Greek Recipes

Easy Beef Stew in Tomato Sauce (Moshari Kokkinisto)

Easy Beef Stew in Tomato Sauce (Moshari Kokkinisto) - 1

Prep

5 minutes

Cook

1 hour 25 minutes

Yield

6

This Easy Beef Stew is made with a warming tomato sauce. This traditional Greek dish is one that is perfect to warm you up on a cold winters night or a rainy day.

Moshari Kokkinisto is a delicious Easy Beef Stew made with beef, tomatoes, and slow cooked until tender. It’s everything you want and more in a comforting stew and perfect as we are quickly approaching the fall. This dish is one that I grew up with in a Greek household. It’s one that I love on those nights that I just need some comfort food, and is really easy to prep.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Easy Beef Stew

  • Authentic: This Easy Beef Stew is my authentic spin to Moshari Kokkinisto, a Greek, comforting stew
  • Warming: This is the perfect meal for a cold winter or rainy day
  • Flavorful: Slow cooking this stew makes the meat so tender and flavorful. Nothing beats it!
Easy Beef Stew in a bowl with noodles - 2

🍲 Ingredients

Cinnamon & Cloves – One of the parts that make this Easy Beef Stew so flavorful and warming is the spices. The cinnamon and cloves are the perfect winter spices to add warming flavors to this traditional stew.

Beef – Chuck beef or stewing beef works best for this recipe. Slow cooked with the spices, makes it so flavorful and tender.

Close up of a fork spinning the noodles in a beef stew - 3

👩‍🍳 How to Make Easy Beef Stew

  1. Put a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil, onions, garlic and pieces of beef, cook for a few minutes on medium heat and then turn to low, stirring occasionally, cooking for 15 minutes, stirring until beef is browned on all sides.
  2. Add the red wine, stir and cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Add salt, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato sauce and 4 cups water. Stir everything together and bring to a boil, then turn to low to keep at a simmer on low heat for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. While this cooks preheat the oven to 375F.
  4. After 35 minutes, add the dry spaghetti noodles and 2 more cups of water to the pot and another dash of salt and pepper. Gently submerge the noodles into the sauce. Remove from the heat.
  5. Transfer everything from the pot to a large baking dish. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes and then remove from the oven, stir to combine. The noodles should be cooked and saucy. Serve in bowls with grated cheese (kefalotyri or parmesan) if desired.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

  • If you like this recipe you’ll love our Greek Meat Sauce Recipe (Makaronia Me Kima)
  • Meal prep this on Sunday night and eat the leftovers all-week-long. It’s so good even reheated
  • You can totally make this recipe in an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
Close up of easy beef stew - 4

🗒 Substitutions

If you want this dish to remain authentic, you’ll want to follow my recipe. However, if you are looking to add your own spin to this Easy Beef Stew, the world is your oyster. Here are some ideas:

  • Spices: Not a fan of warming spices like cinnamon and cloves? Swap for your favorite savory spices
  • Meat: You can use other ground meats in this recipe like ground lamb or even use stewing beef
  • Veggies: Add in some veggies to this dish to make it a complete meal

🗒 Best served with

  • Simple Homemade Greek Salad
  • Maroulosalata aka my Mama’s Salad

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. This dish is great leftover and reheated!

🤔 Common Questions

The difference between Greek red sauce and Italian red sauces comes down to the spices. Greek red sauces usually use warming spices like cinnamon and cloves.

Kokkinisto translates to red stew which is exactly what this delicious Easy Beef Stew is. A comforting, Greek dish.

Close up of easy beef stew - 5

Easy Beef Stew in Tomato Sauce (Moshari Kokkinisto)

Video

Ingredients1x2x3x

  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ yellow or red onion, diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 900 g chuck beef or stewing beef, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • ⅓ cup red wine
  • ½ tsp ground pepper
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp beef stock paste
  • 4 + 2 cups hot water
  • 400 g dry spaghetti noodles
  • grated cheese (kefalotyri or parmesan) for serving

Instructions

  • Put a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil, onions, garlic and pieces of beef, cook for a few minutes on medium heat and then turn to low, stirring occasionally, cooking for 15 minutes, stirring until beef is browned on all sides.
  • Add the red wine, stir and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add salt, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato sauce, beef stock paste and 4 cups hot water. Stir everything together and bring to a boil, then turn to low to keep at a simmer on low heat for about 35 minutes, with the lid on, stirring occasionally. While this cooks preheat the oven to 375F.
  • After 35 minutes, add the dry spaghetti noodles and 2 more cups of hot water to the pot and another dash of salt and pepper. Gently submerge the noodles into the sauce. Remove from the heat.
  • To bake, cover the pot with a lid OR transfer everything to a large baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes and then remove from the oven, stir to combine. The noodles should be cooked and saucy. Serve in bowls with grated cheese (kefalotyri or parmesan) if desired.

Notes

  • Chuck beef or stewing beef works best for this recipe.
  • Serve with our Simple Homemade Greek Salad or Maroulosalata aka my Mama’s Salad
  • If you like this recipe you’ll love our Greek Meat Sauce Recipe (Makaronia Me Kima)

Nutrition

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Close up of easy beef stew - 10

Easy Beef Stew in Tomato Sauce (Moshari Kokkinisto)

Ingredients

  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ yellow or red onion, diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 900 g chuck beef or stewing beef, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • ⅓ cup red wine
  • ½ tsp ground pepper
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp beef stock paste
  • 4 + 2 cups hot water
  • 400 g dry spaghetti noodles
  • grated cheese (kefalotyri or parmesan) for serving

Instructions

  • Put a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil, onions, garlic and pieces of beef, cook for a few minutes on medium heat and then turn to low, stirring occasionally, cooking for 15 minutes, stirring until beef is browned on all sides.
  • Add the red wine, stir and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add salt, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato sauce, beef stock paste and 4 cups hot water. Stir everything together and bring to a boil, then turn to low to keep at a simmer on low heat for about 35 minutes, with the lid on, stirring occasionally. While this cooks preheat the oven to 375F.
  • After 35 minutes, add the dry spaghetti noodles and 2 more cups of hot water to the pot and another dash of salt and pepper. Gently submerge the noodles into the sauce. Remove from the heat.
  • To bake, cover the pot with a lid OR transfer everything to a large baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes and then remove from the oven, stir to combine. The noodles should be cooked and saucy. Serve in bowls with grated cheese (kefalotyri or parmesan) if desired.

Video

Notes

  • Chuck beef or stewing beef works best for this recipe.
  • Serve with our Simple Homemade Greek Salad or Maroulosalata aka my Mama’s Salad
  • If you like this recipe you’ll love our Greek Meat Sauce Recipe (Makaronia Me Kima)

Nutrition

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