Spicy Beef, Tomato and Corn Stew Recipe – An Easy Weeknight Dinner
Spicy Beef, Tomato and Corn Stew is a real food, hearty easy recipe perfect for busy weeknights. Pair it with a salad and chips or quesadillas for a Southwest flavored meal.
Make sure to check out the Quick Healthy Recipes page for more ideas!
For most of my life I’ve been a recipe follower – I wouldn’t often make dishes up completely from scratch. (I think this is some kind of personality trait for those of you into Meyers-Briggs, right?) Then I started this website (way back in the winter of 09!) and I started to adapt and tweak recipes to make them my own to be able to share with you all.
That is still mainly how I work – I have a folder (and Pinterest, of course) of inspiration recipes that I base new recipes on, changing them up to be easier, healthier, or use more common ingredients (keeping with AOC’s purpose of simple whole food recipes).
But this southwest flavored spicy ground beef, tomato and corn stew is all mine, start to finish.
I had an idea of what I wanted, looked online for what I was thinking of, and when I couldn’t find anything even remotely close I just made it up myself.
It turned out just like I had imagined and we all loved it!
Even though it uses ground meat instead of stew meat, I’m calling it a stew because it’s thick. But you can call it a soup if you want- I’m easy that way.
Making Ground Beef, Tomato and Corn Stew
This recipe uses basic ingredients most of us have on hand – especially if you freeze peppers and corn when they’re in season.
There are pantry and store alternatives in the printable printable recipe below, since I know not everyone has the ability to freeze lots of food and I want as many as possible to be able to make this quick, yummy stew.
Oh, and even though there is “beef” in the title, any ground meat works – even the turkey pictured here. I’ve made this many times now and just use whatever I have on hand – it’s all good.
You can use either store bought or homemade taco seasoning. Here’s a recipe if you’d like to mix together your own taco seasoning:
Homemade Taco Seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-Mix all spices together well in a bowl. This makes a bit more than the 2 tablespoons needed for the recipe – I just add it all to the recipe. You can store the remainder if you don’t want to add the extra.
To make this, just brown the meat, onions, and peppers, then add the other ingredients and let it all simmer on the stove for 30 minutes.
Yep, pretty much the definition of simple, right?
So should we talk about how inexpensive this is, too, or just concentrate on the flavor and ease?
Well, I’ll just mention that frozen vegetables and canned tomatoes (whether they’re from your garden or the store) are some of the cheapest whole foods to buy out of season and there are always deals to be had on ground meat. This will definitely help you stay in your food budget.
Since this is an original recipe, I didn’t imagine the first time I served it that Brian would say, “Wow, this is my new favorite meal… and it’s a surprise- I wasn’t even expecting it!” (I think he meant that soups and stews don’t normally make him think “favorite meal” when he sees them. He’s more of a chicken or hamburger type of guy.)
That made my day, as you can imagine!
I like to serve this stew with regular or bean and cheese quesadillas and a green salad tossed with a homemade vinaigrette with a bit of hot sauce added for a southwest flavor.
Who knew such a humble meal could be elevated to “favorite” status? I think you’ll want to see if it can become one of your family’s favorite meals, too, though I’m pretty sure it will!
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Spicy Beef, Tomato, and Corn Stew
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 pound ground meat beef, turkey, venison, etc.
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning store bought or homemade (see notes)
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup chopped Anaheim peppers or other mild green chili, about 1 large*
- 1 jalapeno chopped** (remove seeds and veins for less spice)
- 2 cups beef or chicken broth
- 2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch or arrowroot and 1 TB cold water optional for thickening
- Optional for serving: shredded cheese chopped parsley
Instructions
- Add 1/4 cup water and ground beef to a large 4 to 6-quart soup pot and cook until browned. Add seasoning, onion, garlic, and both kinds of peppers. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the broth, tomatoes and corn.
- Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Served topped with optional garnishes. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week (this tastes wonderful the next day!).
Notes
*You can use frozen or canned mild green chilies for the Anaheim.
**If Jalapeños aren’t available, substitute with a few shakes of dried red chili flakes or hot sauce to taste. Lessen amount for a less spicy stew. Homemade Taco Seasoning: 1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper -Mix all spices together well in a bowl. This makes a bit more than the 2 tablespoons needed for the recipe – I just add it all to the recipe. You can store the remainder if you don’t want to add the extra.
Nutrition
Other Easy Weeknight Recipes You May Like:
One Pot Italian Pasta with Sausage & Spinach
One Dish Spiced Lemon Skillet Chicken with Kale and Garbanzo Beans
Note: this recipe was originally published in 2011 and has been updated with all new photos, clearer formatting and printable recipe.
I’m 63, the eldest of 5 and other than the packaged taco seasoning (we use cumin, chili powder and other spices) and the Anaheims. This is a recipe my Mom has made all my life called Beef, Corn & Tomatoes. Her parents had a Cafe in Indiana and served it there. So in my eyes it is a variation as it is so close not only in the way it’s made, but also in the name.
Ha! Well, there’s nothing new under the sun, is there?
I’m not a big fan of potatoes but this looks delicious! Sounds like it could be a great meal. Thanks for the recipe. They look so yummy.
Hi Jamie
I love your website and have made the salad dressings and ketchup and love them! I also wanted to pin several of your new recipes in recent blog posts but am having a problem trying to pin them with the arrow..when I click on it nothing happens, I had no problems when the red circle to pin a recipe has anyone else had a problem? Or do you know what I am doing wrong, I would like to pin many more!!! Thanks so much.
I’m so glad, Terrylee! Now let’s get you able to pin! 😉
So are you talking about the “Pin This” arrow I added above the pinnable image in some posts? I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t link that image – I assumed people would click on the photo to pin it, but after your comment I looked and it does seem like you should be able to click the arrow, too. I’ll have to link it in the future! Anyway, you can always pin by clicking the purple “P” that appears in the photo when you hover over it. You can also add a Pinterest extension in your browser so that a pin button will show up on any image on any site you visit (that’s the easiest way to pin what you want – I have that). Hope that makes sense!
Thanks Jami I added the pinterest extension and am able to pin away!
Yay!
This was good but not spicy. I took the seeds out though..:
Glad you liked it! Yes, if you leave the seeds in it will be spicier. 🙂
Winner Dinner! 2 in a row. Made the peanut sauce last night.
Wha-hoo, Jennifer! Love it when that happens. 🙂
Missie- I’m so happy you liked the stew! And I’m really glad to be an encouragement- thanks for letting me know!
Jami,
I wanted to let you know how much my family enjoyed this stew the other night. I did not have any peppers at all, so I just added a can of Rotel tomatoes instead of the plain tomatoes. It was fantab! I served it with biscuits and a dollop of sour cream on top. I will be making this again.
Your blog is such a help and encouragement to a newbie like myself who hopes to one day have her own Idaho Cottage. 😉
Anon- Thanks so much for your kind comment- I’m honored! I’d love to hear how the bread turned out, too.
What a great stew! Thanks for sharing.
Hi just wanted to tell you I love your blog. Your recipes all sound so good. I also like that they are frugal, easy and healthy. It’s hard to find those type of recipes. You have also inspired me to try baking bread I am going to give your artisan bread recipe a try. Thanks for all the work you do sharing your recipes and ideas. This stew recipe sounds great too! Good job