Beef stew: the real risk is in the leftovers

Beef stew is a red meat dish, and the best trial evidence on red meat is modest. A network meta-analysis of 36 randomized trials found that replacing red meat with plant protein lowered LDL cholesterol by 7.3 mg/dL (0.19 mmol/L) (95% credible interval 0.03 to 0.36), with certainty rated low to very low. Those trials were about red meat in general, and none of them studied stew. What the stew carries depends on who made it. USDA survey data put a 255 g cup of homemade stew at about 273 calories, 22.3 g protein and 783 mg sodium, recalculated from 100 g for one recipe. A cup of the canned version gives about 1,007 mg sodium and only 12.8 g protein. A whole 16 oz (440 g) can holds about 1,738 mg sodium, one averaged value for canned stew, and some brands sell reduced-salt versions. The clearest harm we found comes from how stew is kept after cooking.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• The UK composition table lists homemade beef stew at 105 calories, 11.9 g protein and 259 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), with 1784 mcg carotene from the vegetables. — CoFID record 19-473 Stew, beef, homemade (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: energy 105 calories, protein 11.9 g, fat 4.6 g, saturated fat 1.53 g, sodium 259 mg, iron 1.17 mg, zinc 2.7 mg, carotene 1784 mcg, retinol equivalent 297 mcg, vitamin B12 0.8 mcg

What a real portion looks like

• USDA survey data put one cup of homemade beef stew at 255 g, about 273 calories with 22.3 g protein, 783 mg sodium, 5.2 mg zinc and 1.9 mcg vitamin B12. — FNDDS food code 27311410 Stew, beef, WWEIA Meat mixed dishes (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Per 1 cup (255 g): energy 273 calories, protein 22.3 g, sodium 783 mg, iron 2.5 mg, zinc 5.2 mg, vitamin A 332 mcg RAE, vitamin B12 1.9 mcg
• A whole 16 oz (440 g) can of beef stew carries about 1738 mg sodium in USDA survey data, and a one-cup serving about 1007 mg, with only 12.8 g protein per cup. — FNDDS food code 27311310 Stew, beef, canned (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 100 calories, protein 5 g, sodium 395 mg; per cup (255 g) sodium 1007 mg, protein 12.8 g; per can (440 g) sodium 1738 mg, energy 440 calories
• In US national survey data from 1976 to 1980, beef stew was among the major contributors of provitamin A carotenoids, an item often left off questionnaires. — US adults, NHANES II 1976-1980 Evidence C source
  Carrots over 30% of provitamin A intake; salad, orange juice, beef stew and milk named as major but often omitted contributors

What your body absorbs

• In 21 women, adding 2.6 oz (75 g) of pork cooked at 248 °F (120 °C) to a phytate-rich meal raised non-heme iron absorption by 2.0 percentage points, and higher cooking temperature did not impair the effect. — Twenty-one women aged 25 +/- 3 years, single test meals with isotope-labeled iron (n = 21) Evidence B source
  Non-heme iron absorption +0.9% (158 °F / 70 °C, P = 0.06), +0.7% (203 °F / 95 °C, P = 0.1), +2.0% (248 °F / 120 °C, P < 0.001) vs meal without meat
• In 52 women with low iron stores taking 32 mg iron daily for 8 weeks, eating it with 4 oz (113 g) of beef gave no better iron status than eating it with plant-based meat, and ferritin rose by about 10.7 mcg/L in both groups. — Nonpregnant women of reproductive age with serum ferritin below 25 mcg/L, 8 weeks (n = 52) Evidence B source
  Ferritin +10.7 +/- 9.6 mcg/L, hemoglobin +0.5 +/- 0.9 g/dL over 8 weeks regardless of beef or plant-based meat (treatment-by-time P > 0.05)

