Hearty Beef Stew
The most expensive recipe in this collection at $15.17 — and still only $3.79 a serving, for a stew that tastes like it simmered all afternoon. Beef stew meat browns hard in the pot, then joins potatoes, carrots, onion, beef broth, and a spoonful of tomato paste for about an hour of gentle simmering until it gives way to a fork. Buying stew meat is cheaper than cutting up a roast yourself, and the long cook is what makes a tough cut tender. It is the dinner for a cold Sunday, for batch cooking, and for anyone who wants leftovers that improve overnight.
90 min
4
$15.17
$3.79
Ingredients
Estimated Aldi prices for the amount this dinner uses, based on regular shelf prices and the current weekly ad.
Steps
- 1Brown the stew meat in a heavy pot with a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat, 6–8 minutes.
- 2Add the chopped onion and cook 3 minutes; stir in the tomato paste and Italian seasoning.
- 3Pour in the beef broth, scraping up the browned bits; add potatoes and carrots.
- 4Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook 60–75 minutes until the beef is fork-tender.
- 5Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.
Tips & swaps
- Chuck roast cut into cubes by hand is often cheaper per pound than pre-cut stew meat.
- Add a tablespoon of flour with the tomato paste to thicken the broth without a slurry.
- A splash of Worcestershire or a bay leaf deepens the gravy noticeably.
- It freezes beautifully — freeze in single portions for easy lunches.
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Put Hearty Beef Stew into your week
Add it to a plan built around this week's Aldi deals, or browse all 50 cheap dinner ideas and pick the rest of the week yourself.
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