Hearty, old fashioned beef stew flavor at 4.7g net carbs and 23.4g protein per bowl: tender seared beef, mushrooms, green beans, and daikon radish standing in for potatoes. I sear the meat in butter in batches so it browns instead of steams, then I let everything simmer 30 to 40 minutes until the vegetables turn tender.
I’ve been making this stew since 2018, and it’s the one I come back to every time the temperature drops. If you love a warming bowl like my beef and tomato soup or keto beef pho, this one deserves a spot in your rotation.
This keto beef stew is made without potatoes, which makes it perfect for a low carb diet. In their place, I use daikon radish, and it’s the closest thing to a potato I’ve found. I tested daikon against cauliflower head to head, and cauliflower basically dissolves by the first hour. Daikon takes the whole braise and stays in actual chunks. It softens, soaks up the broth, and looks white like a potato in the bowl. One of my readers made this for her son, and he was convinced there were potatoes in it. Kept digging for more.
Get the best stew meat or chuck roast you can find. This is a tougher cut that needs time to break down, but once it does, the chunks practically fall apart. I sear mine in batches with butter, then add the broth and diced tomatoes and let the whole thing simmer for about an hour before the red wine and vegetables go in. That first hour is what builds the depth of flavor in the broth. If you don’t cook with wine, skip it or swap in extra broth. I’ve made it both ways and the broth is still rich without it.
I add green beans, mushrooms, carrot, onion, and garlic along with the daikon. Any low carb vegetable works here. If you want something more Italian, try my Italian beef stew for a tomato-forward version.
The finished stew comes in at about 5 net carbs per serving, compared to the 20g you’d get from a traditional version loaded with potatoes. I make a double batch almost every time and freeze half for later. If you’re looking for more comfort food that works in the slow cooker or Instant Pot, my chicken and dumplings is another one my family asks for.
Key ingredients and variations
Beef: I use stew meat or cut up chunks from a chuck roast. Any tough cut works because the long simmer breaks it down.
Broth: Beef or chicken broth both work. I usually go beef for a darker, richer base.
Red wine: Adds depth and the acid helps tenderize the meat. Leave it out or use extra broth if you prefer.
Vegetables: Green beans, mushrooms, daikon, carrot, onion, and garlic. Swap in whatever you have on hand.
Tomato paste: A tablespoon adds an umami layer to the broth without adding much in carbs.
Thickener: I use arrowroot powder. Optional, but it gives the broth more body.
How I thicken this stew
A thick stew is exactly what I want when it’s cold out. Instead of all-purpose flour, I use arrowroot powder. It has 7 times the thickening power of flour, it’s gluten-free, and at 2.7 carbs per teaspoon, it adds about 0.7 carbs per serving divided over 8 bowls.
Other ways to thicken it
Xanthan gum: Zero net carbs and it works well. I use 1 teaspoon, but don’t go over that or the texture gets slimy.
Heavy cream: A quarter cup thickens it nicely. This shifts the base toward creamy instead of brothy, so it’s a different result.
Cream cheese: 4 ounces, cubed and softened. Same creamy shift as heavy cream.
Gelatin: Powdered gelatin adds protein and zero carbs. I use this when I want body without changing the flavor.
Corn starch: Not the lowest carb option, but it has twice the thickening power of flour. You need less of it, so you end up adding fewer carbs than flour would.
Mashed cauliflower: Stir some in to thicken the broth. It adds carbs and can make the texture slightly grainy, but it works in a pinch.
Slow cooker method
I love making this in the slow cooker when I have time in the morning to get dinner going but not much energy at night. If you can, sear the beef and vegetables first, then transfer everything to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4. Searing first traps the juices inside each chunk of beef and builds a deeper broth.
One thing I’ve learned: slow cookers trap moisture, so the liquid level actually rises during cooking instead of reducing like it does on the stovetop. I start with slightly less broth and let the vegetables release their own liquid. Before serving, stir in the arrowroot if you want it thicker, and finish with chopped parsley. If you like slow cooker dinners, my taco soup is another one I make on repeat.
Instant Pot method
The Instant Pot cuts the cooking time down to under an hour without losing any flavor. I use the saute function to sear the beef and vegetables first (this step matters, don’t skip it), then pressure cook on high for 25 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
The texture comes out just as tender as the stovetop version. If you want more Instant Pot dinner ideas, I also make Swiss steak and lasagna soup in mine regularly.
