• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
My PCOS Kitchen
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Ketogenic Recipes
    • Paleo
    • Gluten Free Recipes
    • Dairy Free Recipes
    • Sugar Free Recipes
    • Low Carb Recipes
    • Nut Free Recipes
  • Start Here
    • How To Start A Keto Diet
    • Macro Calculator
  • PCOS
    • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Facial Hair - Electrolysis Hair Removal
    • PCOS Cookbook with a 7-Day Meal Plan
  • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Ketogenic Recipes
    • Paleo
    • Gluten Free Recipes
    • Dairy Free Recipes
    • Sugar Free Recipes
    • Low Carb Recipes
    • Nut Free Recipes
  • Start Here
    • How To Start A Keto Diet
    • Macro Calculator
  • PCOS
    • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Facial Hair - Electrolysis Hair Removal
    • PCOS Cookbook with a 7-Day Meal Plan
  • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Special Diets » Low Carb Recipes » Low Carb Beef Stew in a Dutch Oven

    Low Carb Beef Stew in a Dutch Oven

    December 10, 2018 by Ashley 3 Comments

    2.5K shares
    • Share!168
    • Tweet!
    • Yum!
    • Email
    • Print

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy for details.

    Jump to Recipe
    Low Carb Beef Stew in a Dutch Oven - My PCOS Kitchen - Fork tender pieces of beef in a rich and flavourful homemade broth, this low carb beef stew is the perfect healthy comfort food! #beefstew #boeufbourguignon #lowcarbstew #glutenfreebeefstew #ketobeefstew #paleobeefstew #dutchovenstew

    A fork-tender low carb beef stew braised in a dutch oven, full of hearty vegetables and enveloped in a rich, deeply flavoured sauce that's completely gluten free and starch free.

    Two bowls of gluten free beef stew filled with hearty vegetables.

    Low Carb Beef Stew

    Boeuf Bourguignon is a French classic that consists of beef stew braised in red wine and usually flavoured with carrots, onions, mushrooms, garlic, a bouquet garni and sometimes potatoes and peas.

    Most classic versions of the beef stew will use either flour or corn starch to thicken the stew, although some versions tend stick to the starch from the potatoes and do not add anything else.

    This old fashioned beef stew recipe uses a dutch oven and is cooked in the oven for about 3 hours. You can also use a slow cooker to make it as I leave the instructions further below.

    To make a low carb beef stew, you’ll need to use a low carb thickening agent and low carb vegetables.

    You can actually use any type of meat that you want for this recipe.  It doesn't have to be beef if you can't have any.  I've made "beef" stew with mutton, goat and pork roast before and all turned out delicious.  If you've never cooked with goat before, I recommend trying this peppered goat meat recipe first! It's also made in the oven like a beef stew.

    Small bowl filled with low carb beef stew with vegetables in the background on the a blue linen handkerchief.

    Which Low Carb Vegetables can you add to your Beef Stew?

    I find the best low carb substitutes for potatoes are usually turnips, radishes, rutabaga, jicama or celeriac.  I chose to use turnips in this low carb beef stew recipe as they’re one of my favourite low carb substitutes for potatoes.  I also used them in my low carb zuppa Toscana recipe instead of potatoes.

    Instead of peas, I used some sliced green beans which added beautiful colours to my dutch oven beef stew.

    Hard vegetables vs soft vegetables

    If you prefer soft vegetables, add them to the dutch oven along with the meat for 3 hours.  If you prefer vegetables on the harder side, add them to the dutch oven after 1.5 hours has passed.

    How to make a keto beef stew?

    Since this is a low carb beef stew, the carbs are slightly high.  I personally eat around 40-50g of net carbs per day so this low carb beef stew recipe is perfect for me.  If you want to make a keto beef stew, you can either omit the onions, carrots and turnips or cut back on some of the amounts. Either way, you'll cut back on a lot of the carbs.

    How to Thicken Stew Without Flour

    My favourite method to thicken keto stews, sauces or soups has always been by using xanthan gum or guar gum.  You don’t need a lot, about a teaspoon or less, and your stew is perfectly thickened up. I always use the one from NOW as I've never had any problems with it.

    Xanthan gum is so versatile as you can use it in a variety of dishes to help thicken them up.  For example, adding it to my low carb cheese fondue or to my low carb cauliflower cheese helped the cheese sauce bind and thicken.

    If you follow a paleo diet or don’t mind a few extra carbs, then a tablespoon or two of arrowroot flour or tapioca starch mixed with some water will do the trick to thicken this paleo beef stew recipe.

    A spoonful of keto beef stew thickened with xanthan gum.

    How to Make Stew Meat Tender

    The one thing you do not want to have is a dry and tough beef stew.  To ensure that you have the best fork tender and robust, beefy flavor, please follow the following tips.

