My Simple Ingredient Swap for the Richest, Meatiest Beef Stew

Come winter, there are some who take up skiing, and some who take up stewing. I fall firmly into the latter camp. The minute the temperature dips, I want beef stew—nothing flashy, just a pot of tender beef in a thick, deeply savory sauce. It's a dish I rely on in winter because when it's done well, it delivers an enormous amount of comfort for relatively little hands-on work. Brown the beef, build your aromatics, add your liquid, and let time do the rest.

But over years of testing stew recipes—my own and those developed by fellow recipe developers—I've learned that the stock you use matters more than almost any other choice when it comes to the final flavor of the dish. And it's a choice many cooks get wrong because it feels counterintuitive. Here it is as plainly as possible: Don’t add store-bought beef broth or stock to your beef stew. If you are going with store-bought, use chicken stock or broth instead.

The Rule: Skip Store-Bought Beef Broth

The assumption that beef stew requires beef stock seems logical, but most commercial beef broths deliver disappointing results. Boxed beef broth tends to be thin, aggressively salty, and oddly metallic or artificial—nothing like rich, savory homemade beef stock built from roasted bones, meat, and long-simmered vegetables. As former Serious Eats culinary director Kenji pointed out in his beef stew recipe and other recipes over the years, and as our editorial director Daniel emphasized when developing our Guinness stew and beef bourguignon, packaged beef broth rarely tastes like actual beef. What it does add is off flavors, excessive sodium, and a muddiness that doesn't improve with reduction.

Why Chicken Stock Works Better for Beef Stew

Homemade chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth avoids all of those issues. It provides a clean, neutral base that supports and amplifies the flavors you actually want to taste: the browned beef, the sautéed onions and carrots, the tomato paste you cook until it turns brick-red and leaves a sticky glaze in the pan, the herbs and wine (if you're using them). Chicken stock or broth doesn't compete with any of that. It steps back and lets the stew's core ingredients determine its character.

There's also a practical reason to reach for low-sodium chicken broth: A good stew reduces considerably as it cooks, which concentrates all the flavors—including saltiness. If you start with a store-bought full-sodium broth, the stew can easily veer into overseasoned territory. Starting with something milder gives you control over the final seasoning and keeps the focus on the meat.

Adding Body to Your Stew the Right Way

That said, chicken stock on its own can lack the body you get from a homemade beef stock rich in collagen. This is why, when working with store-bought stock, I follow Kenji's lead and bloom a few packets of unflavored gelatin directly into the chicken broth before adding it to the pot. It's an easy, reliable way to build structure and create a stew liquid that thickens naturally as it simmers. Gelatin adds viscosity without muting flavors the way a flour-based roux or cornstarch slurry can. The final sauce feels cohesive, not heavy or starchy.

By the time the stew has simmered long enough for the beef to relax and the aromatics to melt into the liquid, the chicken broth has fully transformed. You won't taste chicken. What you'll taste is beef—clear, concentrated, and balanced.

The Takeaway

If you want a beef stew with depth, clarity, and structure, skip the boxed beef broth. Use low-sodium chicken broth, reinforce it with gelatin, and let the actual beef in your stew determine the flavor. It’s a small change with a big impact, and it consistently produces the kind of stew worth making all winter long.