Beef and Kabocha Squash Stew
Beef and Kabocha Squash Stew
My kids and I love beef stew, but my husband doesn’t so I don’t make it as often as I would like. But I got my hands on Giada’s new cookbook Happy Cooking (affil link) and can’t ever resist a slow cooker recipe, especially one with winter squash. Although this does require a little prepping, it’s worth the extra steps. If you work, you could always get the first step ready the night before. I adapted this slightly from her book just cutting down on the olive oil and thought it was wonderful, and so did my kids.
Variations and Tips
- Cutting the squash is probably the most time consuming part of the recipe, here’s an easy tip on how to peel winter squash.
- You can swap the kobacha squash for pre-cut butternut for convenience.
I have and love my Instant Pot, but I still love my slow cooker and prefer to use it for slow cooker dishes. I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker (affil link). I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This slow cooker is so great, I actually own several!
Beef and Kabocha Squash Stew (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour, gluten free would work
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- fresh black pepper, to taste
- 2 lbs stew beef, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup Marsala wine
- 1 pound Kobacha squash, peeled seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- crusty bread, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Slow Cooker:In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the oil, onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook 4 minutes, or until the onion is tender.
- Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the beef and toss gently to coat. Add the beef to the pan in batches and cook, turning occasionally until browned on all side and golden on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala and scrape up the browned bits from the pan.
- Transfer everything to the slow cooker, add the squash, sun-dried tomatoes and broth and stir. Cover and cook 4 to 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Serve with crusty bread and sprinkle with parsley.
- Instant Pot: Press saute on the Instant Pot. When hot add the oil, onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook 4 minutes, or until the onion is tender.
- Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the beef and toss gently to coat. Add the beef to the pot in batches and cook, turning occasionally until browned on all side and golden on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala and scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Press cancel.
- Add the squash, sun-dried tomatoes and broth and stir. Cover and cook high pressure 35 minutes, natural release. Serve with crusty bread and sprinkle with parsley.
Last Step:
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Another winner. Meat was so tender you could cut with just a spoon. So good.Â
This turned out good – very tasty after adding some Worcestershire, salt, coconut aminos, and red wine vinegar at the end. I also thickened it by stirring broth and cornstarch together and then adding it back (also used cornstarch instead of flour on the beef). I used butternut squash, because that’s what the store had, and it all dissolved. I didn’t have any actual visible chunks. I had added some carrots and baby potatoes that I needed to use up, so it still came out like a stew, but maybe something to watch out for. I used my crockpot for 4 hours on high. Regardless, I loved the fresh herbs, marsala, and sun dried tomato taste! Thanks for always having consistent reliable recipes that put a delicious dinner on the table!
We didn’t care for this stew. The only change I made was substitute sweet potato and one red potato for the squash that I couldn’t find. I used fresh herbs, good beef, but we thought it was lacking something.
So delicious! I used butternut squash, added potatoes and a can of diced tomatoes because I didn’t have sun-dried.Â
if cooking in reg oven, how long and what temp?
I followed the recipe exactly and decided at the last second to add a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up. So delicious! The rosemary and Marsala wine flavor combo was the best part.
This is bomb! However I replace the squash with a mixture of red garnet sweet potato, red and gold potatoes. Tip-ALWAYS use fresh herbs!Â
Wow! Another great recipe. I was short on time so I placed everything in the crock pot without sauteing meat, onions or garlic. I used frozen squash! and tomato pesto as I didn’t have sundried. When everything was cooked, I made a roux, added the stock from the pot and then combined it again. A real winner. Love this website!
Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes so I subbed some sweet mini peppers and cherry tomatoes and it came out wonderfully. I will definitely make this again!