This is a classic Farmhouse Amish Beef Stew one-pot meal found in many Amish kitchens on a weekend. The stew can simmer for a long time and fill up the house with an amazing aroma. Good stuff! This recipe comes to us from an Amish woman in Vinton County, Ohio. This beef stew recipe is full of flavor using chunks of fresh beef, a blend of delicious veggies, and spices to bring out the best.
Stews like this are popular year-round in Amish kitchens because they are easy and filling and during the summer the veggies can basically go from garden to stovetop in a matter of minutes. So you get a fresh, delicious stew.
During the summer months when this stew is enjoyed many Amish do cook in summer kitchens. Or, I was at an Amish home recently in Hardin County, Ohio and the Amish family had a kerosene stove on their front porch. That way a dish like this that might simmer for hours won't turn the house into a furnace, because, typically, an Amish home is already going to be very hot during the summer because the vast majority would not have air-conditioning.
For many Amish cooks these one-pot meals are a go-to during busy times. They can just up the veggies, brown the beef, put it all in a pot and let a warm stove-top work its magic. A nice cut up chuck roast makes a great stew meat.
Farmhouse Amish Beef Stew
By the way, Amish cooking methods are varied. Many Amish cooks still use wood-stoves to cook upon, while others prefer kerosene, and others use gas. And, finally, some Amish would cook a stew like this in a kettle over an open fire. Man, that is what really gives it a good smoky flavor. Perhaps the best thing about a stew like this is that you can be inventive and creative. If you decide to add some corn or peas or a dash of Worcestershire sauce, you aren't going to hurt anything. Just tailor it to your taste.
Simmer until the meat is nice and tender on medium heat. All the vegetables add super color and flavor, feel free to add more veggies of your choice. And the addition of bay leaves are a nice flavor enhancer. Garlic cloves, black pepper, marjoram, rosemary, and fresh thyme are all spices that are not in this recipe but would be interesting flavors to add.
You could make this Farmhouse Beef Stew in a slow cooker. A splash of red wine would also be a welcome addition, although most Amish would not have that on hand.
For the potatoes, you can use russet potatoes or Yukon Gold, really, whatever your favorite is. Even red potatoes.
I'd eat mine more like the photo directly above, potatoes bathed in butter and the stew paired with bread!
The below recipe gives you a baseline to work from - a delicious one - but the rest is up to you. You can add and subtract as your taste buds see fit.
🥣 Farmhouse Amish Beef Stew
🍲Stew Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cups tomato juice or V8 juice
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ Tablespoon pepper
- ½ Tablespoon paprika
- pinch of ground cloves
- 6 carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
- 6 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
- 1 cup of fresh garden peas
- ½ cup cold water mixed with ¼ cup flour (Used at end to thicken the stew)
📋Instructions
- In a large pot, brown beef cubes in the olive oil for about 20 minutes.
- Add the chopped onion, hot water, tomato/V8 juice, salt, lemon juice, sugar,
- Worcestershire sauce, pepper, paprika, and cloves.
- Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and carrots then simmer an hour longer.
- Stir in the water and flour slurry and stir the stew until smooth.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes before serving.
More Amish Stew Recipes
A good stew warms the heart and fills the belly in an easy and economical way. A hunk of bread to dip in the steaming broth is pure bliss. Check out these other Amish stews:
Nothing like hearty meatballs swimming in stew!
A basic, no-frills stew!
Everything is better with dumplings!
This is commonly known as a "low country boil", this is an Amish version!
📖 Full Recipe
Amish Farmhouse Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion large chopped
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cups tomato or V8 juice
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- 6 carrots whole peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 6 potatoes whole peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 cup fresh garden peas
- ½ cup cold water
- ½ cup flour mix flour and water together
- pinch cloves, ground optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown beef cubes in the olive oil forabout 20 minutes.
- Add the chopped onion, hot water, tomato/V8 juice, salt,lemon juice, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, paprika, and cloves.
- Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Addthe potatoes and carrots then simmer an hour longer.
- Stir in the water and flour slurry and stir the stew untilsmooth.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes before serving.
Sharon
This is I have to say a great beef stew. Much much better than I have ever made before. It's a keeper for sure.
I had everything but the ground cloves for it. I used V8 juice instead of tomato juice and made it 1/2 recipe on Saturday and on Sunday I made a whole recipe. Lots of carrots and potatoes in it.
Thank you for the recipe.
Kevin
Oh wow, thank you for telling me Sharon, I always like to hear feedback...and if you ever make an Amish365 recipe and can email me a photo of it, I'd love to post it!
Sharon
I sure will Kevin.
I am going to try the potato salad where you grate the potatoes ect this week to see how it is.
When I read that you make the dressing for it instead of just using Mayo or salad dressing I kinda went What? It seems that the dressing that you put on it is the same recipe that my Grandmother used for all her salad dressing. We call it Grandma Wilson's salad dressing. My mother used it all the time for salads
She was German and br in Hazelton Pa Her parents coming from Germany. She was German Lutheran not Amish but the recipe is the exact same as hers. So putting it in a Potato salad is going to be interesting. I don't think anyone in the family thought to use it in potato salad. She was a very good cook and learned from her mother as did her sisters.
I really enjoy reading the recipes from you and have made several of them.
Sharon
Kevin
Sharon, interesting...I'll be interesting to hear what you think. I have a good friend who is from Hazleton (last name Hamer)..but the Pennsylvania Dutch (Hazleton area) culinary connection between the Amish, Mennonites and Brethren is pretty strong, so this is an interesting comment!
Sharon
I'll let you know how the potato salad came out re taste. We don't have big sweet pickles to grate so I will have to use the little ones in the jar. Will take a picture also
Sharon L Crowley
Kevin
I made the grated potato salad today. Only I was asked not to grate the potatoes. So washed my hands cleaned my nails and mushed them up with my hands. I followed the recipe to a T cept for the hand mushing potatoes. [ when you take a whole potato and peel the skin off and not allow a knife to touch it and take your hands and break it up to bite size pieces and go from there with everything else the potatoes seem to take on a better flavor we found. ]
The recipe is GOOD! Well worth making. Am going to add some color to it tho with small pieces of either green sweet peppers or red one.
The people who live on my land next to me are having a Easter Fiesta Bar B Q tomorrow out in the field under the big Oak trees so the potato salad is for the BBQ. Wasn't sure how they were going to like the potato salad with a different dressing.
Well I got the potato salad good and cold like the recipe said and just came down from their house where I had a sample of it. 2 kids 1 teenager and 2 adults all gave it a thumbs up. They wanted more lol They loved it. So did I. I was told for future BBQs to make that recipe for potato salad from now on.
So down here in Texas it got 10 stars.
Mrs Yoder's Baked Beans are next for the next BBQ they have. [ They love BBQ's and have them a lot. ]
Have a safe and great Easter there
Sharon
Kevin
Awesome, Sharon, glad to know Rosanna's recipe is a hit in the Lone Star State!
Jacie
in the recipe I do not see loves...however in the instructions it says add cloves. This sounds like a very good stew recipe,,but I am confused,
Kevin Williams
Thanks, Jacie, for pointing that omission out, I added the proper cloves amount.