When you have many food intolerances, it can be harder to eat a variety of vegetables. It’s particularly hard if you are on the Low FODMAP Diet, which restricts a lot of produce. I know that I can get stuck in vegetable ruts, and have weeks where I only eat my few favourite veggies. In summer I use salads to get in enough veggies, but when the weather starts to cool, my desire for salads takes a nosedive. Luckily, stews and soups are perfect for winter! This hearty and nourishing low FODMAP French Oven Beef Stew is a great way to eat a variety of vegetables in one meal.
Normally, soups and stews are full of onion, which is a BIG no on the elimination phase of the low FODMAP diet. I adapted my mom’s recipe for French Oven Beef Stew to be low in FODMAPs AND gluten-free! Note: it is not necessary to be also gluten-free on the Low FODMAP Diet. I made sure this recipe was gluten-free so it would be also safe for those with celiac disease.
Beef, chicken, poulty, and fish are all low in FODMAPs, as long as they are not seasoned with garlic or onion. By the time this stew is done cooking, the beef is incredibly tender and flavour-packed. For any vegetarians/vegans out there, don’t worry! I will be posting a vegan soup recipe soon.
Luckily, carrots, potatoes and parsnips don’t contain any FODMAPs. Instead of peeling these veggies, I wash and scrub them well in the sink to get off any dirt. Leaving the skin on the potatoes really ups the fibre content of the stew! I used only 1.5 stalks of celery to add flavour and avoid making the stew high in polyols. To replace the onion, I used chopped 1 cup fennel bulb, which has a very close texture to onions.
You might be wondering, “What do I do with the rest of the celery and fennel?!?” Check out my post on how to properly freeze these veggies. Freezing makes sure the leftover celery and fennel won’t go to waste, and can be easily used in your next stew or soup!
When purchasing tomato juice make sure it doesn’t contain any added garlic or onion. Look for 100% tomato juice in the canned section! If you don’t have any tomato juice but have pure tomato paste, mix ¼ cup paste with ¾ cup water to make your own tomato juice.
Finally, don’t forget about the quick cooking tapioca! It is key for thickening up the stew.
One of my favourite things about this stew is that it is a balanced meal! You can eat it by itself for lunch or dinner and get in a good variety of nutrients. If you love this stew as much as I do, you might even want to double the recipe and freeze half for a later date.
Low FODMAP French Oven Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef for stew
- 1 cup fennel bulb , diced
- 1 medium celery stalks
- 6 medium carrots
- 4 medium parsnips
- 4 medium potatoes
- 1/4 cup tapioca quick cooking
- 1 cup tomato juice
- 1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp ground basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300˚F. Cut the beef into approximately 4 cm/1 ½ inch cubes.
- Wash all vegetables well. Scrub potato skin to remove all dirt. Medium dice celery stalks and fennel bulb. Chop carrots, parsnips and potatoes into medium sized pieces.
- Mix all ingredients EXCEPT potatoes in a large oven-safe dish with a lid. Cover and bake in oven for 3 hours.
- Mix in potatoes and bake for 1 hour longer. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to purchase tomato juice WITHOUT added onion or garlic
- If your tomato juice is sodium-free, option to increase amount of salt to 1 tsp
- Fennel bulb is low FODMAP at 1/2 cup per serving. Celery is low FODMAP at 1/4 medium stalk per serving. There is 1 medium celery stalk in the stew and therefore the max FODMAP serving size is 1/4 of the recipe; this means that you could eat up to 1/4 of the total amount of stew and still stay low FODMAP.
I’m particularly proud of this recipe because my mom told me that it tastes just as good as the original, and this is one of her favourite recipes! Enjoy!
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Hi Lauren, I was very excited to make this, bought all the ingredients, and then of all things, my oven broke! I’m waiting for it to get repaired so I’m wondering if your recipe can be adapted to stove top or a slow cooker?
Thank you!
Oh no! What awful timing 🙁 I definitely think you could make the recipe on the stove top or in a slow cooker, but I have not tried myself yet. I would google beef stew slow cooker recipes to get the correct time! Hope it works out!
