Slow Cooker Beef Stew
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Freezer-friendly crockpot beef stew! The meat comes out so juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the stew is rich, chunky, and so hearty!
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Why you’ll love slow cooker beef stew
- Zero babysitting. Aside from searing the meat to give it that really nice caramelized flavor, the slow cooker does all the heavy lifting for you. All you really need to do is prep the crusty bread for sopping, pour a glass of red wine, and toss a simple side salad to round out the meal.
- Cozy comfort food. 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 the slow cooker for the last 7-8 hours, filling the house with the best cozy aroma.
- Leftovers taste even better. Similar to lasagna, beef stew tends to taste even better the next day, really letting the flavors meld and marry overnight.
- Freezes beautifully. Beef stew makes for an ideal freezer meal, lasting up to 2 months in the freezer, perfect for the cold winter months, parents with a new baby, or loved ones recovering from surgery.
How to make slow cooker beef stew
- Prep the beef. Pat the beef cubes completely dry using paper towels. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper.
- Sear the beef. Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add the beef in a single layer, searing undisturbed for 2-3 minutes until a deep dark crust is formed on all sides.
- Combine the ingredients. Add the seared beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, paprika, caraway seeds, bay leaves, salt, and pepper into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir well to combine.
- Slow cook. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours until the meat and vegetables are fork-tender.
- Thicken. Mix together the flour and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid into a smooth slurry. Then stir it into the stew and let it cook for an additional 30 minutes until thickened.
- Serve with crusty bread. Remove the bay leaves, then ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping, and dunking!
pro tip
Skip the pre-packaged stew meat.
Use well-marbled chuck roast, cut into uniform 1-inch chunks. Its high amount of marbling (fat) and collagen will break down during the long cook time, yielding tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth beef. Stew meat, on the other hand, is usually made with a random mix of leftover scraps that can turn dry or rubbery.
Storing, reheating, and freezing beef stew
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat
Gently reheat on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of water or stock, if needed. Stir occasionally until warmed through completely.
Freeze
Let cool completely; portion the stew into freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheat (from frozen)
To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and gently reheat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Add a splash of water or stock, if needed.
what to serve with slow cooker beef stew
Tools For This Recipe
Slow Cooker Beef Stew: Frequently Asked Questions
Skip the pre-packaged stew meat as it contains a random mix of leftover scraps with uneven fat and muscle. Use boneless beef chuck roast instead, dicing into uniform chunks for consistent even cooking throughout.
For the best flavor, yes. This creates a rich, caramelized crust that will deepen the flavor of the stew. You can certainly skip this step if you are short on time though the stew may have a milder flavor.
Red potatoes and Yukon Golds can both hold their shape during long cooking times.
Stir in a flour slurry (flour mixed with water or cooking liquid) during the final 30 minutes of cooking.
No slow cooker, no problem! Try this stovetop version instead.
Yes! Recipe here.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Absolutely! Beef stew freezes exceptionally well (especially in individual servings), keeping in the freezer for at least 3 months.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes and patted dry
- 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 vegetable 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.
Equipment
Notes
- Avoid “stew meat”. Stew meat is often times a random mix of lean scraps that turn out dry and rubbery.
- Sear the meat. Browning the beef first is key here. That dark crust on the 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- Freeze in individual portions. This will allow for easy serving and thawing, perfect for a quick lunch or fast dinner. Always leave a little bit of space at the top of your container or freezer bag as the liquid will expand as it freezes, squeezing out the extra air to prevent freezer burn.
Did you make this recipe?
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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
I have made this stew about 20 times and it never fails,Winter or Summer,the caraway seeds is a super touch. I think it was nearly the first stew I made in my slow cooker when I got it and opened up a whole new word of how good and uncomplicated great recipes for the slow cooker are. Many thanks Chungah.
Thank you for your feedback, Lorraine!
Had some difficulty in getting Worcestershire sauce, dried rosemary and Kosher salt, I used Iodised salt in place of Kosher salt, Added more stew spice in the beef, the meat came out testy, cant say much for my cooking skill.
Made this today, but didn’t use the rosemary or caraway seeds since I didn’t have them handy. It turned out lovely nonetheless, with just the thyme, parley, paprika and pepper for seasoning, and then all the other ingredients as listed. A delicious stew! Very happy to have come across this recipe – its going to be a keeper 🙂
This is the best beef stew I’ve ever had and it totally hit the spot today!! Thank you!!!
Made this the second time. Excellent!!! This time, didn’t need the flour to thicken it. I added extra potatoes and figured we could mash them to thicken the stew if needed.
Hubby is a more patient cook, so he watched over it. He checked the water level twice. He added powdered beef bouillon and a little boiling water. Amazing!!
Thanks for another great recipe!!!
This stew came out great! I used a 2lb blade roast and “little gems” mixed mini potatoes since they were on sale. I followed the recipe exactly as written minus the caraway seeds (I don’t like caraway seeds tbh). I seared the meat in a very hot cast-iron pan, and used the meat temperature probe attachment on my slow cooker so it cooked on low to a max of 165F over 8hrs. The inside of the beef cubes were still pinkish (but cooked), and really tasty. I ate it with a garlic-buttered, toasted french baguette and paired it with a cheap pinot noir – Everyone loved it!
P.S – I tried this recipe because I find that most beef stew recipes are really bland, so all those people commenting with their crappy bland beef stew recipes can buzz off. Write your own recipe and stop suggesting changes to this one, we’re here because we don’t want bland stew 🙂
This may sound like a crazy question but here goes – – If the recipe makes 8 servings, is it safe to say that the recipes yields 8 cups of stew? One cup per serving? Or 10 cups of stew & a serving would then be 1 1/4 cup servings. In order to server 8 equal servings one would need to know the total yield of the recipe.
Carol, each serving is roughly 1-2 cups.
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.