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.
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Thanks for sharing. Made this yesterday and it turned out to be the best stew I have had. I added 1/2 can of dark ale which enriched the sauce. Looking forward to the leftovers for another delicious dinner tonight.
This is the best Beef Stew.. We love it… I am making it now again…
I made this for dinner after being unable to find my “usual” beef stew recipe. I couldn’t be happier with the result, I love your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Won’t the potatoes and carrots be too soft cooking 7-8 hours? I’m trying the recipe now and wanted to double check before adding them. In past similar recipes I’ve tried it seems that the veggies were falling apart if I add them with the meat. Looks and smells yummy so far! Can’t wait for dinner tonight!
You can always add the carrots and potatoes later on to suit your preferences.
I used whole fingerling potatoes (Trader Joe’s has then and they say “teeny tiny potatoes” – GET IN MY CART!) and didn’t cut them. They were soft, but held their shape.
I would stick with the recipe regarding potatoes. Chungah specified RED potatoes in the ingredient list. Red potatoes hold together quite well in long cooking. A starchy potato such as a Russet would disintegrate. If you have Yukon Gold spuds, you may wish to put them in later in the cooking.
As Chungah said, it is a matter of personal preference as to the doneness of the vegetables. I like my vegetables to be tender but still have some remaining texture in a stew with baby reds to be intact or larger potatoes cut to about the size of the meat cubes.
I was thinking about adding sweet potatoes. What do you think?
Yes!
This recipe is a new favorite in our household! So easy to make and it is so good! Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes 🙂
Wonderful recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
Wow! My family loved this stew! The meat was so tender and delish and the potatoes and carrots were not mushy or overcooked. My new super easy fall favorite for sure!!
I always make soup on Halloween, this will be perfect! Threw it all in the crockpot this morning 🙂
What would you think about substituting a cup of red wine for one cup of beef broth? Just wondering because I’ve always made beef stew with a little red wine.
I love all of your recipes and I can’t wait to try this one! Making it to eat with the fam while we pass out candy on this cold Halloween day 😀
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I used I can of beef consume with the remainder chicken broth. I added 3/4 cup of red wine at the beginning and then reduced 1 cup of red wine and added it at the end (got that tip from a beef burgundy recipe) Also added some sauteed baby bella mushrooms at the end. My husband said it was the best, most flavorful beef stew he has had.
by the way I did not add the caraway seeds
Soooo good! Made it tonight and my guy devoured it! I had to use Bloody Mary Mix that I had on hand because I didn’t have tomato paste or whorchesshire. Turned out awesome! Just used the fancy bloody may mix that comes in glass bottles at any big grocery store. Will be saving this recipe!
This was dinner tonight for my son and husband on the night every week that I know I will have no energy to cook. They both love beef stew and this filled the bill admirably. Thanks!
To make this gluten free, what would be the best thing to use in place of flour?
You can substitute gluten-free flour.
As a thickener, you could mix a little cornstarch and water (dissolve the cornstarch) and then add to the stew. I do the same when making gravy and thickening soups.
I should have paid more attention to ‘Caraway seeds … optional’. Sadly, I included them and my husband and I both found the flavour from the seeds a little overpowering. Other than that, the falvour and consistency of the stew was great, minus the caraway seeds of course. Served with some nice fresh bread to sop up the gravy. For those of you who are not fans of caraway seeds, I recommend you omit them for sure!
I just tried this recipe today! The flovor is good. But my beef came out a bit tough. I am not sure where I went wrong? Maybe I cooked too long on the skillet?? Please help!
Perhaps it’s a bit overcooked?
You may be right. I set it to finish at 5:30 but due to scheduling issues, I wasnt able to finish the last step until 7:30. But I’ll definitely try this again and make it right! Thanks 🙂
when you sear your meat, use a cast pan if you got, and crank it on med/high. When HOT, add cold oil just to cover the bottom, and lay in your meat, do NOT crowd, and turn it with tongs. only need to sear the sides… do NOT cook.
Then I toss in the mirepoix and cook it on Med/High til the onion just start to turn translucent.
then add all that to your crock pot, deglaze with a bit of red wine, pour that in your crockpot, and add the rest.
also, if you are going to cook it a LONG time, perhaps add the garlic half way through. it is volatile, and the flavour can cook out.
Just put the ingredients in the slow cooker this afternoon! Adjusted the ingredients to fit my smaller pot, and I’m using the High 3-4 hour cook time. Cannot wait to taste this tonight.
What do you serve with this?
Crusty bread! 🙂
I freaking love beef stew, but my husband does it stove top and never in a slow cooker. Maybe I can change his mind.
Great. That looks fantastic.
What size slow cooker are you using for this recipe? I’ve got a 4 quart crock pot, will that be large enough?
I recommend using a 6-qt slow cooker, or reducing the recipe as needed to fit a 4-qt slow cooker.
What would be the ratio to reduce the recipe for a 4 quart pot?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.