What I use instead of potatoes
Potatoes run 37g of carbs per serving, so they’re out for keto. I use daikon radish because it has a neutral flavor, takes on whatever it’s cooked in, looks white like a potato, and gets soft after a long braise. I’ve tested it against cauliflower and the difference is clear: cauliflower falls apart within the first hour, daikon stays in proper chunks.
Daikon radish is my first choice for its neutral flavor and potato-like texture after cooking.
Turnip works well too. It’s a bit denser than daikon and adds a slight sweetness that pairs nicely with the beef. I’ve used it when my store doesn’t carry daikon.
Celery root, jicama, rutabaga, or parsnips are all options I’ve tried with good results.
Other swaps I've tested
I’ve tried a few variations in this stew that all worked well.
Try zucchini, cauliflower, or broccoli in place of the green beans and mushrooms. Any of your favorite vegetables work here.
The red wine can be left out entirely. Use extra broth or add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce for depth. I’ve made it both ways and the broth is still rich without the wine.
Worcestershire sauce can replace the tomato paste if you prefer. Both add umami, just a different flavor profile.
Swap the apple cider vinegar for a splash of red wine vinegar at the end of cooking to cut through the richness.
Storage and meal prep
Refrigerator: I keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The flavors get better after a day or two in the fridge.
Freezer: This freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. I usually make a double batch and freeze half in individual portions. You can also prep it as a dump-and-go meal by putting all raw ingredients in a freezer-safe bag.
Cook from frozen in the slow cooker: Thaw overnight in the fridge, then add to the crockpot in the morning and cook as normal.
Cook from frozen in the Instant Pot: Saute for 5 minutes, flip the frozen block, then pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes.
Meal prep tip: I chop all the vegetables the night before and keep them in the fridge. In the morning, I just sear the beef and dump everything in. If you like batch cooking, my minestrone soup is another one that freezes well.
How to make this stew
The key to this stew is patience. Sear the beef in batches so each piece gets a proper crust instead of steaming. Once all the beef is back in the pot, add the broth and diced tomatoes, scraping up those brown bits from the bottom. That’s where most of the flavor lives. Let it simmer low for an hour before the vegetables go in, then another 30-40 minutes until everything is tender. Season the beef with salt and pepper before searing, then hold off on extra salt until the end, because the broth concentrates as it cooks.
Season stew meat on all sides with salt and pepper.
2
Stove top instructions: sear and tenderize beef
Add butter to a large stock pot or Dutch oven and melt over medium high heat. Working in batches, add stew meat and cook on all sides until seared. Remove and sear the next batch. Return all stew meat to the pot. Add beef broth and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Then reduce to simmer for 60 minutes.
For this step
Butter
Stew meat
Beef broth or chicken broth
Diced tomatoes
3
Stove top instructions: add vegetables
Add remaining ingredients (except arrowroot powder or thickener) and let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add additional seasoning if needed. Add arrowroot powder as a thickener if desired.
4
Slow cooker instructions
Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
5
Instant pot instructions
Add butter and stew meat to the liner of the instant pot. Use SAUTE mode to sear the outside of the beef on all sides (working in batches to prevent steaming). Return all beef to the pressure cooker and add remaining ingredients except the thickener if using. Pressure cook on high for 25 minutes. Let pressure release natural for 10 minutes before releasing remaining pressure. Stir in thickener if using.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1 bowl
Calories
335
Fat
22.3g
Protein
23.4g
Total carbs
6.8g
Fiber
2.1g
Net carbs
4.7g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many net carbs are in this stew?
I calculated about 5 net carbs per serving with the arrowroot thickener included. Without the thickener, it's closer to 4. Traditional versions with potatoes run about 20g per cup, so this is a significant difference for staying on track.
Can I make this without red wine?
I've made it both ways. Without the wine, the broth is a little less complex but still good. I add an extra splash of beef broth to replace the liquid and sometimes stir in a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce at the end for depth. The acid from the wine does help tenderize the meat, but an hour of simmering does most of that work on its own.
What can I use instead of daikon radish?
I've tested turnip and it works well. It's a bit denser than daikon but after 6 hours in the slow cooker, the texture is nearly the same. It adds a slight sweetness that pairs nicely with the beef. Celery root is another option I like for its mild, slightly nutty flavor. Jicama, rutabaga, and parsnips all hold up in a long braise too.
Can I make this Whole30 or dairy-free?
