Stifado Recipe (Greek Beef Stew With Shallots)

Make insanely delicious beef stifado (Greek beef stew with shallots). This recipe gives you tender, fall-apart meat smothered in a perfectly balanced and aromatic sauce.

Serve it with creamy mashed potato or fluffy rice for the ultimate comfort food—ideal for chilly weather. You’ll need slices of bread to mop up the sauce. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…it’s a super satisfying bowl of steaming stew with all the Greek flavour favourites.

If you love this beef stifado recipe, you’ve got to try this Greek lemon beef stew, too! Another warming bowl is my recipe for chicken lemon soup (kotosoupa avgolemono). And for a hearty lamb dish, don’t miss my slow cooked lamb chops and potatoes in red wine.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Dish
• How to make this dish - Short video
• Ingredients
• Top tips for making it
• Instructions
• Variations
• Equipment
• What to serve with beef stifado
• Storage
• 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Dish

• Deep, rich flavours: Beef stifado is super delicious and deeply aromatic. The combination of herbs and spices, tangy red wine, and sweet tomatoes is so yummy and satisfying. 
  
• Tender, juicy beef: The slow-cooked beef becomes incredibly tender and juicy. The meat soaks up all the rich flavours of the sauce, and each bite melts in your mouth.
  
• Comfort food at its best: A hearty stew is super comforting. Am I right? Beef stifado is the perfect meal for a cosy night with its thick, flavourful sauce and tender beef.
  
• Simple ingredients, restaurant-quality: It looks and tastes like it comes straight from an authentic Greek kitchen, but it's easy to make.

How to make this dish - Short video

Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Round up these basics – nothing here is fancy or inaccessible:

• Beef Neck: This cut of beef is ideal for slow cooking. It becomes incredibly tender and succulent, soaking up all the wonderful flavours of the stew.

• Shallots: Shallots add a unique sweetness and body to the stew as they stay whole. Use pearl onions if you can’t find shallots.

• Red Wine: It helps tenderize the beef and infuses it with a robust taste.
  
• Olive Oil: A staple in Greek cuisine, olive oil is used to sauté the shallots and beef, adding a smooth, fruity base to the stew.
  
• Garlic: Minced garlic gives the stew a robust, aromatic base, enhancing the overall flavour profile.
  
• Tomato Paste: This adds a rich flavour, thickens the stew, and gives it a vibrant red colour.
  
• Cinnamon and Allspice: These warm spices are essential in giving this dish its characteristic flavours and are widely used in Greek cooking. They add a hint of sweetness and complexity to the stew.
  
• Crushed Tomatoes: These make a slightly sweet base that melds beautifully with the beef and spices and adds to the stew's beautiful red colour.
  
• Beef Stock and Water: These liquids form the base of the stew, creating a rich broth that the beef slowly cooks in.
  

• Red Wine Vinegar: It adds a subtle tanginess that brightens up the flavours of the stew and is used to deglaze the pan, lifting the flavourful bits from the bottom.
  
• Seasonings: Salt, pepper, dried oregano, thyme, fresh rosemary, and bay leaves—you want to add loads of lovely flavour to the cooking liquid, so don’t be shy!

Top tips for making it

While this is a super simple recipe, there are a few tips to getting great results:

• Searing the beef: You want to get a good sear on the beef for the best colour and caramelization possible. This will make a big difference to the flavour and the end result. 
  
• Use quality ingredients: Fresh, high-quality ingredients make a huge difference. For the best results, use fresh tomatoes, good-quality red wine, and fresh herbs and spices.
  
• Don't rush the cooking process:  Go low and slow with this one, guys. Let it simmer gently for as long as it takes to get tender beef and balance in taste.
  
• Keep the shallots whole and intact: These add slight sweetness and texture.
  
• Rest before serving: Allow the stew to rest for a few minutes. This time lets the flavours meld even more. The result is next-level delicious.

