Gluten-Free French Onion Beef Stew

I grew up eating the best slow-cooker beef stew ever. No question. Unfortunately, it's not gluten-free. I tried to adapt it, but it just wasn't the same. My mom (sharing my dilemma) sent me this yummy recipe. This is one of those yummy recipes that is naturally gluten-free. You don't need any fancy flours or ingredients. Now that I am addicted to my Instant Pot, I've also added instructions for a pressure cooker.

French Onion Beef Stew

• 2 lbs stew meat or chuck roast, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 6 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks (or a small bag of baby carrots)
• 5 or 6 potatoes, halved, then quartered
• 2 cups V-8 juice (Picky eaters can pick out all the veggies they want, but they will still get tons of veggies in the sauce!)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 small can of mushrooms with liquid (optional)
• 1 T sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon basil
• 1 bay leaf
• Dash Worcestershire sauce (Make sure to choose a GF brand)
• 3 T quick-cooking tapioca (Reserve until the end if using an instant pot)

Layer meat and vegetables in the slow cooker or a large Dutch oven. Combine spices, juice, broth and tapioca. Let stand for 10 minutes. Pour over meat and vegetables. In the oven, cover and bake at 250-275 degrees for 6-8 hours. In the slow cooker, cover and cook for 4-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

*This French onion beef stew recipe tastes best when cooked in the oven.

Enjoy!  I could eat beef stew for breakfast -- and I have been known to do just that with the leftovers!

French Onion Beef Stew in the Instant Pot

This delicious meal can easily be cooked in your instant pot with minor adjustments. When cutting up your potatoes and carrots, make the pieces very large. They will cook much more quickly than the stew meat. Place the meat and vegetables in the instant pot. Mix all liquid ingredients and spices (except the tapioca) and pour the mixture over the top.

Close the lid, switch the valve to sealing, and cook on the meat/stew setting for 30 minutes. When the time is up, release the pressure manually or wait -- depends on how hungry you are!

Remove the cover from the instant pot, add the tapioca, and stir. Set your instant pot to sauté, and allow the liquid to boil for a few minutes while the stew thickens. Alternatively, you can thicken the stew with cornstarch. (First, dissolve 2-3 T of cornstarch in 2 T cold water, then add it to the boiling stew.) When using an instant pot, you must wait until the end of cooking to add the thickening. If you try to cook the meal with the thickening included, the pot will go to BRN mode and you will have to transfer your meal to the oven. I know this from experience!

I love being able to cook stew quickly!

Thanks for stopping by today. Enjoy these yummy recipes, too by clicking on the images below.