This cowboy stew is a hearty medley of smoky bacon and kielbasa sausage with lean floor beef, beans, and veggies, all simmered collectively in a wealthy tomato broth with Southwestern spices.
Texas cowboy stew is half chili, half beef stew, and 100% scrumptious! For an additional stick-to-your-ribs dinner thought, take a look at this Southwestern-style Brunswick stew, too.
On this period of Beyoncé nation albums and Yellowstone, it appears solely becoming that I share my favourite recipe for Texas cowboy stew. Additionally known as campfire stew, it will get its identify as a result of it makes use of a medley of elements that cowboys had readily available whereas driving cattle out on the vary. My cowboy stew recipe combines three sorts of meat, hearty baked beans, and tender veggies that simmer in a smoky, tomato-based broth till it’s thick, just like chili. It’s made in a single pot and there’s sufficient to feed a crowd, plus leftovers!
Why I Love This Cowboy Stew Recipe
- One pot. Every little thing will get browned, sautéed, and simmered in the identical pot. Since cowboy stew comes choc filled with meat, beans, and veggies like onion, tomatoes, potatoes, and candy corn, it’s actually a one-pot meal. Simply add a facet of bread for dunking.
- Daring, cozy flavors. Spices like cumin, chili powder, and garlic fill this stew with loads of smoky, Southwestern taste that warms from the within out. Shut your eyes, and it feels such as you’re huddled round a campfire.
- Nice for leftovers. Like most soups, stews, and chili recipes, cowboy stew tastes even higher after it’s had an evening or two within the fridge. I’ll typically cook dinner an enormous pot on the weekend and reheat leftovers for lunch all through the week.
Elements You’ll Want
Under are some notes on the elements you’ll have to pack this cowboy stew with taste. Scroll right down to the recipe card after the put up for a printable elements checklist and full recipe particulars.
- Bacon – You’ll be able to cook dinner a batch of bacon within the air fryer, or just brown it in the identical pot you’ll use to make your stew.
- Kielbasa – Kielbasa is a sort of Polish sausage (you’ll discover it in my potato soup with smoked sausage, straightforward sausage and peppers skillet, and hen cassoulet recipes). I normally choose it up from the deli part on the grocery retailer. Different good choices are Italian sausage, Spanish chorizo, or Andouille sausage as you’ll discover in gumbo and jambalaya.
- Floor Beef – I like to recommend lean floor beef in order that the stew doesn’t end up too oily. You might additionally change the bottom beef with one other meat, like floor hen or turkey.
- Onion – Yellow onion or one other delicate onion, diced.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin powder, plus salt and black pepper.
- Diced Tomatoes and Chilies – I take advantage of a can of Rotel, juices and all. Rotel tomatoes include chili peppers inside. When you discover them too spicy, use plain chopped tomatoes and add the specified quantity of chili.
- Baked Beans – Traditional cowboy fare! When you’d desire to make use of one other sort of bean, corresponding to kidney beans, black beans, or pinto beans, that works, too. Just about any bean you’d add to chili, you’ll be able to add to a cowboy stew. After all, you may at all times take inspiration from no beans chili and skip the beans in the event you’d like.
- Candy Corn – Canned candy corn, drained and rinsed. You may also shave the kernels from leftover cooked corn on the cob.
- Potato – Good potatoes for stews embody Yukon Gold potatoes, russets, and even waxy varieties, like crimson potatoes. You might additionally use candy potatoes. Peel and chop the potatoes into ½” cubes.
Methods to Make Texas Cowboy Stew
Take out an enormous soup pot, spherical up your elements, and let’s make this hearty cowboy soup!
- Cook dinner the bacon. Begin by sautéeing chopped bacon over medium-high warmth. As soon as that’s good and crisped up, scoop it out and set it apart.
- Cook dinner the sausage. Subsequent, add sliced kielbasa to the pot. Let that cook dinner till it’s browned on all sides. Afterward, set the sausage apart with the bacon.
- Brown the bottom beef. Sauté the meat in the identical pot with slightly salt and pepper, breaking it up whereas it browns. Add the onions and cook dinner till they soften.
- Carry all of it collectively. Season the bottom beef with garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin powder, then stir in your Rotel tomatoes, beans, corn, and potatoes with a little bit of water. Return the bacon and kielbasa to the pot.
- Simmer. Now, convey the entire pot to a boil, decrease the warmth to a simmer, and let the stew, nicely… stew! I normally let it go for about an hour. When you discover the stew is getting too thick whereas it simmers, add a splash of water.
- Serve. Regulate the seasonings to style, then ladle the cowboy stew into bowls and sprinkle over some contemporary parsley for serving.
Make Cowboy Stew within the Crock Pot!
On busy days, nothing beats consolation meals that cooks itself (am I proper?). To make a gradual cooker or crock pot cowboy stew, I nonetheless advocate browning the bacon, sausage, and floor beef in a skillet first. Then, mix them with the remainder of the elements within the gradual cooker, and set it to cook dinner on Low for 6-8 hours or on Excessive for 4 hours.
Suggestions and Variations
- Use any sausage you’d like. I used smoked kielbasa, which supplies the stew a singular taste. You may also use plain kielbasa or one other sausage. The secret is to brown the sausage within the saucepot earlier than including it to the stew for optimum taste.
- Extra taste. Use floor delicate sausage as an alternative of beef. Gentle sausage is normally spiced with paprika, herbs, and different seasonings, and it’s a good way so as to add much more taste to the stew.
- This stew is thick as it’s, however in the event you’d desire an excellent thicker cowboy stew, you’ll be able to enhance the quantity of beans or potatoes. Each of those elements include starches that assist to thicken the stew naturally.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Stew
- Refrigerate. Retailer any leftover cowboy stew in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Like most soups and stews, I discover it tastes even higher after a while within the fridge!
- Reheat. The best option to reheat stew is to return it to a saucepan on the stovetop. You should use the microwave, too. Let the stew warmth by way of and add a splash of water if it’s thickened up an excessive amount of within the fridge.
- Freeze. This cowboy stew freezes nice for as much as 3 months. Thaw the stew within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating and serving.
Extra Soups and Stew Recipes
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Cook dinner the bacon. Chop the bacon and cook dinner it in a Dutch oven or a big pot over medium-high warmth till browned and crispy. Take away the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it apart.
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Cook dinner the kielbasa. Lower the kielbasa into ½-inch thick slices. Cook dinner the kielbasa in the identical pot the place you cooked the bacon till the kielbasa is browned on all sides. Take away the kielbasa from the pot and put aside.
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Brown the meat and onions. Add the bottom beef to the identical cooking pot. Season the meat with salt and pepper and cook dinner, crumbling it with a picket spoon till the meat is browned. Stir within the onions and cook dinner for 3 extra minutes.
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Put all of it collectively. As soon as your beef is properly browned, add garlic powder, chili powder, cumin powder, Rotel tomatoes, baked beans, corn, water, and potato. Place again within the bacon and kielbasa and provides all of it a very good stir.
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Simmer. Carry the stew to a boil. Cut back warmth to medium-low and simmer the stew for 50-55 minutes. If wanted, add a bit extra water in the course of the cooking course of.
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Garnish and serve. Style and alter the seasoning of your stew. Serve it whereas nonetheless heat, garnished with chopped parsley.
Serving: 1.5cups | Energy: 549kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 23g | Fats: 32g | Saturated Fats: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g | Monounsaturated Fats: 14g | Trans Fats: 0.01g | Ldl cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 1402mg | Potassium: 1023mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 223IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 5mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could range in line with the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
