Slow Cooker Beef Stew
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Everyone’s favorite cozy beef stew made in the crockpot! The meat is SO TENDER and the stew is rich, chunky + hearty!
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There is truly nothing more comforting than a hearty beef stew on a cold, cold night. And it’s even better when it’s been simmering low and slow in your crockpot for the last 7-8 hours.
Aside from searing your stew meat to give it that really nice caramelized flavor, this recipe requires zero babysitting (thank you, slow cooker!). All you need to prep is your crusty bread for dipping, a glass of red wine, and a side salad to round out your meal.
If you are short on time, there is a stovetop and an Instant Pot version also available.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound baby red potatoes, quartered
- 4 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Season beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Add beef to the skillet and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes.
- Place beef, potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, paprika, caraway seeds and bay leaves until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup stew broth. Stir in flour mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until thickened.*
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Very quickly: got a crock pot a week ago, this was my third use and first time with this recipe. Followed the recipe to a T, except didn’t have the various spices so just tossed in a 1/4 tablespoon of Ms. dash garlic and herb salt free seasoning. Also used steak meat rather than stew meat.
FABULOUS!
Is this recipe dairy free?
Cari, if you just look at the list of ingredients, you will see that there are NO dairy products.
Was the best stew I have ever made. It was delicious! A couple of ingredients I didn’t have but that was okay. Next time. I will certainly make this again and pass it to my friends.
Made this recipe today. Added some chunks of cabbage (had some in the fridge). The flavours and combo of spices were amazing. Have to admit, this is probably the best stew I’ve made, and I am not a new/young cook. Right up there with my mom’s beef stew recipe. Thanks so much!!!
So easy and so delicious. I think it’s fail proof. Don’t cut the veggies too small when slow cooking and just enjoy. This would suit most palates I think. I’ll be making often this winter.
So easy and so delicious. I think it’s fail proof. Don’t cut the veggies too small when slow cooking and just enjoy. This would suit most palates I think. I’ll be making often this winter.
I used this as a base recipe using what I had at home- substituted/added steak meat, chicken stock, diced russet potatoes, splash of red wine (only a splash because I halved the recipe. I only have a 2qt slow cooker). Omitted carrots and celery, tomato paste, rosemary, bay leaves, and parsley, which I now see is like half the ingredients but I didn’t have those on hand. I overdid it on the paprika but the flavors smoothed out in the end. Only thing I’d do differently next time is dredge the beef before searing instead of adding the flour at the end, or make a more watery slurry by using more liquid. When I made the flour paste it was way too thick and I was afraid I’d get dumplings, but it seems to have worked out for the best. Great recipe!
How do you know it’s a great recipe? You didn’t make the recipe!!!
3rd batch and never ceases to excite our tastebuds. The fragrance from the Stockpot is just amazing. This is by far, Restaurant standards. In love with this Recipe !
This is my second time making this stew, today being the second. Last time it was cold out and today were at the end of a heat wave. We have never been big stew fans and now I know why, It’s because I didn’t have this recipe. It is the BEST! Only thing I didn’t use both times were the caraway seeds, optional anyway, and the bayleaves. I added and used up some celery from the fridge both times, but other then that I just used the recipe as it is and feel there is no need to change anything.
Very very nice Flavour combo. Beautifully rich and full of flavour. I also added small button Mushrooms and bite size pieces of green beans to add extra vegetables into it. A Credit to the Original Author – the flavour of this is the best I’ve seen and made. Well done.
Well, everything is in the slow cooker! I made a mistake by adding too much tomato paste. Is there anyway to correct this before it’s done cooking??
This recipe is wonderful and can be versatile with the seasoning if you’d like. Never big beef stew fans, my family loved it. I didn’t have any of the dried herbs when I made it the first time so I used what I had on hand to give it an Asian flair. I added 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, a heaping tbsp of minced ginger, rice vinegar and chinese cooking wine, about a tablespoon of each. I cu back a bit on the potatoes and carrots and added bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and baby corn nuggets. I also mixed the broth, spices and sauces all together in a bowl to whisk before pouring it over the beef and veggies in the crockpot. This way I could taste test the broth to my liking before adding it to the crockpot. So good any way you flavor it, everything is so tender…thank you!
This recipe is wonderful and can be versatile with the seasoning if you’d like. Never big beef stew fans, my family loved it. I didn’t have any of the dried herbs when I made it the first time so I used what I had on hand to give it an Asian flair. I added 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, a heaping tbsp of minced ginger, rice vinegar and chinese cooking wine, about a tablespoon of each. I cu back a bit on the potatoes and carrots and added bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and baby corn nuggets. I also mixed the broth, spices and sauces all together in a bowl to whisk before pouring it over the beef and veggies in the crockpot. This way I could taste test the broth to my liking before adding it to the crockpot. So good any way you flavor it, everything is so tender…thank you!
I made this yesterday. Best stew I have had in a long time! will definitely make again!
Amazing
Yes I live in southern Florida and it’s been in the 80s but with the global lockdown and all a good bowl of beef stew really seemed like the right thing to provide a bit of comfort. Followed recipe with two exceptions – due to dietary restrictions I replaced potatoes with same amount of frozen cauliflower. Loved the taste although when I make again I will add cauliflower later in process so the florets retain more of a crunch. The second change was caused by pandemic-driven shortages in the beef at my local grocery store. Ended up using 2 lbs of sirloin steak and – while a bit pricier than I intended for a stew – the results were outstanding. I will be eating this all week and freezing some for later. I thought the caraway added a really unique note – not too strong but noticeable. Might add mushrooms next time and try the wine trick several reviewers have mentioned – just because I like to tinker once I try the original recipe. Thank you very much for sharing this. Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Added some Better than Buillion beef to the recipe to “beef” it up a bit and it was a smash hit over a bed of white rice. Thanks!
I made this yesterday. It was so delicious. The entire family devoured it. I didn’t have caraway seeds. I’ll try it again with them to see if it add anything.
Made this yesterday. The whole family thought it was nice. It was a little runnier than expected. Think I’d leave out the caraway next time. It took over the dish for me. Didn’t bother anyone else though. Thanks for sharing!
Just had the beef stew and really enjoyed it. It tasted very good and would repeat it again. Thanks!