What cooking and storage change

• By the USDA retention table for braised beef with drippings, about half the vitamin B6 and 40% of the thiamin are lost, while iron, zinc and potassium stay at 100%. — USDA Retention Factors Release 6, Beef Products, method BEEF,ROAST,BRAISED,W/DRIPPINGS Evidence E source
  Retained: vitamin B6 50%, thiamin 60%, folate 70%, vitamin B12 75%, niacin 90%, iron, zinc, potassium, sodium 100%; reheating beef (code 770) keeps 95% of B6, B12, thiamin

What it does to your health

• A network meta-analysis of 36 trials found that replacing red meat with plant proteins lowered LDL cholesterol by 7.3 mg/dL (0.19 mmol/L), with low to very low certainty. — 36 randomized controlled trials comparing red meat diets with diets replacing red meat (n = 36 RCTs) Evidence A source
  Plant protein vs red meat: LDL-C MD -7.3 mg/dL (-0.19 mmol/L) (95% CrI -0.36 to -0.03), total cholesterol MD -0.14 (95% CrI -0.28 to -0.001); mixed animal and plant protein raised TG by 0.21 vs red meat
• In three US cohorts, cooking meat with open flame or high heat more than 15 times a month was linked to a 28% higher type 2 diabetes risk than under 4 times. — 52,752 women (NHS), 60,809 women (NHS II), 24,679 men (HPFS), regular meat eaters, 12-16 years follow-up (n = 138240) Evidence C source
  HR 1.28 (95% CI 1.18 to 1.39) for high-temperature cooking >15 vs <4 times/month; 7,895 incident cases

Safety, limits and interactions

• In a 2024 funeral outbreak in Uganda with 65 cases, eating leftover beef stew the next morning carried an odds ratio of 57 for Aeromonas food poisoning after the stew had been topped up with unboiled water and poorly re-cooked. — Funeral attendees in Jinja District, Uganda, February 2024, unmatched case-control study (n = 65 cases) Evidence C source
  Leftover beef stew at breakfast OR 57 (95% CI 5.4 to 600); beef stew at supper OR 2.7 (1.2 to 6.2); case fatality 5%
• At a 2014 village festival in the Philippines, eating Filipino-style beef stew was a risk factor for staphylococcal food poisoning, with an odds ratio of 6.62, after long serving times and improper storage. — Festival attendees, Medina, Philippines, 64 cases and 123 controls (n = 187) Evidence C source
  Beef stew OR 6.62 (95% CI 2.90 to 15.12); stir-fried noodles OR 3.15 (1.52 to 6.50); median incubation 1 hour 15 minutes
• A case report traced type A botulism in two of three people to commercially canned beef stew, with toxin and Clostridium botulinum found in washings of the empty can, and one person died. — Three people who shared a lunch, United States (n = 3) Evidence D source
  2 of 3 ill, 1 death; C. botulinum type A and toxin recovered from the stew can

Who this works differently for

• A 63-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes on a proton pump inhibitor developed Salmonella cerebellitis after eating inadequately cooked beef stew left at room temperature for 24 hours. — One 63-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes and reflux on a proton pump inhibitor (n = 1) Evidence D source
  Salmonella typhimurium bacteremia and cerebellitis; persistent dysarthria at 3 months

