This hearty beef stew can be prepared either on the stove top, or in a slow cooker, depending on your preference.
My family loved this stew. I used 8oz vegetable broth in place of the beef broth, and "sugar free" grape jam. I omitted the fresh parsley and I added frozen peas and corn. The sweetness from the jam was pleasant.
Read Morethe meat was so tender and really tastes good but the sauce and such just wasn't pleasent.
Read MoreMy family loved this stew. I used 8oz vegetable broth in place of the beef broth, and "sugar free" grape jam. I omitted the fresh parsley and I added frozen peas and corn. The sweetness from the jam was pleasant.
This is the ONLY way I will ever make beef stew in the future ! I've been making stew for well over 40 years and it has never turned out as tasty as this ! I followed the recipe exactly.... may reduce the jelly to 1/4 cup next time. Excellent recipe !
This was the best beef stew I've ever had. The only changes I made was to add three celery stalks chopped, one minced clove of garlic, and I used beef broth instead of water. I did not add the jelly. I also added about 2 extra tablespoons of flour right before adding the potatoes to thicken it up a bit. It was literally amazing and this recipe will be made again and again by me!! Thank you!!!
This beef stew is AWESOME! The only variations to the recipe were 1) I put the flour and pepper in a plastic bag and shook the meat up in the bag to evenly coat it and 2) I only used 1/4 cup jam after reading the other reviews. AWESOME!
Funny thing, I actually never made beef stew before and saw this recipe and the jam ingredient intrigued me. Sooo I used the sugar free jam and extra lean stew beef and thought it was fantastic! My boyfriend (picky eater) LOVED it. Brought some over to mom and she raved. I did not think the jam was overpowering at all, but did add a nice flavor and I used the amount listed in the recipe. I actually cooked it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe stated for the potatoes to be tender. I will definitely make it again, maybe adding some frozen veggies.
Great stew - I'm going to try celery in it next time. My kids are already protesting this alteration. The jam seems odd at first, but think of the grape jelly as a touch of wine and sugar - the sugar helps tone down the acidity of the tomatoes, and the grape flavor is like what wine might add to the flavor.
I used this recipe as a starting point for my own beef stew. It turned out great. I did leave out the grape jelly and added frozen veggies instead. Thank you!
I thought this stew was very good. I wanted to try a new recipe. I did add some paprika, garlic powder and celery and used beef broth instead of plain water. I think next time I will only put one-fourth cup grape jelly.
I made this for my husband and 3 young kids who aren't thrilled about beef stew. They liked this the best of any I've tried. I did add celery as others suggested and used a pint of home canned tomatoes. I would not recommend putting in the potatoes until the last 3-4 hours, or they would be mush. I cooked it on low for 8 hours and everything was very tender. I added a bit more salt and pepper and only 1/3 cup jam. Really good recipe-will make again.
I used a little olive oil to brown the meat/flour mixture. I also added a pint of tomato juice. Baby carrots worked well, cut them in half, for potatoes I used about 6 good sized peeled and chunked them up. I also only used a scant 1/4 cup of reg grape jelly, I"m glad I didn't put the 1/2 cup as stated in recipe I think would have ruined it making it too sweet for us. I also added 4 big stalks of chopped celery. Delicious stew (actually my first attempt) I will use this recipe from here on in! We had plenty of left over's and ate over rice one last time. Thank you for a great recipe!!
What a nice tender stew! The jam works great and I preferred this to other stews that call for a red wine.
I made this beef stew and it was absolutely, I mean absolutely the best stew I have made. The ingredients all came together beautifully. Along with the beef stew my 21 yr old daughter also ate a plate of crow for saying the stew was going to be nasty with the grape perserves in it (LOL) she loved the stew!!! Will definately be making this dish again!!
WOW! Very delicious! I've had meatballs made with a sauce of grape jam and ketchup, so I kind of knew what to expect because those were wonderful. This was amazing, and really great for a change from the ol' onion soup mix. I'm inspired to also try it with tomato soup mix and curry next time just because I think it would be good. Maybe even trade the grape jelly for cranberry sauce in the fall. Yummo!! Thanks!
It was simple enough to make. I prepared it exactly as directed. My kids weren't overly fond of it and I personally felt it was a bit too sweet with a slight lingering taste afterwards. I will try it again but cut the jelly in 1/2 and only use 1/4 of a cup.
