18 Best Stews & Chilis

This lamb stew is flavored with Arabic spices. The whole thing is baked in a hollowed out kabocha squash, making for a gorgeous, edible presentation.

Recipe: Stuffed Kabocha Squash with Arabic Lamb Stew

This quick stew is a perfect weeknight meal for a cold winter night.

Recipe: Chinese-style Beef, Sweet Potato, and Bok Choy Stew

Rich with ale and caramelized onions, this stew provides a thick, hearty base for the fluffy white dumplings that are dropped in at the end of cooking.

Recipe: Beef-Ale Stew and Green Onion-Buttermilk Dumplings

Fragrant with ginger and loaded with seafood, this light yet flavorful stew is best paired with a chilled beer.

Recipe: Miso Seafood Stew

Briny olives, chiles, and bright citrus: That's what you call a pairing challenge. A smooth, strong golden bock brew from the Bay Area can handle this stew, playing up the orange and toning down the chiles.

Recipe: Chicken, Quinoa, and Green-Olive Stew

Not up for dealing with live crab after a day at work? Let the grocery store fish counter or a fish market do the cooking. At dinnertime, just toss in a few ingredients for flavor and serve with a loaf of crusty bread for a hearty, easy meal in minutes.

Recipe: Quick Crab Stew in Fennel-Tomato Broth

Rich, warm, and spicy, this lamb stew is one of our favorites. We love to serve it as the main course to a spread of hearty red wines and warm crusty bread.

Recipe: Spanish-Style Lamb Stew with Roasted Red Peppers

Fish stews with curry are common throughout Southeast Asia. We love the simplicity of this version, which uses red curry. If you’re sensative to heat, feel free to go a bit heavier on the curry.

Recipe: Red Curry Fish Stew with Rau Ram

If you’re looking for the kind of stew that Grandma used to make, look no further. This stew is only made better with the addition of creamy blue cheese sprinkled on top.

Recipe: Smoky Beef Stew with Blue Cheese and Chives

Chicken stew made with wine is a French classic. We’ve updated our version using white wine for a crisper flavor and we’ve cut the cooking time to make it weeknight friendly.

Recipe: White Wine Coq Au Vin

This hearty vegetarian stew is so satisfying that even the most devout of carnivores won’t miss the meat.

Recipe: Lentil Stew with Winter Vegetables

At the Santa Fe restaurant Rancho de Chimayó, carne adovada comes with this regional favorite, made from dried field corn (maize). Simmered with seasonings, the corn turns sweet and fragrant.

Recipe: Rancho de Chimayó Posole

Budget-friendly turkey thighs add loads of flavor without much fat, while sweet hominy and spicy jalapeño round out the taste of this southwest chili.

Recipe: Turkey Thigh and Hominy Chili

The addition of chipotle purée imparts a rich, 'tastes like it's been simmering for hours' flavor in this dish, which actually comes together in just about 30 minutes.

Recipe: Black Bean Chili

Why make the same old thing when you can cook up a chili rich and smoky with bacon and Spanish chorizo, mellowed by whiskey, and fired up with chipotles?

Recipe: Whiskey and Triple Pork Black Bean Chili

Not only is this chili easy to make ahead, it actually improves with time. If you like your chili very spicy, add an extra teaspoon of chipotle powder. Serve it with hunks of warm cornbread.

Recipe: Devilish Chorizo Chili with Hominy

Bacon, fire-roasted tomatoes, and spicy smoked paprika give this easy-to-make chili a deep, complex flavor.

Recipe: Smoky Beef-and-Bacon Chili

Earthy sweet potatoes add depth to this vegetarian chili. New Mexico chile powder is fruity and mild, so don’t be scared off by the generous amount called for here. Feel free to swap in any other kind of chile powder you have on hand—just use less of it.

Recipe: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili