Beef

Beef Stifado – Greek Beef Stew

Beef Stifado is packed with intense flavour and cooked low and slow until the meat is melt in the mouth

Serves 4
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 2 hours
Total 2 hours

Take a look at my recipe video and step by step tutorial and make traditional Stifado (or Stifatho) on the hob/ oven, slow cooker or the Instant Pot.

What Is Stifado?

Stifatho (στιφάδο) or stifado is a traditional Greek stew. Beef Stifado is probably most well known outside of Greece, but you can also make this stew with pork, lamb, seafood or rabbit.

The other main ingredients in stifado is an abundance shallots or small pearl onions – these lend a wonderful sweetness to the rich sauce which has a truly mouthwatering aroma from the cloves, cinnamon and allspice.

A close-up of a hearty Greek beef stew, or beef stifado, with chunks of beef, whole pearl onions, carrots, and herbs in a rich brown broth, garnished with chopped parsley.

Here’s What You’ll Need

I have simplified my Stifado recipe to make it a little easier on the home cook – the depth of flavour is the same so why not save some prep time?

If you are not hugely fond of the pearl onions you can use chopped shallots instead. This stew is suitable for popular weight loss diets like Weight Watchers and Slimming World with minor modifications, noted in italics.

Olive oil or a low calorie cooking spray
Beef – choose a cut suitable for long cooking like braising steak and trim any visible bits of fat
Pearl onions or small shallots – these can be a bit fiddly to peel, feel free to use frozen pearl onions for ease. Larger shallots (banana shallots) will melt more into the sauce and I actually prefer them
Cinnamon stick, orange peel, allspice berries, whole cloves and bay leaves – these aromatics should not be skipped! You can replace the whole cloves and allspice with ground in a pinch
Brown sugar or Sukrin Gold for a slimming version
Garlic, celery, carrots
Tomato purée (or paste) and chopped tomatoes from a tin
Red wine vinegar – adds a lovely touch of acidity
Red wine and beef stock – for a slimming version you can use an Oxo red wine stock cube instead
Fresh parsley to garnish

A bowl of mashed potatoes topped with a hearty Greek beef stew, garnished with fresh parsley, sits on a decorative plate.

How to Make My Beef Stifado Recipe

The stew is partially cooked on the hob in a large lidded pot (I swear by my Greenpan used in the video and photos) then finished in the oven where it cooks low and slow until the beef is meltingly tender and the sauce has thickened. See below for instant pot and slow cooker variations.

Marinate the Beef and Prep the Onions

Place the pearl onions in a bowl, unpeeled, and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for five minutes then drain. Cut the root end off and peel the skins off – the water will soften them and make it much easier to peel.
{ Optional } If you have the time to prep ahead you can marinate the beef with the wine, vinegar, garlic, clove, allspice, bay leaves and orange peel. Place everything in a bowl, mix well, cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Make the Stifado

Sear the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely coloured then set aside. If you are using cooking pray you might need to mist a few times.
Deglaze the pan with a splash or red wine or beef stock, scraping any browned bits that have stuck to the pot.

Add the vegetables: chopped shallots, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, spices, sugar (or sweetener), and cook over low heat for 10 minutes until softened. If the pan gets too dry you can add a splash of stock.

Chopped carrots, celery, onions, garlic, spices, a cinnamon stick, and a bay leaf are placed in a black pot on a stovetop—classic ingredients for Beef stifado, a traditional Greek beef stew, ready for cooking.

Add the beef back into the pot. Stir tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, stock/wine and bring to a rolling simmer. Cover and cook in a preheated oven for 2 ½ hours until the sauce has thickened and meat is tender.

A hand pours a dark liquid from a small white cup into a pot filled with chunks of beef, carrots, onions, and bay leaves on a stovetop—perfect for preparing a classic beef stifado recipe.

Discard the bay leaves, orange peel and cinnamon stick. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve.

pot of greek beef stew garnished with parsley

Serving Suggestions

Serve with mashed or roast potatoes with some crusty bread to mop up the delicious sauce. In Greece, stifado is sometimes served with rice, orzo or other types of pasta but I think the potatoes are a better match.

