This Cranberry Beef Stew with Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes is a super cozy winter meal, and the beef stew is made in the slow cooker! You serve the stew over a bed of garlicky mascarpone mashed potatoes, which are absolutely delicious! This meal is perfect to make for guests over the holidays, or any chilly night when you need a little something cozy!
I feel like it has been a minute since I posted an actual meal on the blog. Not that there’s anything wrong with dessert cheeseboards, cookies, more cookies, and cocktails, but I figured it was about time I shared a cozy, holiday dinner recipe! And oh my goodness is this cozy. And it requires hardly any work because it’s made in the slow cooker! This is one of those recipes that you’d never guess was made in the slow cooker. Not that I have anything against slow cookers, I love them actually. Sometimes though, slow cooker stuff just ends up tasting similar. You know? This is notttt one of those. It’s so freaking good!
The only real “work” you have to do, is brown the beef before adding it to the crockpot (trust me on this step, don’t skip it!), and make the mashed potatoes if you’re so inclined. But trusssst me on the mashed potatoes. These are my absolute favorite mashed potatoes in the whole world, and the only way I’ll really make them!
My trick for really insanely good mashed potatoes is to use yukon gold potatoes (they’re SO creamy), and to steep your milk with garlic cloves. It’s SUCH a game changer. What I mean by that, is to heat your milk and four whole cloves of garlic in a saucepan over the stove on low heat, for like 20 minutes. It basically creates a garlic infused milk, without having too much strong garlic taste or pieces of garlic in your potatoes. It’s the most PERFECT amount of garlicky taste and I can’t even explain how delicious it is.
And how could I forget the mascarpone?! It’s like adding cream cheese to your mashed potatoes and it makes them suuuuper creamy and just so cozy.
I also like leaving my mashed potatoes chunky, and I always leave the skin on, but that’s totally personal preference. As long as you steep your milk with garlic and use mascarpone, you’re set!
The beef gets SO tender and my favorite part of this is the tart little cranberries. They cook down and get sweet, but they still have a tiny bit of a tart bite, which helps to balance out the richness of the beef and sauce.
Plus, it’s makes otherwise not so attractive beef stew into something super festive and pretty!
I like to cook this on high for 4-5 hours, and I’ve found that it’s the perfect amount of time. The beef is just tender enough, and the carrots and mushrooms still have a little texture to them, without being mushy at all.
If you want to cook it on low, you totally can too! 7-8 hours is perfect.
This is the most perfect holiday meal to make for guests, because it doesn’t require hardly any time in the kitchen. More time to spend with family and friends and not slaving in the kitchen is something all of us aim for, especially during the holidays! But we still want a really fantastic meal, and this is my answer to that dilemma.
The coziest!
Cranberry Beef Stew with Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes
This Cranberry Beef Stew with Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes is a super cozy winter meal, and the beef stew is made in the slow cooker! You serve the stew over a bed of garlicky mascarpone mashed potatoes, which are absolutely delicious! This meal is perfect to make for guests over the holidays, or any chilly night when you need a little something cozy!
Ingredients
For the cranberry beef stew
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds stew beef, cut into chunks
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 cups beef broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3/4 cup red wine*
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus extra for serving
For the mascarpone mashed potatoes
- 2 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 1/2'' chunks*
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the cranberry beef stew
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Season the beef with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Add to the skillet and sear on all sides until browned, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker.
Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, cranberries, beef broth, tomato paste, red wine, maple syrup, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
When the stew has about 30 minutes left, scoop out 2/3 cup of the cooking liquid and mix it together with the flour until smooth. Pour back into the slow cooker and stir to combine. At this time, sometimes I add another handful of cranberries for a little pop of bright color! Totally optional though! Cook for the remaining 30 minutes or until thickened.
Once finished, stir in the fresh rosemary and remaining teaspoon of salt. You may want to start with 1/2 a teaspoon and go from there. Season to taste with pepper as well! Serve the stew over the mashed potatoes and garnish with extra chopped rosemary and/or a rosemary sprig!
For the mascarpone mashed potatoes
Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Season the water liberally with a teaspoon or so of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes or so, or until potatoes are tender.
While potatoes are boiling, heat the milk and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it comes to a simmer (watch carefully, the milk can burn quickly!). Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low, and let the milk and garlic steep for 15-20 minutes, while the potatoes are cooking. Once finished, discard the garlic cloves.
Drain the potatoes and add them back into the pot. Add the milk, the mascarpone, and salt, and mash with a potato masher until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired!
Recipe Notes
*I like to use use a full-bodied, dry red wine for this recipe, something like a cab, Spanish red, or red blend! Make sure it's something you enjoy drinking on its own - the flavor will intensify!
*I like to keep the skin on my potatoes, but you can peel them if you prefer it. You may need to add a little less milk if you peel them since there will be less volume - just start with about half and go from there! For me, this was 6 medium/large yukon golds.
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