When was the last time you had Beef Stew and Dumplings? It’s been a while for us and I’m not sure why, it’s such a delicious hearty meal to have and there’s no need to mess about with other elements to the meal, a simple bowl of stew, dumplings and a crusty piece of bread is all you need.
If you just winced when I said crusty piece of bread then you’ve not tried Grassroots Bakery bread mixes, just follow the link for a review I wrote towards the end of last year, they’re a staple in this house. Proper crusty gluten free bread.
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Anyway, back to the beef stew and dumplings, I’ve written up the recipe for my homemade dumplings already and recently retook the photos. I’m pleased to say that these recent photos are far more pleasing to the eye. If you want to make the dumplings using my recipe with my home made gluten free suet then follow the link. I can’t begin to tell you how easy it is to make and perfect for other meals and bakes requiring suet such as steak and kidney pudding or jam roly poly.
This stew is versatile, I’ve made it on the stove top in under an hour and in the oven for hours and hours to make it super tender. Whatever works for you and your lifestyle.
Different ways to serve my Gluten Free Beef Stew and Dumplings
I don’t know about you but when I’m in the mood for stew I’m in full comfort food mode so I don’t want too much fuss when it comes to serving the dish. A simple crust of bread to soak up the gravy will do. My family all adore creamy mashed potato with their stew and despite their being vegetables in this stew it’s lovely to add a rainbow of colour to your plate. One other idea would be to make a large gluten free Yorkshire pudding and fill the middle with your stew.
This super simple recipe for making your own gluten free suet is a great way to open up lots of exciting recipes you’d possible not considered before such as Jam Roly Poly, Steak & Kidney Puddings and of course the old favourite; dumplings.
- 100 g lard to make vegetable suet suitable for baking use a vegetable block of fat
- 200 g gluten free plain flour
Simply cut the lard into cubes in a large bowl, add the flour and using your fingers or a pastry blender work until you have a large breadcrumb texture.
To achieve a classic suet look you could use a potato ricer and store in the same way. I have added links to kitchen gadgets below.
Any suet you do not use for this recipe can be placed in a Tupperware container and left in the fridge or freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipes to use your gluten free suet are Jam Roly Poly, Steak & Kidney Pudding and dumplings to name but a few.
Other gluten free recipes you’ll love if you like my Gluten Free Beef Stew and Dumplings
I have an amazing collection of stews and casseroles from around the world to share with you. First off there’s this Slow Cooked Chicken Italian by Fab Food 4 All which captures all the powerful flavours of the Mediterranean. How about this Instant Pot Goulash by Recipes from a Pantry, I haven’t had a Hungarian Goulash for years and Bintu’s recipe has inspired me to re-visit old memories. I love to see pulses and legumes in stews and casseroles and this Spanish Beans with Tomatoes recipe by Veggie Desserts is right up my street, not only do beans pad out meals nutritionally, they also make a cheaper hearty meal. Last but by no means least, is this Vegan Oca Peanut Stew with Kale by Tin and Thyme. Hands up who’s used oca before? Nope me neither, but I’m going to source some now to make this delicious stew. On my website I also have these delicious dishes; Gluten Free Sausage Casserole, Sausage Roll with Chutney and Mustard and Sausage Pasta Bake, Creamy Gluten and Dairy Free Chicken Pink Peppercorn Kievs and finally my Gluten Free BBQ Pulled Pork; simple to make and everyone’s favourite.
Sausage Casserole (GF) 
Sausage, Chutney and Mustard Roll (GF) 
Sausage Pasta Bake (GF)
Beef Stew and Gluten Free Dumplings Recipe
- 700 g stewing beef
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 3 large carrots washed and roughly chopped
- 300 g swede peeled and cubed
- 2 parsnips washed and chopped
- 300 ml boiled water
- 1 gluten free stock cube I use Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pots
- 300 ml red wine
- 1 tsp thyme dried or fresh
- 1 tsp mustard powder or English mustard if you don’t have powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Boil the kettle and add 300ml boiling water to a jug and allow the stock cube/stock pot to dissolve, set to one side.
- In a heavy casserole pot (I have a good quality cast iron pot) brown off your beef over on a high heat on the stove. If you like you can add a little oil to prevent the meat sticking to the pot, I personally don’t bother. I add the beef a quarter of a pack at a time and remove once browned onto a side plate; this prevents the beef from steaming in its own juices and keeps the beef beautifully browned.
- Once all the beef has been browned, you’ll want to deglaze your casserole pot (which may look like it will never be clean again at this point). To do this pour the 300ml of beef stock into the casserole pot and using a wooden spoon work at the stubborn bits of beef and dried meat juices. You’ll find they come away quite easily and you’ll be left with a rich dark stock.
- Add the browned beef back to the casserole pot and add all the remaining ingredients including the wine. Pop the lid on and now you have the choice to continue to cook on the stove for a quick turn-around Beef Stew and Dumplings or pop into the oven for a slow baked beef stew which will give you a more tender finish to the meat.
- For both versions you now have time to make your gluten free dumplings, the recipe for this can be found in the link in the notes and body of the text. Both oven and stove top stews will require you to add the dumplings for the last 20 minutes.
- If you chose the stove version you’ll need to cook on a low to medium heat for 40 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally so the stew doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Finally, pop the dumplings in and cook with the lid on for a further 20 minutes.
- The oven baked stew can be in for up to 3hrs on a very low heat, you may want to stir once in a while; again to make sure it’s not burning to the sides and also to check if it needs a little top up of water. You have a choice with your dumplings if you cook this way, you can keep the lid on for the 20 minutes or take the lid off for the last 10 minutes giving the dumpling the chance to brown on top.
For my gluten free and dairy free dumplings recipe follow the link, there is also a recipe on the same page to make you own home made gluten free suet, leaving you plenty to store in the fridge for another day.
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And one last thing! I’ve linked my Beef Stew and Dumplings with these other awesome bloggers pages, go check them out
Cook Blog Share | That Friday Linky | Blog Crush | Cook Once Eat Twice
Baking Crumbs | Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday | Fiesta Friday
disclaimer: I’ve started using affiliate codes on my website again (needs must). If you click on any of the links in the post and make a purchase my family will benefit from a small % of that purchase at no extra cost to you.
Lard isn’t dairy free, it’s part of an animal.
Lard is dairy free in the fact it does not contain any form of milk which is ‘dairy’ to have a vegetarian or vegan version of this gluten free suet you need to use a vegan lard which uses vegetable fat solids.
Love beef casserole and this sounds like a super tasty recipe with the addition of red wine! Thank you for linking to my chicken recipe:-)
You are very welcome, I love your website with all it’s mouthwatering recipes and preserves xxx
I adore stew and dumplings, especially the dumplings. I so very rarely make them though. Luckily, I remember often enough to remind me just how delicious they are when fluffed up and half soaked in stew.
Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare (and no need to say anything else this time :D)
Oooohh, ooohhh—I’ve NEVER had beef and dumplings! So it’s definitely time to start, given that these photos have me wondering if licking my screen would be frowned upon in this coffee shop. This is perfect timing, too, since I still have snow piled as high as I am tall outside my house.
Oh my goodness this is proper comfort food isn’ t it? I love a big bowl of beef stew. so warming and well comforting. great that you can make GF dumplings too x