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 winter night. And it’s even better when it’s been simmering low and slow in your crockpot for the last 7-8 hours. The tender potatoes and carrots soaking up all the lovely meaty flavors, and sopping up all the broth with any bread vessel you can find – this is what dreams are made of.
reasons to make slow cooker beef stew
- Slow cooker does all the heavy lifting. Aside from searing your stew meat to give it that really nice caramelized flavor, this crockpot recipe requires minimal hands on time and zero babysitting. 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.
- Leftovers taste even better. Similar to lasagna, beef stew tends to taste even better the next day, letting the flavors meld and intensify even more.
- Freezes beautifully. Beef stew makes for an ideal freezer meal, lasting up to 2 months in the freezer, perfect for the fall and winter months, a mom with a new baby or friends recovering from surgery.
tips and tricks for success
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your stew. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety.
- Sear the meat. Browning the beef first is key here. That dark crust on the stew meat cubes will create such richer, deeper flavors in your stew.
- Red potatoes hold up very well. Baby red potatoes hold up much better throughout the long cook time than russet potatoes, which tend to break down and fall apart. Yukon golds can also be used.
- Potatoes and carrots should be cut in larger pieces. We want our vegetables to be cut a little larger here as they will cook down quite a bit in the slow cooker (or else they will be overcooked, fall apart and turn to mush).
- Tomato paste adds so much flavor. Tomato paste is a key ingredient in beef stew, adding body and richness in small amounts without adding too much liquid to the stew. Opt for tomato paste in a tube, using up only what you need at a time without having to open up a whole can.
- Mix it up. Swap out the potatoes for sweet potatoes, add butternut squash, mushrooms, parsnips, or a little bit of crumbled bacon at the end of cooking time.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
pro tip
Use beef stew meat.
Stew meat is a tough cut of meat making it ideal for a slow cooker recipe as the long cook time will allow the connective tissue to break down, yielding tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth beef. Stew meat is also incredibly cost-effective, making this a budget-friendly dinner. Boneless beef chuck roast can also be used, cut into 1-inch cubes.
what to serve with slow cooker beef stew
Slow Cooker Beef Stew: Frequently Asked Questions
Boneless beef chuck roast is a great sub.
No slow cooker, no problem! We have a stovetop recipe for you here.
Yes, we have a recipe for that too.
Yes, beef stew freezes very well! Once cooled completely, you can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Video
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
Equipment
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.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Can’t wait to try this ! I have all the ingredients though the only thing I could not get to spec was 2 pounds of stewing beef best I could get was 2.95 pounds. Should I just weight it out and freeze the extra pound for later ? Thoughts would be greatly appreciated !
I have had this cooking on high for almost 6 hours now ( have already added the flour mix for thickening but the potatoes are still firm ) Have taste tested of course and the flavor is absolutely awesome. Will cook on high for an extra 30 minutes hoping potatoes soften a little more.
I cooked for 4 hrs and the. It was in warm for about 20 min, potatoes as well werent soft. I put it on pressure cook for 15 min. Lets see what happens.. (I cooked in the instant pot, slow cook-higher 4 hrs)
Made this the other day, it was soooo good. It doesn’t make 8 servings though, it’s more like 4.
hi, could I add vegetable broth instead? Really looking forward to making this!
Absolutely!
REALLY NICE, EASY TO MAKE, I HAD NEVER MADE A STEW BEFORE
Where can I buy this cooker? The stew looks delicious thank you for the receipt.
I purchased this from Williams Sonoma. 🙂
Yum. This was delicious and filled our tummy’s on a cold winter night. I used carrot and swede and potato and served with rice. Delicious.
If I double up on the meat do I need to double up on all the other ingredients as well, for instance the beef stock.
Hi Elaine! It really depends on what you’re looking for. If you want a meatier stew and less vegetables, you can keep the ingredients the same, but I would double up the beef stock because otherwise there won’t be enough liquid to cook the meat properly. But as always, please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications. Good luck!
Great recipe. Highly recommended
This was a great winter warmer and I will definitely be cooking it again. I always coat my meat in the flour before browning it off (meaning I don’t need to be around to thicken the sauce later and this cooks out all of the flour taste). It makes the stew sauce extra glossy and thick like a good gravy should be.
Best slow cooker recipe I have tried, now one of my besties
besties
Hello. Can the flour go in ahead of time if I won’t be around to add it at the proper time?
Thanks!
Teri, I recommend adding the flour prior to serving.
Fantastic! It appears using (last night’s) chicken stock makes no difference to the yum factor. This was delicious and the consistency was just right thanks to the flour addition at the end. I’d make this again definitely!
Thank you.
A very highly respected Chef, who has worked in Paris for several years, told me that he always use Chicken Broth. My wife was angry when I brought home Chicken instead of Beef Broth but she used it when I told her who recommended it. It was the first time in 30 years, she admitted that someone could teach her something about cooking. After that, she never used Beef Broth again.
This was so easy and delicious 🙂
Ooooh! I am currently making this, it has 4hours to go. I will post the yum factor once we’ve had dinner! I anticipate it will be delicious even though I used the remaining chicken broth from last night’s cooking (because it was there and I hate waste) and I have not used the entire weight of meat the recipe calls for – slow cooking is so forgiving!
You don’t say “I am currently…” at work, do you? You certainly just say, “I am,” right?
She said it fine, “Jed.”
LOL
Really lovely recipe, we are just waiting for it finish cooking for a second time, will definitely make again.
My husband and myself did not care for this at all, sorry.
Nobody asked if you did.
That was uncalled for. This column is asking for people’s opinions all they did was leave their opinion.
Lovely recipe. Reduced stock by a third and replaced with red wine… oh yeah!
Do I need to seer the meat in a pan before slow cooking? I’ve made stew a couple of times before where the raw meat went straight into the cooker. I’m new at cooking (my wife is back in school…she’s a fantastic cook but just doesn’t have the time for it right now) and have high levels of anxiety in the kitchen and want to make things easy for me but also want to do things the “right” way.
I always recommend searing the meat as it brings out more of a caramelized flavor but really, it’s up to you and your personal preferences.
Simple and quite delicious, I would make it again.
I used SAUTE function to first fry the onions a bit, then the meat. Switched to SLOW COOK. Why bother with another pan? 🙂