This Easy Beef Casserole is so simple to make – and only 15 minutes hands on time. Then let the oven do all the hard work. Perfect for busy days when you still want to eat well! (Instructions given for both oven and slow cooker.)
The perfect winter warmer!
When the weather outside is chilly, this Easy Beef Casserole is the perfect winter warmer – it’s like a hug in a bowl!
But it’s also brilliantly simple and quick to make… it really is only 15 minutes hands on time. It’s one of those recipes where the oven does all the hard work, so you don’t have to.
Better still, because of that long slow cook in the oven (or slow cooker, if you prefer) – you can use a cheaper cut of beef, but it comes out meltingly tender.
How to make beef casserole
This beef casserole really is very easy to make.
All you need to do is fry the beef, onions, celery and garlic, then make a simple gravy and add it to the pan, along with some bay leaves.
Cook low and slow in the oven for 2 hours, then add the diced carrots and potatoes and cook for 1 more hour (3 hours total).
(Prefer to use your slow cooker? See the recipe card below for full instructions for both conventional oven and the slow cooker.)
Why put the carrots and potatoes in later?
You’ll notice in the recipe I put the carrots and potatoes into the beef casserole for the last hour of cooking… this is because the beef needs 3 hours to cook, but the carrots and potatoes only need 1 hour. If you put the carrots and potatoes in at the start you’ll end up with very soft and mushy vegetables!
I do, however, put the onions and celery in from the start – this means they sort of almost melt into the gravy, which in my book is a good thing. Think of them kind of like the ‘background veggies’, whereas the carrots and potatoes are the ‘star’ veggies!
(Of course, if you don’t mind the carrots and potatoes being a bit mushy, or you actually like them that way, feel free to put them in the casserole from the start.)
Can you cook Beef Casserole in the slow cooker?
Personally, I prefer to cook this Easy Beef Casserole in the oven. (I’m just not the sort of girl who likes to make dinner at breakfast time!)
But if you prefer using your slow cooker, by all means do – I have given instructions for both cooking methods in the recipe card below.
Beef Casserole – make it your own!
This beef casserole recipe is very easy to adapt. You could:
- Leave the potatoes out and serve it with jacket potatoes instead
- Use different veggies, such as parsnips, mushrooms, swede and/or leeks
- Make it with diced lamb or pork, instead of beef
- Bulk it out with lentils, beans or chickpeas to make it go further
- Add a little red wine into the gravy
- Use different herbs, such as thyme and/or rosemary
- Use dried mixed herbs, Italian herbs or herbes de Provence, instead of or as well as the bay leaves
What to serve with Beef Casserole?
This Easy Beef Casserole is a meal in its own right – so you can serve it just as it is!
Alternatively you can serve it with some nice bread or garlic bread on the side.
Or you can serve it with some steamed green veggies, such as cabbage, green beans or broccoli.
What to drink with Beef Casserole?
Beef casserole is very wine friendly, and it works well with lots of different wines.
Good options include Côtes-du-Rhône (or other Syrah / Grenache based wines), Bordeaux reds, Rioja and similar Spanish reds, Duoro reds, Argeninian Malbec or US Zinfandel.
However, I definitely do not recommend pairing beef casserole with white or rosé wines!
Can you reheat beef casserole?
Absolutely! Simply place the cooked and cooled casserole in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, tip the leftover casserole into a saucepan with a splash of cold water, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the casserole is piping hot all the way through.
You can also reheat the casserole in the microwave, if you prefer.
Can you freeze Beef Casserole?
Yes, you can! Place the cooked and cooled casserole in an airtight container in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- Traditional Beef Stew and Suet Dumplings
- Traditional Suet Crust Steak Pie
- Easy Peasy Beef Curry
- Slow Cooked Chunky Beef Chilli
- Easy Hungarian Beef Goulash
Traditional Beef Stew and Suet Dumplings
Easy Beef Casserole
Ingredients
- 800 g diced beef (usually sold as ‘diced beef’ or ‘stewing beef’ in supermarkets)
- Salt and pepper to taste (See Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 sticks of celery sliced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- 1 beef stock cube (I use Kallo Organic)
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 750 ml boiling water
- 2 bay leaves
- 300 g carrots peeled and chopped into bitesize chunks (roughly 1½cm)
- 400 g potatoes peeled and chopped into bitesize chunks (roughly 2cm)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C / 140C fan / gas mark3 / 325F.
- Place the olive oil in a flameproof, ovenproof pan (see Notes 2&3) and place over a high heat for 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, lightly season the diced beef with the salt and pepper.
- When the oil is hot, fry half the beef in for 2-3 minutes, until nicely browned all over. Remove to a plate, then repeat with the other half of the beef.
- Next, turn the heat down low and place the onions and celery in the empty pan. Return the pan to the heat and fry the onions and celery for 3 minutes, or until the veggies are softened, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and fry, stirring often, for 30 seconds – taking care to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Meanwhile, make a simple gravy by putting the 2 tablespoons of cornflour, the crumbled beef stock cube and 1 tablespoon of tomato puree into a large jug. Add a splash of cold water and stir to make a smooth paste. Then add the boiling water slowly, stirring to ensure there are no lumps.
- Pour the gravy into the pan, and then add the browned beef back to the pan along with the 2 bay leaves. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil.
- Put the lid on the pan and put the casserole into your preheated oven. Cook for a 2 hours. (Check halfway through to ensure there is enough liquid in the pan – top up if necessary. See Note 4.)
- After the 2 hours are up, add the diced carrots and potatoes. Stir well and return to the oven for a further 1 hour. (Your casserole will take 3 hours total in the oven – see Note 5 for Slow Cooker Instructions.)
- Serve on its own or with green vegetables.
Notes
- Remember, your stock cube will contain salt. Depending on which stock cube brand you buy and your own personal tastes, you may decide to only season the beef with black pepper at this point to avoid the casserole getting to salty. (You can always adjust the seasoning at the end, if it’s not salty enough!)
- I use a Le Creuset-style cast iron casserole dish, (AKA dutch oven) which can go on the hob and in the oven. If you don’t have a pan that can go on the hob and in the oven, simply start this stew in a regular saucepan and then tip it into an ovenproof dish to go into the oven.
- I use a 4 litres capacity / 24cm diameter dutch oven. (4.25 quarts / 9.5 inches) There is certainly some flexibility with this casserole, however, so a slightly smaller or larger dutch oven / saucepan / ovenproof dish would still work just fine.
- Depending on the kind of oven dish you use, you may find that some of the liquid from the stew is lost through evaporation. The first time you make this stew, you should check on your stew about 1 hour into the cooking, and again just before you add the potatoes/carrots to ensure there is enough gravy. There should be enough liquid that the meat and vegetables are almost completely submerged in the gravy. If you find some of the liquid has evaporated, simply add some more boiling water from the kettle and give the stew a good stir before returning to the oven. Make a note of how much you add, and in future you can add the extra in from the beginning.
- Slow Cooker Instructions: Follow the instructions above up until the end of step 8, then transfer everything to your slow cooker and cook for 5-6 hours on HIGH or 8-12 hours on LOW. You can either add the carrots and potatoes in from the start, along with everything else, OR add them in for the last 2 hours (HIGH) or 4 hours (LOW).
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Easy Beef Casserole for later
FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan
Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK HERE to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan today!
Leave a Reply