A tasty tomato beef casserole rich in flavour and comforting on cold days. This recipe is easy to follow and takes about 2 hours to cook in the oven, where the meat goes tender and the flavours develop. Yum!
This tomato beef casserole is one of those simple dishes that is so rich in flavour that it beckons silence after each mouthful. You know, that silent moment where you just close your eyes and say thank-you Universe/God/Quantum field or whatever your hearts bows to. You just stop and savour, stop and savour, stop and savour. And then you go help yourself to seconds.
Some of you may actually have to hold yourself back from going for thirds. #justsaying
Maybe I am biased because I love tomato anything so you will need to give this casserole a try but I am pretty confident you will love and savour and say thank-you for each mouthful. Eating with gratitude, what a beautiful thing.
I also have to say that I tested the recipe on my 3 boys and I can safely report back that it is kid-friendly and kid-approved with 5 stars. Hooray! It is tricky to get approvals from all five of us for dinner meals so I feel absolutely delighted to share this winner with you today.
But wait. Time for Casserole Trivia , just for Fun!
Here is a little trivia for you! What is the difference between a stew and a casserole?
Are they just synonyms? Nope!
A casserole goes in the oven and a stew typically sits on the stovetop, however it does seem like the terms are used interchangeably, but now you know better!
Back to business. A few things to mention about this casserole.
Firstly, the casserole is mildly spiced in a comforting, hearty kind of way but by all means, add more spice if you enjoy more of a punch.
Secondly, it has a lot of tomatoes but don’t be scared off by that as it all cooks down into the most moreish sauce ever. Use ripe, red tomatoes or go for tinned tomatoes.
Thirdly, the casserole takes about 2 hours to cook (although another hour wouldn’t hurt at all!) so it is the perfect meal for the weekend but also works well for mid-week dinners if you have time in the early afternoon to get it prepared and into the oven.
What Beef to Choose for a Casserole?
The hands down choice for a tender, flavorsome stew is Boneless Beef chuck, it is affordable, it tasty and best of all, it gets tender the longer you cook it. Look for beef chuck with a good amount of marbling running through it and avoid purchasing meat generically labelled “stewing meat” especially if it looks lean. Lean meat doesn’t go tender no matter how long you cook it.
What ingredients do I need?
- 1kg (2.2pounds) beef chuck or meat of your choice, cut into chunks
- 2 TBS oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions - 4 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 150g tomato paste (I used 3 x 50g sachets)
1 kg tomatoes, chopped (about 4 cups or 8 medium tomatoes) - 6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 litre beef stock
- 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt - 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 bay leaves
Scroll down to the recipe section to read How to Make Tomato Beef Casserole..
PrintTomato Beef Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 portions 1x
Ingredients
- 1kg (2.2pounds) beef chuck or meat of your choice, cut into chunks
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 150g tomato paste (I used 3 x 50g sachets)
- 1 kg tomatoes, chopped (about 4 cups or 8 medium tomatoes)
- 6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 litre beef stock
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 bay leaves
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 160°C
- In a large heavy-bottomed casserole dish, add the 2 tablespoons of oil and heat up over medium heat. Once hot, add the meat and brown on all sides then remove and set aside (remember to remove the juices as well!)
- Over medium heat, Add the butter to the casserole dish, allow them to soften and when translucent, add the garlic, coriander, cumin, cracked black pepper and chilli flakes and cook for another minute or two.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes or so together with the onions, garlic and spices.
- Now add the tomatoes, potatoes, stock, sugar, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Give it a stir.
- Pop in the bay leaves and bring to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Place the lid on the casserole dish and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours. Check the meat after one hour – it should be softening. Give the dish a stir to make sure nothing is burning and then place back in the oven for another hour. You can leave the casserole to cook for even longer – even up to 4 hours for very tender meat, just make sure to check and give it a stir every hour.
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