What to Make with Stew Meat (Other Than Beef Stew)

Beef stew meat is an economical cut of beef that can be used in a variety of popular recipes, not just beef stew. From enchiladas to slow cooker pepper steak to beef stroganoff, here are some beef stew alternatives that can really stretch your budget.

Beef stew meat is a less expensive cut of beef that is easy to find in a grocery store. Since we’re always looking for ways to stretch our budget, we came up with a list of recipes for this cheap cuts. Even though it’s labeled as “beef stew,” you can use the stew meat in a multitude of dishes like beef stroganoff with egg noodles, enchiladas, beef paprikash, chili, and slow cooker pepper steak, just to name a few!

What is stew meat?

Did you know if you look at a beef chart, there isn’t a cut of beef labeled “stew meat.” The term “stew meat” is used to describe meat that is cut into beef cubes and packaged together. It can come from a variety of different cuts, like chuck, round or sirloin. Essentially, it’s trimmings of certain primal cuts.

A very high-level overview of the process is, when a whole beef is being butchered, there’s always some leftover (or trimmings) that aren’t quite big enough to turn into roasts. The trimmings are cut into beef tips, packaged together, and labeled as stew meat.

How to cook stew meat

When cooking beef, it’s important to match the cut of beef with the correct cooking method. Some beef cuts are ideal for quick-cooking, like grilling, and others need slow-cooking methods, like stewing. A lot of people don’t recognize that different cuts require different cooking time, which is why their beef doesn’t come out as desired. When you learn the difference in cuts and cooking methods, you won’t ruin beef.

Stew meat comes from areas on the cow that are well-worked muscles, like the shoulder, leg, and rump. These areas have lots of connective tissue so the cuts are tougher, but they also have fat and marbling for flavor. By cooking these cuts for a long time in liquid, the muscle fibers relax and tough connective tissue break down into a gelatin, which results in tender beef. If you try and cook it quickly, it will be very tough.

Comparatively, tender cuts of beef, like tenderloin and ribeye, are ideal for quick-cooking methods like grilling for a short period of time. Because these cuts are already soft, cooking them for long periods of time will dry them out and make them chewy.

How to make beef stew meat tender?

The secret to making beef stew tender is the cook time. As explained above, certain cuts, like chuck, get more tender as they cook. If you’re using chuck and the beef isn’t tender enough, simply keep cooking until it is tender.

What kind of meat do you use for beef stew? Is beef stew meat the same as beef chuck?

You can make your own stew meat, or buy it at the grocery store pre-packaged. If you decide to make your own, there are five beef cuts that we recommend:

1. Chuck – Chuck is from the animal’s shoulder. It’s our favorite choice for stew meat. It is full of good marbling (remember, marbling = flavor), and it’s an economical cut. If you’re looking for stew meat and can’t find it prepackaged, you can purchase a boneless beef chuck roast and cut it into pieces. You’ll be very happy that you did.
2. Round – Round is a lean and inexpensive cut. It’s from the cow’s rump and hind legs, so it’s tough with low fat.
3. Sirloin – Sirloin cuts are from the back of the cow, behind the ribs. The sirloin cut is typically more expensive than a chuck, and for that reason, it’s not as popular for stew meat.
4. Brisket – Did you know you can make amazing stews with brisket? The brisket is the steer’s breast. Brisket is usually tough and contains a substantial amount of fat. Cook it low and slow and it melts in your mouth.
5. Oxtail – Oxtail is from the tail of the cow. They have a very high fat content, and lots of gelatin in the bone. Many people avoid cooking oxtail because of the cut of beef makes them squeamish and because of the price. Oxtail is expensive because of limited availability — after all, there’s only one oxtail on an animal.

Stew Meat Recipes: What can I make with stew meat, other than beef stew?

You can use stew meat in any recipe that calls for chuck or round roast and that braises the meat in liquid for a period of time.  If you decide to adjust a recipe you’ve found, simply swap in the beef in the equal weight. Here are a few of our favorite stew meat recipe ideas:

Easy & Best Beef Stew Recipe

Yes, we know this blog post has been talking about dishes you can make with stew meat other than stew, but we had to start with this homemade beef stew recipe. This is a go-to, one-pot meal, comfort food recipe in our house in the fall.

Our version of this classic beef stew recipe has rich flavor, takes a couple of minutes to throw together, and our whole family loves it. The ingredients include with stew beef (obviously!), beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, carrots, potatoes, salt, black pepper, olive oil, butter, and a pinch of sugar. As a variation, other great veggies to include are celery, red potatoes, parsnips, and sweet potatoes.