4 Thumbs up (my family's thumbs)! My oldest daughter peeked into the pan halfway through because she said the smell was so good! The only mods i made were: omitted WorCestershire sauce because of my child's allergy to anchovies; grape jelly instead of jam; and beef bouillon with the water. Also, because one member of my fam has a total disliking for potatoes, I omitted them and served over rice instead.
This was my first attempt at beef stew. I chose this recipe since I like sweet/savory combinations and I wasn't disappointed. This was delicious!! Will definitely make again.
I made this for the family tonite & they raved about the stew. I must admit it did seem odd putting grape jam in the stew but after reading the reviews I knew I had to try it. It is definitely a keeper recipe.....
the meat was so tender and really tastes good but the sauce and such just wasn't pleasent.
Jam? In a stew? Who woudda thought? But it was fantastic. I halved recipe and threw in just a large heaping spoonful of jelly. We, also, intended to serve over rice so I omitted the potatoes and threw in a few peas & greenbeans. Absolutely outstanding. Can't wait to try it with the potatoes.
I love this recipe. When I saw the grape jam in this I was skeptical but gave it a try. I use either sugar free grape or blackberry jam. I think the jam adds just a really good hint of flavor. I also used crushed tomatoes instead of diced and a bit more beef broth. My sister who isn't crazy over beef stew loved it. This is the only beef stew I ever make.
I followed the directions exactly and the taste was just to bland for us. To much salt and pepper had to be added to perk up the taste. I wont be making this one again.
Dude this was epic. My kids loved it. My husband loved it. I will be making it again and again. Killer good stew!
I was looking for a stew recipe that I could make gluten, soy, corn and dairy free because my epileptic daughter is on the GARD diet. That's hard to do with all of the misc. ingredients in beef stock and bouillon. This one worked! I was afraid to sub water in other recipes, but since this one said so, I went ahead and did it. Made it in the slow cooker with Hodgen's Mill all purpose gluten free flour subbed in, and omitted the jam (yes, I know that was the whole point of this recipe...sorry Smucker's). Oh, and I couldn't use the Worcestershire sauce because of the soy. I was nervous it would be bland and that the water wasn't enough liquid but it turned out great!
This wasn't bad the first day eating it, a little sweet, but by the second day the sweetness intesified and we couldn't eat it anymore. I did use grape jelly though instead of jam because that's all we had in the house, so not sure if that was a factor in the extreme sweetness or not. Good base recipe though!
Wow. this recipe is fantastic. I did cut back a little bit on the jam...but it is the jam that makes this recipe so good. I used a little more than a 1/4 cup.
this got rave reviews from a wide variety of people and taste preferences. It's now one of my standard "go to" recipes.
Very good. Made 1/2 recipe and worked well. Would like to try a double recipe and freeze some.
oh my word...unbelievably good..though, i did add both a can of broth, and an additional can of water, though would have added an additional can of broth if I had it available. I followed others and added chopped celery, and reduced the amount of jelly to about 1/4 cup(though may go to the full 1/2 since it wasn't an obvious taste)..and used italian stewed tomatoes since that is what I had on hand..this was unbelievably good :D
I made this for dinner and thought it was fairly good but nothing outstanding. I couldn't really taste or notice the grape jam which was disappointing because i bought it specifically for this recipe. I skipped using potatoes and i used frozen carrots, and next time i would do without the tomatoes.
Very good. Followed the recipe with two changes: I didn't have the canned tomatoes, so I used 2 cups of leftover chunky spaghetti sauce that had onions and garlic in it that I needed to use up (this works amazingly well) and 2 tbsp of the jam instead of the full 1/4 cup (as per other reviews). It was really good and dh kept raving over how good it was. I didn't notice any grape jam flavor, it really does add something similar to wine (IMO). Made it in the crockpot and will do so again.
My family and I love this recipe. We leave out the jam but it's still tasty.
I made a couple of changes only because I wanted to use veggies I already had, adding a chopped bell pepper, button mushrooms, celery and instead of canned tomatoes used fresh tomatoes from my garden. Added some fresh thyme and summer savory from my garden, as ell. I did not have grape jam but instead used a homemade cherry butter. Made herb and cheddar biscuits to complete the meal. Raves!
An excellent stew. I took this to a church pot luck and got mad reviews.everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. i thought the jam was a bit odd as an ingredient but it turned out delicious. i had a soccer gameat the same time that night so I didn't get anything but broth. but from that i felt it deserved a 5 star rating. will make again.
