This delicious keto beef stew is absolutely indistinguishable from the real thing - big chunks of beef & veggies, in a thick, rich savory broth gravy. You won't even miss the potatoes!
Also loved the Puritan canned stew when growing up, and went through FAR too much of that, as soon as I moved home to Canada. I missed it while I was gone! Good stuff - the ultimate cold weather comfort food!
When I lived in Newfoundland, I made the BEST moose stew - I miss moose terribly. For THAT stew, I used two different kinds of fruit wine in it, bringing a ton of flavor to the mix.
And, you know, Brussels sprouts. Gotta have the sprouts!
Anyway, it wasn’t til I was an adult and learned about everyone else hating Brussels sprouts, that I realized “boiled to mush” was generally not accepted, and I played around with it. Roasted as a side, LIGHTLY boiled in stew - even better!
There’s just nothing like a hearty stew!
When I went on the keto diet, clearly I was going to need to come up with a low-carb beef stew recipe - and here we are!
I use a bit of Brussels sprouts in this stew, because I love the colour, flavour, and texture it brings to it. I do NOT boil the crap out of it, so it does have a NICE texture.
If sprouts aren’t your thing, you can always say the carbs and leave them out! 🙂
The Nutrition
This easy keto beef stew recipe makes a really healthy beef stew:
It clocks in at just 324 calories per serving, with 34 grams of protein!
As written, this hearty keto beef stew - with ALL of the veggies I used - comes in at just 13 total carbs per serving. There are 3 grams of fiber per serving, leaving you with 10 net carbs per bowl - perfect for anyone on a ketogenic diet!
Beef stew for weight loss! I love this diet!
Oh, and if you want to cut the carb count? Just leave the carrot and/or sprouts out. Easy!
This has quickly become one of my favorite recipes, I hope you’ll love it too!
Low Carb Stew Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for this hearty low carb beef stew can be found in any grocery store, with just a couple that may require planning ahead:
The Beef
I generally use beef chuck roast as my cut of beef in this recipe, grass-fed beef if I’m feeling bougie.
I just find that - with this cooking method - the tender beef chuck works so beautifully, and brings a great flavour to it.
That said, because we’re cooking it low and slow, you can use pretty much any cut of beef you like for your beef stew meat.
The cooking method is really forgiving, and will render even the cheapest cuts of meat “melt in your mouth”.
The Veggies
I love a ton of vegetable chunks in my stew, so I built this keto stew with that in mind. I use:
Crimini mushrooms - You can use button if you prefer.
Large carrot
Celery stalks
Onion
Celery root
Turnips
Brussels sprouts
Fresh garlic
As a note on the celery root: It’s a good idea to skip the vegetable peeler, and just use a nice sharp knife to peel it.
The rind is tough, and I’ve never had much luck with a peeler.
Everything Else
Beef broth - You can use retail beef bone broth or homemade bone broth if you want
Red Wine Vinegar - You can sub apple cider vinegar if you like
Tomato Paste
Olive oil
Unflavored Beef Gelatin Powder
Xanthan Gum
Bay Leaves
Salt and Ground Black Pepper
Dried Parsley
Dried Thyme
Dried Rosemary
Fresh parsley for garnish
The Thickener
A note on the thickening: I use both Unflavored Beef Gelatin Powder and Xanthan Gum together, to ensure a the best result.
The gelatin gives it a richness that xanthan alone does not - highly recommend it!
Also, I used dry herbs in this, rather than the fresh I normally do when making stew - this is intentional.
I like to have as much bulk of dry ingredients as possible, to mix the xanthan gum into. This prevents clumping, and ensures a silky smooth gravy.
How to Make Keto Beef Stew
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, this is a pictorial walk through, with additional information and tips
Brown the Beef
First step: Trim roast of excess fat, cut into 1" cubes. Allow to come up to room temperature.
Pat beef cubes dry with a paper towel, season well with salt and pepper.
Measure about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a heavy bottomed large pot, or a large Dutch oven. Heat on your stove top over high heat.
Working in batches - and allowing space between each piece - brown the beef in the heated oil. I’ll usually do about half of the beef chunks at a time.
As beef is well browned on each side, remove from the pan and continue with the remaining beef pieces, using more oil if necessary.
Remove all beef from the pan, turn element down to medium heat.
The Long Simmer
Add a little bit of the beef broth to the pan, scraping the browned on the bottom of the pot - this is called deglazing.
Once the beef is all scraped off the bottom of the pan and incorporated, add red wine vinegar and tomato paste, stir well to combine. Add remaining beef broth, bay leaf, and the beef.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer over low heat for 1 ½ hours, or until meat is very tender.
Putting it all Together
As the beef cooks, prepare your vegetables:
Quarter or slice the mushrooms, chop the onion, peel and slice the carrot, chop the celery, press or mince the garlic, peel and chop the celery root and turnips.