I swap the butter for ghee (Whole30-friendly) or avocado oil when I'm doing a round. I also leave out the red wine and add extra broth in its place, since Whole30 does not allow alcohol, even for cooking. Everything else in the recipe is already compliant if you skip the arrowroot and use a Whole30-approved broth. I've made the keto and Whole30 version a few times and the sear on the beef is just as good with ghee.
Why does my slow cooker stew turn out watery?
I ran into this too until I figured out why. Slow cookers trap moisture, so the liquid level actually rises during cooking instead of reducing. I start with about a cup less broth than the stovetop version and let the vegetables release their own liquid. If it's still too thin at the end, I stir in a teaspoon of arrowroot mixed with cold water right before serving.
Can I use elk or venison instead of beef?
A reader made this with elk and it turned out great. Wild game is leaner than beef chuck, so I'd add an extra tablespoon of butter or fat when searing to compensate. One thing they mentioned: the broth came out a bit spicy for the kids. If you're cooking for little ones, I'd cut the black pepper in half.
Can I cook this from frozen in the Instant Pot or slow cooker?
I do this all the time with my freezer batches. In the Instant Pot, I saute for 5 minutes, flip the frozen block, then pressure cook on high for 30 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. For the slow cooker, I thaw overnight in the fridge first, then cook as normal in the morning. Trying to cook a frozen block in the slow cooker doesn't work well because it sits in the danger zone too long.
Is beef stew good for a keto diet?
Traditional beef stew is not, because potatoes and a flour-thickened broth put it around 20g carbs per cup. My version swaps the potatoes for daikon radish and thickens with arrowroot, so each bowl comes in at 4.7g net carbs and 23.4g protein.
What can I use instead of potatoes in beef stew?
I use daikon radish. It looks white like a potato, soaks up the broth, and stays in chunks through the whole braise. Turnip, celery root, jicama, rutabaga, and parsnips all work too. Cauliflower falls apart within the first hour, so I skip it in this stew.
Made the Instant Pot version Sunday, portioned into five containers. By Wednesday the broth had deepened in a way the day-one bowls didn’t. Daikon holds up way better than cauliflower by day three, that’s why this keeps ending up in my weekly rotation.
Twelve-year-olds don’t pay attention to food unless it’s very good or very strange, so when my daughter stopped to watch me cut the daikon last week and asked if it was ‘the thing that makes it not feel like cheating,’ I took that as the best food review I’ve gotten in a while. She’s twelve and reviews everything by whether she finishes it fast or slow, and this she finishes fast. There’s a weight to this stew that most keto recipes skip, the beef and broth together land like a real dinner and not like a workaround, and I think that’s what she picked up on. I’ve been making it since January and we’re still going in July with the Instant Pot because running a burner for three hours when it’s ninety out is just not happening. The house smells like a Sunday in November even with the AC running, which is either comforting or confusing depending on who you ask. My husband keeps telling me to double it and I think I’m finally going to listen.
‘The thing that makes it not feel like cheating’ is genuinely the best description of daikon in stew I’ve ever heard. Listen to your husband. It freezes perfectly.
Okay so I spent way too long tracking down daikon radish for this (finally found it at an Asian grocery, not the regular store) and now I’m realizing I don’t even own a Dutch oven. I have one big stainless steel pasta pot and that’s it. The recipe mentions Dutch oven or large stock pot so I’m hoping the pasta pot counts, but here’s my actual worry: I don’t know if the searing step works the same in stainless. Cast iron holds heat so differently, and that’s kind of the whole thing with searing. If I just throw the butter and stew meat into stainless over medium-high, is it going to steam instead of sear? I really want this to come out right.
Stainless sears fine. I preheat on medium-high for a full 2 minutes, then add the butter and wait for the foam to settle before the meat goes in, that’s the key. A pasta pot is a stock pot.
Wasn’t sure daikon would hold up like potatoes in something this heavy, but it does. The red wine broth carries everything. Ten months of keto and I got beef stew back.
Daikon surprised me the first time I tested it in this. I fully expected it to go mushy after a 6-hour slow cooker run but it held this almost potato-like bite I wasn’t expecting. What half a cup of wine does to that broth is out of proportion to how little goes in, the depth is real. Ten months, Yuki. That’s not a small thing. Glad beef stew is back on the table.
