Pork stew is the ultimate comfort food that basically anyone can prepare, it’s that simple! All you need is a bunch of very common ingredients and it basically cooks itself in one pot or even a large pan… I love to use a Wok, for example.

There are many things to love about pork stew and I mean most of them, not just this recipe of mine. Pork stew is the perfect make ahead food, it re-heats extremely well, you can freeze it and on top of that, it’s a very versatile type of a dish. You can use multiple meat types, choose the vegetables you like, serve it with bread or a proper side dish… I just love it.

Pork Stew Meat

You can use several cuts of pork when making pork stew, even the cheaper cuts work just great, if not the best to be honest. The tougher cuts with some fat and connecting tissue really benefit from the low and slow cooking method that’s typical for most stews. The fatty parts and connecting tissues will render and break down, while turning into gelatin that will massively improve the flavor of the sauce.

This being said, my favorite pork stew meat is the pork shoulder. The second choice would be pork collar (neck). But you can also use more expensive and lean pork cuts such as pork tenderloin or pork loin… these cook faster, so you can cut the cooking time down quite a lot. But in all honesty, shoulder is the best pork cut for stewing and I’m using it in my pork stew recipe as well 🙂

Now let’s get to the actual recipe.

Tip: Want to use beef instead? Try my Braised beef with carrots.

Pork Stew Recipe Ingredients

The amounts in this recipe are calculated for about 5 servings.

2.5 pounds or 1.2kg of pork shoulder
3 large onions
4 potatoes
1 yellow or red bell pepper
3 carrots
3-4 cloves of garlic
10 cherry tomatoes
1.5 cups of beef broth or stock
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
100g or 3.5 oz of fresh green beans
Small glass of red wine (100ml)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of pork lard or oil
1-2 sprigs of rosemary or thyme
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of red paprika
1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1.5 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
2 tablespoons of flour (all purpose)
Black pepper to taste

How To Make Pork Stew

Watch the video or scroll down for step by step instructions:

Let’s start with the meat. As mentioned earlier, I’m using pork shoulder which is just perfect for stewing. I have used about 2 and a half pounds or 1.2 kilos. This amount of meat will be enough for about 5 solid servings. Cut the pork into cubes, these should be about an inch big.

TIP: You can cut the meat into smaller cubes if you wish, but those will cook faster which means the connecting tissues and fatty parts might not have enough time to properly render and tenderize. Bigger cubes work better when making a pork stew, in my opinion.

Transfer the meat into a bowl and season it. We need 2 tablespoons of olive oil, one and a half teaspoons of salt, one or two teaspoons of garlic powder, 2 tablespoons or red paprika and a generous amount of black pepper. Mix it up properly with your hands and let the meat marinate while we work on the rest.

This recipe needs quite a lot of onions, I’m using 3 large ones. No need to chop them finely, thin slices like this will work just fine. Pork stew takes quite a while to cook, so most of the onions will dissolve and enrich the sauce while cooking.

Heat up some pork lard (2-3 tablespoons) in a pot or a big wok pan and add the onions. In case you don’t have lard or you don’t want to use it for whatever reason, vegetable oil would work fine too. Sautee the onions on high heat and mix frequently.

As the onions are browning, we have some time to finely chop our garlic. 3 or 4 cloves are just about the right amount. Once the onions are lightly browned, it’s time to add the garlic. Keep on sautéing on high for a few more minutes.

Two tablespoons of soy sauce come next. The soy sauce will give us a nice color and also soften the onions, which will help them to dissolve into the sauce of our pork stew.

The next ingredient is tomato puree, I’m using 2 tablespoons. Mix it in and sauté for about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and give it 2-3 minutes of cooking, while stirring, so the alcohol can evaporate.

TIP: A word on what wine to use. Dry red wine works the best for this pork stew recipe, something like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel… these all are great choices. Choose one of at least decent quality! If it’s too bad for you to drink, don’t use it in cooking either.

And now it’s time to add our marinated pork shoulder cubes. Mix everything again, you want to make sure that the meat combines with the other ingredients properly. Put the lid on and turn the heat down to medium.

Mix from time to time and once most of the liquids have evaporated (after 30-45 minutes), it’s time for the next step. Add about one and a half cup of beef or chicken stock and drop in 2 sprigs of rosemary to make the stew nice and fragrant.

Go one with the vegetables. I’m using fresh green beans, yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. These are my preferred stew vegetables, but feel free to change this to your preferences.

TIP: Pork stew is very versatile when it comes to the vegetables you can use. Other than those that I have used, popular choices are peas, zucchini, eggplant, squash, mushrooms, parsnips… whatever you prefer 🙂

Mix everything properly, cover the pan again and simmer on low until the meat is fully cooked tender.

The last step in this pork stew recipe is to thicken the sauce. Just mix two tablespoons of flour with some water and add the mixture to the pan, while stirring so no lumps can form. Proceed in batches, until you reach the desired consistency.

If you hit the right consistency, the finished pork stew should look like this.

It’s time for the final taste test. I decided to add a bit of salt, but other than that, all was just fine. Hitting the right amount of salt is always tricky, so make sure you test along as you cook. Let’s stir the pork stew once more so the salt distributes and we are done.

I like to serve this pork stew with fresh bread, some chopped parsley and red onion as garnish. You can also use a baguette, dinner rolls, biscuits or go for a “proper” side of rice, pasta or mashed potatoes. Alternatively, try something unusual such as this keto cornbread from Cassidy.

That’s all for today, thanks for reading and come back next week for more. And if you liked this pork stew recipe, please post a comment or give it a rating.

More pork meat recipes to try:

Pulled pork – Served in a bun or with a side of mashed potatoes.
Oven baked pork collar – Stuffed with bacon and prepared in one baking dish along with a side of potatoes.
Pork Loin Steak – Cheap cuts of meat can make great steaks too, try it.
Pork Schnitzel – This is a big classic, served with a potato mayo salad.
Pork Tenderloin Medallions – The perfect choice for a quick but delicious dinner.

Pork Stew Tips, Tweaks and FAQ.

• How long does pork stew stay good in the fridge? 3-4 days is the safe range, assuming that you refrigerated it within 2 hours after cooking.
• Can you freeze a stew? Yes, it works just fine. Just keep in mind that some vegetable types do not freeze that well and they will lose their shape and become too soft (potatoes for example). It’s not a big problem, but it does affect the texture a bit.
• How to reheat a stew? Since there is a lot of sauce in this dish, it’s easy to reheat it directly on the stovetop or using a microwave.
• Is wine a mandatory ingredient? Well, it’s not, but it definitely makes this pork stew better. If you really must skip it, add more broth/stock instead. Btw, beer works fine in stews too.
• Can you make this pork stew in a pressure cooker or instant pot? Yes you can and it will significantly reduce the cooking time. Follow the cooking time carefully though, you don’t want your pork to fall apart completely. About 20 minutes of pressure cooking should be enough.
• Looking for an alternative pork stew recipe? Try this one from Kathleen or one more from Bill.