Delicious!!!!!! I can't wait to make this for my family during the holidays when I go home!
This was an interesting stew! I enjoyed it but I am still on the fence about the grape jelly! I only used half the portion the recipe called for and when i opened the lid of my slow cooker, i instantly smelled the jelly. I can't imagine using any more than i did, but lie i said i enjoyed it!
I absolutely love this stew, it's easy and delicious. AND, I once substituted a jalapeno sweet jam instead of the grape and it gave it the PERFECT amount of kick. I make it both ways now.
this was my first time making beef stew and it was great!! used leftover flank steak (cubed) from a few nights ago, skipped the jam only beacuse i did not have any on hand, and added an extra TBS of worceshire because my boyfriend is a huge fan. very tasty- thickens well with cornmeal!
This is a good basic beef stew recipe. I browned the beef in olive oil first,after coating it in flour and I added a chopped celery stick or two.
My family loved it even my kids who don't like trying new things. I didn't add the jam but it was still just great. I've made it twice & always the slow cooker method. I recommend others to try it. Thank you for sharing it.
My family & I loved this recipe! I used 1/4 cup of jelly like the other reviewers suggested & it was the great! My husband wouldn't even share the leftovers he took them to work for lunch.
This was an awesome Beef Stew , I am not a big stew person but my spouse is, I made this last year and he said it was the best I have ever made. I even went back for seconds. The grape jam sounded strange at first but it made the gravy of the stew a wonderful consistency and it was very Yummy!!! Open your mind to trying the jam it really makes this recipe stand out from the rest. If you consider grape jam being used in Swedish meatballs, in many recipes it makes sense. I am reviewing this almost a year later when I came to reprint this recipe to make it again.
An excellent stew. I took this to a church pot luck and got mad reviews.everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. i thought the jam was a bit odd as an ingredient but it turned out delicious. i had a soccer gameat the same time that night so I didn't get anything but broth. but from that i felt it deserved a 5 star rating. will make again.
Delicious taste. Don't worry about the jam. It adds to it not harms it. I used a sugar free grape jam because for some odd reason the store didn't carry Smucker's Reduced. Took a gamble and it was still great. I added beans and corn. Deeeelish!
This stew is delicious! I am eating it as we speak. I did add celery but did not use parsley (I thought I had some, but didn't). I will definitely make it again.
This is a great recipe. I used it as a starting base for my own beef stew. I omitted the bay leaves, added some celery, extra carrots, used green beans instead of peas, and added small concha noodles - an old family trick. I added a lipton beefy noodle pkg with some extra water (since I put extra veggies & noodles). It was AMAZING! GREAT RECIPE! Will definitely make it again!
Best beef stew that I have ever made. I cooked it in a crock pot. I used 1/4 cup grape jelly but everything else was the same. My family loved it.
I made this last night and it was unbelievable how delicious it was! I first thought "how weird to put grape jam in" then I thought again, well in most good beef stews you add a good red wine so then it made sense. I couldn't even tell the jam was in it.. not that that matters to me. It was soooo good. I had a bowl last night when it finished simmering and had another bowl for dinner tonight. It really is even better the next day! It's so good and I would recommend it to anyone! I did add some frozen vegetables to mine the last 15 minutes of simmering. It came out perfect! Of course, my boyfriend who isn't a picky eater by any means, loved it. Squenched his nose up when I told him I was adding jam to it, but then he said "baby whatever you make I will eat" He's ate more of it than I have! Proof's in the pudding ( or in this case, stew) It's AMAZING!!
I am seventy years old and this is absolutly the best Beef Stew I have ever tasted. Thanks for the post.
This was EXCELLENT! I've made stew for years much like this but minus the grape jam and now I will no longer make it my old way! My entire family loved it! Thanks!
Absolutely delicious! I made a few modifications by adding celery, only using 1/4 cup of jelly and I added just a hint of all purpose seasoning. I will definitely make this again!
This was really good, I will make this again! The only changes made were that I added some celery, and I only used 1 bay leaf that I took out after about 4 hours! Otherwise I followed the recipe above exactly as above!
This was my very first time making beef stew and my boyfriend loved it! His eyes lit up when he took the first bite! It's so easy to make. The only difference to mine was that I used 4 carrots instead of 3 b/c organic carrots are smaller & a little extra reduced sugar grape Jam. I also added garlic powder to the meat and a few other spices to jazz it up. I also added more flour to make the gravy thick! It came out fabulous! So go ahead & try it!
