Stew
Stews and casseroles are classic comfort food, great for filling bellies and batching to cook once and eat twice. Plus, they are affordable, simple, adaptable and easy to add more veg to! We’ve gathered some expert tips and small steps for you to take your stew from good to great.
Stews and casseroles are classic comfort food, great for filling bellies and batching to cook once and eat twice. Plus, they are affordable, simple, adaptable and easy to add more veg to! We’ve gathered some expert tips and small steps for you to take your stew from good to great.
Why are stews so great?
A stew (or casserole – which is just a stew cooked in the oven instead of on the stove!) is a simple, filling, affordable and flavour-rich dish to feed a family during the cooler months.
It’s a classic comfort food, and easy to adapt to bring in new flavours and veggies in a subtle way. Our Simple Stew recipe below is just that – a basic mix of meat (or veggie alternative) + stock + maybe some veg, and flour to thicken. If you are just starting out, this is the place to start! If you already have the basics and want to work on slowly improving your recipe using our Step by Step method, try our Next Steps Stew.
Kids who engage with healthy foods are more likely to eat them, so to set yourself up for success, we’ve included tips to get kids involved in the second recipe to keep things simple.
Simple Stew
Ingredients:
Meat/veggie alternative (cheap cuts such as stewing beef/shin, skinless chicken thighs on the bone, or diced pork work well here as they do well with being cooked low and slow)
Fresh or frozen sliced carrots (optional) and/or a couple of large white potatoes, chopped into small pieces
1-2 tbsp flour (optional)
Stock (and/or tomato sauce)
Dried mixed herbs for extra flavour (optional)
Not made a stew before, or not ready to try the next steps? Start here!
Method:
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Brown the meat/veggie alternative – fry in a little oil until lightly browned all over. Add the carrots and/or potatoes, if using (remember that white potatoes do not count as 1 of your 5-a-day, but are great for other reasons!), and cook a few more mins until softened, stirring through a tablespoon or two of flour if you like to help the stew thicken nicely. Pour over enough stock or sauce to cover (and herbs, if using). Turn the heat up until your stew is bubbling.
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Turn the heat back down to simmer the stew, covered with a lid, for 30 mins-3 hours (check cooking instructions for your choice of meat – diced meat will usually take closer to 30 mins, but bigger pieces of meat or ones that do best being cooked low and slow can take several hours), until everything is cooked through and soft (slow-cooked meats will pull apart when you check them), checking occasionally and stirring, even adding extra stock or sauce if needed to stop it sticking.
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For a casserole, instead of simmering on the stove, preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 while you are bringing the stew to the boil, then cover the (ovenproof) pan with a lid and pop in the oven for 1-3 hours or until ready.
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If your stew/casserole looks too dry when you check on it, add more stock and/or sauce. If it looks too thin at the end, then mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 1 tbsp water in a bowl and stir in a few spoonfuls of the stew, then add it into the pan and cook for another 5-10 mins uncovered, stirring regularly, until thickened.
There is no need to go any further with this recipe until you are confident with it and feel up for the next step.
Once you have the basics it’s time to slowly improve your recipe using our Step by Step method to a bit better.
There are three ways to step-by-step your way to better stew – start where you feel most comfortable and if in doubt, start with a few veg.
Remember, the MOST important thing is that the family enjoys the meal! These changes and swaps can take as long as is needed. Small simple improvements over time may not even be noticed!
add veg
Aim for 2 handfuls of veg per person in the long-run, but it’s better to go slow and get there than to rush to the finish line and find no one is there with you. For the best chance of success, start with a veg you know the family likes, don’t try to hide it, and build up over time. Starting with frozen veg can also mean less waste, keeping costs down, and being able to add a small amount simply.
We’ve added our top suggestions and how and when to add them to the recipe below.
better sauce
Swapping a ready-made sauce or high salt stock for a homemade sauce, quick stock made from scraps, or a lower salt stock can often help the budget as well as the salt and sugar content. If making your own sauce is 20 mins you can’t spare, adding a tin of chopped tomatoes or passata to some water or low salt stock is an easy, cheaper, instant way to a healthier stew sauce. Add flavour with a pinch of salt, and some mixed dried herbs to taste.
reduce meat
Try a tin of cooked lentils, chickpeas or beans (drained and rinsed) to replace half (or all of) the meat, added for the last couple of mins of cooking. If you think it will be turned down, try starting with just half a tin and perhaps even blending it into the sauce and just reduce the meat while adding more lentils and/or beans slowly each time you make the meal.
