Slow Cooker Beef Stew
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Everyone’s favorite cozy beef stew made in the crockpot! The meat is SO TENDER and the stew is rich, chunky + hearty!
Featured Comment
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I am wondering if I can make this a freezer meal after cooking in crockpot?
Unfortunately, we cannot answer this with certainty as we have never tried freezing this ourselves. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I regularly freeze stews (as I did with the leftovers of this one) but, I own a vacuum sealer. I basically put 2-cups in a vacuum seal bag, pop it in the freezer for about 45 min (so the liquid is frozen), and then vacuum seal it. It’s mealed sized and convenient. I’ve eaten 1 year old stew that was preserved this way and it tasted fine…. Not sure how it would hold up to regular freezing though (sorry).
Chiming in….. I just put all this my 6 qt. Crock, left out the rosemary, as not too big a fan. It smells divine, will pipe up later when done and let yall know what the family thinks. Just saying, sure smells delicious so far.
I made this tonight but in the Instant Pot! I followed the instructions as written but I did not add the onions, carrots or potatoes at first. I used the meat/stew button, waited for natural release. Then I added the veggies and the flour slurry (and another cup of broth as it didn’t seem to have enough) and set it for manual, 4 minutes, quick release so the veggies wouldn’t overcook. Delicious!
I made this stew using the 3-4 hour option and the carrots and potatoes were still raw, I would have pre cooked them had I known. The instructions also didn’t go into detail about the size of the potatoes or if to cut them. Otherwise it was good though.
Chungah, all of your recipes are excellent! I have a Pinterest board just for your recipes. Thank you for sharing your cooking expertise!
Simply delicious. Followed directions, easy and quick. Put together at lunch, and it was ready to eat when I got home for dinner.
hi! this may seem like a silly question but I am a vegetarian and cooking this for family who are not.. I was wondering if anyone could suggest how much salt and pepper they put in this recipe
Made as written, including the caraway seeds and it was great! I think I may use a bit less of each seasoning next time and then taste test as something, maybe the thyme, seemed too strong. I don’t like things thickened in the crockpot so I drained the meat and veggies, put the liquid in a pan and thickened from there, making a mix of corn starch and a bit of water instead of flour. Excellent and will be made again!
The hubby ratings are in. A+!
Followed the recipe to a “t”. Seemed a bit bitter to me. But maybe because of rosemary and/or thyme which I don’t usually care for. Added some dried prunes and a little cinnamon in an effort to sweeten. Helped somewhat. At the end of the day it’s still a nice recipe. But if the final result isn’t perfect it’s no doubt due to my own tweaks. Still quite edible however and my husband is going to rave about it anyway. Getting ready to dish it up in about 15 minutes.
I don’t usually make crockpot recipes that I won’t be home in time for. If it’s left on warm for an hour will that change flavor or over cook it?
*Also your recipes have made me look like I know what I’m doing in the kitchen, everything always turns out amazing!
The warm setting should work just fine!
Lovely recipe, tender meat, but WHY do my tatties never ever cook in the slow cooker? I always follow the recipe and my tatties come out rock hard. 🙁 does the same on other recipes so it isn’t just this one. Any tips? I might just have to start par-boiling them.
Perhaps they are cut too large?
Wow that is making me hungry! Looks so flavoursome (:
I don’t have Bay Leaves, is that ok? I’m making it now as I type this, I did add celery and green bell pepper, just because:)
Yes, of course! The additions sounds amazing.
The one thing I would change is the amount of onions. I first put a layer of onions cut in half to cover the bottom of the slow cooker then put the rest of the ingredients in, There just isn’t anything as divine as those onions!
Really love your small videos on side of major recipe. I would love to print some of these but can’t remember their titles since I find myself looking at them all in a row.
Is there a way I can retrieve them?
Yes, you can view all videos and corresponding recipes on my Youtube page!
https://www.youtube.com/c/damndeliciousblog
I just made this tonight! I have to say it was one of the tastiest meals I’ve ever made. It has such amazing flavor. I will be making this again and again.
Chungah, Tried this recipe and posted how much we loved it, but have a question: Does the stew freeze well? Will the potatoes freeze well too, or should I make them fresh and just add them to thawed stew? Really love when they cook in that gravy!!!
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Just excellent! One forced change, I had no tomato paste so substituted chili sauce, and only used 1/4 tsp of rosemary, as I am not a big fan of that. Hands down the best stew ever!! Will be making this often this winter. My grandsons loved it, as did I.
Another take: I seasoned the beef with lots of flavourings before searing – coffee, cardamom, cumin, along with onion/garlic powder. To slow cooker, I added about 4 cups of leftover brisket sauce with lots of onions, along with fresh potatoes, carrots. Cooked at higher temperature and was sceptical, but it turned out great. Soft and very flavourful.