Italian Beef Stew (Spezzatino di Manzo) is the perfect comfort food during cooler months. Chuck beef is braised until tender in a hearty stew of carrots, celery, mushrooms, and red wine. Herbs like rosemary and bay leaf add additional flavor to this tasty stew that is perfect served with creamy polenta, mashed potatoes, or a chunk of crusty bread!
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Table of Contents
Some of my favorite smells include freshly brewed coffee, a pot of Sunday sauce simmering on the stove, and spezzatino di manzo aka Italian beef stew.
There is something about the aroma of the beef braising in wine with rosemary that is just so comforting.
We are using chuck roast for our beef stew which is budget-friendly and great for dishes like classic pot roast, swiss steak, and beef bourguignon, however, you could lower your cost even more if you use beef stew meat.
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Italian beef stew is wonderful served over creamy polenta or roasted garlic mashed potatoes. We usually also serve with some Italian bread and a glass of vino.
How to make Italian beef stew
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Preheat oven to 300f and make room on the middle rack for a large Dutch oven. Dice 2 celery ribs, 3 medium carrots, and 1 medium onion. (Photo #1)
- Cut chuck steak into approximately 1-inch cubes. (Photo #2) Note: Any large pieces of fat can be cut out and discarded. I typically just leave most of it for added flavor!
- Heat a large Dutch oven to medium-low heat and coat the pot with a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add the carrots, celery, and onion and saute for 5 minutes. (Photo #3)
- After 5 minutes add the mushrooms and continue to cook stirring frequently. Note: In pic 4 above I am using reconstituted dried mushrooms. If using fresh mushrooms, sautee until the mushrooms release their water. (Photo #4)
- While the veggies are sauteing, pat the chuck roast cubes dry. Once the mushrooms release their water and most of it has evaporated from the pot, season the beef cubes with salt and pepper and add to the pot. Coat the beef with the veggies and olive oil. Let the beef cook for 5-10 minutes (it won’t develop too much color). (Photo #5)
- Next, turn heat to medium-high and add 1 cup of dry red wine. (Photo #6) Note: Chianti, valpolicella, and cabernet are all good dry red wines to use.
- Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the wine mostly evaporates and absorbs into the beef. Using a wooden spoon scrape up all of the brown bits while the beef is cooking. (Photo #7)
- Add 2 cups of low sodium beef stock, 1 tablespoon of rosemary, and 1 bay leaf and stir it all together. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 2 1/2 hours in the oven or until tender. (Photo #8)
- After 2 hours the beef stew will look like this. (Photo #9)
- Return the pot to the oven for another 30-60 minutes but leave the lid open a bit as shown below in pic 10. This will help thicken the stew a bit. (Photo #10)
- After roughly 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the oven, the beef will be very tender. If the stew is still a bit loose make a slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 ounce of water. Place the pot on top of a burner and heat the stew to medium-high. Once the stew bubbles drizzle the cornstarch in and stir. (Photo #11)
- The slurry will thicken the beef stew in about 60 seconds. Turn the heat off and taste test. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve over mashed potatoes, polenta, or crusty bread. (Photo #12) Enjoy!
Top tips
- Cooking times may vary. Every stove and oven is different, therefore, you may need a longer (or lesser) cooking time than what we’ve outlined. The best way to determine doneness is the tenderness of the beef. If it is tender, it is ready. If it’s still tough, it needs to cook a while longer.
- Season at the end. Aside from the salt and pepper you use when initially searing the beef, don’t add any additional salt and pepper until the end. Since beef stew cooks for hours, its flavors also concentrate over time and you run the risk of over-salting if you season too early. Give it a taste test at the end and adjust your salt and pepper at that point.
- Thicken the stew. I prefer my beef stew to be on the thicker side so I usually make a slurry to help thicken it. A slurry is simply 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 ounce of water. Once mixed, the slurry can be poured into the pot while it’s bubbling and stirred for about 1 minute until the stew thickens up. If you want it even thicker just use more cornstarch, but be careful to not over-thicken.
- Be creative with sides. I love serving this Italian beef chuck stew over creamy polenta, but it’s equally fantastic with mashed potatoes. Another wonderful way to serve it is to buy small individual round boules of bread, scoop out the middle to create a cavity and serve directly in the bread bowls. My kids love it this way!
More hearty beef recipes
These recipes are comforting, warm, and perfect for cooler weather, just like our Spezzatino di Manzo!
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Italian Beef Stew (Spezzatino di Manzo)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast cubed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 medium carrots diced
- 2 large celery ribs diced
- 8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup dry red wine chianti, valpolicella, carbernet, etc
- 2 cups low sodium beef stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 large bay leaf
For cornstarch slurry (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ounce water
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300f and make room on the middle rack for a large Dutch oven. Heat a large Dutch oven to medium-low heat, then add the olive oil, carrots, celery, and onion. Cook for 5 minutes then add the mushrooms, turn heat to medium, and continue to cook stirring frequently.