The bottom line

Slow braising costs some vitamins and keeps the minerals. The USDA retention table for braised beef eaten with its juices keeps about half the vitamin B6 and 60 percent of the thiamin, and all of the iron, zinc and potassium. Those factors cover beef cooked that way in general, from a table dating to 1975, and were not measured in stew. Reheated beef keeps 95 percent of its B6, B12 and thiamin. The vegetables add carotene. The UK table lists homemade stew at 1784 mcg per 3.5 oz (100 g) from one recipe, and a US survey from 1976 to 1980 named beef stew among the main sources of provitamin A. Meat can help the body take up iron from plant foods in the same meal. In 21 women, 2.6 oz (75 g) of pork cooked at 248 °F (120 °C) raised non-heme iron absorption from a phytate-rich meal by 2.0 percentage points. Cooked at 203 °F (95 °C), closer to a simmer, it added 0.7 points, which did not reach significance. That study used pork in single meals. In 52 women with low iron stores taking a 32 mg iron supplement for 8 weeks, eating it with 4 oz (113 g) of beef gave no better iron status than eating it with plant-based meat. Ferritin rose by about 10.7 mcg/L across both groups, and with a supplement that large any extra effect of the meat would be hard to see. In three US cohorts of 138,240 people, cooking meat with open flame or high heat more than 15 times a month was linked to a 28 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes than under 4 times. That is an association, and the high-heat methods were grilling, broiling and roasting, not stewing. Who should be careful. Stew has caused food poisoning when it sat warm or was poorly reheated. At a 2024 funeral in Uganda with 65 cases, eating leftover stew the next morning carried an odds ratio of 57 for Aeromonas illness (95% CI 5.4 to 600), after the pot was topped up with unboiled water and poorly re-cooked. At a 2014 festival in the Philippines, beef stew was the stronger of two risk factors in a staphylococcal outbreak, odds ratio 6.62 against 3.15 for fried noodles, after long serving times and poor storage. In that single outbreak the bacteria were found in a beefsteak dish, and the stew itself was not tested positive. A 1977 US case traced type A botulism in two of three people to a commercially canned stew, and one of them died. A 63-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes, taking a proton pump inhibitor, developed Salmonella in her blood and brain after eating undercooked stew left at room temperature for 24 hours. That is one case. We have no card on pregnancy, children, kidney disease or drug interactions for beef stew.

