With savory ground beef, bacon, and kielbasa sausage, this hearty Texas Cowboy stew recipe with spicy chili powder, diced tomatoes, and green chile peppers will become a new family favorite.
This delicious texas cowboy stew is great for tailgating, camping, or just for a weeknight dinner. You can make it in a dutch oven or a slow cooker if you prefer.
An easy one-pot meal that makes a delicious dinner recipe anytime. It will likely become one of your favorite Main Dish Recipes.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One Pot Meal. You’ll love this Texas Cowboy Stew because you only need one pot to cook everything in so there is less time spent in the kitchen cleaning pots and pans after dinner.
- Flavor. With 3 different types of meat and lots of seasoning, diced tomatoes, and green chilies, this cowboy stew is loaded with savory and spicy flavor.
- Budget-Friendly. This hearty ground beef stew serves up to 8 people with 1 pound of hamburger meat and stretches the ground beef out to serve more people.
- Easy Recipe. This is an easy 30-minute meal that tastes as if you slaved over the stove all day.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy Instructions. Step-by-step photos and a video accompany the easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to help you succeed in making this recipe.
- Pro Recipe Tips. In addition to easy instructions, I’ve also included recipe tips with instructions for substitutions that you can make to change things up.
- Serving Suggestions. I don’t just help you make this recipe; I provide serving suggestions to help you make the whole meal.
What You’ll Need To Make This Recipe
Equipment
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- Dutch Oven, or
- Slow Cooker, or
- Large Pot
Ingredients
Below I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions in case you don’t have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Ground Beef – You can use 80/20 or 90/10 ground beef. If yu prefer it even lighter, you can use ground chicken or ground turkey.
- Bacon
- Kielbasa Sausage I used kielbasa sausage, of you can use another type of sausage that you have on hand.
- Onion. You can use white onion, yellow onion, sweet onion, and Vidalia onion.
- Garlic. If you have whole garlic, dice that up. Otherwise, use pre-minced garlic.
- Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies. I used Ro*Tel, but not everyone may have that in their grocery stores. If you don’t, use one can of diced tomatoes and one can of green chilies.
- Pinto Beans. You can use ranch-style beans or black beans if you don’t want to use pinto beans. Otherwise, use your favorite type of canned beans.
- Corn. You can use canned corn or frozen corn that has been thawed.
- Potatoes
- Beef Broth. I recommend using a low sodium beef broth to control the amount of salt in the recipe. You can use chicken broth if you don’t have beef broth.
- Chili Powder
- Smoked Paprika
- Cumin
- Black Pepper
- Salt
- Cilantro – I like to use fresh chopped cilantro and not dried cilantro.
How To Make Cowboy Stew
- Cook the hamburger in a large pan and drain the grease. Remove the hamburger and cook the bacon in the pan. When the bacon is crisp, remove and brown both sides of the sausage in the bacon grease.
- Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes.
- Add the meat and the remaining ingredients to the pan, except the cilantro.
- Simmer for 30 minutes. You can use a potato masher and mash the beans and potatoes a little to thicken the soup. This is optional.
- Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.
Pro Tips and Variations
- Veg It Up. Want to turn this into a complete one-pot meal? Add your favorite vegetables to the stew, such as mixed vegetables, chopped bell pepper, or carrots. I like to cook the vegetables in the ground beef, sausage, and bacon drippings to add flavor.
- Lighten It Up. Change up your protein. For example, use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Use soy protein to make it vegetarian.
- Change The Beans. If you don’t like pinto beans, use black beans, charro beans, or ranch-style beans.
- Make It Spicy. If it is not spicy enough, add a couple more teaspoons of chili powder or some cayenne or jalapenos.
- Change The Broth. Instead of beef broth, add chicken broth or vegetable broth.
What To Serve With Cowboy Stew
- Cornbread. My favorite thing to serve with this stew is Homemade Cornbread or Mexican cornbread. The stew goes perfectly with the cornbread.
- Foccacia. To change things up, you could serve the stew with this delicious asiago cheese Focaccia bread. It is great at soaking up the stew.
- Chopped Vegetable Salad. For a light salad to offset the hearty stew, try this salad loaded with vegetables.
- Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad. This light and refreshing fall salad goes perfectly with this hearty cowboy stew.
FAQs
How Do I Store Leftover Cowboy Stew?
You can store leftover stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Can I use frozen vegetables in this recipe?
You can use frozen veggies to make it easy and save time.
More Stew Recipes
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Recipe
Texas Cowboy Stew
Texas Cowboy Stew is a hearty ground beef stew loaded with flavor with potatoes, corn, diced tomatoes, and green chilies, that makes a nice one pot dinner.
Servings 8
Calories 370kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- 1 pound kielbasa sausage cut into 1 inch slices
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 (10.5 ounce) cans Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
- 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans
- 1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn, undrained
- 2 large potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- 2 cups beef broth (recommend low sodium broth)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Salt (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large dutch oven. When cooked, drain the grease.
- Remove the ground beef and set aside. Cook the bacon in the same pan.
- After the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan, and add the sausage. Brown both sides of the sausage in the bacon grease.
- Add the onions and cook for about 3 minutes or until transluscent.
- Add the cooked meat, bacon, and sausage back in the pan, and add the rest of the ingredients, except the cilantro.
- Simmer the stew for 30 minutes. Optional: If this stew needs to be thickened after simmering, mash some of the beans and potatoes.
- Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro on top before serving.
- Serve with cornbread, garlic bread, or a salad.
Video
Notes
- Veg It Up. Want to turn this into a complete one-pot meal? Add your favorite vegetables to the stew, such as mixed vegetables, chopped bell pepper, or carrots. I like to cook the vegetables in the ground beef, sausage, and bacon drippings to add flavor.
- Lighten It Up. Change up your protein. For example, use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Use soy protein to make it vegetarian.
- Change The Beans. If you don’t like pinto beans, use black beans, charro beans, or ranch-style beans.
- Make It Spicy. If it is not spicy enough, add a couple more teaspoons of chili powder or some cayenne or jalapenos.
- Change The Broth. Instead of beef broth, add chicken broth or vegetable broth.
- Storage. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 872mg | Potassium: 434mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 213IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 3mg
Leigh says
Can’t wait to try this recipe!