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.
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Notes
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This was great! Super simple. The only change I did was 1c. of dry red wine and 2c. of beef broth. Added a little something to the dish. Thank you so much and I look forward to using more of your recipes. ❤️
Made it last night, let it sit in fridge overnight….and awesomeness!!! Caraway seeds were that extra goodness. Thanks!
PS I did give it a good slug of red wine right before finishing.
This stew is SO good! I forgot to buy tomato paste so didn’t add that and I accidentally did tablespoons for all the seasoning instead of teaspoons. But it turned out amazing. Definitely making this again and again!
Followed the recipe but used beef broth/red wine combo.
Seared the meat and didn’t open the slow cooker (mistake from the past – opening too often)
Put it to cook for 8h on low. Added mushrooms after 5 hours. Added frozen peas just before the end.
The flour gave it the perfect consistency.
Great flavors – definitely not the one tone regular stew.
Thanks so much!
This is in my crock pot as we speak. I dont have to wait to taste it to leave my review. I know it will be good. I was out of red wine so I omitted it. Beef broth and better then bouillon beef instead. I also left out the thyme. We dont like that taste. Little rosemary in a spice bag, salt and pepper and paprika & garlic. No bay leaves. Cant wait!
Incredible. Will definitely use from now on
I cook this all the time! I dont add carrots and I half the baby reds and put the remaining half with sweet potatos. I add the sweet potatos 4 hours in so it doesnt turn to mush and it’s so freaking good! Sometimes I put it on Idaho mash potatos so good!
Not on Instagram or Twitter, so I’ll leave a comment here: damn delicious! Loved using the herbs and a little more vampire-fighting garlic. Great recipe. Thanks.
Has anyone tried to freeze this stew? I’ve been told potatoes don’t freeze very well so I’m thinking of leaving them out, freezing, then adding them later.
Fabulous and so easy. Definitely makes a difference to sear the meat first, then throw everything in and leave to cook. I also added a can of drained lentils, which added lovely flavour. I served mine with tiny chat potatoes and it was gorgeous. Will be making this again and again and trying different additions.
How long do you cook it for in thr crock pot??
This is the best beef stew I have ever made. I tweeked it slightly.
Thanks for the recipe – learning how to cook!
I used 3 cups of V8 juice instead of beef broth. Very delicious!
This is a fabulous recipe. I deglazed the pan with some red wine to get all of the bits up. I also followed the recommendation of ‘thekitchen’ who said that it was important to layer the ingredients. Beef should be on the bottom of the crockpot then the veggies(carrots and onions) and the potatoes on the top. I then mixed the broth, red wine deglazed liquid, garlic and spices and poured it over the top with no mixing and cooked on low all day. The beef was melt in your mouth soft and the veggies weren’t overdone. Just the best stew recipe. Thanks
Love the beef but the Worcestershire sauce was really strong. If you don’t like a lot of seasoning this recipe might be too overpowering. I even left out the thyme and rosemary and it still just was too overwhelming. But if you like lots of herbs and strong flavoring you might like it.
Hi do you think I could brown the beef today and refrigerate it and make it tomorrow?
Hi I usually don’t leave reviews on recipes I find online, but omg my boyfriend and myself are in heaven right now. We’re in a blizzard and craved something warm and I came across your amazing recipe. I can see why you ate this during the summer! So delicious!
Hi I usually don’t leave reviews on recipes I find online, but omg my boyfriend and myself are in heaven right now. We’re in a blizzard and craved something warm and I came across your amazing recipe. I can see why you ate this during the summer! So delicious!
Just made this today and it was damn delicious. My husband is raving about it. The spices and Worcestershire sauce kicked it up a notch from my usual recipe. This is the second thing I’ve made from your site (the lettuce wraps are also great.) I’ll look here more often now. Thanks.