It may be 500º outside this week but that didn’t stop me from making a big pot of spicy beef and vegetable stew with roasted red peppers. This beef and vegetable stew is so utterly delicious and easy to prepare! The most difficult thing about this stew is peeling the roasted red peppers, but fortunately, you can roast the peppers as you prepare the ingredients for the stew.

The roasted red peppers add a really nice sweetness to this spicy beef and vegetable stew recipe. That said, you can bring down the spiciness of this recipe by omitting or reducing the number of peppers.

If you want to add some carbs or starch to this recipe, I think serving this beef stew with mashed potatoes would be utterly divine.

Grade

Serves: 6

Cost: $

Skill Level: Easy

Time to Make: About 3 hours 45 minutes (3 hours inactive)

Ingredients for Spicy Beef and Vegetable Stew with Roasted Red Peppers

3 tablespoons oil, divided

1½-2 pounds cubed chuck roast

4 red bell peppers

1 large Vidalia onion

4 large carrots

3 cloves celery and the leaves

6 cloves garlic

2 Bird’s eye chili peppers (or any hot chili pepper of your choice; omit or reduce to control the heat)

1 quart fresh cherry tomatoes (Or use 2 14.5-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes)

4 cups chicken stock

1 14.5-ounce can tomato sauce

Salt, pepper, and sugar to taste

Method

Prepare the Roasted Peppers:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Trim the peppers and cut in half and then remove and discard the seeds. Place the peppers, cut-side down, on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and transfer to the oven. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until the skin is blistered. Remove from the oven and transfer the peppers to a plate to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel the skins and slice the peppers into strips.

Prepare the Remaining Ingredients:

Pat the beef dry and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Peel the onion and cut in half and slice each half thinly. Peel the carrots and slice them on an angle. Roughly chop the celery leaves. Trim the celery stalks and thinly slice. Peel the garlic and roughly chop. Carefully trim the chili peppers and thinly slice. (Note: Wash the cutting surface and knife immediately after slicing the peppers).

Brown the Beef:

In a large pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium high until very hot. Add the beef in an even layer (do not overcrowd the pot; cook in batches if necessary) and cook without moving for about 4-5 minutes per side or until well-browned all over. Transfer the beef to a bowl.

Cook the Vegetables:

Add the sliced onion to the hot pot and cook, stirring regularly, for about 8-12 minutes or until beginning to brown and soften. Continue cooking for 5-7 minutes longer until almost completely browned. Add the carrots, celery (leaves and sliced stalks), garlic, and sliced chili peppers and cook, stirring regularly, for about 8-10 minutes longer until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add the tomatoes and toss to combine.

Prepare the Stew:

Pour the chicken stock into the pot and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom. Add the tomato sauce and season with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of sugar. Add the sliced, roasted red peppers and the browned beef. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and cook, partially covered, for 2½-3 hours or until the beef is tender and falling apart. As the beef stew cooks, carefully break the tomatoes open with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

To Serve:

Ladle the stew into bowls and serve with toasted bread or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

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