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.
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Your recipe looks fantastic but your print button will not print! It only allows you to save to a PDF, or to save as a jpeg file. Do you know why your recipe will not print to a printer?
Hi Amy, I just tried printing myself to double check and it went through. When you click on “Print Recipe” and it takes you to the next page, there is a button in the top left corner “Click to Print”. By clicking that your personal printer configurations should open up and let you print the recipe. Let me know if you have further issues with it. Good luck!
Seasoning of food with herbs and spices is purely a personal thing. If you do not like the seasonings of the recipe then leave them out or substitute them with those to your liking but seasoning a stew is what brings out the flavour.
Our household loves food with different seasonings ranging from delicate herbs to full blown chili based recipes so this one is very welcome with the exception of the caraway seeds.
To the user of Bloody Mary mix, this is tomato juice, Worcester sauce with salt and pepper, almost exactly what the recipe requires.
Red wine in any stew always manages to enhance the flavour if you use a wine with body, dry wines are not so good for stews, Medoc, Shiraz, Ruby Cabernet are fine reds for starters.
Flouring the meat before searing adds a crust to it and helps seal in the meat juices and allows the wine component to permeate as well but is not essential to do.
Cheaper cuts of meat can work really well if they are cooked longer as the fibre of the meat needs more time to tenderise during cooking. Striploin or Sirloin will give a juicier taste to the stew but the advantage of slow cooking cheaper cuts of meat is not to be ignored.
A vegetable worth adding is baby leeks split down the middle and cut into 3 parts and do not forget that button mushrooms are perfect for stews!
All in all, a very good recipe and repeatable for us.
So I made this tonight, and it was good but not great. The beef did seem that be as flavorful. I cooked for 4 hours and followed recipe to a T. Any suggestions for next time? I’m also thinking that maybe I don’t have a pallet for thyme. Every time I use it I just taste perfume! Any good options?
Yes, you can omit the thyme if you are not a fan and substitute another herb (ex. oregano) that you prefer.
First time in making this and my family and friends loved it so much they want more lol…i actrually added Marmite and certainly was yumi..also having with Sour Dough Bread..will use this recipe again…
Omg. Made this tonight, even though it’s +30 here. Just wanted something quick and cheap and this was AMAZING. So much flavour. Also love that you include nutritional info and it’s actually super low cal for the crazy amount of protein you get. Meal prep mainstay. I seared the beef in a cast iron pan first and got some nice browning on there, I’d recommend it!
Just made this again tonight for 2nd time. LOVE it. Best beef stew EVER. I add Merlot the last 30 min. along with flour and broth. Gives it an even deeper flavor and all the ingredients add multiple layers. We live in DL and never too hot for this.
LOVE your recipes, Chungah!
(Love the veggie lo mein).
I’m thinking of making this, but I only have one pound of beef chunks. It’s June, and I just don’t want a lot of beef stew for the two of us. I don’t want to make a big batch, and buy more heavy beef. It gets hot toward the end of the day in So Cal, as you know! How about if I make a half batch? I have a five quart slow cooker. Would that change on the timing if it’s half batch? Thank you very much.
I totally understand – it is getting hot!
If you are halving the recipe, cooking time may have to be reduced as needed.
Making this tonight! When I asked my hubby if it was too hot for beef stew, he said, “we have air conditioning!” We are excited to have it. I bought two pounds of special black angus beef chunks and cut them into small pieces so they get tender.
I’m thinking … perhaps a dollop of sour cream when served?
OK ,that does it, I’m making it again tonight.
GENIUS.
Just subscribed.
I love it when I can make a really good dinner quickly, with ingredients any kitchen should have.
Thanks for the join!
I made a couple modifications.
One, replaced half the broth with a decent Cabernet sauvignon.
Two, upgraded to a couple bottom round steaks.
Still cheap, but much better than what they sell as stew meat around here.
Absolutely delicious.
I’ve tried a LOT of beef stew reipes — this is far and away the best.
One question, should I cook it on high or should I cook it on low.
Please refer to step #4:
Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
Hi, I just made this last night n my husband love it…I changed the ingredient a bit. I don’t have smoke paprika so I skip it…n I put little bit mild chili powder. For the herb…I use mix herb, but because doesn’t say caraway seeds in it, so I put a bit cumin powder. Just thinking what will happen lol..because i don’t know what is caraway seed lol..n end up really nice taste. Thanks a lot.
This is a great recipe. I have made this many times. Make as written unless I am out of some thing.
This looks amazing.
your recipe have proven to be the best, i’m giving this one a try right away.
I found this website about a year ago. I have enjoyed all the recipes I’ve tried! This stew sounds amazing and I can’t wait to have it tomorrow for dinner.
Made this last week!!! It’s one of our favorites!
Just made it today! It has great flavor and I’m about to enjoy it like a giant tonight.
best stew i have ever made. did not have caraway seed, but loved the touch of rosemary.
I just finished throwing it in my crockpot. I hope it comes out. I am not a good cook. But it sounded so good I had to try it.