Hearty Stew Recipes

Jim Clendenen's version of this classic French stew, called navarin d'agneau, was inspired by vegetables from an extraordinary organic produce purveyor, the Chef's Garden, in his native Ohio.

When making most stews, cooks typically brown the meat before braising it; here, chef Ethan Stowell skips that step, which simplifies the Moroccan recipe and gives the lamb a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture. The dish is vibrantly flavored with ginger, cumin, coriander, olives, and lemon; the broth is delicious over couscous.

For this beef stew, chef Jacques Pépin uses a special piece of the shoulder called the flatiron steak. This long, narrow piece is extremely lean, tender, and moist, and it makes an ideal stew. He does not use stock, demiglace or even water. He makes his stew strictly with a robust red wine. This rich, winey beef stew is always a hit with his chef friends.

Top Chef judge Gail Simmons skips soaking beans, instead opting for black-eyed peas in this thick and luscious stew, which gets cooked right in the pot alongside spicy Italian sausage.  

Chef and butcher Tia Harrison breaks down a pig each week at San Francisco butcher shop Avedano's. She finds stew is a versatile way to use cuts like pork shoulder, shanks, and belly. Here, she cooks the stew with pleasantly bitter ancho chiles.

This sweet and spicy coconut milk–based stew gets lots of bright flavor from spinach, basil, chiles, and lime juice.

This stew, like all those in Catalonia, starts with sofrito, a thick sauce made with sautéed onions and tomatoes. Once you get all the ingredients in the pot, there's not much to do besides enjoy the aroma wafting from this hearty, spicy, soupy stew as it slowly cooks.

When chef Ethan Stowell was growing up, his father was the family cook; beef stew was one of his specialties. Unlike his dad, who favored rump roast, Stowell uses short ribs, a marbled cut that turns fabulously succulent and tender when slow-simmered.

Combining two Portuguese favorites — kale-and-sausage soup and a bean, sausage, and tomato stew — makes a simple, sensational one-pot meal. To keep the focus on the vegetables, we've used just a tiny amount of fresh sausage; you can add more, if you like, or substitute dried chorizo or pepperoni.

This flavorful stew, named after chef Michael Cimarusti's Portuguese uncle, is loaded with clams, mussels, and cod as well as chunks of linguiça, a smoky, mildly hot, cured Portuguese sausage.

This classic Belgian beef stew is known for its sweet-sour combination of caramelized onions and beer. Any dark Belgian-style ale would be a good choice here. As with most stews, the dish will taste even better a day or two after it's made.

A mix of mild chiles (poblano, Anaheim) and hot ones (serrano) gives body and heat to this quick braise made with boneless pork shoulder (ask your butcher to trim it for you).

Tangy feta cheese, a bright herbal pesto and a crisp bread crumb topping all elevate this tomato-bean stew. It's sensational made with meaty Rancho Gordo giant limas from Peru, silky gigantes, or large limas from the grocery store.

Even though chef Linton Hopkins's stew is full of shrimp and sausage, the best part is the delicate lima beans, a Southern staple.

The Provençal stews called daubes are cooked in wide-bellied, narrow-necked earthenware pots (daubières). The lids are specifically designed to trap moisture during cooking. Dutch ovens or bean pots are perfect stand-ins for a daubière.

This one-pot dinner from Top Chef judge Gail Simmons is an enriched take on classic chicken soup with rice; at once flavorful, hearty, and comforting.

Made with tender, boneless leg of lamb, this quick-cooking staple of Ethiopian home cooking is flavored with awaze sauce, a kicky blend of berbere spices, smoked paprika, lemon juice, and wine. Some cooks like it dry, but chef Hiyaw Gebreyohannes prefers it saucy — all the better for mopping up with Ethiopia's crêpe-like bread, injera.

David Ansel makes this stew with venison and venison stock, but it's equally delicious prepared with beef chuck. The meat is slowly braised in Madeira to bring out its rich flavor, then it's combined with beef-based broth and nutty, slightly crunchy wild rice.

This spicy stew is loaded with pork and plenty of vegetables. California winemaker Andrew Murray makes it for his employees around harvest time. "It's our comfort food at the winery," he says. "And it's a nice excuse to stop for a few minutes and eat together, even when we're busy."

This recipe for lecsó, a traditional sausage, tomato, and bell pepper stew from Hungary, is made with beer for a deep, rich flavor.

This incredibly hearty stew can be on the table in less than half an hour.

This gumbo is rich and toasty thanks to the dark roux. It's wonderful with oysters, shrimp, and crab, but New Orleans chef Slade Rushing of Brennan's says you can substitute what's good in your area: clams, for instance, or even chicken.

Chef Fabio Trabocchi of Casa Luca in Washington, D.C., says the key to this brodetto-inspired recipe is to cook the fish and shellfish in stages. The crusty ciabatta toasts make this stew a warming winter meal.

A red wine braise, complete with other mulling ingredients like fresh orange and whole spices, makes the oxtails in this stew fall-apart tender and flavorful. The longer the braise, the better, says New York chef JJ Johnson. "I forgot about it in the oven and returned to find it perfectly cooked," he says.

This Polish "hunter's stew" typically combines at least three different meats, from wild game to pork ribs, sausages, and veal. Chef Andrew Zimmern uses lightly smoked bacon, chicken thighs, and kielbasa in his version. He also adds roasted bell peppers for depth, buttery chanterelles, and crisp-tender fennel. The stew simmers with fermented sauerkraut, another traditional element. "Thankfully," says Zimmern, "[the sauerkraut] is available in almost any supermarket you walk into."

Sop up this Vietnamese beef stew's fragrant broth — flavored with lemongrass, ginger, star anise, and plenty of fresh herbs — with a chewy baguette or ladle over noodles.