Instructions

Here, a quick breakdown of the steps with process shots to guide you through making this delicious Greek stew.

Marinade the Beef in the Wine

1. Cut the beef neck into chunks roughly half the size of your fist and place in a large bowl. 
   
2. Add 1 cup of red wine. Massage the meat well to coat it evenly with the wine.

Cleaning the Skin from the Shallots

 Prepare the shallots by carefully removing the skin and placing them into another bowl.

Frying the Shallots and the Beef for Colour

1. Sauté the Shallots: Pour the olive oil into your stew pot and place it over high heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the shallots. Sauté them for a few minutes until they are browned, then remove them from the pan and set aside.
   
2. Brown the Beef: Remove the beef from the wine marinade and pat dry. Add the beef chunks to the pot, turning them to brown on all sides.

Adding the Rest of the Ingredients and Cooking the Stew

1. Deglaze the Pan: Pour in the red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan, lifting the flavourful bits from the bottom.
   
2. Add Ingredients: Add the minced garlic, tomato paste, cinnamon, allspice, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, crushed tomatoes, remaining red wine, beef stock, and enough water to cover the meat.
   
3. Add Herbs: Place the rosemary and bay leaves on top. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for roughly 1.5 hours.
   
4. Add Shallots: After 1.5 hours, add the sautéed shallots back into the stew pot and simmer for an additional hour.
   
5. Final Cooking: Remove the lid and gently stir the stew, being careful not to break the shallots. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes with the lid off.

Serving the Stifado

1. Rest and Serve: When the beef is soft and tender, turn off the heat and let the stew sit for 10 minutes to thicken.
   
   • Hint: Serve with crusty bread, rice, or mashed potatoes for a complete meal.

Enjoy your delicious beef stifado, a dish that's rich in flavour and tradition.

Variations

Honestly, the recipe is perfect, but you can change it up and play around with the base recipe. 

• Add more veggies: Include chunky diced carrots and celery during cooking for sweetness and depth.
• Slow cooker: Brown the beef and shallots, then transfer everything to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until tender.
• Vegetarian: Swap beef for mushrooms or tofu and add extra vegetables like bell peppers and zucchini. Adjust the cooking time, as these veggie proteins won’t need to cook for as long as the beef would.
• Spicy version: Add chopped spicy peppers or a pinch of red pepper flakes.
• Looking for something completely different? Try my Greek pork and cabbage stew (xoirino me laxano) for a hearty and comforting meal that’s full of flavour.

Equipment

Large Stew Pot: A large, heavy-bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven or a Scanpan stew pot like I used, is ideal for this recipe. Its thick walls and heavy lid ensure even heat distribution and retention, which is crucial for slow cooking.

• Tip: If you don't have a large stew pot, a slow cooker or an Instant Pot can be good alternatives. Adjust cooking times accordingly.

Mixing Bowl: A large mixing bowl makes it easy for marinating the beef in red wine, allowing the flavours to penetrate the meat thoroughly without making to much mess.

What to serve with beef stifado

Serve this recipe with traditional sides like my crusty bread, creamy mashed potatoes, rice, or orzo. These sides soak up the rich sauce and complement the stew perfectly (once at room temperature!).

Storage

Let leftover beef stifado cool completely at room temperature before storing it. This helps prevent condensation from forming inside the storage container, which can thin the sauce too much and make the dish soggy.

If you plan to eat the leftover stifado within 3-4 days, store it in the fridge. Place the container in the refrigerator as soon as possible after cooking it to maintain freshness.

Freezing

You can freeze this stew for longer storage. Label the container with the date and contents for easy identification. It can be frozen for up to 2-3 months.

Thawing and reheating

• Refrigerator: Thaw frozen stew overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. This ensures even thawing and maintains the dish's quality.
  
• Stovetop or microwave: Gently heat the thawed beef stifado on the stovetop over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Alternatively, microwave it in short intervals, stirring in between, until warmed to your liking.

📖 Recipe