- While the veggies are sauteing, pat the chuck roast cubes dry. Once the mushrooms release their water and most of it has evaporated from the pot, season the beef cubes with salt and pepper and add to the pot.
- Coat the beef with the veggies and oil. Let the beef cook for 5-10 minutes (it won't develop much color). Next, turn heat to medium-high and add the wine and cook for 5-7 minutes or until it mostly evaporates and absorbs into the beef. Using a wooden spoon scrape up all of the brown bits while the beef is cooking.
- Add the beef stock, rosemary, and bay leaf and stir it all together. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 hours or until tender. For the last 30-45 minutes braise with no lid to thicken the sauce and add a bit of color to the meat.
- Once the beef is tender remove the pot from the oven. If there is too much liquid in the pot use a slurry of cornstarch (see notes) to thicken or cook over medium heat on the stovetop to thicken and reduce the liquid. Once satisfied with the consistency, taste test and make final adjustments to salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread or with polenta or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you want a thicker sauce use a slurry of cornstarch after braising and right before serving. Simply mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 ounce of water. Pour the slurry into the pot while it’s bubbling and stir for 1 minute until sauce thickens. For an even thicker sauce use more slurry.
- Dried mushrooms can be easily substituted for fresh mushrooms. They work great for stews like this.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave or over medium-low heat on the stovetop until hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Amazing, this is exactly how my Abruzzese Aunt made this recipe (in Chicago) every winter, although she was a bit more ‘generous’ with the wine and other ingredients because she was cooking for 5 and always made enough to ‘feed an army.’ Reading it brought tears to my eyes because my Aunt has been gone 12 years now; she was a fabulous Italian cook; she learned from her mother, my grandmother– who was from Abruzzo. Thank you for doing this recipe which touched my heart; I’m going to make it for me and my husband. Grazie tanto!
Hi Steven, thanks so much for the comment and so happy you enjoyed this one!
This looks like it’s 5 stars but I’ll let you know later.. I will definitely be making this in the near future.
Hi Judy, thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy!
Hi Jim this looks terrific!! Would you by any chance have a terrific recipe for Ribollita – my wife is pestering me for this as we were travelling in Florence and very much wants me to try it!! Thank Jim
Hi Michael, thanks for the comment. Yes, here’s Jim’s ribollita recipe: https://www.sipandfeast.com/ribollita-soup/
Hope you enjoy!
Do you have a recipe for polenta? I can’t find anything on your website. I love all your recipes. Thanks!
Hi Sheila, Jim made polenta in the Italian beef stew video but we don’t have a recipe up on our site yet. We plan to have one up soon. So happy you’re enjoying the recipes and thanks for the comment!
I’m sure that I made this before but memory fails me. Anyway, I made it last night for a special guest and got repeated compliments. And I have to say, it was absolutely delicious. I prepared the meat separately as in the video. Kudos on another winner. (I served it with dill mashed potatoes and Italian peas.)
Hi Drew, thanks for the comment. It’s great to hear you enjoyed this one as well!
Hi Jim. This one looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it. I may have asked this on another recipe but what would you recommend I replace the wine with while maintaining a similar depth of flavor? Not against the alcohol content, just really don’t like the flavor of any wine. Normally, I replace wine with broth and a shot of vinegar and I’d do the same here, but that really feels like it’s taking the Italian out of the recipe. Maybe add a little tomato paste near the end of the vegetable saute and then go in with broth and a little balsamic?
Hi Melissa, thanks for the comment. Jim usually recommends replacing wine with stock. You certainly could add a bit of paste when sauteeing the vegetables to add to the depth of flavor if you’d like.
Hey Jim i absolutely love the recipe and the website. One question… a picky member of my family thinks that the carrots are mushy lol. can i put the carrots in the pot after it has already been cooking for quite some time? How long would you put them in for if you wanted them to have some more integrity? At the same time, i dont want them too hard. Same question goes for the Chicken Fricassee. Thanks so much.
Hi Sal, you can add some whole carrots to help flavor the sauce, then pull them out and add new carrots that won’t be as mushy. I would recommend testing the carrots to get them to the consistency you want. It sounds like this one comes down to your personal preference so I can’t give you a specific time for that – you’d just have to test them with a fork until they’re as tender or firm as you like. So happy you enjoy the recipe and appreciate the comment!
