• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Tara's Multicultural Table

  • Index
  • International Recipes
  • Travel
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Policies

Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew)

25 October, 2015 by Tara 11 Comments

  • Facebook
  • Threads
  • Bluesky
Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

A recipe for Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew)! This rich sweet and sour stew is packed with beef, bacon, caramelized onions, beer, and fresh herbs.

Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew) in a white bowl with thyme sprigs.

Sunday Supper

Today, Sunday Supper is getting together with a group of recipes featuring Warming Trends: Soups, Stews, Warm Desserts, and Drinks!

I am sharing one of my new favorite stews, Carbonnade Flamande (Carbonnade à la Flamande, Vlaamse Stoverij).

Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew)

Carbonnade Flamande is a Flemish beef stew seasoned with Belgian abbey-style beer, beef stock, caramelized onions, and fresh herbs. The combination of spices and beer give it a wonderfully warming sweet and sour flavor. The stew is traditionally served with fries or slices of bread.

The type of beer you use is important to get the right flavor. Try to find Brown Leffe, Westmalle Trappist Dubbel, Oud Bruin (Old Brown/Flanders Brown), Ommegang Abbey Ale, Sint Bernardus Abt 12, Chimay, or Flanders Red. I used Chimay Grande Reserve from the local market.

If you are unable to find a Belgian ale, some have recommended Newcastle Brown Ale or Anchor Steam (I have not personally tried this).

Don’t rush browning the pieces of beef first or cooking the onions. This adds so much to the overall flavor. The onions should caramelize over low to medium-low heat until deeply golden before adding the rest of the ingredients. 

If you want the stew a little thicker, allow it to simmer for closer to 2 hours before serving.

I fully planned to make my own Belgian-style fries, but discovered I had run out of oil last minute and went with some frozen ones I had on hand.

To be completely authentic, serve the Carbonnade Flamande with double-fried fries (you can fry once ahead of time, dry, then fry again right before serving).

Looking for warming stews?

Try my:

  • Dublin Coddle (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew)
  • Csirkepörkölt (Hungarian Chicken Stew)
  • Mechadong Baka (Filipino Beef Mechado)
Aerial view of Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew) in a white bowl next to fries.

Check out what everyone else made:

  • Bananas Foster by Pies and Plots
  • Honeycrisp Apple Tart by The Redhead Baker
  • Beef Brats and Beans Soup by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
  • Braised Venison with Plums by Food Lust People Love
  • Carbonnade Flamande by Tara’s Multicultural Table
  • Hearty Chickpea Soup by The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
  • Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting by Serena Bakes Simply from Scratch
  • Roasted Squash Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh by Caroline’s Cooking
Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew) in a white bowl with a blue pot in the background.

Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew) Recipe

Adapted from Saveur

Print Pin

Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew)

A recipe for Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Beef and Beer Stew)! This rich sweet and sour stew is packed with beef, bacon, caramelized onions, beer, and fresh herbs.
Course Main
Cuisine Belgian
Keyword beef, beer, Belgian, Belgium, Flemish, meat, onion, stew
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
0 minutes minutes
Total Time 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes
Servings 4 -6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 2 x 1/2 inch thick slices
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
  • 4 slices bacon finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 3 medium yellow onions thinly sliced
  • 2 cups Belgian abbey-style beer divided
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Fries or bread for serving

Instructions

  • Place the beef pieces in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss to coat thoroughly.
  • In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium high heat. Working in two batches to keep them from overcrowding, add the coated beef pieces and cook to brown all the sides, about 8 minutes. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining beef. Remove to the plate and set aside.
  • Add the chopped bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and the fat renders, another 8 minutes.
  • Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, then the garlic and onions. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a deep golden color and caramelized, about 30 minutes.
  • Increase heat back to medium high and pour 1 cup of the beer into the pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to release any browned bits, and cook until it reduces slightly. Add the beef, remaining 1 cup beer, beef stock, sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and additional salt and pepper to taste.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Discard any stems from the herbs and the bay leaf.
  • Serve hot with the fries or bread.
  • Facebook
  • Threads
  • Bluesky

Filed Under: Beef, European, Meat, Soups/Salads

Previous Post: « Mishti Dohi (Baked Sweet Yogurt Cream) and From India
Next Post: Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tara Noland

    25 October, 2015 at 1:08 pm

    Wow, doesn’t that look comforting, I love that you served it with chips too!

    Reply
  2. Wholistic Woman (@wholistic_woman)

    25 October, 2015 at 6:58 pm

    That looks great! I love cooking with (and drinking) beer

    Reply
  3. Liz Berg

    26 October, 2015 at 6:09 am

    I need to add this to my winter menu! It looks divine!!!

    Reply
  4. Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

    26 October, 2015 at 8:58 am

    This sounds like our kind of stew! We’ll definitely be trying it this winter!

    Reply
  5. Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm

    26 October, 2015 at 9:03 am

    Yum, this looks delicious. I agree with your husband, stews are often better the next day.

    Reply
  6. Bernie ~ A Gouda Life

    26 October, 2015 at 4:30 pm

    If this doesn’t make you feel instantly warmer, I’m not sure what would! I love how authentic it is with the fries. Winner.

    Reply
  7. Serena | Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch

    26 October, 2015 at 8:07 pm

    This looks out of this world comforting! Love it!

    Reply
  8. palatablepastime

    29 October, 2015 at 8:53 pm

    Wonderful sounding stew!

    Reply
  9. carolinescookingblog

    30 October, 2015 at 9:43 am

    My mum used to make various stews in the winter along these lines and they were always so welcome on a cold day. Sounds good!

    Reply
  10. betsycohen

    1 November, 2015 at 12:02 pm

    This stew is perfect to enjoy as the temperatures drop!

    Reply
  11. susan / the wimpy vegetarian

    9 November, 2015 at 12:18 am

    What a wonderful bowl of comfort, Tara!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Me

tarasmctable (1 of 1)

Hello and welcome to Tara's Multicultural Table! Check out the index to find recipes from around the world and learn more about me .

Subscribe to Tara's Multicultural Table via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,175 other subscribers
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Categories

Amazon

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program and earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe to Tara's Multicultural Table via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,175 other subscribers

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Tara's Multicultural Table on the Foodie Pro Theme