Add all of the vegetables except the Brussels sprouts to the pot, stir to combine.
Turn up the element to medium high heat, bring the stew to a boil again, then turn heat back down to low and simmer for another 30 minutes or so.
Cut the Brussels sprouts in half and add to the pot. Continue simmering another 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
In a small bowl, combine the dried parsley, gelatin, xanthan gum, dried thyme, and dried rosemary. Be sure to stir well - you want the xanthan gum well distributed over the other ingredients, to prevent clumping.
Add herb mixture to the pot, stir well to combine. Allow stew to simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
Taste, season with salt and pepper, discard the bay leaves, and serve. (I like to serve it with a slice of keto bread - I love Carbonaut)
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Keto Stew Variations
The best part of stew is that it’s super easy to customize.
Until recently, I didn’t even use a recipe, I just eyeballed everything and tossed stuff in until it looked good for whatever mood I was in!
Here are a few ways you can customize this stew to your liking - just note that any changes to the ingredients will change the nutrition and carb count of your stew.
Change the Low Carb Vegetables
Not a fan of one or more of the low carb veggies? Leave one - or more - out, and increase the amount of another one.
I like to look at the veggies in 2 groups: The Brussels sprouts, and everything else. It works for the flavour / texture, and for the cooking method - the two groups are treated differently.
If you’re leaving out the brussels sprouts and want to replace it with another green veggies, you’ll generally want to treat it the same way as the Brussels sprouts, just cooked for the last few minutes.
Green beans are a good option, and some of the heartier green leafy vegetables - like collard greens, kale, or Swiss chard are also great for adding colour and nutrition to your stew.
Mustard greens can add a punch of flavour, and beet or turnip greens also work, if you happen to have access to some.
Add Flavor Ingredients
If you like your stew with a bit of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, feel free to add a bit at the end, to taste.
Any of the herbs can be increased, Summer Savory is also great in this stew.
A bit of Red Pepper Flakes, Smoked Paprika, and/or Smoked Serrano Powder can boost the “red” flavour, and add a bit of heat.
More Keto Soups & Stews
Looking for some more keto recipes for low carb soup and stew? I've got you...
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Chicken and Cabbage Soup
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Clam Chowder
Creamy Taco Soup
Doro Wat
Easy Ramen
Fennel Chicken Soup
Italian Wedding Soup
Loaded Pierogi Soup
Steak and Kidney Stew
But wait, there's more! Keep an eye on my Keto Soups and Stews section for new recipes!
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Keto Beef Stew
Equipment
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Beef chuck roast
- Salt and Pepper
- Olive oil
- 8 oz Crimini mushrooms
- 1 Small onion
- 1 Large carrot
- 2 Celery stalks
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Small celery root
- 2 Turnips
- 2 cups Brussels sprouts optional
- 10 cups Beef broth
- 2 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 tablespoon Dried parsley
- 2 tablespoon Unflavoured Beef Gelatin powder
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon Dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon Dried rosemary
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Trim roast of excess fat, cut into 1" cubes. Allow to come up to room temperature.
- Pat beef cubes dry with a paper towel, season well with salt and pepper.
- Measure about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a large, heavy bottomed pot. Heat over high heat.
- Working in batches - and allowing space between each piece - brown the beef in the heated oil.
- As beef is well browned on each side, remove from the pan and continue with remaining beef pieces, using more oil if necessary.
- Remove all beef from the pan.
- Add a splash of the beef broth to the pan, scraping and stirring the beef drippings - this is called deglazing.
- Once the beef is all scraped off the bottom of the pan and incorporated, add red wine vinegar and tomato paste, stir well to combine. Add remaining beef broth, bay leaves, and the beef.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer over low heat for 1 ½ hours, or until meat is very tender.
- As the beef cooks, prepare your vegetables: Quarter or slice the mushrooms, chop the onion, peel and slice the carrot, chop the celery, press or mince the garlic, peel and chop the celery root and turnips,
- Add all of the vegetables except the Brussels sprouts, stir to combine.
- Bring it to a boil again, then turn heat back down to low and simmer for another 30 minutes or so. Add Brussels sprouts, continue simmering another 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- In a small bowl, combine the dried parsley, gelatin, xanthan gum, dried thyme, and dried rosemary. Be sure to stir well - you want the xanthan gum well distributed over the other ingredients, to prevent clumping.
- Add herb mixture to the pot, stir well to combine. Allow stew to simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
- Taste, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Nutrition
Why does this need xanthan gum and unflavored beef gelatin powder? Would it work fine with doubling one or the other of them? Sounds delicious but getting pretty expensive!
The combination gives the best texture, both act in slightly different ways, with different results.
If you doubled the xanthan, it could have a weird goopy / gelatinous texture. If you double the gelatin, it would have a richer mouthfeel, but won't be much thicker when hot.
Both ingredients are pretty common in low carb / keto / gluten free cooking though.