed potatoes, add in 3 large washed and chopped Russet potatoes to the stew
Nutrition
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Mary says
It is now April 24, a bit late for St. Pat’s Day.
Won’t remember it next St. Pat’s Day!
D
Kathleen says
I made this tonight. It was delicious! Everyone loved it!
Karlynn Johnston says
Thanks for letting me know, I am so glad that you liked it!