Easy Beef Casserole

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.)

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, British

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 15

Servings people

Calories 482kcal

Author Eb Gargano

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)

Metric - US Customary

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.

Nutrition