Name: Beef and Cabbage Stew
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Pound Stew Beef, cut into 1 inch cubes; 1 Large Bell Pepper, chopped; 1 Large Onion, chopped; 2 Cups Tomato Juice; 2 Cups Water; 1 Pound Cabbage, cored, quartered & sliced; 1 teaspoon Caraway Seeds, optional; Salt & Pepper, to taste

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There is never a bad time for simple, nourishing, comforting fresh from the garden meals in my opinion. This beef and cabbage stew hits all of those buttons and more.

A bowl of beef and cabbage stew with slices of bread on a table with text overlay.

Nothing complicated in this dish. It does take some time for that beef to get tender but it’s completely hands-off time. Making this an ideal seasonal meal for busy days, let it cook slowly while you do other things and eat up when done.

Minimal Prep

There are very few ingredients in the overall dish. And most only need a quick chop. There’s no need to dredge beef in flour or brown it.

Quite literally, chop toss into a pot simmer.

Vegetable Choices

I chose sweet peppers and onions along with the cabbage. However, one could easily add carrots, celery, or even chopped potatoes to make the dish go even further.

If you add more vegetables, you may need to add more liquid to help everything stay nice and tender.

A bowl of beef and cabbage stew on a table with a napkin sitting in front of a wooden board with butter dish and loaf of bread.

Add the extra vegetables with the cabbage and cook for the last 30 minutes or until tender.

Braising Liquid

The recipe calls for tomato juice and water. This is easy and tasty. One could substitute beef broth for the water.

If tomato juice isn’t your thing, use beef broth instead. Admittedly, the tomato juice gives it a ton of flavor but it could be skipped.

Seasoning Choices

Plain old salt and pepper work great. Do taste before adding salt, especially if using commercial tomato juice as they tend to be quite salty on their own.

A bowl of beef and cabbage stew with slices of bread on a table

Caraway seeds combined with cabbage is a rather classic flavor. However, it’s not always everyone’s favorite feel free to skip it if desired.

How to Serve

Ladle the stew into big bowls and serve with a hearty bread. A homemade rye bread is quite nice but use whatever your family enjoys. Simply use something to help sop up the braising liquid.

Alternatively, serve the stew over rice for hearty dinner alongside a green salad.

This is a rustic dish. Don’t try to make it too fancy – it is because of it’s simplicity that it is so very good.

Yield: 4 Servings