Name: French Onion Beef Stew (Paleo, Whole30)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Whole30
Ingredients: 1.5-2lb beef, cubed; 2 yellow onions, diced; 1.5 lbs potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces; 2 cups beef broth; 2 tbs red wine vinegar; 1 tbps balsamic vinegar; 1/4 cup Onion soup mix; 1 tbsp umani seasoning (Optional - I get mine at Trader Joe's); 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbps avocado oil (or olive oil)

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This healthy and hearty French Onion Beef Stew is a one of a kind original. By combining the flavours of french onion soup with the heartiness of a beef stew, a deliciously easy French Onion Beef Stew was created. Keto and Whole30 approved with only a handful of ingredients, make this tonight and see if your own "Mr. Grumbles" don't go looking for second helpings.

99.9% of this blog is about me and what I like to eat and cook. Selfish? Yes, but since it is a healthier alternative to other ways of cooking, I'm ok with it!

Who gets the remaining 0.1% of the recipe creations?

You guessed it! Mr. Grumbles himself!

You see, the other day, Mr. Grumbles and I had a slight little argument.

Over what, you may ask?

Over the fact that every so often, Mr. Grumbles would like his food to be simple. Yes... his argument was that every so often he would like his broccoli to look like plain broccoli and his pizza crust to be made from gluten.

GASP!!! HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LIKE A BEET PIZZA CRUST???!!!

You can see what sort of pickle I was in!

I am not simple nor do I believe in eating boring food. The entire point of my blog is to create easy inventive and healthy food.

I don't "do" simple!

After having my own little private temper tantrum, I realized that there are probably more people like Mr. Grumbles then there are like me.

So, putting a smile back on my face, I "cheerfully" asked Mr. Grumbles what he would like me to cook next.

His reply..."Beef Stew".

Seriously??!!!! How much boring can we get then cooking "Beef Stew"?

Anyway, for the sake of our marriage, we set out hand in hand (yeah right!!) to the grocery store.

When I picked out rutabaga to use instead of potatoes, he gave me a dirty look

When I grabbed the multi-coloured carrots, another dirty look.

So, I finally conceded to make a stew consisting of basically, meat and potatoes.

And boy am I ever glad I did!

By adding red wine vinegar, a little balsamic vinegar and some of my Onion Soup Mix, I managed to create the most delicious, hearty and still healthy French Onion Beef Stew.

How to make French Onion Beef Stew

sear the beef to quickly lock all the juices and flavour
add the vegetables and saute them slightly to add some depth to the dish
cook it in an InstaPot, slow cooker or in the oven

Seriously, that is all it takes to make this beef stew.

Which way is the best way to cook this stew?

Honestly, it all depends on how much time you have. I would probably guess that cooking the stew in the oven would yield the best flavour. However, it would only be the tiniest increase in taste that I do not think it is necessary.

With that being said, here are the necessary adjustments needed for this recipe depending on the method of choice.

Oven - This method is from Taste of Home

In a large dutch oven, add oil. Sear beef without turning for 3-5 minutes or until just beginning to brown. You may need to do this in multiple batches depending on the size of your dutch oven.
Remove beef and add chopped onion, cooking until starting to brown. Add tomato paste and stir into onion. Add in the beef broth, onion soup mix, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and Unami seasoning (if using). Stir everything together. Next, add back in the beef, place the lid over the dish and cook it in the oven at 350 degrees of 1 hour.
When the hour is up, add in the carrots and potato and return it to the oven for another hour or until vegetables are tender.

Slow Cooker

If your slow cooker has a "sear" function, you can use it. Other, heat oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Once the oil has heated, add in the beef. Cook without stirring for 3-4 minutes or until beginning to brown on one side. Turn beef and cook 1 more minute. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add chopped onion, cooking until starting to brown. Add tomato paste and stir into onion.
Add onions and beef to the slow cooker and stir in the beef broth, onion soup mix, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and Unami seasoning (if using). Stir everything together and set on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.
Once the time is up, add in carrots and potato. Turn slow cooker on for another 1 hour on high and 2 hours on low or until vegetables have softened.

