Classic comfort food with a healthy twist! This hearty paleo stew is made with kohlrabi instead of white potatoes, and other nutrient dense ingredients.

This recipe is paleo, gluten-free, dairy free and can be made AIP, low FODMAP, low oxalate, low lectin, low histamine, low acid and candida diet friendly.

Recipe ingredient substitutions

Beef stew meat substitutions: Classic beef stew recipes generally use stew meat but you can honestly use any cut of beef that you like. I have used beef roast, chuck roast, and various cuts of steak. It would even taste equally as good with ground beef. I also use grass-fed beef but you can use regular beef as well.

Kohlrabi substitutions: Feel free to use other root veggies for your white potato substitute! Turnip and rutabaga also work great.

White onion substitutions: Instead of a fresh white onion, swap it out for shallots, red onion, sweet onion, or even green onion or chives. Alternatively you can also use freeze-dried onion flakes or 1 – 2 teaspoons of onion powder.

Garlic clove substitutions: Instead of fresh garlic cloves, swap it out for freeze-dried garlic flakes or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.

Tomato paste substitutions: Instead of tomato paste, you can also use tomato sauce, pasta sauce or Primal Kitchen paleo ketchup. If you want to keep it fresh, simply dice up 1 whole fresh tomato. Or you can omit the tomato paste altogether.

Red wine substitutions: Instead of regular red wine, I have also used dealcoholized red wine. You can also swap out the wine for 1 – 2 tablespoons of any type of vinegar such as red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. You can also use coconut aminos as an alternative.

Bone broth substitutions: I generally use my own bone broth recipe to keep the ingredients as clean as possible, but you can also use store-bought chicken stock or beef stock.

Cassava flour substitutions: I provide an option to thicken up this hearty beef stew with cassava flour, but you can easily swap this out for arrowroot flour / arrowroot starch, tapioca flour / tapioca starch, potato starch or corn starch.

Fresh rosemary substitutions: Instead of fresh rosemary, swap it out for 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary leaves.

Olive oil substitutions: Instead of olive oil, you can use other healthy fats such as avocado oil, pork lard or beef suet. Or any other cooking fat of your choice.

Overhead view of beef stew in a cast iron skillet surrounded by linen clothe, fresh herbs and two glasses of red wine

Recipe variations

Make this in your crock pot / slow cooker: In a cast iron frying pan on medium heat, brown your stew meat and diced up onion in olive oil. Once they are nicely browned, add in roughly 1 cup of bone broth and using a wooden spoon scrape all of the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Transfer all of this into your slow cooker with the remaining bone broth and other diced up vegetables, seasonings, wine and tomato paste. Slow cook for either 4 hours on high heat or 8 hours on low heat. For the most tender beef, go low and slow!

Make this in your instant pot: To make instant pot beef stew, turn your instant pot onto saute mode and add your stew meat, diced up onions and olive oil. Sauté these until they have browned. Then add your broth and using a wooden spoon, scrape all of the browned bits off the bottom for maximum flavour-town! Then add all of your remaining diced vegetables and seasonings. Follow your instant pot manual settings for making soup or stew.

Switch up the veggies: Feel free to swap out or add additional vegetables such as cauliflower rice, sweet potatoes or other root vegetables like turnips, parsnips or rutabaga.

Add additional seasonings and flavours: This soup tastes pretty darn good on its own, but if you want some additional flavour consider adding bay leaves, thyme or other fresh herbs. To add some kick, add some cayenne or red pepper flakes.

Close up view of beef stew in a cast iron skillet topped with fresh herbs

Dietary modifications

Make this recipe candida diet friendly: Omit the red wine. Make sure to use bone broth instead of store-bought beef broth which normally has yeast extract and sugar added.

Make this recipe AIP friendly: Omit the tomato paste, red wine, and black pepper. Make sure to use homemade bone broth instead of store-bought broth.

Make this recipe low FODMAP: Omit the onion and garlic.

Make this recipe low acid/gastritis friendly: Omit the tomato paste, red wine, black pepper, and potentially the onion and garlic if they tend to aggravate your stomach.

Make this recipe lower oxalate: Omit or reduce the carrots, celery, and tomato paste. Avoid using cassava or arrowroot starch to thicken it and use potato starch instead.

Make this recipe lower lectin: Omit the tomato paste.

Make this recipe lower histamine: Omit the tomato paste and red wine. Use unaged beef if possible. Use bone broth made quickly in a pressure cooker and avoid 24 hour bone broth.

Storage tips

Store your beef stew in airtight containers in the fridge for 2 – 3 days, or in the freezer for 3 – 6 months. This stew freezes really well and works great for meal prep.

Side view of beef stew in cast iron skillet placed on top linen cloth and surrounded by fresh herbs and two glasses of wine

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Side view of beef stew in cast iron skillet surrounded by herbs and linen clothe

Paleo Beef Stew Recipe

Tara Klippert
Classic comfort food with a healthy twist! This hearty paleo stew is made with kohlrabi instead of white potatoes, and other nutrient dense ingredients.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 521 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs beef stew meat
  • 2 large kohlrabi (or turnips)
  • 3 carrots
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 1 white onion
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup red wine
  • 6 cups bone broth
  • 1 tsp sea salt (optional – if your broth isn't already salted)
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp cassava flour (optional – to thicken)

Instructions
 

  • In a large soup pot on medium heat, fry your beef stew pieces in olive oil until they start to brown up nicely.
  • While your beef is browning, peel and dice up your kohlrabi, carrots, and celery and transfer them into a large bowl.
  • Then peel and dice your white onion and garlic cloves.
  • Add your diced up onion and garlic to your browned beef. Continue searing until the onions and garlic start browning up as well.
  • Then add in your bone broth and use your wooden spoon to scrape all of the browned bits off from the bottom of the pot.
  • Next add all of your remaining diced up vegetables as well as your tomato paste, red wine, salt, and pepper.
  • Toss in a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. You can pull these out at the end. Or alternatively, dice up your rosemary and add it to the pot.
  • Do not add the cassava flour yet. If you want to thicken up your stew, you can do this at the end.
  • Bring your pot up to a boil at medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and let your stew cook until all of your vegetables get soft to your liking.
  • At the end, if you want to thicken your soup up a bit, mix 3 tablespoons of starch into 3 tablespoons of water. Make sure you get all the clumps out. Then add this into your stew and give it a good stir.
  • Turn your stovetop off and continue stirring until your soup has thickened up.
  • If you are making this for meal prep, allow your stew to cool on the stove until it is close to room temperature. Then using a soup ladle, evenly distribute it into 6 glass containers. Top them with airtight lids and freeze them. Take them out during the week as needed.

Video

Notes

Above in the blog post I provide recipe ingredient substitutions and variations, dietary modifications, and storage tips.

Nutrition

Calories: 521kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 35gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.6gMonounsaturated Fat: 3.3gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 581mgPotassium: 745mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7g
Keyword dairy free, gluten free, grain free, nut free, paleo, soy free
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Tara Klippert
About the author Tara Klippert

Tara Klippert is a Registered Health and Nutrition Counselor and holds a diploma in Holistic Nutrition and Health Coaching. She shares her gluten free, dairy free & allergy friendly recipes.