Irish Stew For One! A delicious small batch Irish stew recipe made with tender lamb or beef, plenty of carrots, and potatoes all simmering in a rich, beer-based broth. Easy to make, hearty, and extra comforting.
Irish stew is a stew native to Ireland but loved all over the world. It's a very popular dish on St. Patrick's Day but one that can and should be enjoyed any day of the year.
Why This Recipe Works
There are few dishes that are heartier or more comforting than a good meaty stew. It's a meal that will truly warm both body and soul. This traditional Irish stew features either tender beef or lamb and plenty of vegetables that cook in a broth made with a good stout beer and plenty of seasonings.
This single serving Irish stew recipe yields one big bowl of hearty and absolutely delicious stew. You may even have enough for two servings if you serve it with a side dish like mashed potatoes or homemade french bread.
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Vegetable oil: You may use canola oil instead. This ingredient is used to brown the lamb.
- Lamb: One of the main differences between Irish stew and beef stew is that Irish stew is traditionally made with lamb. Here in the United States, we eat more beef than lamb and if your preference is to use beef, please do. The stew will still be every bit as delicious. In this recipe, I use 5-ounces of lamb cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, and dried thyme.
- Vegetables: I like to use chopped onions, celery, potatoes, garlic, and carrots.
- Tomato paste: Look for tomato paste that comes in a tube. You can find it in the same section of your grocery store that cans are found. A tube stays good in the refrigerator for much longer than canned. You can also freeze leftover paste in ice cube trays. When frozen, pop the cubes out of the tray and store in a zip-top bag in the freezer.
- Worcestershire sauce: This ingredient adds great flavor to the stew.
- Flour: All-purpose flour (plain flour) thickens the stew beautifully.
- Guinness Beer: I love making Irish stew with a Guinness. You may use your favorite stout instead. If you don't want to use beer, add an extra ¼ cup of beef broth and ¼ teaspoon of extra Worcestershire sauce. The flavor won't be the same but it'll do in a pinch.
- Beef broth: I like using low-sodium broths in my recipes. You can use chicken broth instead of beef broth if necessary.
How To Make This Recipe
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Season lamb with the salt and pepper and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Remove the lamb from the pot and place on a plate.
- If no oil is left in the pot, add an additional ½ tablespoon of oil and stir in the chopped onions and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 30 seconds. As you might imagine, the aroma coming from your kitchen will be incredible.
- Add the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables. Stir until the there is no visible flour and the vegetables look slightly mushy from the flour coating, 1 minute.
- Pour in the beer and dried thyme. Stir until the beer has reduced and has slightly thickened.
- Add the broth and return the lamb to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally and make sure the stew stays at a very low simmer.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the stew. Cover the pot again and continue cooking on low heat for another 25 minutes. When done, the meat should be tender and flake apart easily and the potatoes cooked through. If not, cover the pot again and cook in additional 10 minute increments until cooked.
Expert Tips
- Brown the lamb, or if you're making Irish beef stew - the beef. It's essential so please don't skip this step. Take the time to sear the meat, every single piece of it.
- Don't toss the browned bits at the bottom of the pan after you've removed the meat. Those are like crispy gold - it's where much of the flavor is. Leave it and deglaze the pan when you add the Guinness.
- Follow the steps in this recipe as written. It might be tempting to throw all of the vegetables in together to cook but don't. The potatoes and carrots will fall apart. Although you want them to be fairly soft, you don't want them to be mushy.
- Taste before serving and feel free to add additional salt to suit your taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Serve traditional Irish Stew with potatoes or rice. Irish soda bread also goes great with a big bowl of stew.
For dessert, you might like to consider using a little of any leftover Guinness in a delightful Guinness float.
Beef or lamb stew will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be frozen for up to 2 months. Freeze the stew in an airtight container then thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
I use a 2-quart saucepan in this Irish stew recipe, for best results use a pot of similar size.
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this Irish stew you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Lamb or beef: Beef Stroganoff, Steak Salad, Beef Fajitas, Carne Asada
- Onions: Beef Enchiladas, Zuppa Toscana, Beef Chili, Taco Soup
- Celery: Baked Stuffed Fish, Potato Salad, Jambalaya, Clam Chowder
- Garlic: Shrimp Fettuccine, Lemon and Garlic Chicken, Buttered Noodles, Shepherd's Pie
- Tomato paste: Crawfish Pasta, Beef and Cheese Pita Pizza, Chicken Tagine
- Worcestershire sauce: Baked Beans, Mini Meatloaf, Reuben Sandwich, Buffalo Chicken Tenders
- Guinness: Guinness Float
- Beef broth: Swedish Meatballs, Beef Stew, Vegetable Soup, Taco Soup
- Potatoes: Potato Soup, Scalloped Potatoes, Hash Browns, Chicken Stew
- Carrots: Chicken and Dumplings, Roasted Carrots, Curried Carrot Soup, Carrot Souffle
If you’ve tried this easy Irish stew recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Irish Stew For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (plus ½ tablespoon more if necessary - see step 2)
- 5 ounces lamb , cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt , divided
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 celery stalk , chopped
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ½ tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- ¼ cup Guinness beer
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 small baby red potatoes , scrubbed and cubed
- 1 medium carrot , peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Season lamb with the salt and pepper and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Remove the lamb from the pot and place on a plate.
