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!
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 viens 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.
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