Thyme-Braised Beef, Carrots and Potatoes
Tender chunks of beef chuck, carrots and potatoes gently simmered with onion and dried thyme. A simple one-pot dinner explained in 15 illustrated steps.
Large pieces of beef chuck slowly soften in an onion-and-thyme broth before carrots and potatoes join the pot. Browning the meat gives the cooking liquid its savoury colour; there is no tomato, wine, flour or stock cube. The vegetables go in late so they keep their shape while the beef becomes tender.
This recipe makes four generous portions in 15 illustrated steps. Each measured ingredient has its own addition stage; related preparation and serving actions share steps to keep the method within 15. Allow about 3 hours 15 minutes, and give a tougher piece of chuck longer if needed.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Browning the beef in uncrowded batches creates flavour on the base of the pot. Water releases that browned layer into the cooking liquid. A covered low simmer gradually softens chuck, while adding the vegetables near the end prevents them disintegrating during the longer meat-cooking stage.
Before you start · Equipment
Kitchen scale, clean vegetable and meat boards, sharp knife, paper towel, heavy 4–5 litre casserole with a tight lid, tongs, wooden spoon, heatproof bowl, fork, instant-read food thermometer and ladle.
Everything you’ll need.
Get your ingredients ready, then follow the quantities in the recipe below.
See ingredient amounts
This guide describes the original 4 portions. Use the recipe card for amounts adjusted to your chosen yield.
Fifteen clearly illustrated stages
Every ingredient has its own addition stage, with related preparation and serving actions grouped to keep the recipe at 15 steps. Browning, onion softening and the two cooking phases have their own images.
Use a slow-cooking cut
Chuck eye needs time for its connective tissue to soften. The stated timing is a guide. If the meat still resists a fork, continue the covered braise before the vegetables are added.
Brown in two batches
Gaps between pieces let moisture escape. Turn the beef to colour several faces, then keep all collected juices. Brown fond brings flavour; a black burned base does not.
Expect a light broth
Water, onion, meat juices and dried thyme make a clearish brown cooking liquid. There is no tomato paste, flour or wine, so this is not a thick red-brown gravy.
Add vegetables near the end
The carrots and potatoes cook during the final 30–40 minutes. The exact time depends on their size and variety. Turn gently rather than vigorously stirring the softened vegetables.
Portion the broth as well as the solids
The four servings include all meat, vegetables, oil and cooking liquid. Cool leftover portions promptly in shallow containers and keep cold for up to three days. Reheat the entire portion, including the centre of the meat, to 74°C.
About the ingredients
- Beef chuck eye
Weigh 700 g raw boneless chuck eye after trimming external fat and silverskin. Leave the internal marbling. It needs slow cooking; quick-frying steak is not equivalent.
- Carrots and potatoes
Weights are after peeling. Use 300 g carrots in 2 cm pieces and 600 g waxy or all-purpose potatoes in 3 cm pieces. Add late so they keep their shape.
- Onion and olive oil
Use 200 g peeled diced onion and exactly 20 g olive oil. Brown the beef in two batches in the same oil; retain the pot fond and all juices.
- Water and salt
All 900 g cooking water and 4 g salt go into the broth. There is no stock cube or bottled broth. Emergency top-up water only restores evaporation; it is not an invitation to dilute the finished dish.
- Dried thyme
All 2 g dried thyme leaves go into the braise. No bay leaf, garlic, pepper, tomato or fresh herb topping is included in this formula.
How to make Thyme-Braised Beef, Carrots and Potatoes
Prepare the beef and vegetables. Heat oil, brown the beef in batches and set it aside. Add and soften onion, loosen the browned base with water, return the beef and add salt and thyme separately. Braise gently, add carrots and potatoes separately, finish until tender, rest and serve.
1. Prepare the beef and vegetables
2. Add and heat the olive oil
3. Add the first batch of beef
4. Brown the beef and set it aside
5. Add the onion
6. Soften the onion
7. Add the hot water and deglaze
8. Return the browned beef
9. Add the measured salt
10. Add the dried thyme
11. Braise the beef gently
12. Add the carrots
13. Add the potatoes
14. Finish until everything is tender
15. Rest and serve four portionsWatch How To Make It
chefzelish.com
Thyme-Braised Beef, Carrots and Potatoes
Tender chunks of beef chuck, carrots and potatoes gently simmered with onion and dried thyme. A simple one-pot dinner explained in 15 illustrated steps.
Ingredients
0 / 8 readyIngredient amounts for 4 portions
Beef and cooking liquid
Vegetables
Let’s make it.
