Last Updated on January 4, 2026
A delicious slow-cooked beef casserole with Guinness is elevated with just an orange and some winter spices
It’s winter. And I have a brand new slow cooker thanks to the lovely people at Crock-UK. I’ve been dying to try it out, and the other day I christened it using one of my family’s favourite recipes, a warming Spiced Beef and Guinness Casserole with orange. I’ve made this myself for the last 25 years or so – sometimes I’ll cook up a whole batch and freeze it before winter sets in – it reheats from frozen perfectly. It’s also a recipe that is better the next da,y so it’s great for weekend entertaining.
In fact, I do adapt the recipe for this Spiced Beef casserole a bit, and you certainly shouldn’t be scared of doing so either. If I don’t have any celery to hand, I’ll use whatever root vegetables I have and add some celery salt at the end for flavour. The real essentials are using an orange and some Guinness, together with an unusual mixture of spices, and this spiced beef and Guinness casserole really does need to be cooked very slowly. It tastes truly delicious, so do try it!
Spiced Beef and Guinness Casserole with Orange
Ingredients
- 1 kg of stewing beef cut into cubes and as much fat as possible removed (2lbs)
- 500-750 ml of Guinness (1 – 1.5 pints)
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 20 cardamom pods green shell removed and black seeds retained
- 3 or 4 bay leaves
- 2 sticks of celery scrubbed and cut into chunks
- 1 medium turnip peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 large orange
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 tablespoon or so of rapeseed oil
- Flat leaved parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Put the cumin and cardamom seeds into a pestle and mortar and grind down a bit
- Spice the flour with the allspice and pepper
- Toss the beef in the spiced flour
- In a large ovenproof casserole, brown all the meat in batches, then do the same with the vegetables
- Toast the cumin and cardamom lightly before returning all the meat and vegetables to the pan (or putting the mixture into your slow cooker) and adding enough Guinness to cover the mixture well (at least half a litre/a pint), and the bay leaf. If like me your casserole isn’t quite deep enough you can top the mix up with more Guinness during the cooking process!
- Bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop then put a lid on the casserole and put in the oven at 120-140c for 7 hours (or use a slow cooker on low for up to 10 hours!).
- Check periodically to make sure it’s not drying out (add water or Guinness as necessary) and to scrape the meat mixture from the sides of the casserole back down into the pan.
- About half an hour before you want to serve, grate the zest of the orange into the mixture and stir well
- When you are ready to serve squeeze in the juice of the orange, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary and garnish with parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
This is one of those recipes that is almost better when it has been made the day before. I freeze my spiced beef casserole in portions for two people, ready for those chilly winter evenings when you don’t want to go out to the shops but need some comfort food. Best served with fluffy mashed potatoes and some kind of green vegetables, Spiced Beef and Guinness Casserole with orange is one of my favourite suppers.
If you’d like to try my Beef and Guinness Casserole at home, why not pin this post for later?
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