With the cooling weather I have been craving more hearty stews like this fall harvest inspired beef stew! This is a pretty basic beef stew with beef and potatoes in a broth where some of the potatoes are replaced with sweet potatoes (or butternut squash) and apple sauce along with a touch of cinnamon are added to bring in the fall flavours. I like to season this soup with rosemary and thyme along with Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce for layers of flavour and umami! The stew is simmered until the beef is falling apart tender and the potatoes and carrots are added near the end of the simmering so that they get tender but still retain some of their texture. This sweet potato and apple beef stew is the perfect meal for cool fall days!
Sweet Potato Beef Stew
A fall harvest beef stew with sweet potatoes and a hint of apples and cinnamon.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound beef, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups (2 medium) potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups (1 large) sweet potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (gluten-free for gluten-free) (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or soy sauce) (gluten-free for gluten-free) (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the beef, tossed in the flour, and brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side, before setting aside.
- Add the onions and celery and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic tomato paste, rosemary, and thyme, mix well and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add 1/2 cup of broth and deglaze the pan by scraping up any brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon as the broth sizzles.
- Add the remaining broth, apple sauce, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, and beef, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, until the beef is falling apart tender, about 2 hours.
- Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots and simmer, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and enjoying!
Option: Add 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced, along with the veggies.
Option: Add 1 teaspoon sage, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage)!
Option: Replace the sweet potatoes with butternut squash.
Option: Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries along with the sweet potatoes.
Option: Add 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen) near the end.
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