Irish Stew is a flavorful and comforting dish made with lamb, onion, carrots, potatoes, and stout. The ingredients are very simple but there’s so much flavor from a few additional ingredients and the cooking technique. Instructions for Dutch oven and Instant Pot are both included!
Cozy up with more of the best Irish recipes like Dublin Coddle and Bangers and Mash.
Table of Contents
You may be expecting a recipe for a delicious beef stew with Guinness beer added to it… I’m sorry to disappoint if that is the case because this is not a beef stew! Yes, there is Guinness in this stew but this is more of a traditional Irish stew.
This stew is made with lamb and not beef. Traditionally, Irish stew was made with mutton or goat meat and simple root vegetables. Mutton is not something widely available at the grocery stores and neither is goat. Lamb on the other hand is available in most stores and it’s flavorful, tender, and delicious.
When I was first starting to work on this recipe, I debated for days if I should add beer or not. Traditionally, there is no beer in stew but the addition of beer sounded like it might be good for extra flavor. I decided to put my debates to rest and simply try out both ways. So I’ve made this stew with and without beer and I have to tell you, with beer is the way to go!
It adds not only an extra level of flavor, but it also goes well with lamb. To counter the bitterness of Guinness, I added tomato sauce and some sugar. This turned out to be one amazing stew that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, or any other day you need something hearty and comforting.
Ingredient Notes
Lamb Roast – You’ll need about 2lbs of lamb roast meat, it could be labeled as “lamb stew meat.”
Beef Stock – If you want the very best flavor, consider using Homemade Beef Stock!
Guinness – Guinness is a rich stout that will add quite a bit of flavor. If you have any leftover make some Guinness Chicken and Stout Chocolate Cupcakes for dessert.
Potatoes – Yukon gold potatoes are the best for stew because of their soft texture. They also have very thin skin, so no need to peel.
Garlic – I recommend smashing your garlic with the blunt side of a large knife prior to mincing to release the most flavor.
Flour – This is what thickens everything to the best consistency.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Irish Stew
Whisk the stock, sauce and seasonings. Combine beef stock, tomato sauce, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and sugar in a bowl, whisk it together (1) and set aside.
Sear the meat. Sear chopped lamb pieces in batches until nicely browned (2). Set seared meat aside in a separate bowl.
Cook the vegetables. Add onion and carrots to the pot and let is sear for a few minutes as well. Stir in minced garlic and cook just until garlic is fragrant (3).
Add meat and flour. Add lamb back into the pot. Sprinkle flour over meat and vegetables and mix until all the pieces are evenly coated (4).
Add beer. Pour beer in slowly as you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula (5).
Add stock and potatoes. Add potatoes to the pot, pour in the beef stock mixture, and stir it all to combine (6). Add bay leaves and lower the heat to low (7).
Cover and cook. Cover with a lid but leave a crack for the steam to escape. Cook for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, stirring once in a while. Discard bay leaves before serving (8).
How to Make it in the Instant Pot
Start by prepping your ingredients. Combine the beef stock, tomato sauce, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and sugar in a bowl and whisk it together and set aside. Cut lamb roast into about 1-inch pieces. Dice carrots, cut potatoes, mince garlic, and slice onion.
PRO TIP: Consult your pressure cooker manual for exact settings.
Set the pressure cooker to the sear setting and let it heat up. Sear chopped lamb pieces in batches until nicely browned. Set seared meat aside in a separate bowl. Add onions and carrots to the pot and let them sear for a few minutes as well. Stir in minced garlic and cook just until garlic is fragrant. Add lamb back into the pot.
PRO TIP: Don’t use flour when cooking in Instant Pot. You will add a cornstarch mixture at the end.
Pour beer in slowly as you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Add potatoes, pour in the beef stock mixture, and stir it all to combine. Add bay leaves and close the lid until it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the pressure cooker to stew/meat setting for 45 minutes. If no stew/meat setting available, cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.
Let the cooker do a natural release for about 10 minutes and then do a quick release. Discard bay leaves.
To thicken it, use 2 tbsp. of cornstarch and 2 tbsp. of cold beef broth. As soon as the stew is done cooking and you take off the lid, stir in the mixture of cornstarch and cold beef broth. Turn on the sear setting and slowly stir until the stew thickens. This will only take a couple of minutes and once thickened you can turn off the pressure cooker.
Storing, Freezing and Reheating
Storing: Make sure to let Irish stew fully cool to room temperature before storing (or freezing) it. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should keep for about 4-5 days. Always use a clean utensil when scooping any stew from the container to avoid the introduction of bacteria.
Freezing: You can freeze cooked Irish stew without the potatoes. Potatoes tend to break up once cooked and frozen. Once thawed, you can cook some more potatoes in the stew while reheating. Or, use waxy potatoes like red potatoes or fingerling potatoes and freeze along with the stew. Waxy potatoes stand up to freezing much better than gold. Wait for the stew to cool, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Reheating: If reheating from frozen, allow the lamb stew to first defrost in the fridge. You can reheat individual portions of stew in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time it stops until warmed all the way through. Or, reheat the entire dish in a large pot over medium-low heat, stirring often.
PRO TIP: Do not freeze potatoes that are high in starch, like Idaho or Russet potatoes.
Recipe FAQs
Whisk together 2 tbsp. cornstarch and 2 tbsp. cold beef stock. Stir a little bit of this mixture at a time into the stew over medium heat until it’s thickened to your liking.
Yes! If you are not a fan of lamb, you can use beef instead. The best beef to use for a stew is chuck roast. It’s inexpensive, tough, and has lots of marbling and connective tissue.
Yes! Start by searing meat in a large, deep pan and then transfer it to the Crockpot. Sear diced onion and carrots in the same pan and once veggies start to brown, add garlic. Sear until fragrant and transfer into the Crockpot. Add potatoes, beer, and beef stock mixture. Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for about 4 hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.
While beer does add to the overall flavor of the stew, you can omit it or substitute it with a non-alcoholic beer.
More Lamb and Beef Recipes To Try
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Irish Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lamb roast
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 medium carrots
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup Guinness stout
- 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes
- 3 cups beef stock
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp white granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients:
- Combine beef stock, tomato sauce, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and sugar in a bowl, whisk it together and set aside.
- Cut lamb roast into about 1-inch pieces. Dice carrots, cut potatoes, mince garlic, and slice onion.
Sear:
- Sear chopped lamb pieces in batches until nicely browned. Set seared meat aside in a separate bowl.
- Add onion and carrots to the pot and let is sear for a few minutes as well. Stir in minced garlic and cook just until garlic is fragrant.
- Add lamb back into the pot. Sprinkle flour over meat and vegetables and mix until all the pieces are evenly coated.
- Pour beer in slowly as you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula.
Stew:
- Add potatoes to the pot, pour in the beef stock mixture, and stir it all to combine. Add bay leaves and lower the heat to low.
- Cover with a lid but leave a crack for the steam to escape. Cook for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, stirring once in a while.
- Discard bay leaves and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February 2020.
Jan Bester says
I made it with beef….. And it was fabulous. Thanks for the recipe
LyubaB says
SO glad you liked it, Jan!
Alexia says
This was comforting and so good!