    Choosing the right cut of meat for stews

    The ideal cut of meat for a stew would have streaks of fat, called marbling, which tunes throughout the meat and would come from either the front shoulder or rear end.  You want to have large cuts of meat as smaller ones tend to break apart too easily once cooked. I once cut my chuck into 2cm/0.8" bite size pieces and ended up with shredded beef soup instead of a chunky beef stew!

    These are the cuts of meat you should look for:

    • Chuck
    • Chuck shoulder
    • Chuck roast
    • Chuck eye roast
    • Short rib
    • Bottom sirloin flap
    • Fatty brisket

    I strongly suggest to not get a precut package of stew meat at the grocery store because the butchers tend to add the odds and ends of different cuts.  This can be bad for stews because not all cuts of meat require the same cooking time, and your stew will have a mix of tender juicy pieces and dried out pieces.

    If you can get your hands on some Wagyu beef, or Kobe beef, you’ll have the best stew you’ve ever eaten as Japanese beef is famous for their beautiful marbled fat. I’m lucky enough to live in Japan and have access to some of that delicious wagyu, which is why I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on some!

    Wagyu beef with beautiful fat marble perfect for stew.

    Let the meat sit at room temperature

    It’s extremely important that you let your meat sit on the counter at room temperature for a good 30 minutes to 1 hour before browning it.  When you put cold meat to a hot pan, you shock the muscles and this makes the meat toughen and dry.

    Brown your meat

    The secret to the perfect beef stew comes from a good sear.  Browning your meat before adding in the rest of the ingredients ensures that your pot will have some caramelized brown bits at the bottom, which is where all of those intense flavours will come from.

    Browning the meat for the perfect beef stew.

    Simply stir frying the meat and crowding the pot won’t cut it.  You need to make sure to cook your beef chunks in batches so that all pieces can get nicely browned.

    If you crowd your pot, you’ll end up steaming your beef chunks, which will just make them tougher and will not leave any brown bits to scrape off.

    Add acid to your pot

    Adding some type of acid, either balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce or tomato paste, will help get the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.

    Taste wise, I personally prefer to use a combination of Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste in my keto beef stew, as I’m not a huge fan of beef stews made with balsamic vinegar.

    Adding acid, worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, to a dutch oven to release the brown bits.

    Don’t let your stew cook too long

    While it is true that meat gets tender the longer it cooks, if it cooks too long, the meat can have the opposite effect and actually become dry and tough.

    Cooking your stew for 2-3 hours in the oven or 3-4 hours in a slow cooker is just enough.  Any more than that and your stew meat will get dry.

    The Best Low Carb Red Wines for Stews

    Boeuf Bourguignon is traditionally made with a dry red wine.  Red Burgundy, Chianti, Pinot Noir or Gamay are the traditional choices for an old fashioned beef stew, but really, any dry red wine will work.

    Some low carb options for red wines include Pinot Noir at 3.4g net carbs, Merlot at 3.7g net carbs, Cabernet Sauvignon at 3.8g net carbs and Syrah at 3.8g net carbs, all according to a 5 oz (147ml) servings.

    For this keto beef stew recipe, I chose to use Cabernet Sauvignon as that’s what I had on hand.

    Two bowls of homemade beef stew with a dutch oven filled with more.

    How to make this Gluten Free Beef Stew

    First things first, in order to make this dutch oven beef stew, you'll need a dutch oven or an oven-proof dish or pot that's big enough.  I used a 7.25 Quarts/6.7L/28cm dutch oven from Le Creuset, but any dutch oven from any company will work.

    You'll first want to cut your chuck roast into large pieces, sprinkle the salt and pepper all over it and let it sit at room temperature for a good 30-60 minutes.

    Once the meat has been sitting for a little while, you'll add it to the dutch oven with a bit of olive oil and sear the pieces on all sides. This is important because the caramelized brown bits that are left will be the base of our stew.  Sear them in batches so that you don't overcrowd the pot.  Overcrowding the pot will result in steamed beef and no browned bits.

    Process pictures showing how to sear meat for a beef stew.

    Once you've seared all of your meat, you'll add the onions and garlic and cook for a 2-3 minutes in the leftover oil.

    You'll then add the Worcestershire sauce and cook for another minute while scraping the bottom of the pot.  Add the tomato paste and scrape the bottom of the pot again for a minute.

    Add the previously seared beef pieces back to the pot and mix all of the flavours together.

    Process pictures showing how to make a beef stew base with caramelized brown bits from the beef.

    The next step will be to add the wine, beef broth, spices to the pot.  Cover and place in the oven for 1 hour at 180C/350F.

    Once your beef stew has been cooking for 1 hour, you'll then add the xanthan gum, a little at a time and mix in well.  Finally, you'll add all of the vegetables into the pot and cook for another 1.5 hour, until the beef is fork tender and the vegetables are soft.

