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
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I made this tonight, and this combination of seasonings is just perfect! I used venision instead of beef because that’s what I had on hand. Excellent!!!
very pleased with the results – didn’t use the smoked paprika, but the end result was delicious!
what size crock pot do you use?
I use a 6-qt slow cooker.
Really good! I reccomend the longer cook time on low heat though. As always, the meat will be more tender.
This is the best looking stew I’ve ever seen! I cannot wait to try this out!
This was very delicious! Definitely better than my grandmas stew!
I have made this stew several times. omg…it is really delicious. I use the Better than Bouillon brand beef broth and the whole thing is delectable!
It’s the best! Glad you like it!
Has anyone made this using an Insta Pot? If so, thoughts? Is the cook time still the same?
Fira, you can try this IP version instead. 🙂
https://damndelicious.net/2018/03/14/instant-pot-beef-stew/
I just made this recipe for the first time and for some reason the end result came out tasting bitter/sour? Any suggestions on what went wrong? Thanks!
Mmmmmm ! Love beef stew ! This is pretty much the same as mine except for the caraway seed…. maybe I will
add some next time. I do use slow cooker , or stovetop or z big roasrter in the oven….. I usually add turnips also.
Stews , soups , chili are things we make alot of over the cold Winters here in Saskatchewan, Canada. Would love
some hearty ” cold weather ” recipe ideas Chungah. Thanks again !!
but
This was delicous and very easy to make. I love the herbs used in this recipe- perfect combo!. We enjoyed the stew with some crusty french bread & butter. Soups and stews make being home even cozier. Happy Fall 🙂
Best Fall recipes!
I agree, cozy food!
Chunga – Have you ever added dumplings at the end of cooking? My mom always made simple Bisquick-type dumplings and plopped them on top to cook at the end of cooking the stew. Great vehicle for soaking up the yummy broth of the stew.
I have not but it sounds amazing!
I have a quick question regarding the 3 cups of beef broth, is the really enough liquid to feed 8 people. When I make it (and I will), I will be using Beef stock (more flavoring).
Janet, serving size is simply an estimation. You can always add more beef broth or stock if you prefer. 🙂
I made this last week and we LOVED IT! Incredibly tasty! Don’t leave out the smoked paprika – it adds a wonderful, earthy flavor to the gravy. YUM!!
Thank you for sharing!
Can sirloin tips be substituted for stew meat?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Am going to try next week for son and his family; will let you know how it turns out.
Please do! 🙂
Made this according to the recipe and found it to be quite good. I used 5 cloves of garlic instead of 3, because I can never add just what the recipe calls for, it always has to be more! I did add 1/4 c of red wine. I don’t think it added much depth of flavor, though. And I didn’t have the full teaspoon of dried thyme.
I agree with most everyone’s comments in that if you want a tasty dish, you often need to add more herbs and spices.
I would make this recipe again, without a doubt.
Made this yesterday and served it this evening. Delicious!
-I did not sear the meat, which is first for me, and it was still GREAT. I think that the balsamic reduction does the work here. When I want to spend the day cooking and take out the Le Creuset, I am all about the browning. The whole point of the slow cooker is that it’s not really that much cooking! This recipe did not suffer for lack of browning.
-It was sweet! I finished with some sea salt. Granted, I did not really measure and may have used a bit more honey and a bit less salt initially…..
-I used more carrots, more onions, more potatoes and more celery. The result was almost like a ragout. It was great. Not watery at all.
-This one is a keeper! Thanks for a great recipe and a Sunday spent doing other stuff!!
Thanks so much!
Perfect – added some sweet potatoes and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Thanks for this great recipe! I used cornflour to thicken the fragrant sauce/gravy at the end, lovely tomatoey, herby flavor.
I used all fresh herbs! Scrumptious
Great recipe, my boyfriend and I love it! We usually eat it every other week. Thanks for sharing!
That’s awesome! Thanks, Heather!
Can I cook for longer than 8 hours?
This really looks good, but a bit watery. That looks more like soup than stew.
Thank you. Love cooking with the crock pot. Slight problem is that recipes are hard to downsize for two people. Great for leftovers but not every recipe is suited for down sizing. Please advise.
Hi Barbara! Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Minus the potatoes this would be an excellent to freeze in bag ahead of time and dump in a crockpot later