My wife and I absolutely loved this recipe. And to agree with another commenter, our 2 year old really loved it too! Thank you so much for the clear directions and easy to follow guide. I was able to use up some slightly old chuck steaks and filets i had in the freezer with this great recipe and they tasted very lovely. Just a couple questions: I never really have fresh rosemary on hand, would you recommend using dried rosemary? if so how much? also, I was wondering would I be able to cube up some potatoes in this recipe and throw them in the dutch oven as well? and lastly, would i be able to start the recipe at the beginning with the corn starch slurry in there when going into the 300F oven? Because i did need it at the end. Thank you!!!
Hi Sal, I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. So dried rosemary is fine – I’d use a little less than what you’d use for fresh because dried is always going to be more potent than fresh. So 1-2 teaspoons. Potatoes would be great and would actually help to thicken it so you might not need a slurry. If you do make the slurry, it should be added at the end – I don’t recommend adding it in the beginning as it will lose its thickening power over time.
Made this Italian beef stew last night and we loved it! Easy to follow directions … even your timing was spot on Jim. Thank you.
Hi Edna, I’m so happy you liked the beef stew and really appreciate the comment!
Very nice stew. I added green beans for the last hour and some tomato paste. Also, used a slow cooker instead of the oven and served over fresh pappardelle pasta.
Hi Daniel, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed!
Hi Daniel, how long did you cook it in the slow cooker?
I’d give it 10 stars if you want. It was wonderful on mashed potatoes. Thank you.
Hi Peggy, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed it!
Hi Jim, I made your Italian Beef Stew recipe yesterday and my husband and I loved it. I cut the recipe in half since it was just the two of us. I served it on noodles and it was a perfectly delicious dinner. Many thanks for your wonderful recipes!
Hi Barbara, so happy you enjoyed this one and really appreciate the comment!
Great recipe. Made it on the stovetop instead of the oven like my nonna used to rather than the oven and came out fantastic. Thanks for this recipe!
Hi Jon, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed the beef stew!
Thanks for the detailed well articulated instructions. That’s thoughtful of you.. I tried Martha Stewart’s recipe and other recipes before but yours is the best. It’s more tasty and because the instructions are clear, I am more organized when I’m
following you.
Hi Flordeliza, I’m so happy you’re finding the instructions to be clear and helpful in organizing. I appreciate the comment, thanks!
Thanks so much for what you do Jim! I’m making this for Christmas Eve and it’s just perfect. Hope you and yours have a happy holiday season.
Hi Matt, thanks for the comment and hope you enjoyed and had a great Christmas!
I’ve made this a few times and I have been doubling the amount of mushrooms. It is so amazing. I leave them in pretty big chunks and after cooking they are like savory fruit bursting with all the flavor of the sauce and beef. Best. Thing. Ever.
Hi Ben, thanks for the comment and so happy you’ve enjoyed this one!
Hey Jim,
Im a polenta novice and based on my top chef watching experience I get the impression it’s easy to mess up. Do you think you’ll add a recipe in the future for how you do it? Or at least add it to this recipe? Might be a “no duh” thing but i’d love the measurements easily accessible here so I can add them to my grocery list 🙂 Could be cool to see a whole video dedicated to different kinds / flavors of polenta too! Love the recipes, you’ve gotten me back into cooking, thanks very much!
Hi Lew, at some point I’ll put a recipe up on the site but for now you can watch me make it on YouTube. I make polenta in the video for this recipe and in my Peposo video. Hope that helps and happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
Thanks Jim! I ended up making this today and im SHAKEN by how delicious it is. So far this and the short rib ragu have been so delicious that im adding them to my forever recipes. I even successfully made the polenta! Thanks so much for the great recipes and videos – you’ve got a subscriber for life!
Hi Lew, I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed the beef stew and the polenta too! Really appreciate your kind words and the support!
Are you kidding me? This is beyond fabulous. Cutting a chuck roast really ups the game. Hesitated to add wine as one of us doesn’t like it, but he didn’t pick up on that. Leaves a rich almost sweet note. I’m so full right now. A+++++ Thanks Jim!!
Hi Max, I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the comment!
Hello,
I’m excited to make this for my guests this Friday night. Do you think the flavors of this dish would deepen if I made it a day ahead or is it best to make the hours before my guests arrive. I’ve never made this dish before, but I’m excited to enjoy it.
Hi Elana, you can make this a day ahead, and yes, the flavors would definitely intensify that way. You can place the whole Dutch oven in the refrigerator and before you reheat on the stove, skim some of the fat off the top. Hope you and your guests enjoy!
Phenomenal as always. The second time I made this, I added 6oz of tomato paste between the meat browning and the wine. Was a great addition.
Hi Rachel, I’m so happy you enjoyed this one and really appreciate the comment!