Easy Beef and Noodles

Robin: Beef and noodles is one of the most comforting farm-country dishes the Midwestern USA has to offer. It’s traditionally made with egg noodles (sometimes homemade ones) and served with (or over) mashed potatoes—and let me tell you, a carb coma does not get any more delicious than this!

You certainly can make it the traditional way, but I’ve come to prefer my noodles in this to be dried linguine, which are firmer (and thus keep their shape better) than a lot of egg noodles and are more convenient to shop for and to cook. And at our house we don’t often serve beef and noodles with mashed potatoes anymore; the noodles are enough “comfort” for us. (You can reduce the carbs a little more by using only ¾ the amount of noodles called for.) My favorite side for this dish is a nice serving of cooked cut green beans.

Take full advantage of the comforting nature of this dish by enjoying it with your own family around the table, preferably during a bout of miserable weather or during a stressful time—or take it to those neighbors who just had a new baby or suffered a loss and could sorely use some easy-to-heat prepared meals. Beef and Noodles can be frozen and thawed very successfully, whether in big tubs or individual servings, making it super practical as well as delicious and comforting.

Additional Midwestern delights:

• Grandpa Foley Special (Smoked Sausage Dinner)
• Autumn Spice Puppy Chow
• Mexican Puppy Chow
• Zucchini Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies

More beefy goodness:

• South American Beef Empanadas
• Shredded Beef Salad (Salpicón de res)
• Caribbean Beef Patties
• Mexican Meatballs

Print

Easy Beef and Noodles

Midwestern comfort food at its best: chunks of tender,slow-cooked beef in thickened broth with pasta.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Amish, beef, comfort food, Midwest, noodles, pasta

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 5 hours 50 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 543 kcal

Author Robin Grose / comboplate.net

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean beef stew meat in chunks
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups diced celery
• 2 tablespoons beef bouillon powder or paste
• 1 (16oz.) package of dried linguine (or other pasta of your choice)
• 3 cups seasoned beef broth (homemade, canned, or made from bouillon powder/paste)
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• ½ cup water

Instructions

1. Place the beef, onion, celery, and bouillon powder or paste in a slow cooker and cook on high for about 5 hours, until the meat falls apart on its own.

2. Break the pasta into pieces about 4 inches long; if using store-bought linguine, this usually means breaking it roughly into thirds. Cook the pasta in several quarts of water in a large soup pot to al dente stage.

3. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the meat mixture and beef broth. Stir well and allow to come to a boil.

4. In a small jar with a screw-on lid, combine the corn starch with the water. Shake vigorously until no lumps of corn starch remain. Pour this mixture slowly into the pot, stirring constantly. Allow everything to cook and bubble for a few minutes, until beef and noodles have thickened somewhat.

5. Serve immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate to reheat later. This dish also freezes well; allow to defrost in the fridge overnight, then simply reheat and serve.