Beef Stifado – Greek Beef Stew
, Updated Nov 28, 2025
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Beef Stifado is packed with intense flavour and cooked low and slow until the meat is melt in the mouth tender. This Greek beef stew is the perfect comfort food to serve on cold winter days and it is slimming friendly too!
Take a look at my recipe video and step by step tutorial and make traditional Stifado (or Stifatho) on the hob/ oven, slow cooker or the Instant Pot.
What is Stifado?
Stifatho (στιφάδο) or stifado is a traditional Greek stew. Beef Stifado is probably most well known outside of Greece, but you can also make this stew with pork, lamb, seafood or rabbit.
The other main ingredients in stifado is an abundance shallots or small pearl onions – these lend a wonderful sweetness to the rich sauce which has a truly mouthwatering aroma from the cloves, cinnamon and allspice.
Here’s What You’ll Need
I have simplified my Stifado recipe to make it a little easier on the home cook – the depth of flavour is the same so why not save some prep time?
If you are not hugely fond of the pearl onions you can use chopped shallots instead. This stew is suitable for popular weight loss diets like Weight Watchers and Slimming World with minor modifications, noted in italics.
- Olive oil or a low calorie cooking spray
- Beef – choose a cut suitable for long cooking like braising steak and trim any visible bits of fat
- Pearl onions or small shallots – these can be a bit fiddly to peel, feel free to use frozen pearl onions for ease. Larger shallots (banana shallots) will melt more into the sauce and I actually prefer them
- Cinnamon stick, orange peel, allspice berries, whole cloves and bay leaves – these aromatics should not be skipped! You can replace the whole cloves and allspice with ground in a pinch
- Brown sugar or Sukrin Gold for a slimming version
- Garlic, celery, carrots
- Tomato purée (or paste) and chopped tomatoes from a tin
- Red wine vinegar – adds a lovely touch of acidity
- Red wine and beef stock – for a slimming version you can use an Oxo red wine stock cube instead
- Fresh parsley to garnish
How to Make my Beef Stifado Recipe
The stew is partially cooked on the hob in a large lidded pot (I swear by my Greenpan used in the video and photos) then finished in the oven where it cooks low and slow until the beef is meltingly tender and the sauce has thickened. See below for instant pot and slow cooker variations.
Marinate the beef & prep the onions
- Place the pearl onions in a bowl, unpeeled, and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for five minutes then drain. Cut the root end off and peel the skins off – the water will soften them and make it much easier to peel.
- { Optional } If you have the time to prep ahead you can marinate the beef with the wine, vinegar, garlic, clove, allspice, bay leaves and orange peel. Place everything in a bowl, mix well, cover and place in the fridge overnight.
Make the stifado
- Sear the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely coloured then set aside. If you are using cooking pray you might need to mist a few times.
- Deglaze the pan with a splash or red wine or beef stock, scraping any browned bits that have stuck to the pot.
- Add the vegetables: chopped shallots, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, spices, sugar (or sweetener), and cook over low heat for 10 minutes until softened. If the pan gets too dry you can add a splash of stock.
- Add the beef back into the pot. Stir tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, stock/wine and bring to a rolling simmer. Cover and cook in a preheated oven for 2 ½ hours until the sauce has thickened and meat is tender.
- Discard the bay leaves, orange peel and cinnamon stick. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve.
Serving suggestions
Serve with mashed or roast potatoes with some crusty bread to mop up the delicious sauce. In Greece, stifado is sometimes served with rice, orzo or other types of pasta but I think the potatoes are a better match.
Recipe Tips
- SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS You can cook this beef stew in a crockpot after doing some initial prep on the stove. Some slow cookers have a searing function or allow for the inner pot to be used on the hob in which case you can make the entire recipe in your cooker.
- LEFTOVERS AND STORAGE: This stew keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. You might need to add a bit of water when reheating.
- FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS Allow the stew to cool down, remove the cinnamon, orange peel and bay leaves, then divide into suitable containers. Use within three months, defrosting overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- VARIATIONS Replace the beef with pork or lamb (suitable for stews) or with rabbit.