There are lots of ways to cook this hearty beef stew recipe — slow cooker, pressure cooker, or in a large dutch oven. We typically either use the slow cooking method or stove top in a large pot and cook over low heat. The result of any of these cooking methods is tender chunks of beef that have braised in beef stock for hours, and the stew is sure to make your taste buds happy. Get the recipe for Easy Beef Stew

Stuffed Pepper Soup

If you like traditional stuffed bell peppers, this soup is for you. It has all the same flavors, but instead of stuffing individual peppers, you put all the ingredients in one pot and make comforting soup. This recipe is very versatile and can be made with ground beef or stew meat. First, cook the beef (stew meat or ground beef) in a large pot over medium-high heat. Then, you simply add the the remaining ingredients — bell peppers, onion, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, Italian seasoning, rice — and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Get the recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup

Beef Enchiladas

When you braise a large piece of meat for hours it gets so tender that it falls apart when you stick a fork in it. So, if you shred that tender meat, it’s ideal for beef enchiladas. Whether you’re making a weeknight family dinner or cooking for guests, this beef enchilada recipe is always a hit. It’s full of flavor and easy to make with either ground beef or any left-over chuck roast you happen to have on hand. Get the recipe for Beef Enchilada Recipe

Chili

Yes, beef chili can absolutely be made with ground beef. But you can also upgrade the beef flavor by using stew meat. Everyone has their own favorite chili recipe, and we’ve never found a recipe you can’t swap stew meat in for. Just be sure to slowly simmer the it with spices and beans. After a couple of hours, it’ll be succulent and tender. Get the recipe for Three Bean Crockpot Chili

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

Typically, when we make pepper steak on the stove top we use sirloin or flank steak. However, when making pepper steak in a slow cooker, you can substitute stew meat because it has a chance to cook longer in liquid. We don’t recommend using stew meat in the stovetop version of this recipe, but it works in a slow cooker. Get the recipe for Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Italian Beef is a flavorful, drippy, cheesy, amazingly good sandwich that everyone needs to try! The main ingredient of an Italian beef is roasted beef, that is typically sirloin tip roast, chuck roast or top round roast.  The beef is slow cooked for hours with a blend of herbs and spices until it literally falls apart. Next, the beef is piled high on a hoagie bun and topped with pepperoncini, giardiniera (pickled Italian vegetables), and provolone cheese. Get the recipe for Italian Beef Sandwiches.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This recipe has so much flavor! Stuff colorful bell peppers with beef, tomatoes, rice, and cheese, and you’ll have a hearty meal that satisfies everyone. When making this with stew meat, you will swap out the ground beef for stew meat. Get the recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers.

Easy Beef Stir Fry

This easy Beef Stir Fry recipe is better than take-out and can be made in just 30 minutes! The beef is sauteed with a variety of colorful vegetables and coated in a quick and easy homemade teriyaki sauce. Get the recipe for Easy Beef Stir Fry.

Beef Nachos Supreme

This is the best beef nacho supreme recipe. It’s a Taco Bell copy cat recipe, but it tastes so much better. When using stew meat, you’ll shred the beef over the nachos, rather than using ground beef. These nachos are made with beef, black beans, cheese, and your favorite toppings. Perfect for game day! Get the recipe for Beef Nachos Supreme.

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

This recipe is on repeat at our house because it’s soooo easy. Who needs take-out when you can make this in a crock-pot. This slow cooker recipe comes together with flank steak or stew meat, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and soy sauce. Get the recipe for Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

We love stir fry recipes because they’re so easy to make. You can have this meal on the table in 20-minutes with a simple stew meat swap. Get the recipe for Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry.

Stew Meat Kabobs

Yes, we know this recipe may seem out of place, but you really can make excellent kabobs with stew meat. This recipe features stew meat and vegetables skewered together and grilled to prefection. The reason stew meat works in this recipe is because you marinate it for about 8-hours and cut it into small, bite-sized pieces. The result is an easy, budget-friendly Beef Kabob recipe that everyone loves. Get the recipe for Stew Meat Kabobs.

Kitchen products we love:

• Meat Thermometer

One more thing!

Do you want to learn more about beef? Join our weekly e-newsletter where we share farm happenings, recipes and beef availability. Sign-up and get a cheat sheet with 9-must-ask questions before buying beef directly from a farmer. Or, we have an entire ebook about beef that goes through purchasing and preparing beef from a cattle farmers perspective.

Here are a few other links you may like:

• What everybody ought to know about beef cuts
• Buying a Cow. How Much Beef Is It?
• 7 Steps to Grilling a Steak to Perfection
• How We Raise Our Grass Fed Beef
• Bonfire Burger
• Prime Rib Roast with Garlic Herb Butter

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