    Pictures showing how to make a gluten free low carb beef stew step by step.

    How to Make a Slow Cooker Beef Stew

    The method for making a slow cooker beef stew are pretty similar to one made in a dutch oven and baked in an oven.  Actually, the first half of the recipe is exactly the same.

    You’ll start by cutting your chuck roast into big pieces and searing them on all sides in a pot.  Don’t forget to sear your beef pieces in batches so that you don’t steam your meat by accident.

    Once the meat has seared, you’ll add the onions and garlic cloves and cook them in the leftover oil in the same pot.  You’ll then add the rest of the vegetables, along with the Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste.  These acidic ingredients will help you scrape off the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.

    Once the vegetables have cooked for a couple of minutes, you’ll add the wine and beef stock just to get the last bits of brown bits off the pot bottom and walls.  You’ll then transfer and pour the entire pot, carefully, into your slow cooker.

    Finally, you’ll add the rest of the ingredients including the spices and xanthan gum.  Stir everything, cover and let cook for 4 hours on high heat or 8 on low heat.

    Two hearty bowls of paleo beef stew ready to be eaten.

    Quick Tips to make this Keto Beef Stew

    Here is a quick recap of all the tips you need to follow to ensure you have the perfect low carb, tender and juicy dutch oven beef stew.

    • Do not use lean meat.  Get some fatty pieces of meat with lots of marbling!
    • Use either a chuck, chuck roast, chuck shoulder, chuck eye roast, fatty brisket, short ribs or bottom sirloin flap to get fork-tender, juicy bites.
    • Let the chuck sit at room temperature before browning.
    • Brown your meat in batches to ensure an even sear and to get those delicious caramelized brown bits on the bottom of your pot.
    • Add an acid like balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce or tomato paste to help scrape off those brown bits off the pot.
    • Use either turnips, radishes, celeriac, jicama or rutabaga instead of potatoes.
    • Use green beans or broccoli instead of green peas.
    • Use a teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum to thicken your stew.
    • Use a low carb dry red wine like the Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Syrah.
    Small bowl filled with low carb beef stew with vegetables in the background on the a blue linen handkerchief.
    Print Pin Leave a Comment

    Gluten Free Low Carb Beef Stew in a Dutch Oven

    Fork tender pieces of beef in a rich, flavourful sauce completely gluten-free and starch-free.
    Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
    Cuisine American, Canadian, French
    Keyword boeuf bourguignon, dutch oven beef stew, keto beef stew, low carb beef stew, paleo beef stew
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 3 hours 20 minutes
    Meat Resting Time 45 minutes
    Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
    Servings 8 servings
    NET Carbs 12.51g
    calories 490kcal
    Protein 30.19g
    Fat 30.3g
    Cook Ashley

    Ingredients

    • 1100 g (38.8 oz) chuck roast (or chuck shoulder, chuck eye roast, short rib, bottom sirloin flap, fatty brisket)
    • 2 tsp (2 tsp) salt
    • 1 tsp (1 tsp) black pepper
    • 3 tbsp (3 tbsp) olive oil
    • 1 medium (1 medium) onion (about 190g)
    • 2 small (2 small) carrots (about 230g)
    • 8 cloves (8 cloves) garlic
    • 15 (15 ) brown mushrooms (about 300g)
    • 4 sticks (4 sticks) celery (about 165g)
    • 20 (20 ) green beans (about 180g)
    • 2 (2 ) turnips (about 385g (or radishes, celeriac, rutabaga or celery root))
    • 3 tbsp (3 tbsp) tomato paste
    • 2 tbsp (3 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce (or balsamic vinegar)
    • 365 ml (1.5 cups) dry red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) (or Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Syrah)
    • 1500 ml (6.25 cups) beef broth
    • 3 (3 ) bay leaves
    • 3 sprigs (3 sprigs) fresh rosemary
    • 3 sprigs (3 sprigs) fresh thyme
    • 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Lakanto golden sweetener (or Sukrin gold)
    • 1 tsp (1 tsp) xanthan gum (or guar gum, or tapioca starch/arrowroot for paleo)
    • fresh parsley for garnish

