I tried 4 popular brands of canned beef stew. There's only one I wouldn't buy again.
I tasted and reviewed canned beef stew from Progresso, Dinty Moore, Rao's, and Campbell's to find the best option for a quick stovetop meal.
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Gia Yetikyel
- I tried premade beef stew from brands like Progresso, Dinty Moore, Rao's, and Campbell's.
- I warmed up each one on the stovetop and added small noodles, green onions, and salt.
- My favorite stew was hearty and filling and had a great flavor.
I'm not the best in the kitchen, and cooking is typically the last thing I want to do after coming home from work. As a result, canned beef stew has been my saving grace on the nights I don't have the time to cook an entire meal.
So, I decided to taste four brands of canned beef stew — Progresso, Campbell's, Dinty Moore, and Rao's — to find the best version.
I warmed up each stew on the stovetop, as per each can's instructions, and added small noodles, green onions, and salt to get the most out of my meals. Here's what I thought of each one.
Gia Yetikyel
The first stew I tried was Progresso's beef pot roast with country vegetables.
The vegetables and meat were soft, the potatoes had a bit of bite for texture, and the broth was very enjoyable when doctored up with salt and green onions.
I struggled to finish this one, as it was very hearty and had a lot of broth to work through. Still, it was a solid dinner option.
Gia Yetikyel
Campbell's chunky beef soup with country vegetables included meat, potatoes, peas, and carrots. I thought these ingredients overpowered the broth, which had a strong tomato taste.
Overall, this one was a bit bland and wasn't as hearty as the other options. After adding salt and noodles, the stew went from just OK to good. However, it still wouldn't be my first pick.
Gia Yetikyel
Unlike the other stews I bought, Rao's slow-simmered Tuscan-style beef soup came in a glass jar instead of a can. However, I decided to include it in this taste test because it was still a preprepared stew.
When I warmed this one up, I was immediately disappointed by the strong tomato smell and expected it to taste like Campbell's version.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that I could barely taste tomato in the broth. I was also shocked the jar had 11 grams of protein because of how much more broth there was compared to veggies and meat.
Unlike the other stews, Rao's version had mushrooms, which was a nice addition. The only downfall was that this soup was made up of small pieces of beef, carrots, celery, and potatoes, which easily got lost in the broth.
Overall, I enjoyed the garlic and onion taste, giving it a home-cooked flavor. I almost forgot it came out of a jar.
Gia Yetikyel
The broth in the Dinty Moore beef stew was much thicker than the others I tried. When I initially poured the soup into a pot, it looked like it was mostly vegetables and meat. As it heated up, however, the balance between solids and liquids leveled out.
The broth had a tomato undertone, but it wasn't overwhelming like Campbell's was. It also didn't need any additional salt, which was surprising.
The meat was very soft, and there were a lot of carrots and potatoes. I thoroughly liked the taste of this stew and thought it was perfectly filling.
Gia Yetikyel
Before this taste test, I expected to enjoy Campbell's beef stew the most because I was familiar with its products. However, I couldn't shake my distaste for the tomato-heavy flavor.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Rao's stew, but it definitely needed noodles or a side of bread to compensate for its small pieces of meat and vegetables.
The Progresso option was good, but overall, the Dinty Moore stew was my favorite for its strong flavor and hearty broth.
Ultimately, depending on how filling I'd want my meal to be, I'd reach for Dinty Moore and Rao's again.