Sources

1. bstew-r1-03 · CoFID 2021, dataset
   Stew, beef, homemade (CoFID 19-473, group MR): Energy 105 kcal; Protein 11.9 g; Fat 4.6 g; Satd FA 1.53 g; Sodium 259 mg; Iron 1.17 mg; Zinc 2.7 mg; Carotene 1784 µg; Retinol Equivalent 297 µg; Vitamin B12 0.8 µg per 100 g
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England, code 19-473 (OGL v3.0) · checked 2026-09-29
2. bstew-r1-01 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Stew, beef (FNDDS 27311410, FDC 2706592, WWEIA Meat mixed dishes): 1 cup = 255 g; per 100 g: Energy 107 kcal; Protein 8.76 g; Sodium 307 mg; Iron 0.97 mg; Zinc 2.03 mg; Vitamin A, RAE 130 µg; Vitamin B-12 0.76 µg; per 1 cup: 272.9 kcal, protein 22.3 g, sodium 782.9 mg
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 27311410 (FDC 2706592) · checked 2026-09-29
3. bstew-r1-02 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Stew, beef, canned (FNDDS 27311310, FDC 2706591): 1 cup = 255 g; 1 can = 440 g; per 100 g: Energy 100 kcal; Protein 5 g; Sodium 395 mg; per 1 cup: sodium 1007.2 mg, protein 12.8 g; per 1 can: sodium 1738.0 mg, energy 440.0 kcal
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 27311310 (FDC 2706591) · checked 2026-09-29
4. bstew-r1-12 · nutrition survey analysis
   Carrots contribute over 30% of total population intake. Dark green leafy vegetables and sweet potatoes are also major contributors. However, several items often omitted from questionnaires to assess carotenoids are also major contributors, including salad, orange juice, beef stew, and milk.
   Am J Epidemiol, 1994 · checked 2026-09-29
5. bstew-r1-05 · randomized controlled trial
   Twenty-one women (25 +/- 3 y) were served a basic meal without meat and two other meals consisting of the basic meal plus 75 g of pork meat cooked at 70, 95 or 120 degrees C...Nonheme iron absorptions were 0.9 (0.5-4.0)% (P = 0.06), 0.7 (0.4-3.9)% (P = 0.1) and 2.0 (1.3-3.1)% (P < 0.001) greater when meat cooked at 70, 95 or 120 degrees C, respectively, was added to the basic meal. Increasing the cooking temperature of meat did not impair nonheme iron absorption compared with cooking at 70 degrees C.
   J Nutr, 2003 · checked 2026-09-29
6. bstew-r1-06 · randomized controlled trial
   In a randomized, double-blinded, parallel-arm study, nonpregnant females of reproductive age (n = 52; 24 ± 7 y; body mass index 22.9 ± 3.0 kg/m2) with low iron stores (serum ferritin concentration <25 μg/L) were randomly assigned to consume an iron supplement containing 32 mg elemental iron (from ferrous sulfate) with a lunch meal containing either 4 oz. (113 g) of 1) beef (Animal) or 2) Beyond Meat (Plant) once a day for 8 wk...Daily consumption of an iron supplement with a lunch meal for 8 wk improved serum ferritin concentrations (main time effect: +10.7 ± 9.6 μg/L, P < 0.0001)
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
7. bstew-r1-04 · USDA Retention Factors R6, dataset
   USDA-RETN-R6:652 BEEF,ROAST,BRAISED,W/DRIPPINGS (Beef Products, code 13): vitamin_b6_mg 50%; thiamin_mg 60%; folate_total_ug 70%; vitamin_b12_ug 75%; niacin_mg 90%; iron_mg 100%; zinc_mg 100%; potassium_mg 100%; sodium_mg 100%. USDA-RETN-R6:770 BEEF,REHEATED: vitamin_b6_mg 95%; vitamin_b12_ug 95%; thiamin_mg 95%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), Retn_Code 652 and 770 · checked 2026-09-29
8. bstew-r1-07 · network meta-analysis of RCTs
   Thirty-six RCTs were included in the analysis. Consuming plant proteins resulted in a greater reduction in total cholesterol (TC) levels (mean difference (MD) = -0.14; 95 % credible interval (CrI): -0.28 to -0.001, p < 0.05) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (MD = -0.19; 95 % CrI: -0.36 to -0.03, p < 0.05) compared to red meat interventions...The certainty of the evidence for all outcomes ranged from very low to low.
   Clin Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
9. bstew-r1-13 · prospective cohort study
   When comparing open-flame and/or high-temperature cooking >15 times/month with <4 times/month, the pooled hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI) of T2D was 1.28 (1.18, 1.39; Ptrend <0.001).
   Diabetes Care, 2018 · checked 2026-09-29
10. bstew-r1-08 · case-control study
    For both meals, beef soup served was topped-up with unboiled water and inadequately re-cooked. 62% of the cases compared to 38% of the controls ate beef stew at supper (OR = 2.7; 95%CI = 1.2-6.2). Additionally, 97% of the cases compared to 40% of the controls ate leftover beef stew for Tuesday breakfast (OR = 57; 95%CI = 5.4-600).
    BMC Infect Dis, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
11. bstew-r1-09 · case-control study
    Sixty-four cases and 123 unmatched controls were identified. The median incubation period was 1 hour 15 minutes...Risk factors were consumption of Filipino-style beef stew (odds ratio [OR]: 6.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.90-15.12) and stir-fried noodles (OR: 3.15; 95% CI: 1.52-6.50). Prolonged serving time and improper food storage were noted.
    Western Pac Surveill Response J, 2019 · checked 2026-09-29
12. bstew-r1-10 · case report
    Two of three persons who ate lunch together became ill with symptoms characteristic of botulism. One died before botulism was suspected...However, the empty stew can was recovered from the garbage, and washings from the can yielded C botulinum, type A, and its toxin.
    South Med J, 1977 · checked 2026-09-29
13. bstew-r1-11 · case report
    She had type II diabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (on proton pump inhibitor). She had consumed inadequately cooked beef stew left at room temperature for 24 hours. Blood cultures were positive for Salmonella typhimurium.
    Neurology, 2013 · checked 2026-09-29