French Onion Beef Stew

A large pot full of beef stew with carrots.

This French Onion Beef Stew combines two classic soup recipes into one. Rich and flavorful French onion soup is paired with tender, savory beef for the most delicious comfort food dinner. This is one of my favorite soup recipes and is easy to make in the crockpot, too!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 4 30

Total Time 4 50

Servings

Calories 345

Author Ashlyn Edwards | Belle of the Kitchen

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
5 medium yellow onions sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds chuck roast cut into small chunks
2 Tablespoons granulated beef bouillon I recommend Caldo de Res from Knorr
3-4 cloves garlic minced
1 packet beefy onion soup mix
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces baby carrots
3 cups water

Instructions

Melt butter in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes until soft and carmelized. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Be careful not to burn the onions; adjust heat to a lower temperature if need be.
In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef chunks in a single layer and brown on all sides without cooking all the way through. Stir in the Caldo de Res and the minced garlic until the beef is well coated.
Transfer the cooked beef mixture to the pot with the onions (make sure to scrape out all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot; so much flavor there!) Add the beefy onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, carrots, and water.
Turn heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 2-3 hours until carrots are soft and beef is tender.

Notes

Slow Cooker Option: Follow instructions through step 2 then transfer all ingredients to the crock pot. Cook over low heat for 6-8 hours until beef is tender. I end up making my French Onion Beef Stew this way the majority of the time!

Don't skimp on the onions. They add so much flavor to the stew, and you really do need all five of them! I recommend using yellow or sweet onions for the best flavor.

If you can't find beefy onion soup mix, you can use Au Jus mix or regular onion soup mix. The flavor will be a little different, though, so try your best to get the beefy onion version.

For serving, you need some crusty bread for sopping up that incredibly delicious broth! I like to make a batch of Dutch Oven Bread to serve alongside our stew.

Sprinkle some gruyere cheese over the tops of your bowls to make it more like traditional French onion soup!

Store any leftover French onion beef stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. It tastes really good the next day!

Nutrition