Beef and Mushroom Stew, Utica-Style Comfort in a Bowl

There’s a stew that shows up in kitchens around Utica, New York, that most people outside the area have never heard of. It’s built on mushrooms, tomatoes, and a little meat, simmered together until the whole pot turns rich and deep. This is my beef version of that stew — same rustic, comforting bones, just built around beef instead of the pork it’s traditionally made with.

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It takes some time on the stove, but almost none of it is hands-on. Once everything’s in the pot, you’re mostly just checking in every so often while the smell fills up the kitchen.

Why You’ll Love This Dinner

This stew leans hard on mushrooms — a full two pounds of them — which gives it a deep, earthy backbone that plain tomato-based stews don’t usually have. Beef stew meat and beef Italian sausage bring a hearty, savory base, and the celery and green peppers round things out without stealing the spotlight from the mushrooms.

It’s also one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. The flavors settle and deepen as it sits, which makes it a genuinely good make-ahead option for a weekend when you want dinner mostly handled before the week gets busy. It freezes well too, so a big pot goes a long way.

Ingredients

Beef stew meat works well here in place of the traditional pork loin, since it holds up nicely through the simmer. Beef Italian sausage brings that same savory sausage flavor the original recipe calls for, just built around beef. A mix of mushroom varieties — portobello, shiitake, or oyster alongside regular button mushrooms — gives more depth than using just one kind.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 pound beef Italian sausage, sliced (hot or sweet)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
• 2 (12-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 2 large green peppers, chopped
• 2 pounds mushrooms, chopped (portobello, porcini, shiitake, or oyster)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.

Brown the cubed beef stew meat and sliced beef sausage in the oil, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains. Remove the browned meat and set it aside for a few minutes.

In the same pot, add the garlic, onion, and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes, just until the vegetables start to soften — they don’t need to fully cook down at this stage.

Add the water to the pot and stir well to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom. Those bits carry a lot of flavor, so it’s worth taking a minute to work them loose.

Return the browned meat to the pot, then add the basil, oregano, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir everything together. Bring the pot to a boil.

Once boiling, add the green peppers and stir well, then bring the stew back up to a boil.

Add the mushrooms once the stew returns to a boil, stirring them in. Adding the peppers and mushrooms straight into the boiling liquid, rather than softening them first, is part of what gives this stew its particular character.

Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 to 2 hours. Check it every half hour or so, stirring and making sure nothing’s sticking to the bottom. If it looks like it’s getting too thick, stir in another 1/2 cup of water. The finished stew should be soupy, not thick like a sauce — resist the urge to add tomato paste to thicken it, since that tends to overpower the mushroom flavor that’s the whole point of the dish.

Serve over slices of crusty bread or pasta, topped with a little extra basil and Parmesan if you’d like.

What to Serve With It

Thick slices of crusty Italian bread are the traditional pairing, perfect for soaking up the broth. Pasta or a scoop of polenta both work nicely too, if you’d rather serve it over something starchy. A simple green salad on the side helps balance out the richness.

Variations

If you’d like a spicier stew, hot Italian sausage or an extra pinch of red pepper flakes does the trick. Swapping in Cubanelle peppers for the green peppers gives a slightly sweeter, milder flavor if that’s more to your taste. For a leaner version, ground beef can replace the beef sausage, though you’ll lose a bit of the fennel-forward sausage flavor that gives the stew some of its character.

Storage

This stew keeps well in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days in a covered container, and the flavor genuinely improves with a day or two of rest. It also freezes beautifully — ladle the cooled stew into freezer containers and it’ll keep for up to 3 months with little to no loss in flavor. Reheat gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this in a slow cooker or Instant Pot?
Yes, though timing will differ from the stovetop method. For an Instant Pot, browning the meat first and then pressure cooking the rest for around 25 minutes is a reasonable starting point, though dishes with a lot of tomato liquid can sometimes trigger a burn warning.

Why do the peppers and mushrooms go in after everything else is boiling?
Adding them straight into the boiling stew, rather than sautéing them beforehand, is part of what gives this stew its particular texture and flavor.

My stew came out too thick. What should I do?
Stir in an extra 1/2 cup of water and let it simmer a little longer. The stew should have a soupy consistency, not a thick, sauce-like one.

Can I use only one type of mushroom?
You can, though a mix of varieties like portobello, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms adds more depth than using just button mushrooms alone.

Does this freeze well?
Yes, very well. It can be frozen for up to 3 months with little change in flavor.

Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes, and it’s actually recommended. The flavor improves with a day or two of resting in the refrigerator.

Warm Closing

This is the kind of stew that fills up the kitchen with a good smell long before it’s ready, and it only gets better the longer it sits. Ladle it over some good bread, and dinner’s done.