Texas Cowboy Stew Recipe

A bowl of cowboy stew with a spoon and some crackers.

This simple Cowboy Stew recipe is made with three tasty meats for full flavor. Salty applewood bacon, juicy ground beef, and sausage slices get mixed with a variety of beans to make one hearty dinner. It is the perfect stew to warm you up all winter long!

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 218kcal

Author: Tristin - Home Cooked Harvest

Ingredients

5 slices bacon chopped
1 large onion small dice
4 large garlic cloves minced
1 pound lean ground beef 80/20 or 90/10
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3-4 cups beef broth
1 15-ounce can kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can pinto beans rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can sweet yellow corn drained
1 4-ounce can green chiles
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 medium potatoes peeled and diced
1 14-ounce package beef kielbasa

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven or large pot, add in the cut up bacon over medium-high heat. Cook until the bacon bits are crispy, then scoop the bacon up with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set aside. Drain the excess bacon fat, keep one tablespoon in the pan to sauté the onions. If not using in another recipe, pour excess grease into one of the empty bean cans then let it cool and toss.
Add the diced onion over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
Next, add the ground beef, sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Cook until browned over medium heat, drain off any excess fat.
Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and broth to the pot and mix well.
Add in the beans, corn, green chiles, tomatoes, potatoes, sausage, and bacon to the pot. Stir well.
Bring the mixture up to a simmer, then reduce the heat down to low. Cover the pot and let cook about 20-25 minutes.

Notes

Add veggies. Add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables to the mix. Or add your favorite canned vegetables.

Make it cowboy soup. To make it soup, you just need to add more liquid. Add in 5 cups of broth instead of 3 cups.

Use different beans. Instead of one can of pinto beans and one can of kidney beans, you could use two cans of pintos or kidney beans. Or use ranch style beans, chili beans, black beans, great northern beans, cannellini beans, navy beans, or red beans. You can even use baked beans like Bush's, just keep in mind that this will make the stew sweet.

Make it spicy stew. Add in 1-2 canned chipotle peppers, jalapeño peppers, or red pepper flakes to make it spicy cowboy stew.
Stew will last 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

Nutrition