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French Onion Beef Stew

French onion beef stew with slow-simmered, tender chuck and deeply caramelized onions. Finished with toasted baguette and broiled Gruyere for a bubbling, browned top.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: French-inspired
Calories: 670
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2.5 lb beef chuck
Salt
  • 1.5 tsp salt
Black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper
Olive oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
Butter
  • 3 tbsp butter
Yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 large yellow onions
Sugar
  • 1 tsp sugar
Garlic, minced
  • 3 clove garlic
All-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Dry white wine
  • 0.5 cup dry white wine
Beef broth
  • 4 cup beef broth
Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Fresh thyme
  • 4 sprig fresh thyme
Bay leaf
  • 1 bay leaf
Baguette slices, toasted
  • 6 slice baguette
Shredded Gruyere
  • 1.5 cup Gruyere

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Brown the beef
  1. Season the beef with salt and black pepper. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven and brown the beef in batches, then set aside.
Caramelize onions
  1. Melt the butter in the Dutch oven and add the sliced yellow onions with sugar. Cook for 30-35 minutes, stirring often, until deep golden.
Build the stew base
  1. Stir in the minced garlic and all-purpose flour for 1 minute. Pour in the dry white wine and scrape the bottom to release browned bits.
Simmer until tender
  1. Return the browned beef to the pot and add beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, until the beef is tender.
Broil and serve
  1. Ladle the stew into oven-safe bowls and top each with a toasted baguette slice and shredded Gruyere. Broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and browned.

Notes

For extra flavor, keep browning in small batches so the beef sears instead of steams, then scrape any fond left in the pot when you add the wine. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days. Freeze the stew (without broiled cheese) up to 2-3 months, then reheat and top with fresh toasted baguette and Gruyere before broiling. For a lighter option, use 2% milk or a lower-fat cheese blend for the Gruyere while keeping the caramelized onions the same.