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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Can you use white wine instead of red wine?
Sure, use white wine instead of red. It will do the same work on the fry pan, still add some acid to help break down some tissues, it’ll only be a slightly different flavour, but it should still be good.
Amazing. Make this all the time
Beef broth can make or break a recipe in my opinion so I wanna know what brand you use? Thanks!
I consistently find Target’s Good and Gather brand broth to be the best. I’m a frequent soup and stew maker and I use their vegetable, chicken and beef.
I prefer Better Than Bouillon Organic Roasted Beef or Roasted Beef Base.
Excellent & easy recipe! Husband could not stop raving about it. Only modification, I added diced jalapeños when adding everything else in the crockpot. We like a little kick. This will be added into our regular rotation.
I made this amazing stew. Followed the recipe w/one small change. It calls for tomato paste, I didn’t have any so used speghetti sauce. Came out ‘damn delicious’!
I made this today which worked out perfect with our midwest snowstorm! I followed the recipe almost exactly, but added one extra cup of broth (so 4 total), used yellow potatoes and didn’t have bay leaves. Also added frozen peas at the end.
I used the slow cooker function of my 6qt. Instant Pot and this was cooked perfectly in 3.5 hours on high. At the 3 hour mark I made the flour mixture. It’s great because you can sear the meat on the sear setting and use the same pot.
Nothing seemed over or under cooked, the meat is perfectly soft. A really great recipe!
I just threw everything in my Crock but only used beef bouillon, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. I felt lazy and didn’t brown meat before hand. I added celery stalks too. I’m 100% certain it will also taste delicious.
Do you peel the potatoes or leave skin on and quarter?
You can do either based on preference.
Can’t wait to make this recipe tomorrow! I have a really old recipe from the New York Times and it is quite similar. It will be the first time doing it in the crockpot and I will do it for the longer period that some people say on low. I will be serving this over egg noodles and will leave a real review when I am done. 🙂
Just WOW…Damn delicious!
Chef’s kiss! This was delicious and so easy. I doubled the spices, and also added a few shallots and some peas at the end. This will be my staple beef stew recipe from now on!
I’ve made this stew recipes many times! The best. I use about a pound more meat, a bit more potatoes and carrots and add a cup of a big red wine. So good!
This is the only recipe I use for Beef Stew. I have not used caraway seeds, but the other seasonings add just the right amount of flavor! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Make it all the time. It’s damn delicious honestly
Love making dinner recipes from your site! Made this tonight and it was wonderful!
I look forward to trying out this recipe sson! My only question is I do not currently have a cast iron skillet, what would you recommend to precook the beef a bit in substitution?
Thank you!
Should the meat & veg be covered with liquid at beginning of cooking or will the meat provide more juices/liquid? asking for a friend bad cook here
This recipe does not work on high. Slow only.
This is delicious!! I followed the recipe but did not add the rosemary. Easy to make and everybody loved it!!!!
The recipe should specify that you only put 2.5 cups of broth in with the beef in the slow cooker and set aside another half cup for the flour slurry.
Outside of that, this recipe works very well both on low (@8 hours) and high settings (@ 4 hours), but if you’ve got the time go with low.
Sorry disregard the comment about the broth – I misread that it was the stew broth, not beef broth. This is a great recipe and would recommend!
This stew is absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe, but increased the spices by half a teaspoon each And added a little extra garlic and onion powder. I didn’t even need to thicken the stew. It cooked up perfectly rich and hearty. I let it cook for 7 1/2 hours in my crockpot.
I really loved the recipe. The caraway seed is an awesome spice to add to this stew! I have been trying to identify that spice ever since I tasted it in Montreal Spice Mix. Now I found it, and it is so perfect with beef! Thank you for the recipe!