I really love stews, it’s basically the definition of comfort food to me. All of them are fairly easy to cook, they are super easy to reheat, you can freeze them… it’s hard to find any negative. My kids love stews too, so it’s often my dinner of choice when cooking for the family.

This being said, let’s make a bean and pork stew today. This recipe is perfect for a cold winter day and it’s very simple to cook. All the ingredients are easy to get and the whole thing cooks in about 90 minutes. Now let’s go and make it.

What type of beans to use for a stew?

Basically, any beans that you have at hand would work. I’m going with kidney beans today, but feel free to use any other type.

Keep one thing in mind please, when working with dry beans, you need to soak them in water in advance, preferably overnight. Otherwise they would take ages to cook.

An alternative would be to use canned beans, which work really well too. Just make sure to add them almost at the end of the cooking process or else they might overcook and fall apart.

Bean & Pork Stew Ingredients

700g / 1.5 pounds of pork shoulder
300g / 10-11 ounces of dry kidney beans (soaked overnight)
1 can (400g/14oz.) of chopped tomatoes
250g / 0.5 pound of potatoes
2-3 cups of stock/broth (chicken or beef)
1 large onion
2-3 stalks of celery
2-3 smallish carrots
5 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of fresh rosemary or thyme
2 teaspoons of red paprika
3 bay leaves
3 allspice corns
1 tablespoon of butter
Salt and pepper to taste (approx. 1 teaspoon each)
Vegetable or Olive oil

How To Make This Bean & Pork Stew

Watch the video or scroll down for detailed instructions:

I like to start by preparing all the ingredients. A yellow onion comes first and we need it finely chopped. I’m using a yellow onion, but feel free to use white, red or even shallots… it doesn’t really matter much.

Go on with some celery, 2 or 3 stalks will do and again, just chop them into small pieces. You can also use a celeriac or parsley root (parsnip).

2 or 3 carrots come next and surprisingly, we have to chop them up as well. Feel free to use more carrots if you wish, just keep in mind they have a bit of a sweet flavor profile.

5 cloves of garlic now, hit them with a knife and slice finely. You can also crush or grate it or even use minced garlic.

We also need some aromatics. I have some fresh rosemary at home, so let me use that today. Fresh parsley, lovage or thyme would be great choices too.

Now to the meat. I’m using pork shoulder which I think works the best for this recipe, but pork butt would work great for this bean stew as well. The amount I’m working with is roughly 1 and a half pounds or 700 grams… and we need to cut it into smallish cubes.

Heat up a bit of vegetable oil in a pot or large saucepan and go in with the onions. Once they are lightly browned, add all of the other vegetables you have prepared. Keep on sauteing on medium heat and drop in a tablespoon of butter to improve the flavors.

Saute for a few more minutes and add the meat. Mix everything properly and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.

Add a can of crushed or chopped tomatoes into the pot, mix everything up properly and it’s time for the seasonings. You can use fresh tomatoes as well, just peel and chop them up.

We need one teaspoon of salt and crushed black pepper, 2 teaspoons of red paprika, rosemary, 3 bay leaves and 3 allspice corns.

Give it a good mix and go on with 2 or 3 cups of beef, chicken or vegetable stock. You could also use just plain water and a bouillon cube but in all honesty, proper stock just makes this bean stew better.

And it’s time for the beans. As mentioned at the beginning, I’m using dry kidney beans so I had to let them soak in water overnight. To save yourself some time, you can use canned beans instead. Cover the pot with a lid and cook on low.

Once the beans and meat are almost fully cooked, it’s time to add some potatoes. You can use as many as you like and make sure to cut them into small pieces.

Note: The beans and meat should take about 60 minutes to cook, but it might take longer with some bean types.

Cook until the potatoes are tender and give your bean stew a taste. I had to add about half a teaspoon of salt and a touch of pepper, but definitely season to your own taste.

And that’s it, our bean stew is finished. Just take a look! I think it looks great and tastes even better. Fresh parsley for garnish and a slice of bread on the side is all you need to enjoy this comfort dinner.

TIP: This bean stew stays good for about 4 days when stored in the fridge, so don’t be afraid to double this recipe, I pretty much always do that as well 🙂

Thanks for reading, see you next week 🙂

Optional Tips

• I’ve used pork shoulder today, but you can use pretty much any cut of pork for this recipe. When making this bean stew, I prefer to use a cut with some fat content as it benefits from the slower and longer cooking process… so pork shoulder, pork butt and maybe pork belly.
• I’ve said that many times already but lemme repeat myself… My wife hates spicy food. That’s why I don’t use anything spicy in this recipe, but it would definitely be a good addition. Fresh or dried chilies, some spicy sauce… feel free to add some.
• The vegetables I’ve used were just the default ones I always go with, but feel free to change this and add some that you like. Any root vegetables would work, for example.

More stew recipes to try:

• Beef Stew – this one is a variation of the Hungarian Goulash, I did some tweaks so it’s not an authentic recipe by any means.
• Pork Stew – made with pork shoulder again, this one is more filling and super hearty.
• Braised Pork Shoulder – this one is not exactly a stew, but pretty close to it and very delicious.