Caramelized Onion and Kale Beef Stew

Sharing is caring!

Caramelized Onion and Kale Beef Stew is a delicious modern take on a classic beef stew recipe. This is the type of dinner that requires little active preparation time, but a couple hours of simmering, so you might want to make this a weekend project.

It’s been about 16 degrees and snowing this week in Chicago, so it isn’t surprising that I was inspired to make this hearty Caramelized Onion and Kale Beef Stew. Stew is great this time of year for two reasons, first it is the ultimate comfort food that will warm you right up on a freezing cold day. Secondly, you can make a big batch and eat it for a couple of days so that you don’t have to venture out into the cold to go to the store. It’s a win win.

I have said this before, we aren’t the type of people who love kale. We don’t really eat it on its own, but we appreciate how it adds a nice fresh texture and taste to this stew. I think it is best to add the kale to the soup just before serving it so that it retains it’s crispness. If you are planning to freeze some of the soup for later, you might want to freeze it without the kale so that you can add fresh kale when you serve the soup later.

Caramelizing the onions adds a deeper richer flavor to this soup. I absolutely love caramelized onions and they complement the beef and kale perfectly. The process of caramelizing the onions takes about 40 minutes and a bit of patience, but the reward is worth it.

I also added potatoes, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to this soup. You could replace the potatoes with egg noodles if you like. The great thing about soup and stew recipes is that they are so easy to customize based on what you like.

Print

Caramelized Onion and Kale Beef Stew

Caramelized Onion and Kale Beef Stew is a delicious modern take on a classic beef stew recipe. This is the type of dinner that requires little active preparation time, but a couple hours of simmering, so you might want to make this a weekend project.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 White Onions
• 4 tablespoons Butter
• 1 1/2 pounds Beef Stew Meat
• 1/2 cup of Flour
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• 8 ounces Sliced Mushrooms
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 cup Chopped Carrots
• 1/2 cup Chopped Celery
• 1 teaspoon of Thyme
• 6 cups of Beef Broth
• 2 cups Diced Potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups Chopped Kale

Instructions

1. Start by chopping the onions. You want to chop them so they are a bit bigger than you would usually chop them for a soup. The onions will break down a bit as they caramelize, so you want chunks of onions so that they don't completely fall apart once you add them to the soup.
2. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the bottom of a large pot or dutch oven. Once the butter melts, add the chopped onion and stir to evenly coat in the butter. When I caramelize onions I like to speed up the process a little by adding 1/2 cup of water, turning the heat to medium high, and covering the pot. This softens the onions faster. Then once the onions are soft and the most of the water has evaporated, I turn the heat down to medium low. Keep and eye on the onions and stir frequently. After about 35-45 minutes the onions will be golden brown. Pour them into a bowl and set aside.
3. Next you need to brown the beef. Pour the flour into a bowl and season it with salt and pepper. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the same pot that you used to caramelize the onions, over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, coat the beef in the flour and add half of it to the pot. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, flipping it a couple times, until it has browned. Once it has browned remove it from the pot and set aside. Add another tablespoon of butter to the pot and brown the rest of the beef, and then set it aside.
4. Using the same pot, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms and garlic. Stir frequently and cook the mushrooms until they have lightly browned. Then add the carrots, celery, and thyme. Sauté for another 4 minutes.

5. Add the beef and beef broth and bring to a slow and steady simmer. Let simmer for 1 hour and a half, until the beef is tender. Then add the potatoes and onions and let cook for another 15 minutes. Lastly, add the kale and let cook for an additional two minutes before serving the stew.

Recipe Notes

I also added potatoes, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to this soup. You could replace the potatoes with egg noodles if you like. The great thing about soup and stew recipes is that they are so easy to customize based on what you like.

Want to save this Caramelized Onion and Kale Beef Stew recipe for later? Here is an image for you to pin: