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.
Hiya – it should thicken and turn into a lovely sauce as the dish cooks slowly – no straining required though you need to remove the cinnamon sticks, orange peel etc just before serving. Hope this helps!
Do you strain the marinade or pour it right in ?
You may not have meant to post this recipe now, but I am so glad you have! I have been trying to find a really good recipe for beef stifado for ages…… so thank you!
Looks so hearthy, warming and delicious. We used to have rabbit often as a child, it is still so very popular in Italy.
It is so interesting your addition of cinnamon, I have never tried this before. Nice nice recipe!
Ooh now, my mother used to make the most fabulous rabbit stew when I was a child. Despite having pet rabbits, it strangely didn't phase me.
I love hearty one-pot meals like this. I bet this would go so well with mashed potatoes – all that gravy! 🙂
Oh wow you really do pain a pretty picture. I'd love to lose myself in a big bowl of this all snuggled up with the rain beating on the windows. Heavenly!
Oh wow, this really does look intense! I think I'd opt for the potatoes too. I'm absolutely nowhere near relaxing on the sofa stage – I've only just really started Christmas preparations after a few manic weeks. Hope you get to chill out soon x
I completely get where you are coming from Lucy as I too want to relax on my sofa with my faux fur blanket wrapped around me, snuggled up against the Mr and a cup of tea in hand. It seems that every time I try to escape to the kitchen to bake sweet treats. . .yet another distraction rears its head. But we still must eat… so while I might not have the luxury to lounge around with my blanket. . .i can always snuggle up with this stew during dinnertime. It looks absolutely heavenly…like a nice big warm hug for the tummy.
P.S. I'm glad you switched to beef because I can never bring myself to eat rabbit
What an gorgeous recipe for this cold weather we've been having and it's Greek too for which I am incredibly excited. My mum used to make a rabbit stew and my brother and I always used to refuse to it! Now a rabbit stew sounds so exotic and I would gladly eat but it's so expensive, so a beef version seems more affordable and more popular with the little people!