- Prepare and brown
Prepare the beef and vegetables
Measure every ingredient separately. Peel and cut the onion, carrots and potatoes as listed. On a separate clean board, trim the chuck, cut into 3–4 cm pieces and pat dry. Do not rinse raw meat. Wash hands and clean raw-meat tools and surfaces. Keep beef refrigerated until the oil is hot; keep prepared potatoes covered and use promptly.
- Prepare and brown
Add and heat the olive oil
Pour all 20 g olive oil into the empty heavy casserole. Heat over medium-high heat until shimmering, without smoking.
- Prepare and brown
Add the first batch of beef
Carefully add half the dry beef in a single layer with gaps between pieces. The raw meat should sizzle on contact. Leave the remaining beef refrigerated until its batch.
- Prepare and brown
Brown the beef and set it aside
Brown the first batch for about 6–8 minutes, turning to colour several sides. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef in the same oil, then transfer it too. Retain all meat juices and the browned layer in the pot. The beef is not cooked through yet.
- Build the braise
Add the onion
Reduce to medium heat and add all 200 g diced onion to the same pot. Keep the browned beef aside.
- Build the braise
Soften the onion
Cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring, until the onion softens and turns lightly golden. Lower the heat if the base starts to darken too quickly; do not let it burn.
- Build the braise
Add the hot water and deglaze
Pour in all 900 g measured hot water, keeping clear of steam. Scrape the base with the wooden spoon to dissolve the brown cooking layer. The liquid will be a light brown broth, not a thick gravy.
- Build the braise
Return the browned beef
Return all browned beef and every collected juice from its bowl to the casserole. Spread the chunks through the liquid.
- Build the braise
Add the measured salt
Add all 4 g fine table salt. There is no stock cube, salted broth or extra salt at the end.
- Build the braise
Add the dried thyme
Sprinkle all 2 g dried thyme leaves into the pot and stir through. No fresh herb garnish is added later.
- Build the braise
Braise the beef gently
Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and reduce to low heat. Cook for about 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until a fork starts to enter the beef with only slight resistance. Keep a few lazy bubbles rather than a rolling boil. If it is still tough, continue before adding the vegetables. Keep liquid around the meat; if the pot unexpectedly dries, add only enough hot water to restore the level.
- Vegetables and serving
Add the carrots
Add all 300 g prepared carrot chunks to the nearly tender beef and push them into the broth.
- Vegetables and serving
Add the potatoes
Add all 600 g prepared potato chunks. Gently turn the mixture so the vegetables settle into the liquid without breaking the beef.
- Vegetables and serving
Finish until everything is tender
Cover and simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are tender when pierced and the beef yields easily to a fork. Stir gently once or twice. If the broth is too loose, remove the lid for the last 5–10 minutes, watching the liquid level. Check several large meat pieces with a clean thermometer: at least 145°F (63°C), followed by the resting stage. Tender braised chuck will normally be much hotter; temperature alone does not mean it is tender.
- Vegetables and serving
Rest and serve four portions
Turn off the heat, cover and rest for 10 minutes, exceeding the minimum 3-minute beef rest. Divide all beef, vegetables and broth equally among four bowls. No side dishes or extra toppings are included. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Keep at 40°F (4°C) or below for up to 3 days; reheat to 165°F (74°C) throughout.
Nutrition per serving
1 of 4 equal portions, including all beef, vegetables, oil and broth. Estimates may vary with ingredients and brands.
- Calories
- 515 kcal
- Protein
- 37.4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 35.7 g
- Fat
- 25.5 g
- Saturated fat
- 9.6 g
- Fiber
- 6.7 g
- Sugar
- 7.4 g
- Sodium
- 616 mg
Checked 10/17/2026. Values are per the serving described above, regardless of recipe yield.
Notes from the kitchen.
Helpful tips
Approximately 20 minutes preparation, 165 minutes cooking and 10 minutes resting. Tougher chuck may need longer; use fork tenderness and a thermometer rather than only a timer.
Make it your own
Use boneless chuck eye and waxy or all-purpose potatoes. Changing the beef cut, fat trim or potato variety changes cooking time, texture and nutrition.
Storage & freezing
Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C. Keep at 4°C or below for up to 3 days and reheat to 74°C throughout.
At the table
Four equal portions include all oil, beef juices and broth. No side dish or garnish is counted. No measured cooked serving weight is claimed.
A little something delicious.
Keep this recipe close for the next time the craving strikes.
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