HAVE YOU MADE MY STIFADO RECIPE? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
Beef Stifado
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil or low calorie cooking spray
- 2 lb (900g) chuck steak cubed
- ½ cup (125ml) red wine sub with stock
- 15 small unpeeled shallots or pearls onions or 4 large shallots roughly chopped
- 3 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 sticks celery finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar or Sukrin Gold for slimming version
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick broken in two
- ¼ tsp ground allspice or 5 whole allspice berries
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves or 5 whole cloves
- 1 strip orange peel optional
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 14 oz (400g) can chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup (250ml) beef stock or broth
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped, to serve
Instructions
Peel pearl onions or shallots
- Place the onions or shallots in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for five minutes then drain. Cut the root end off and peel the skins off – the water will soften them and make it much easier to peel.15 small unpeeled shallots or pearls onions
Stovetop Method
- Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C). Heat the oil in a large lidded pot (Dutch Oven) or mist with cooking spray. Brown the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely colored then set aside.2 tbsp olive oil , 2 lb (900g) chuck steak
- Deglaze the pan with a splash or red wine or beef stock, scraping any browned bits that have stuck to the pot.½ cup (125ml) red wine
- Add the peeled onions, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, spices, bay leaves, orange peel, cinnamon stick sugar (or sweetener). Cook over low heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. If the pot gets too dry you can add a splash of stock.3 large carrots, 2 sticks celery , 4 cloves garlic , 1 tbsp brown sugar, 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick , ¼ tsp ground black pepper, ⅛ tsp ground cloves, 1 strip orange peel, 4 tbsp red wine vinegar, ¼ tsp ground allspice
- Stir in the beef, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, beef stock and bring to a rolling simmer.14 oz (400g) can chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 cup (250ml) beef stock
- Cover and cook in a preheated oven for 2 ½ hours until the sauce has thickened and meat is tender.
- Discard the cinnamon stick, orange peel and bay leaves. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.salt and freshly ground pepper
- Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve with roast potatoes or mash and some crusty bread.2 tbsp fresh parsley
Instant Pot Method
- Heat the oil in your Instant Pot using Saute/High. Brown the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely coloured then set aside.
- Add the chopped shallots, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, spices, bay leaves, orange peel, cinnamon stick sugar (or sweetener).
- Stir in the beef, red wine vinegar and a total of 1/2 cup (120ml) liquid either beef stock or half stock half red wine.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and puree but do not stir. Seal the pot and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 35 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally.
- If the stew requires further thickening, consider adding 1 tbsp cornflour diluted in equal amount of cold water and heating through.
- Discard the cinnamon stick, orange peel and bay leaves. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Slow Cooker Method
- Heat the oil in a large lidded pot (Dutch Oven) or mist with cooking spray. Brown the beef over high heat, in batches, until nicely coloured then set aside.
- Deglaze the pan with a splash or red wine or beef stock, scraping any browned bits that have stuck to the pot.
- Add the chopped shallots, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, spices, bay leaves, orange peel, cinnamon stick sugar (or sweetener). Cook over low heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. If the pot gets too dry you can add a splash of stock.
- Stir in the beef, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar and and a total of 1/2 cup (120ml) liquid either beef stock or half stock half red wine. Bring to a simmer.
- Transfer to slow cooker, cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 6. If the liquid needs to be reduced further, continue to cook on HIGH uncovered for a further 30 minutes.
Notes
- STORAGE: This stew keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. You might need to add a bit of water when reheating.
- FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS Allow the stew to cool down, remove the cinnamon, orange peel and bay leaves, then divide into suitable containers. Use within three months, defrosting overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
I have made this Beef Stiffado many times for friends and family and it never disappoints. the flavours and texture of the meat, so tender is just so satisfying and a winner everytime. I live in Cyprus and we can have this in every taverna . bur this recipe is just as good, the secret is slow cooking.
Thanks Sue, that’s very kind of you to say and I’m glad everyone enjoys it!
Hey,
At what point the pot is moved into oven? Step 6 (Hob method)?
Thanks
Yes
Oh my goodness! Perfect beef stew for these cold nights. My first ever stew I’ve made and it’s amazing. Thank you for the recipe x
So lovely to hear Pat – thanks for your comment, made my day 🙂
Sounds wonderful I am a vegan,is there any way I could make this? Haven’t always been vegan, used to love this dish.
I think you could make a lovely vegan version of this by adding butternut squash and potatoes. You wouldn’t need to cook it for that long, I think 40 minutes should do it. Maybe add the squash 20 minutes in as it will cook faster than the potatoes. Let me know if you make it!
How long would this need cooking in a slow cooker please?
Hi Susan – 8 hours on low or 6 on high should be sufficient. I am about to retest this recipe will be posting an update soon
I had stifado for the first time in Cyprus in a hill-side teverna looking down on Aphrodite’s birthplace, I think it was around 1988. We were a group of four guys working out there, and there was not one little scrap left-delicious!
Made it a few times since, and as it’s so cold now, I think this weekend is the perfect time to do it again. I also put a couple of handfuls of black olives in mine (just before serving, no need to cook them as the sauce warms them through in seconds). 😋
I would prefer a trip to Cyprus to eat Stifado there but perhaps making at home is second best thing!
I would live to make this! I’m a bit confused on the amount of tomatoes toad. Is it 1 14 oz can?
Many thanks!
Hi yes it is one 14oz can of tomatoes.
I made this recipe this evening, so aromatic and delicious. I added a couple of things, star anise and parsnips. I did not add the allspice berries as I did not have any, was going to add powder allspice to cooking dish but forgot to do so. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
So glad you liked it! Start anise would work great in this stew.