Healthy Beef Stew Recipes

This rib-sticking bean chili is richly flavored with cumin, chili, paprika, oregano and an assortment of peppers. Use whatever beans you have in your pantry.

This dump-and-simmer recipe is terrific for camping--or for dinner on a busy weeknight.

Chili cooks in just 15 minutes when it's made in a multicooker. The beef gets infused with the flavors of chili powder and cumin. Shredded cheese, scallion and sour cream round out the meal, but feel free to garnish with whatever toppings you choose.

Tossing all the ingredients into a slow cooker makes this Italian-inspired beef stew virtually a hands-off meal. The long simmer time is the secret to the beef's fork-tender texture and rich-tasting tomato-based gravy.

Balti, a stew created by Pakistani chefs in Birmingham, England, is named after the metal pot it's cooked in. We found a large skillet works too. Topping with a dollop of yogurt adds a hint of creaminess. Serve with a side of sautéed spinach for a satisfying dinner.

Start this slow-cooker beef stew before you leave for work and you'll arrive home to a delicious and hearty meal. All you'll need to do is whip up the garlic-thyme sour cream topping, and it will be ready to eat.

This classic chili recipe features beef, beans and shredded sweet potatoes for a nutritional boost. The sweet potato blends into the chili so well that even picky eaters will gobble it up.

Beef stew meat, potatoes, carrots, and onion are simmered with cream of mushroom soup in this super simple, slow cooker beef stew recipe.

Anything but dainty, this healthy cowboy beef and bean chili recipe is hearty with the addition of mushrooms and beer. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground beef and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

This beef stew for two replicates the flavors in tzimmes, a sweet stew traditionally served at Rosh Hashanah to start the New Year. This version gets natural sweetness from cherries and butternut squash.

This warming slow-cooker stew has all the flavors of corned beef and cabbage but with much less sodium, plus it's ready in half the time of traditional corned beef and cabbage. Rather than curing the beef in a salty brine for at least a day, we just throw the beef and veggies into a crock pot with pickling spice for that delicous briny flavor without the long soaking period.

This chili con carne with ground beef is a serious crowd-pleaser, whether you're hosting a football-watching party or just feeding a hungry family. It has a nice, beefy, beany flavor and just enough spice. You'll be surprised that a chili that comes together in less than an hour has so much flavor. Three types of chile peppers (fresh poblanos, chili powder and chipotles in adobo) add depth and complexity. Poblanos also add some color to the chili--if you can't find them, you can sub bell peppers of any color, though they won't add heat. Using lean ground beef makes this chili healthier and also keeps it from being greasy. Be sure to brown the beef well for the best flavor: you want to stir to break up the chunks, but don't stir too much or the beef won't sear at all. Serve with cornbread and bowls of sour cream, chopped avocado, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro and hot sauce and let everyone customize their own bowl.

A richly flavored wine sauce coats seasoned beef chuck steak and vegetables in this hearty main dish recipe.

For this slow-cooker interpretation of Carbonnades Flamandes, a Flemish stew made with beer, if you can't find a brown ale, use a strong, dark beer (but not a stout).

This warming beef stew simmers in a Dutch oven and gets classic flavor from red wine.

This low-calorie main dish stew gets its lively flavor from a tantalizing mix of mustard, allspice, and Worcestershire sauce.

This stew has a simple list of ingredients, but plenty of great flavor thanks to flank steak, a cut that's known for its excellent meaty flavor. The flank is also known for its long grainy, and sometimes tough texture. In this stew the texture is a great asset--the meat shreds apart into tasty strips after it's cooked in the slow cooker.

Using a pressure cooker is a great way to slash time from dishes that typically take hours. The beef in this rich and flavorful stew is melt-in-your-mouth tender in only 30 minutes.

Ropa Vieja is a Cuban dish of meat, peppers and onions. Literally translated it means "old clothes," a reference to the colorful pieces of red and yellow peppers and tomatoes in the dish. Garnish this slow-cooker Ropa Vieja with additional fresh oregano leaves, if desired.

A slow cooker brings out all the flavors in this easy bean and beef chili recipe.

In this steak étouffée recipe, boneless chuck is slowly cooked in a flavorful liquid full of aromatic vegetables, spicy sausage and broth. This beef étouffée recipe calls for a 2 1/2-pound piece of chuck, but if chuck steaks are available at your market, purchase eight 4- to 5-ounce steaks instead of cutting your own from the roast. Serve the steak étouffée with stone-ground grits, polenta or rice, and pass the Tabasco.

Mexican cooks are great at turning tough chunks of meat into delicious and tender stews. This one, which uses tougher cuts of bison, such as chuck or brisket, is flavored with chili powder, cumin and tequila. Serve with warm tortillas.

In France, this classic stew made with beef, vegetables and red wine would be known as a daube. Slow-cooking the surprisingly lean beef shanks melts and softens the connective tissue, producing succulent results. If you prefer, use nonalcoholic wine. Serve with barley to soak up the delicious sauce.

Cincinnati has a unique spin on chili--they serve it over spaghetti. Typically the chili is just made with meat, no beans, but we couldn't resist adding beans to add fiber and nutrients. Serve with sliced cucumber and red onion with lemon juice and olive oil.