Easy Beef Stew (Estofado de Res)

This easy beef stew is a simple dinner yet it’s full of flavor! Serve it with some white rice and warm corn tortillas and you’re all set.

This recipe uses stew meat. I like it because it comes already chopped into pieces. So that’s less work for me.

How to make beef stew

While this is a simple recipe it is very flavorful. I start off by seasoning the meat well.

This is an important step as you want your stew to have flavor. I used salt, pepper, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and chicken bouillon.

Put the stew meat in a large bowl and add in all your seasonings. Then mix well to make sure all the meat is coated.

Let the meat rest for a bit while we prepare the sauce the meat is going to cook in.

This delicious sauce is made from roma tomatoes, garlic cloves, serrano peppers, onion, whole clove, thyme and oregano.

Just toss those ingredients into the blender with water and blend until smooth.

Now that the sauce is made we can start browning the meat.

Heat up 2 tbs of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the oil has heated up add half of the meat. I add half first so the skillet isn’t crowded. If the skillet is crowded then the meat will end up steaming instead of browning.

Let the stew meat cook for a few minutes or until browned then flip over to the other side and cook for a few more minutes. Transfer the browned meat to a plate. Then add the rest of the meat to the skillet and cook for a few minutes on both sides.

Now add all of the browned meat to the skillet.

Pour the sauce over the meat. Add bay leaves and a packet of Sazon with culantro and achiote. Stir. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.

The packet of Sazon with culantro and achiote looks like this. You should be able to find it in your local grocery store in the latin american aisle.

After the 2 hours have passed add some chopped potatoes and carrots. Continue cooking for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

The stew is now done. I like to garnish mine with some chopped cilantro. I really like the flavor but you could also use parsley if you prefer.

I love this stew and especially the flavor of the sauce. For me it wasn’t too spicy but I have a high tolerance for spicy foods. However, you can always reduce or omit the serrano peppers completely if you’re worried about it being too spicy.

This easy beef stew goes great served with white rice and warm corn tortillas.

Looking for more delicious recipes? Try these!

• Mexican meatball soup
• caldo de res (beef soup)
• lentil soup
• sopa de conchas (Mexican shell pasta soup)
• picadillo

I really hope you enjoyed todays recipe. Don’t forget to leave it a rating below. Thank you so much for visiting, see you soon!