Recipe Tips

SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS You can cook this beef stew in a crockpot after doing some initial prep on the stove. Some slow cookers have a searing function or allow for the inner pot to be used on the hob in which case you can make the entire recipe in your cooker.
LEFTOVERS AND STORAGE: This stew keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. You might need to add a bit of water when reheating.
FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS Allow the stew to cool down, remove the cinnamon, orange peel and bay leaves, then divide into suitable containers. Use within three months, defrosting overnight in the fridge before reheating.
VARIATIONS Replace the beef with pork or lamb (suitable for stews) or with rabbit.

A bowl of mashed potatoes topped with beef stifado and garnished with parsley, held by a person with red nail polish. A fork rests in the bowl on a patterned table surface.

HAVE YOU MADE MY STIFADO RECIPE? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #Nusde and make my day!

Recipe

Beef Stifado

Beef Stifado (Greek Beef Stew) is packed with intense flavour and cooked low and slow until the meat is melt in the mouth tender. This hearty stew is the perfect comfort food to serve on cold winter days.

Serves 4
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 2 hours
Total 2 hours

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil (or low calorie cooking spray)
2 lb (900g) chuck steak (cubed)
½ cup (125ml) red wine (sub with stock)
15 small unpeeled shallots or pearls onions (or 4 large shallots roughly chopped)
3 large carrots (peeled and chopped)
2 sticks celery (finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic (peeled and thinly sliced)
1 tbsp brown sugar (or Sukrin Gold for slimming version)
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick (broken in two)
¼ tsp ground allspice (or 5 whole allspice berries)
¼ tsp ground black pepper
⅛ tsp ground cloves (or 5 whole cloves)
1 strip orange peel (optional)
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
14 oz (400g) can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup (250ml) beef stock (or broth)
salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
2 tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped, to serve)

Method

Peel pearl onions or shallots

1
Place the onions or shallots in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for five minutes then drain. Cut the root end off and peel the skins off – the water will soften them and make it much easier to peel.

Stovetop Method

2
Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C). Heat the oil in a large lidded pot (Dutch Oven) or mist with cooking spray. Brown the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely colored then set aside.
3
Deglaze the pan with a splash or red wine or beef stock, scraping any browned bits that have stuck to the pot.
4
Add the peeled onions, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, spices, bay leaves, orange peel, cinnamon stick sugar (or sweetener). Cook over low heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. If the pot gets too dry you can add a splash of stock.
5
Stir in the beef, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, beef stock and bring to a rolling simmer.
6
Cover and cook in a preheated oven for 2 ½ hours until the sauce has thickened and meat is tender.
7
Discard the cinnamon stick, orange peel and bay leaves. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
8
Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve with roast potatoes or mash and some crusty bread.

Instant Pot Method

9
Heat the oil in your Instant Pot using Saute/High. Brown the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely coloured then set aside.
10
Add the chopped shallots, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, spices, bay leaves, orange peel, cinnamon stick sugar (or sweetener).
11
Stir in the beef, red wine vinegar and a total of 1/2 cup (120ml) liquid either beef stock or half stock half red wine.
12
Add the chopped tomatoes and puree but do not stir. Seal the pot and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 35 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally.
13
If the stew requires further thickening, consider adding 1 tbsp cornflour diluted in equal amount of cold water and heating through.
14
Discard the cinnamon stick, orange peel and bay leaves. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Slow Cooker Method

15
Heat the oil in a large lidded pot (Dutch Oven) or mist with cooking spray. Brown the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely coloured then set aside.
16
Deglaze the pan with a splash or red wine or beef stock, scraping any browned bits that have stuck to the pot.
17
Add the chopped shallots, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, spices, bay leaves, orange peel, cinnamon stick sugar (or sweetener). Cook over low heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. If the pot gets too dry you can add a splash of stock.
18
Stir in the beef, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar and and a total of 1/2 cup (120ml) liquid either beef stock or half stock half red wine. Bring to a simmer.
19
Transfer to slow cooker, cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 6. If the liquid needs to be reduced further, continue to cook on HIGH uncovered for a further 30 minutes.

Notes

STORAGE: This stew keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. You might need to add a bit of water when reheating. FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS Allow the stew to cool down, remove the cinnamon, orange peel and bay leaves, then divide into suitable containers. Use within three months, defrosting overnight in the fridge before reheating.