Jamaican Beef Stew
Baby, it's cold outside! Cold weather is for comforting family dinners, fireplaces, and simple meals that fill your heart & belly. Heat up your household this season with a savory beef stew meal prep recipe. Our gluten-free Jamaican Beef Stew is the perfect way to do that!
When we say "heat up," we don't necessarily mean burn your tongue hot (although this recipe does have a kick to it). We mean using full, fragrant spices like cinnamon and allspice. Warming spices keep your body warm - thus the term "warming spices." They boost blood circulation, help your body digest food, and remove excess water. All these body functions act as an internal heater, keeping you warm during the colder months. Pretty fascinating, right? So it makes sense that warming spices are mainly used in soups and stews, just like the meal prep recipe we have for you today.
How long will Jamaican Beef Stew last for?
The stew will last for 3 to 4 days. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in plastic containers or bags. If you want to reheat your stew quick, store leftover Jamaican Beef Stew in a microwave-safe glass container.
Can Jamaican Beef Stew be frozen?
Yes. Frozen beef stews last between 4 to 6 months. They last longer than that, but the quality of flavor lasts for 4 to 6 months. Store beef stew leftovers in a covered airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
Jamaican Beef Stew Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 ½ lbs. cubed beef stew meat
- 1 cup chopped white onion
- 1 cup sliced/peeled carrots
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 (15 oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup chopped green onion
- 1 ½ cups dry long-grain white rice
How do you make Jamaican Beef Stew?
It's super easy! The prep time is only 10 minutes. The prep is cooking the ingredients and then cooking the rice. Once stew ingredients are cooked, add in liquids for the stew's base and let it simmer.
Here are step-by-step cooking instructions for cooking Jamaican Beef Stew:
- Heat ghee in a 5-quart Dutch oven for 2 minutes using medium heat.
- Blot steak cubes to remove excess water. Then put them in the Dutch oven for 5 minutes to sear in the ghee. Once beef is seared, add carrots, onions, peppers, and garlic to into the oven. Cook altogether for 5 minutes.
- Stir in spices until beef and veggies are well-coated. Then stir in tomatoes, liquids (stock, aminos, hot sauce), sea salt, and bay leaves. Bring all ingredients to a boil and then reduce to medium heat. Cover the stew and cook for 2 hours.
- Cook your long-grain rice.
- When the stew and rice are done, remove bay leaves from the stew, serve, and enjoy!
How to portion this recipe:
Set up four one-compartment meal prep containers. Then add 1 cup of rice to each container and top with 1 ½ ladles of Jamaican Beef Stew. Don't forget to garnish with green onions and wait for stew to cool before storing in the fridge.
More Beef Stew meal prep recipes:
We love soups and stews as meal prep recipes because they're simple, delicious, nutritious, and easy on the wallet.
Here are two other beef stew meal prep recipes:
Low Carb Crockpot Beef Ragu Meal Prep
Try these and tell us what you think in the comments or on social media! (Instagram @mealpreponfleek or using #mealpreponfleek)
Other tips for making Jamaican Beef Stew:
- Use beef chuck - it gets more tender the longer it cooks.
- Add red wine to Jamaican Beef Stew for richer and bolder flavors. We found this high-quality cooking red wine for you to try.
- You can cook this meal prep recipe in a crockpot or Dutch oven. When using a crockpot, complete steps 1 through 3 - more like 1 through 3 ½. Don't add liquids and bay leaves until you put cooked vegetables and beef in the crockpot. You can cook the stew on high for 4 ½ hours or slow for 8 hours.
- Keep stew liquid thick when cooking. A thicker liquid is better for freezing leftovers. There are a few ways to thicken your stew:
- Prop the lid for evaporation, letting moisture escape and thickening the stew.
- Puree the stew. Yep, stick your stew in the blender for a bit and puree it. You can do this with a regular blender, but its better to do it with an immersion hand blender.
- Add a mixture of flour and water. We know this meal prep recipe is gluten-free, so keep it that way by adding a mixture of water and gluten-free flour. We even saw something about adding potato flakes. Sounds interesting, doesn't it! There are gluten-free potato flakes, too.
Equipment
- Crockpot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 ½ lbs. cubed beef stew meat
- 1 cup chopped white onion
- 1 cup sliced/peeled carrots
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 15 ounces canned fire roasted tomatoes with chiles
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup chopped green onion
- 1 ½ cups dry long grain white rice
Instructions
- Heat ghee over medium-high heat in a 5 quart Dutch oven for 2 minutes. Blot steak dry with paper towel and add to hot Dutch oven. Sear steak for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally for even browning. Add carrots, onion, bell pepper and garlic to pot and continue to cook 5 minutes longer.
- Stir in allspice, cinnamon and coconut sugar to coat meat and vegetables. Stir in tomatoes, beef stock, coconut aminos, hot sauce, sea salt and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cover with the lid slightly cracked and cook for 2 hours or until beef is fork tender. Discard bay leaves.
- Cook rice according to package directions. Add 1 cup of rice to 4 black MPOF containers. Top with 1 ½ ladles of stew. Garnish with green onions. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before covering and refrigerating.
This was so good! The whole family loved it. The hardest part was waiting two hours, smelling this wonderful concoction stewing on the stovetop. (I substituted balsamic vinegar for the coconut aminos, as I did not have it - and it did the trick.)
Hi Andrew! We are so happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed this recipe! We will have to make a note about the substitute, too! That's a great money saving tip for many! Please let us know if you give any other recipes a try! Have a wonderful holiday season. ~Sarah