Don't Be Fooled: Poor Man's Stew Is Delicious No Matter How Much Money You Have

Poor man's stew may have something of a lackluster name, but this hearty comfort food is anything but poor when it comes to flavor. Packed full of rich ground beef and tender root vegetables simmered in a tangy tomato-based sauce, this recipe originated as a way to feed your family a delicious dinner during times of financial hardship. Essentially, it's a budget-friendly beef stew chock full of flavorful add-ins that create a dish that's tasty enough to satisfy those in any economic bracket.

Veggies like carrots, potatoes, and onions are around $1.00 or less per pound, are nutritionally dense enough to satiate your appetite, and are easy to stretch over several meals when combined in a hearty stew. Fresh garlic can be expensive, but it's easily replaced with garlic powder, and tomato paste is often less than $1 per can. If you avoid the common mistake of under-seasoning your stew, you can also use water as your main liquid instead of stock, which reduces the price even further.

Making sure to choose the right ground beef from the grocery store is also key to a great-tasting poor man's stew. Ground beef with higher fat content is not only less expensive, it's typically more flavorful, since fat adds richness and helps marry the other flavors inside the stew. If you opt for leaner ground beef for health reasons, be sure to taste your stew often, as you'll likely need to amp up the seasoning to compensate for the lack of fat.

The biggest thing that differentiates poor man's stew from other beef stews is the use of ground beef instead of something like cubed stew meat or brisket. It's no secret that meat is usually the most expensive part of any meal, so choosing a budget-friendly protein will go fairly far when it comes to protecting your wallet. Ground beef is, on average, between $2.00 and $4.00 cheaper per pound than other types of beef, making it the biggest money-saver in this dish. If you can find them, "chubs" or rolled tubes of ground beef are typically even cheaper than the trays.

While ground beef will never be a substitute for top sirloin or a T-bone steak, it's still got that tasty inherent beefiness when caramelized to a deep brown. Browning it before building your stew also releases a lot of that flavor-rich fat, which can then be used to give your veggies a quick sauté before you load everything into your stock pot to simmer. That's part of the money-saving magic, here — thinking about how to wring every scrap of flavor and nutrition from the ingredients at hand.

You also don't have to stick to the original ingredients for this recipe — feel free to swap out ingredients for what you have on hand to prevent food waste or to tailor it to your diet. For instance, it's really easy to make vegan poor man's stew by subbing lentils or dried beans for meat.