- If no oil is left in the pot, add an additional ½ tablespoon of oil and stir in the chopped onions and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables. Stir until the there is no visible flour and the vegetables look slightly mushy from the flour coating, 1 minute.
- Pour in the beer and dried thyme. Stir until the beer has reduced and has slightly thickened.
- Add the broth and return the lamb to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally and make sure the stew stays at a very low simmer.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the stew. Cover the pot again and continue cooking on low heat for another 25 minutes. When done, the meat should be tender and flake apart easily and the potatoes cooked through. If not, cover the pot again and cook in additional 10 minute increments until cooked.
- Pour into a bowl and enjoy hot.
Notes
- Brown the lamb, or if you're making Irish beef stew - the beef. It's essential so please don't skip this step. Take the time to sear the meat, every single piece of it.
- Don't toss the browned bits at the bottom of the pan after you've removed the meat. Those are like crispy gold - it's where much of the flavor is. Leave it and deglaze the pan when you add the Guinness.
- Follow the steps in this recipe as written. It might be tempting to throw all of the vegetables in together to cook but don't. The potatoes and carrots will fall apart. Although you want them to be fairly soft, you don't want them to be mushy.
- Taste before serving and feel free to add additional salt to suit your taste.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Rebecca says
This was delicious!
Emily Liao says
This irish stew is SO delicious and has tons of flavor! Will definitely be whipping this up for st. pattys day 🙂
cyndy says
This looks really authentic!
Sandhya Hariharan says
Thank you for sharing a such a delicious Irish Stew Recipe.
Jenn says
This looks sooo good, and I bet the Guinness really makes it taste extra special! Can't wait to try it!
Kushigalu says
So many flavors in this stew recipe. Can't wait to try. Delicious!
Jennie Mason says
Is there a substitute you would recommend for the beer? I’m not a beer or wine drinker so very impracticable to buy a 6 pack or a bottle of wine for this recipe. Just me so no one else to drink it either. Would love to try this. It sounds so good! Thank you!
Joanie Zisk says
Hi Jennie,
If you don’t want to use alcohol, use a good beef broth and a dash or two of extra Worcestershire sauce instead.
Enjoy!
Joanie
Debbie says
Joanie the recipe instructions say add garlic, bu5 it’s not listed in the ingredients so I just guessed 1 clove. Can you verify that please. Thanks.
Joanie Zisk says
Hi Debbie,
Yes, 1 clove of garlic.
Thank you.
Joanie
Nadine Flores says
It’s possible for you to buy just one can of beer.
Joanie Zisk says
Hi Nadine,
It really depends on the store you shop in. I am able to buy one can of beer at my local grocery in Houston (HEB) as well as in local wine and beer shops.
Jon Dion says
Not sure about liquor stores near you, but a lot of the ones I go to, have single cans you can buy, so that might be an option you could go with
Syble says
Is there a good non-alcoholic substitute for the Guinness.? Thanks
Joanie Zisk says
Yes, Syble. If you don’t want to use alcohol, use a good beef broth and a dash or two of extra Worcestershire sauce instead.
Joanie
Ryan says
Hi Joanie, I believe the 1 day, 40 minutes total cook time is an oops. I wanted to let you know so you’re not bombarded by questions. I’m making this tonight as it looks delish!
Joanie Zisk says
Thanks for catching that. Fixed it!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Joanie
Maria says
Hi,
I would like to try this recipe could i just chuck everything in the slow cooker For when I get home from work ? Or not recommended thank you
Joanie Zisk says
Hi Maria,
I haven't tested this recipe in a slow cooker but I believe it would work. For small batch and single serving recipes like this one, I recommend using a small 1.5-quart to 2-quart slow cooker. If you have time, I would also recommend searing the lamb or beef first before adding it to the slow cooker simply because it will give the meat more flavor. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours. If you make the stew in a slow cooker, please let me know how the recipe worked for you.
Thank you.
Joanie
Maria says
Hi Joanie,
Thank you for your reply
I made this in the slow cooker seared the meat it worked out beautifully absolutely delishous I will be making again thank you so much.
Joanie Zisk says
Maria,
I'm so happy the recipe worked well in the slow cooker. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, this will be so helpful to our readers.
Joanie