Slow-Cooked Beef and Root Vegetable Stew
Cheap braising beef, three hours of oven time, no attention needed.
Ingredients
- Beef chuck steak800 g
- Carrots300 g
- Potatoes600 g
- Brown onions250 g
- Celery100 g
- Tinned chopped tomatoes400 g
- Plain flour40 g
- Olive oil30 ml
- Dried thyme2 g
Method
- Heat the oven to 160C. Cut the beef into 4cm cubes, toss in the flour, and season well.
- Brown the beef in the oil in batches in a heavy casserole, then set aside.
- Cook the diced onion and celery in the same pot for 8 minutes, then return the beef.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, thyme and 500ml water, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook in the oven for 2 hours.
- Add the chunked carrots and potatoes and cook for a further 45 minutes until everything is tender.
Cooking for a different diet?
Swaps that keep this dish what it is. The prices on this page are for the recipe as written.
Gluten-free
- 25 g Cornflour instead of Plain flour
Toss the beef in the cornflour as before; it thickens more strongly than flour, so add a splash more water near the end if the stew gets too thick.
Swaps are suggestions — check labels if you are cooking for an allergy.
What it costs, and where to buy it
Shops to compare
List price at each shop
Missing items
These totals leave part of the list out, so a lower one isn't a cheaper shop.
MorrisonsBest choice· £2.39 of food
£8.60
72% spare
No price at Morrisons for:
- Beef chuck steak
Sainsbury's· £2.41 of food · £0.02 more
£7.69
69% spare
No price at Sainsbury's for:
- Beef chuck steak
Aldi UK· £3.14 of food · £0.75 more
£9.74
68% spare
No price at Aldi UK for:
- Beef chuck steak
Asda· £10.90 of food · £8.51 more
£17.01
36% spare
No price at Asda for:
- Dried thyme
Tesco· £1.85 of food
£5.36
65% spare
No price at Tesco for:
- Beef chuck steak
- Celery
- Dried thyme
£0.60a serve
from £0.60 a serve at Morrisons · 8 of 9 ingredients priced
About £2.39 of ingredients used for 4 serves.
£20.00 across 3 shops · all 9 items priced · £5.26 more for bigger packs, 46% spare for later
MorrisonsBest choice£2.39
missing 1 item
you'll pay £8.60 · 72% of it spare
Sainsbury's£2.41
missing 1 item · £0.02 more
you'll pay £7.69 · 69% of it spare
Aldi UK£3.14
missing 1 item · £0.75 more
you'll pay £9.74 · 68% of it spare
Asda£10.90
missing 1 item · £8.51 more
you'll pay £17.01 · 36% of it spare
Tesco£1.85
missing 3 items
you'll pay £5.36 · 65% of it spare
Buy at Sainsbury's£2.10
Carrots
£0.65/kg
need 300 gStamford Street Co. Carrots 1 kg£0.65
Sainsbury's£0.65/kg£0.65·Tesco£0.69/kg£0.11·Aldi UK£0.44·Asda£0.69/kg£0.69·Morrisons£0.69·
OcadoN/A
Brown onions
£0.80/kg
need 250 gSainsbury's Onions 1 kg£0.80closest match
Sainsbury's£0.80/kg£0.80·Tesco£0.95/kg£0.11·Aldi UK£0.95·Morrisons£0.95·Asda£0.98/kg£0.98·OcadoN/A
Dried thyme
£43.33/kg
need 2 gStamford Street Co. Standard 15 g£0.65closest match
Sainsbury's£43.33/kg£0.65·Aldi UK£0.65·Morrisons£1.09·TescoN/A·AsdaN/A·OcadoN/A
Buy at Aldi UK£6.42
Tinned chopped tomatoes
£0.43
need 400 gEveryday Essentials Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice 0.4kgclosest match 1 pack assumed, quantity unknown (size unknown)
Aldi UK£0.43·Asda£1.08/kg£0.43·Sainsbury's£1.13/kg£0.45·Morrisons£0.45·Tesco£1.18/kg£0.47·OcadoN/A
Plain flour
£0.47/kg
need 40 gThe Pantry Plain Flour 1.5 kg£0.70closest match
Aldi UK£0.47/kg£0.70·Sainsbury's£0.90/kg£0.45·Morrisons£0.53·Tesco£0.47/kg£0.70·Asda£0.47/kg£0.70·OcadoN/A
Olive oil
£5.30/L
need 30 mlSolesta Olive Oil 1 L£5.29closest match
Aldi UK£5.30/L£5.29·Asda£10.92/L£2.73·Sainsbury's£12.00/L£3.00·Morrisons£3.00·Tesco£12.40/L£3.10·OcadoN/A
Buy at Asda£11.48
Beef chuck steak
£11.13/kg
need 800 g2 × Asda Beef Braising Steak 400 g£4.45
Asda£11.13/kg£4.45·Aldi UKN/A·TescoN/A·Sainsbury'sN/A·MorrisonsN/A·OcadoN/A
Potatoes
£0.66/kg
need 600 gAsda British White Potatoes 2 kg£1.32closest match
Asda£0.66/kg£1.32·Tesco£0.90/kg£0.27·Aldi UK~£1.18/kg£0.79·Sainsbury's~£1.18/kg£0.79·Morrisons£0.99·OcadoN/A
Celery
£3.60/kg
need 100 gAsda Mild & Crunchy Celery Sticks 350 g£1.26closest match
Asda£3.60/kg£1.26·Aldi UK£0.49·Sainsbury's£3.60/kg£0.90·Morrisons£0.90·TescoN/A·OcadoN/A