I’ve made stew in the oven, and stove top with my Dutch oven..no problems..just watch it on the stove until you get it regulated 👍, you just want it barely simmering, 45 minutes should be close
Great!
Thank you so much! It’s recipes like this that help me believe I can still enjoy food & eat well on this often challenging low FODMAP & GF way of life, that I now must adapt to. Carole
Aw that is so sweet of you to say! Your comment means a lot to me. The main reason I started this food blog was to show that it’s possible to still love food and eat amazing meals. <3
Can you use tapioca flour?
I would recommend using quick cooking tapioca if possible. I have not tried this recipe with tapioca starch. You are welcome to try it out if you wish! I would recommend mixing the starch in a bowl with an equal amount of the tomato juice first, then adding in the rest of the tomato juice. Stir and then pour into the big pot of stew. Mixing the starch into the juice first should help to avoid clumps. If it works out well please let me know! 🙂
Fennel is NOT low fodmap.
Hi Mary, fennel bulb is low FODMAP at 1/2 cup or less per serving according to the Monash University Low FODMAP App. The App is the best way to get the most up-to-date information on the low FODMAP diet!
Yes it is… check your Monash app. It got the green light.
I’m cooking this right now and it smells awesome, perfect for a cold winter dinner hear in Australia! Whilst I’m eagerly awaiting dinner I’m drinking a cup of maple ginger tea – delicious!
Wonderful 🙂 this is one of my favourite recipes for that reason – makes your house smell amazing!!
‘Here not hear!’
I don’t think I’ll find parsnips or fennel bulb at my small grocery store. Any other suggestions?
Sorry I completely missed this comment before! Someone else just asked the same question. Instead of parsnips you could add more carrots and potatoes, or a sweet potato. The fennel adds some nice flavour. You could add a tablespoon of onion infused oil instead or some chives (green part of green onions). I have a blog post about adding flavour to low FODMAP food https://laurenrenlund.com/2017/06/01/10-ways-add-flavour-low-fodmap-food/
Wow, so glad i came across your website.cooking this weekend for my low fodmap meals an the stew looks amazing. I can’t wait to try. I don’t usually cook with fennel or parnips. What else can I substitute for them?. I due have squash and spinach and collard greens. But these would not be included in beef stew normally. It’s hard to find parnips an fennel never grow up on it. Thanks
Instead of parsnips you could add more carrots and potatoes, or a sweet potato. The fennel adds some nice flavour. You could add a tablespoon of onion infused oil instead or some chives (green part of green onions). I have a blog post about adding flavour to low FODMAP food https://laurenrenlund.com/2017/06/01/10-ways-add-flavour-low-fodmap-food/
Hello, Just got this recipe in the oven. Is 1 cup of tomato juice really all of the liquid needed? It doesn’t seem like enough liquid. Will wait and see I guess.
Thanks!
Yes! It is a very thick and hearty stew 🙂
When we made this today, the tomato juice was not nearly enough to last the whole time. We ended up adding a cup of water about halfway through and it was still really thick and rich!
Hi There 🙂 First off, I think your website is great. I love the recipes and can’t wait to give them a try, as having recently been diagnosed with IBS-C and figuring out that I am intolerant to Fructans (specifically wheat, onion and garlic). However, I noticed that in a decent amount of your recipes you are using fennel as a substitute for onions. Correct me if I am wrong, but I have found fennel to be on a number of lists stating that fennel (more than 1 cup) is a high fructan food and should be avoided while eating a low FODMAP (low-fructan) diet. Also, I noticed you had a pumpkin oatmeal recipe on this site and it uses 1 cup of canned pumpkin which also is a high fructan no-no (more than 1/2 cup is too high in fructan). My question is, are your recipes aimed specifically towards a certain kind of low FODMAP reader? Since some of the recipes don’t seem to be fructan-sensitive friendly. Thanks again! 🙂
Thanks for commenting! 🙂 All of my recipes are safe for elimination at the serving size listed. Almost all of my recipes state max serving sizes – this is an older recipe and didn’t clearly state it, so I am going to add it now. For the pumpkin spice baked oatmeal, the entire recipe has 1 cup pumpkin and makes 12 baked oatmeals. In the notes section it states FODMAP serving size is maximum 3 baked oatmeals per meal/snack. That means during elimination you can eat up to 3 at a time and still stay low FODMAP. I hope that is helpful 🙂
Can you make this without the tomato juice, I have LPR, no tomato, onion or garlic
Yes, I would recommend to use a low FODMAP broth instead of the tomato juice 🙂
Oh no, that’s too bad it turned out dry. This stew is meant to by very chunky with thick gravy. More tomato juice can be added if you want more moisture.