Red wine in a stew felt like I was cooking above my skill level, and I nearly didn’t try it, but the broth thing that happens from the tomatoes and wine together is genuinely worth it (not subtle at all, it’s actually the whole point). Four stars is sincere from someone who was mid-daikon-prep thinking this was going to be a disaster. One note: I’d add the green beans in the last half hour because mine turned to mush on the stovetop, and they’re a nice texture if you don’t.
My mom made beef stew every Sunday, and the smell of it searing in butter was how you knew what day it was. I hadn’t let myself miss it much since going keto, but this brought it back. The portabellas weren’t in hers, but the broth landed in the right place.
The butter sear is non-negotiable. I tested it with avocado oil once and it never hit the same. Portabellas weren’t in my first version either, they came in around batch three when something kept feeling flat.
Four or five times making this now. I started pulling the daikon out an hour before the meat is done in the slow cooker because it was getting too soft by hour six. Texture is much better that way, though I still think the stovetop version gives you more control overall.
Good call taking the daikon out early. I’ll try that on my next slow cooker batch. The stovetop does let you stop everything right where you want it, which is why I still reach for it when I’m home.
I couldn’t find daikon at my regular grocery store so I made a special trip to an Asian market, and it was worth it. Cut mine a little bigger than the recipe says because I was nervous about it turning to mush in the slow cooker, and it held up really well, almost like a potato chunk in the broth. The one thing I’d add for anyone making this: pat the beef completely dry before you sear it, or it just steams and you miss that crust entirely.
Cutting bigger was smart. Six hours at low heat, smaller pieces would’ve gone mushy. And yes to the pat dry. Wet beef just steams, you never get the crust.
Doubled this on Sunday and portioned it out for the week, and by Wednesday it had turned into something I wasn’t expecting. The daikon on day three soaks up the broth differently than fresh out of the pot (softer, more potato-like). The one thing I’d dial back for batch cooking is the red wine. It intensifies as it sits and turns sharp by end of week. Still a Sunday staple.
I’ve made a lot of beef stews since going keto and this one is genuinely the best, but fair warning: the daikon needs more time than you’d expect to get really tender. I did the stovetop version in my Dutch oven and mine was still a little firm at the suggested time, so I gave it another 15 minutes and it was perfect. The red wine and mushroom combination in the broth is SO good I kept sneaking spoonfuls before serving. Already planning a double batch.
My husband never asks about leftovers but specifically put a sticky note on this one, and I think it’s because the broth gets so much deeper on day two.
The sticky note made me laugh. That broth pulls everything together overnight, the red wine especially. Day one is good but day two is the real version.
The daikon needs to go in bigger chunks than you’d think. I was cutting mine almost potato-sized and they were dissolving by the last hour of the simmer. Went bigger on the next batch and they actually held up, real texture in the bowl instead of mush.
If you’re doing the stovetop version, brown the meat in batches. Not all at once. First time I crowded the pot it steamed instead of seared, and you could taste it in the broth. Three smaller rounds at medium-high with butter, and the fond before the wine and broth was worth the extra time. The daikon also surprised me, stays firm through the whole simmer and soaks up the flavors so well I stopped missing potatoes. Four stars for now while I dial in the arrowroot, but the technique is solid.
That fond step makes the broth. For arrowroot – cold water slurry first, then stir in off the heat. Clumping is usually from adding it dry into hot liquid.
Made a big pot of this Sunday, doubled it because I figured we’d want leftovers. My 12-year-old has been quietly skeptical of every swap I’ve tried this year, but he went back for a second bowl without saying a word, which is basically a standing ovation from him. He asked what the ‘white potato things’ were, and when I told him daikon he just shrugged and kept eating. That shrug is the whole review.
Making this tonight in my Instant Pot (first time doing stew in it) and not sure about the searing step. Does 2 lbs fit in sauté mode or do I need to do batches? Don’t want to mess that up before hitting pressure mode.
Do batches. 2 lbs in sauté mode steams instead of sears – you get gray meat, not crust. Split it in half, hot butter, leave it alone 2-3 minutes a side.
Troy more garlic is never a bad idea. And the red wine really does make the broth richer. Good call on the salt too, I tend to season light and let people adjust at the table.
Made this in the Dutch oven on a snow day. My husband went back for thirds and my daughter who hates mushrooms picked them out but still ate everything else. The daikon really does work like potatoes in this.
Vanessa thirds is a serious compliment. And yeah the daikon surprised me too when I first tried it in stew. It holds up so well. Your daughter might come around on the mushrooms eventually.