Next Steps Stew
Ingredients:
Meat/veggie alternative (cheap cuts such as stewing beef/shin, skinless chicken thighs on the bone, or diced pork work well here as they do well with being cooked low and slow) – try to use less and add some pulses (see below)
1-2 tbsp flour (optional)
A bag of frozen or fresh mixed casserole veg, and/or a handful per person of 1-2 veg (see suggestions in recipe)
Stock (low sodium) (and a tin of chopped tomatoes if you like)
Dried mixed herbs, for added flavour (optional)
1 tin of beans, chickpeas or lentils, drained
We suggest you do this in stages, slowly, and go as far as works for your family, here’s how your final recipe might come together…
Method:
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Brown the meat/veggie alternative (try using less and adding in some extra protein from pulses like beans or lentils) – fry in a little oil until lightly browned all over. Add the veg, if using, and cook a few more mins until softening, stirring through a tablespoon or two of flour if you like to help the stew thicken nicely. Pour over enough stock or sauce to cover (and herbs, if using). Turn the heat up until your stew is bubbling. A bag of casserole veg – (fresh or frozen) will do just fine here, but if you want to choose your own, great choices include: fresh or frozen diced root veggies, fresh or frozen diced butternut squash, chopped or sliced courgette or aubergine (or frozen Mediterranean veg), diced peppers, diced onions, sliced mushrooms, tinned or frozen sweetcorn, frozen peas, leafy greens like spinach or kale… Add frozen veg or leafy greens for the last bit of cooking – check packages for cooking times.
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Turn the heat back down to simmer the stew, covered with a lid, for 30 mins-3 hours (check cooking instructions for your choice of meat – diced meat will usually take closer to 30 mins, but bigger pieces of meat or ones that do best being cooked low and slow can take several hours), until everything is cooked through and soft (slow-cooked meats will pull apart when you check them), checking occasionally and stirring, even adding extra stock or sauce if needed to stop it sticking.
-
For a casserole, instead of simmering on the stove, preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 while you are bringing the stew to the boil, then cover the (ovenproof) pan with a lid and pop in the oven for 1-3 hours or until ready.
-
If your stew/casserole looks too dry when you check on it, add more stock and/or sauce. If it looks too thin at the end, then mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 1 tbsp water in a bowl and stir in a few spoonfuls of the stew, then add it into the pan and cook for another 5-10 mins uncovered, stirring regularly, until thickened. A few mins before serving, add any frozen veg or leafy greens and a tin of beans, chickpeas or lentils (any work in a stew). Heat through and serve.
Engaging Kids
Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating. Find out more here.
Kids in the kitchen
Get younger kids washing and tearing leafy greens, pouring stock and/or tomatoes into the pan with your help, and chucking a couple of handfuls of your chosen veg in.
Older kids might be ready to learn how to chop some fresh veg to add at the start of the meal, stir everything together in the pan, or help you make a quick stock or sauce to add in!
Master these skills:
Cleaning vegetables, Tasting, Bridge chopping, Claw chopping
Activities
Use arts & crafts as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. While you make your spag bol sauce, why not set a child up with:
Find more arts & crafts and puzzles & games on our website.
Sensory
Why not start with a couple of cubes of cooked squash or root veg like sweet potato and get them to describe what they taste – does it remind them of anything? Maybe it tastes like autumn or Christmas. If they aren’t feeling up to tasting it, suggest sniffing or licking to see if that gives them a sense of the taste that they can describe. Make sure you join in and describe it yourself. See if they want to chuck some into the stew after having engaged with them.
Watch Ruth Platt’s video on sensory activities with butternut squash for more inspiration, or get more tips, games and videos over on our Sensory page.
Serving
Why not let your child come up with a fun name and story for your stew? Perhaps different veg and elements in the stew are having a battle, or joining forces against the mash! Let them use their imaginations and enjoy the process. Make sure to praise them for their help and to use the name and story chosen when serving, it may encourage them to try some!
Get more ideas over on our Roles for Kids page.
Family Favourite Recipes
Use our step-by-step methods to slowly improve these favourites, too…
DO you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
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