How to Make a Low-Carb Beef Stew

Beef stew is traditionally made as a broth stew with beef, carrots, onions, and celery. This is a healthy soup, but it turns into one filled with carbs when you add in the potatoes. The following recipe helps you make a stew that is lower in carbs so it might work better for the type of diet you are on.

Simple Ways to Make it Low Carb

Before we get into the actual recipe tips for putting together a low-carb beef stew, it helps to first understand what is going to reduce the carbohydrates. The main way to lower the carbs in your beef stew is to either use less potatoes or take the potatoes out altogether. Classic beef stew calls for beef, carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes. By taking the potatoes out altogether, you really help to reduce the carbs. Another good way to make it low-carb is to double up on the meat, and use half of the amount of vegetables you would typically use. This allows you to increase the protein and lower the vegetables carbs a bit.

Preparing Your Ingredients

Now comes the ingredients portion of the recipe. For a low-carb beef stew, start with your cooked meat. You should always make stew with meat that has already been cooked in the pan. This speeds up the stew process. Stew meat is typically used in beef stew, but if you have other types of cuts of beef, go ahead and chop them up into bite-size pieces, cook them, and add them to your stew.

You will still use veggies that other stews have, including carrots, celery, and onions. For seasonings, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic are typically used. You can make the soup broth by using beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, both of which are low in carbohydrates. If you want, you can add water and lower the broth amount a little bit.

Making Your Beef Stew

If you haven’t done so already, add some oil to your big soup pot and add the uncooked beef to it. Cook it up until is cooked all the way through. You can leave the oil and the beef in the pot for the remainder of the cooking. You are now able to add in your broth, Worcestershire sauce, veggies, and seasonings. However, if you are slow-cooking it, add the carrots and celery after about an hour of simmering the stew, since they get tender much more quickly.