With this recipe, you can make this BEST fork-tender South African beef stew with chutney and vegetables that’s seasoned to perfection.
It’s versatile, rich, packed with flavor, and sooo comforting. For this recipe, I have used the veggies I had at home: zucchini, carrots, potatoes, and bell pepper (capsicum), but you can really use whatever you’ve got. Butternut, sweet potatoes, green beans, or baby potatoes all work beautifully.

This South African beef stew is the ultimate comfort food and packed with rich flavors. With just a few simple steps, you’ll end up with a stew featuring meltingly tender chunks of beef, perfectly cooked vegetables, and a deep, flavorful broth made with red wine and vegetable broth.
If you want, you can easily replace vegetable broth with beef broth, substitute the wine with 100% red grape juice, or just double the amount of broth and leave it out completely.

The recipe is quite similar to this Namibian beef stew. Just like in Namibia, this stew is often called beef potjiekos or beef potjie because traditionally, it’s cooked slowly in a three-legged cast-iron pot over an open fire, called a potjie.
But for this recipe, I have used a pot with a heavy bottom for even heat distribution, and it turned out perfectly. Even a regular pot works well, and you don’t necessarily need a potjie for this.
Ingredients used to make this recipe
- 500 g (1.1 lbs) beef chucks or other stewing beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon plain flour (all purpose flour) or cornstarch (cornflour)
For the stew
- 1 medium onion
- 1 bell pepper/ capsicum
- 4 garlic cloves
- 7 g (about 0.25 oz) fresh ginger root/ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme /1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ tablespoon chutney or 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves or 3 whole cloves
- 350 ml (about 1½ cups) vegetable broth or beef broth
- 150 ml ( about 2/3 cups) dry red wine or 100 % red grape juice
- 2 medium carrots (150 g/ 5.3 oz)
- 3 medium potatoes (300 g/ 10 ½ oz)
- 1 medium zucchini (about 200 g/ about 7 oz)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

How to Make South African Beef Stew
Pat dry the meat with paper towels. Then cut it into bite-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with flour.
Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat until you get a golden crust on the beef. This took me about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, peel and mince the garlic and onion. Then peel and grate the ginger root and dice the bell peppers. Remove the meat from the pot and set it aside.
After browning the meat, reduce the heat to medium-low. In the same pot (without cleaning it), add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes.
Then add the garlic, ginger (if you’re using fresh ginger; otherwise, the ground ginger can be added later together with the other spices), and bell peppers, and cook for another 3 minutes or until soft.
Add the spices (curry, turmeric, thyme, smoked paprika, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and bay leaves), tomato paste, and chutney or sugar. Combine well and cook for half a minute.

Simmer the stew
Add back the browned beef and mix well. Then stir in the broth and red wine or red grape juice. Increase the heat to bring the pot to a boil.
Once it boils, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover with the lid, and let it cook for about 60 minutes.
There’s no need to stir during the cooking process, but since stoves and pots differ, you can stir occasionally to make sure the meat does not stick to the bottom of the pot or that the pot does not run out of liquid.

About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them into chunks. Then cut the zucchini into chunks as well. Stir well, season with salt and pepper if necessary, and add the vegetables.
Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes on medium heat. About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the lid and cook to the end while stirring occasionally and gently.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Then remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs from the stew and serve. This South African beef stew keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just thaw overnight and reheat gently.
What to serve with South African Stew
For a traditional experience, serve this South African beef and vegetable stew with hot pap, yellow rice, steamed bread, vetkoeks, mielie bread, or any side of your choice.
BEST South African Beef Stew with Vegetables Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1 lbs) beef chucks or other stewing beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon plain flour (all purpose flour) or cornstarch (cornflour)
For the stew
- 1 medium onion
- 1 bell pepper/ capsicum
- g garlic cloves
- 7 g (about 0.25 oz) fresh ginger root or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ tablespoon chutney or sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves or 3 whole cloves
- 350 ml (about 1½ cups) vegetable broth or beef broth
- 2 medium carrots , about 150 g/ 5.3 oz
- 3 medium potatoes , about 300 g/ 10 ½ oz
- 200 g ( about 7 oz zucchinis
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Pat dry the meat with paper towels. Then cut it into bite-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with flour.
- Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat until you get a golden crust on the beef. This took me about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel and mince the garlic and onion. Then peel and grate the ginger root and dice the bell peppers. Remove the meat from the pot and set it aside.
- After browning the meat, reduce the heat to medium-low. In the same pot (without cleaning it), add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Then add the garlic, ginger (if you’re using fresh ginger; otherwise, the ground ginger can be added later together with the other spices), and bell peppers, and cook for another 3 minutes or until soft.
- Add the spices (curry, turmeric, thyme, smoked paprika, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and bay leaves), tomato paste, and chutney or sugar. Combine well and cook for half a minute.
- Add back the browned beef and mix well. Then stir in the broth and red wine or red grape juice. Increase the heat to bring the pot to a boil. Once it boils, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover with the lid, and let it cook for about 60 minutes.
- There’s no need to stir during the cooking process, but since stoves and pots differ, you can stir occasionally to make sure the meat does not stick to the bottom of the pot or that the pot does not run out of liquid.
- About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them into chunks. Then cut the zucchini into chunks as well. Stir well, season with salt and pepper if necessary, and add the vegetables.
- Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes on medium heat. About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the lid and cook to the end while stirring occasionally and gently.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Then remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs from the stew and serve with hot pap, yellow rice, steamed bread, vetkoeks, mielie bread, or any side of your choice.
- This beef stew keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply thaw it in the fridge overnight and reheat gently.
Did you make this South African Stew? I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a review and add rating to it