    Instructions

    • Cut the chuck roast into big pieces, sprinkle the salt and pepper all over it and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
    • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
    • Cut the onion, carrots, celery, green beans and turnips.  
    • Add the olive oil to a 7.25 Quarts/6.7L/28cm dutch oven and add a few of the beef chunks into the pot.  Fry on all sides until golden brown.  Repeat in small batches until all of the beef has been browned. Remove from the pot and set aside.
    • Add the chopped onions and garlic cloves to the pot and cook in the leftover olive oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.  
      Add the Worcestershire sauce to the onions and continue to cook for one more minute while scrapping off the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.  Add the tomato paste and continue scrapping off the brown bits for another minute.
      Add the beef chunks back into the pot and mix together.
    • Add the red wine, beef broth, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme and lakanto golden sweetener into the dutch oven and bring to a boil.  
      When it's boiling, cover and place in the oven for 1 hour.
      **If you want to use a slow cooker, you would place all of the ingredients in it now and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 on low.**
    • Take the dutch oven out of the oven, take off the lid and sprinkle in the xanthan gum, a little at a time, while mixing carefully until it's all be incorporated.
    • Add all of the vegetables to the pot, mix, and cover.  Place the dutch oven back into the oven and let cook for another 1.5-2 hours, depending on how soft you like your vegetables and meat. The meat will be fork tender after 2.5 hours so just check how tender you like it.
    • Once done cooking, remove from the pot and garnish with some fresh parsley.  It's now ready to serve!

    Notes

    Here's a final recap of all the tips!
    • Do not use lean meat.  Get some fatty pieces of meat with lots of marbling!
    • Use either a chuck, chuck roast, chuck shoulder, chuck eye roast, fatty brisket, short ribs or bottom sirloin flap to get fork-tender, juicy bites.
    • Let the chuck sit at room temperature before browning.
    • Brown your meat in batches to ensure an even sear and to get those delicious caramelized brown bits on the bottom of your pot.
    • Add an acid like balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce or tomato paste to help scrape off those brown bits off the pot.
    • Use either turnips, radishes, celeriac, jicama or rutabaga instead of potatoes.
    • Use green beans or broccoli instead of green peas.
    • Use a teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum to thicken your stew.
    • Use a low carb dry red wine like the Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Syrah.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mypcoskitchen or tag #mypcoskitchen!
    Follow me for more Low Carb Recipes!Mention @MyPCOSKitchen so that I can see all of your goodies!!
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten Free Low Carb Beef Stew in a Dutch Oven
    Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
    Calories 490 Calories from Fat 273
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 30.3g47%
    Saturated Fat 10.81g68%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1.64g
    Monounsaturated Fat 14.35g
    Cholesterol 91mg30%
    Sodium 1663mg72%
    Potassium 9.25mg0%
    Carbohydrates 16.61g6%
    Fiber 4.1g17%
    Sugar 7.34g8%
    Protein 30.19g60%
    NET CARBS 12.51g25%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutritional information is provided through calculations made on fatsecret.com. They are approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on mypcoskitchen.com. Sugar alcohols are included in the fiber count. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber (which include sugar alcohols).

     

    All text, pictures & videos are copyright protected © by Mira Richard-Fioramore for My PCOS Kitchen.

     

    Shares are very much appreciated, just make sure to share a link and not a screenshot.

     

    Copy/pasting full recipe text to websites and social media is prohibited. Excerpts, single photos, and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.mypcoskitchen.com with appropriate link back to the original content.

    « Low Carb Keto Cauliflower Stuffing Recipe
    Gluten Free Low Carb Keto Fish Tacos »
    2.5K shares
    • Share!168
    • Tweet!
    • Yum!
    • Email
    • Print

    Ashley

    Food Blogger | Beating PCOS through diet and lifestyle | Healthy Food Enthusiast | Amateur Photographer | Animal Lover | Based in Virginia

    Subscribe

    for your weekly recipe fix.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. GAfromCA

      January 09, 2019 at 2:33 pm

      You are missing one key ingredient: bacon! Most recipes for boeuf bourguignon (including Julie Child) start with bacon. (I haven't read your blog enough to know if that is something you avoid.) Thanks for the suggestion of turnips. Not a veggie I usually like, but will try again as potato alternative now that I am trying out lower carb diet.

      Reply
    2. Sarah Cummings

      December 17, 2018 at 11:37 pm

      Yummy! Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂

      Reply
      • Mira

        December 18, 2018 at 5:55 am

        Thank you Sarah!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Ashley

    Ashley is a self-taught home cook, originally from Montreal, Canada, that was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) as a teenager.

    She was able to alleviate all of her PCOS symptoms by going on a culinary journey to heal herself. By eating gluten-free, sugar-free, low-carb and keto meals. Now, all of her PCOS symptoms all disappeared. Read More…

    Footer

    About Ashley

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest

    A self-taught home cook, originally from Montreal, Canada, that was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) as a teenager. Realizing the only way to thrive with PCOS was to change her lifestyle, Ashley decided to go on a culinary journey to heal herself.

    My Favorites

    Copyright

    Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to My PCOS Kitchen with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

    Affiliate Notice

    My PCOS Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

    Copyright © 2023 My PCOS Kitchen · Privacy Policy
    The photos on this blog are copyright protected. If you wish to share this recipe, simply provide a link back to my blog.

    2.5K shares
    • 168