Trying this recipe for supper tonight. Pairing with some low fodmap cheddar parmesan biscuits.
Had to take this out of the oven after an hour. It was so thick and had I not taken it out everything would have been so stuck to the bottom of the pan it wouldn’t have been saveable. I put it in a pot on the stovetop with two cups of beef broth. Hoping it will be okay when it’s done.
This stew is AMAZING!!! Thank you SO much for sharing your recipe. Yum yum!
Glad you enjoyed it!! This stew has been a family favourite for many years 🙂
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
This stew is amazing! I cooked this today and my entire family loved it.
Thank you very much for all the work that you do. It’s extraordinary knowing that there is still people out there who want to help others 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks so much for the kind comment Marcela 🙂 I’m so happy your family enjoyed it!!
Can this recipe be made in pressure cooker like the Instant Pot?
I don’t have an instant pot so I have never tried it!
Loved this… Made in the instapot with extra can of juice, water, and no tapioca… Came out delish! Thanks!
Thanks for commenting Alicia! So good to know it can be made in an instapot 🙂
Maybe I missed something but I don’t see any info about when to add the tapioca. Do you prepare the tapioca first and then add it before baking? Thanks.
Hi Susie. You add the tapioca pearls in with all the other ingredients except potatoes. The tapioca will help make the gravy very thick 🙂
The tapioca is added at the same time as all the other ingredients (except potatoes)
Hi Lauren. I am new to the low FODMAP diet, and was so excited about making this (in the oven now). However; I didn’t have any basil so used pizza seasoning, and just realized it has garlic powder in it. Sooooo, hoping my hubby likes it and will definitely stay clear of mixed spices for future recipes. So bummed I made this huge mistake. 🙁
Hi Karen, I’ve definitely made mistakes like that many times!! I hope you were able to make it again and enjoy it 🙂
This looks so good! I bet the fennel really makes it! What else do you put fennel in ?
I really like using fennel in my low FODMAP soups and stews. I blanch and freeze the extra fennel to use later in soups http://www.laurenrenlund.com/2016/12/06/properly-freeze-low-fodmap-vegetables/
You can also use fresh fennel in salads.
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Hi Vanessa, sorry for the delay in my response. It will keep 3-4 days in the fridge, or 2-3 months in freezer 🙂
Hi Lauren, is there anything I can use as a substitute for quick cooking tapioca? I haven’t seen it anywhere? Thanks!
Hi Martine,
It is usually found in baking section.
Corn starch is an easy substitute. Instead of putting it in at the beginning, use cornstarch at the end of cooking. Mix in a small bowl 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp cold water and then mix into the hot stew. Can add more cornstarch water mixture as needed until gravy is thick enough!
I am new to lowfod map dieting and this is probably one of the tastiest recipes I’ve had! My local grocery store did not have fennel so I added extra carrots and celery. I also used cornstarch instead of tapioca. So good!! Thank you for sharing this!
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
As soon as the temperature drops I pull out this recipe! I have been out of the elimination phase for years however I always come back to my tried and true for the holidays to reset myself. To everyone new to fennel I just want to say don’t be afraid of it. Onions are massive triggers for many people however fennel (my grocery store calls it anise) can be treated exactly the same. My family who don’t have food sensitivities also gravitate to my recipes because where onion is heavy fennel is bright. It cleanses the pallette and aids in digestion. While most people don’t consciously register the difference they do notice this recipe is comforting without being heavy. The low FODMAP diet is scary at first but once you adjust your will find other people prefer it as well. Thank you, Lauren!