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Spezzatino (pronounced spet-tsa-TEE-no) is one of those dishes that reminds me of home. My mamma made this often, and a hot bowl of this stew served with her homemade bread was something I always looked forward to as a kid. The meat was always so tender, and I loved to mash a few of the potatoes in my bowl and stir them in to make the broth thick and creamy. It was comfort food before anyone called it that.

The word spezzatino comes from spezzare, which means “to break into pieces.” That’s exactly what this dish is – beef broken into chunks, slow-simmered in a rich tomato broth with potatoes until everything is fall-apart tender. It is simple, filling, and one of the most satisfying meals you can make when the weather turns cold.

This is the kind of recipe that feeds a crowd without much effort. It serves 6 to 8 people, the ingredients are affordable, and most of the cooking time is hands-off while the stew simmers on the stove. Serve it over pasta with a mountain of grated cheese and a loaf of crusty Italian bread on the side, and everyone at the table will be happy.

Why This Italian Beef Stew Is So Good

The secret to this spezzatino is browning the meat properly before anything else goes into the pot. One thing I always do when adding meat to dishes is to brown the meat really well. This brings out the flavor of the meat so much more than if you just gave it a quick cook. I like the meat to get a little crust on it before adding it to the dish. That caramelization creates a depth of flavor that carries through the entire stew. If you skip this step, the stew will still be good – but it won’t be great.

The combination of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste gives the broth a rich, concentrated tomato flavor without being watery. The potatoes cook right in the stew and absorb all of that flavor, and some of them start to break down around the edges which naturally thickens the broth. If you like it even thicker, do what I do – mash a few of the potato pieces against the side of the pot with a spoon.

The peas are optional, but my mamma made it with peas and that’s the way I like to make it. I would urge you to try it at least once and see if you like it. They add a little sweetness and color that rounds out the whole dish.

What You Need

Beef stew meat: One pound, cut into chunks. Look for beef chuck or round – these cuts have enough fat to stay tender during the long simmer. Trim any large pieces of fat but don’t go overboard. A little fat equals a lot of flavor.

Olive oil: Three tablespoons for browning the meat. Use a good quality oil since it’s building the flavor base of the stew.

Onion: One medium onion, diced. It cooks down into the broth and adds sweetness.

Crushed tomatoes: One 28-ounce can. We use Mutti or Cento for the best flavor.

Tomato paste: One 6-ounce can. This concentrates the tomato flavor and gives the broth body.

Potatoes: Four medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into roughly 1-inch pieces. That’s about 5 to 6 cups. Russet or Yukon Gold both work well here.

Peas: Half a cup, frozen or fresh. Optional but recommended.

Dried basil: One tablespoon. Dried works better than fresh here since it simmers for over an hour and the dried basil releases its flavor slowly into the broth.

Salt and pepper: Two teaspoons of salt (divided) and one teaspoon of pepper (divided). We use Redmond Real Salt in our kitchen. Adjust to taste at the end.

Short pasta: One pound, cooked separately. I like to use penne, ziti, or rigatoni – any short pasta that holds the broth well. My favorite is penne.

Cheese: Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano. Be generous.

How to Make Spezzatino

Brown the beef. Add the olive oil to a large pot and heat on medium-high. Season the beef with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Add to the pot and let it sear without moving it for a couple of minutes – you want a real crust on the outside. Turn the pieces and brown all sides. Don’t crowd the pot. If necessary, brown the meat in batches so each piece gets good contact with the bottom of the pan.

Add the aromatics. Add the dried basil and diced onion to the pot with the meat. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent.

Build the broth. Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Fill the empty can with about 1/2 cup of water and add that to the pot along with 4 cups of water, the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add potatoes and tomato paste. After the hour, stir in the tomato paste and add the cubed potatoes. Cover and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender. The broth will thicken as the potatoes cook.

Finish with peas. If using peas, add them now and simmer for 10 more minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serve. Ladle the spezzatino over cooked pasta in bowls and top with lots of freshly grated cheese. Or serve it in bowls on its own with crusty bread on the side for soaking up the broth.

Tips for the Best Spezzatino

Brown the meat properly. I cannot stress this enough. Don’t just cook the meat through – get a real sear on it. The browning creates flavor compounds that dissolve into the broth and make the entire stew taste richer. Give each piece space in the pot and let it sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes before turning.

Keep the simmer low. After bringing it to a boil, drop the heat to low and keep the lid on. A hard boil will make the meat tough. A gentle simmer for a full hour is what makes it tender enough to fall apart.

Mash a few potatoes for thickness. Once the potatoes are tender, press a few pieces against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. They’ll break down and thicken the broth naturally. This was my favorite trick as a kid and I still do it every time.

This stew is even better the next day. The flavors deepen overnight. Make it ahead for meal prep or a dinner party and simply reheat. It keeps well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

How to Serve Spezzatino

There are two ways our family serves this. The first is over pasta – cook a pound of short pasta like penne, ziti, or rigatoni separately, then ladle the stew right over the top. The pasta catches all of that rich tomato broth and the cheese melts into everything. This is the way I grew up eating it and it is still my favorite.

The second way is as a stew on its own, served in deep bowls with a generous pile of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and thick slices of crusty Italian bread for dipping. Our rosemary bread is also excellent alongside this stew – the herbs complement the basil in the broth.

If you love hearty Italian soups and stews, we have a growing collection on the blog. Our Italian tomato soup with sausage is another family favorite, and our Italian lentil soup is perfect for meatless nights. Both pair beautifully with bread and cheese just like this spezzatino.

This recipe is from our family cookbook, Roots of Sicily. It has 167 authentic Sicilian recipes and 139 family stories passed down through four generations – from simple weeknight stews like this one to elaborate holiday feasts. Every recipe tells a story.

Mamma’s Tip: We cube our potatoes and prep our vegetables on our handmade Mamma cutting board – plenty of surface area for stew prep and crafted from a single piece of hardwood with no glue or toxic finishes.