Pressure Cooker

Put the pressure cooker on "saute-hi". Add oil and once hot, add in beef, not stirring for 3 minutes. Stir once and cook for another 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Add onion to pressure cooker and cook until starting to brown. Add in tomato paste and stir to combine. Add in all ingredients (including beef, potatoes and carrots).
Turn pressure cooker to "pressure" and cook for 25 minutes. Allow pressure to release slowly.

What is the difference between "braising" and "stewing"?

When you braise a steak, you partially immerse it in liquid after lightly frying it to lock the juices inside. When you stew your meat, you don’t fry it first. You just put it into the liquid as you would with all the other ingredients when you make a quintessential stew.

What type of beef should you use to make French Onion Beef Stew

Good stewing cuts include:

Chuck steaks (including shoulder London broil and other shoulder steaks)
Shank cuts
Plate steaks
Round cuts (including bracciole, sandwich, and silverside steaks Rump and oxtails)

Do not buy pre-cut stew meat from your grocery store to make stew.

I know it sounds counterintuitive but according to the Kitchn, packages of pre-cut stew meat are often assembled by the butcher or meat department from the odds and ends from other different cuts. While this might sound like a good thing, this isn’t actually the best news for your stew.

All those little scraps from different muscle groups often cook quite differently. Some might take longer or slower, resulting in some perfectly tender bites and some tough and chewy bites. Also, some of the scraps will probably be quite lean, while others contain a lot of fat, and still others have a good amount of gristle. These inconsistencies make it difficult to cook a stew where every bite gives you the same, delicious experience.

Tips and Tricks for the Perfect French Onion Beef Stew

If the stew seems to thin, simply boil off some of the liquid or take 1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder and mix it with ¼ cup of cold water. Whisk the two ingredients together and then add it to the boiling stew, stirring every so often
Add additional salt and pepper to taste
Add 1 tablespoon of honey for a slightly sweet twist to the stew

How does Mr. Grumbles like his French Onion Stew

Add a package of gluten-free McCormick gravy the French Onion Stew and boil for 5 minutes. Next, add the stew to a bowl and top it with a Smartbun and a slice of Swiss cheese. Place the stew under the broiler for 5 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. (Use the coupon code "Cat" and you can save 10% off your Smartbun purchase...And yes, I earn a measly commission but I ABSOLUTELY love their products so I would promote them even if they did not pay me!)

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French Onion Beef Stew (Paleo, Whole30)

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Print Recipe

Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x

Instructions

Since I made this in my Ninja all-in-one, I am going to give you those directions. For all other methods of cooking, please see post for details.

Set pressure cooker to "saute - hi" and add oil. While oil heats, lightly add some salt and pepper to the beef.
Once oil has heated, add in the beef and let cook (without stirring) for 3-4 minutes. Turn beef over and cook for another 3 minutes or until starting to brown. Remove from pot.
Add chopped onion to pot and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until onions begin to brown. Add in tomato paste and stir to combine.
Next, add in broth, vinegars and seasonign and stir into the onion mixture. Add in beef, carrots and potatoes and stir to combine.
Turn pressure cooker to "pressure" feature and set for 25 minutes.
Once cooked, allow pressure cooker to slowly release pressur
If liquid seems to thing, simply place pressure cooker back to saute and boil off some of the liquide.
Taste and add more salt and pepper to suit your tastes.

Notes

See post on other methods of thickening sauce
Mr. Grumbles favourite modifications are to add a packet of McCormick Gluten-Free Gravy to the mix and let it boil until it thickens. Then add a slice of bread on top with a piece of Swiss Cheese. Place mixture under broiler until cheese begins to bubble and brown. Obviously, this is no longer a Whole30 or Paleo approved meal but it keeps our marriage on good terms!:-)

Author: Cat
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Category: Main Meals
Cuisine: Whole30, Keto, Gluten Free, Dairy Free