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!
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
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.
Video
Notes
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This stew was a hit! My company practically licked their bowls. I’m not one to enjoy cooking and this was super easy! Def making this again!
Probably the best beef stew I’ve ever made, however; I put my own spin on it by adding a can of diced tomatoes and a little bit of sweet red wine. The only thing I would do different next time is cut back on the paprika it was a little too spicy hot for me. Very tasty!
Linda,
You may be getting the heat from black pepper. Black pepper tends to get spicier the longer it cooks, so that may be what made yours spicy. Paprika is generally very mild, but I myself have had some slow cooked dishes come out spicy because of black pepper.
Do you know if white pepper get spicier as well when cooked in the slow cooker?
Delicious, was a hit for dinner with the whole family. Easy to prepare.
Made this tonight and followed the recipe to a T! Used the advice from the comments and bought a good chuck and cut it myself! No issues with the meat being too tough. Easy and delicious!
Definitely a keeper! My husband and I loved it! I read the reviews prior to cooking and made the following adjustments: after drying the meat, I added the paprika and S&P, I dredged the meat in flour prior to browning, I deglazed the pan with red wine and added the liquid to the mixture, I added a bullion, used boiler onions and added peas and mushrooms. Perfect! Thank you for another damn delicious recipe!
My husband and I loved it!!! I used Idaho white potatoes, it was damn good!!! We’re keeping it in our rotation!!! Thank you very much!!!
Tastiest soup ever!!! The meat just falls apart in your mouth. I wish there were instructions for an Insta pot but such a great fall dinner for the family.
I followed the recipe to the letter and was pretty disappointed with the outcome. The flavor was okay.. but the meat was so incredibly tough that eating the stew was more or a chore than preparing it. I’m not sure what I could have done to even remedy it.. but don’t think I’ll be following this recipe again which is sad because her other recipes I really do like
If the meat’s lack of tenderness was your only problem with the recipe, it may have come down to the quality of the meat. For years I was purchasing pre-packaged stew meat for convenience. Should be fine, you’d think, for slow cooking/braising, but invariably it is not. Usually the stew meat is sourced from butcher’s scraps. Try buying a good chuck or shoulder roast.
Usually if stew meat is tough it just means it wasn’t cooked long enough. Slow cookers vary in heat and therefore the time it takes to cook. I’d bet you just needed another hour or so of cooking to make the meat tender. Good luck!
Is everyone adding the garlic and onions without sautéing them first?
I was thinking the same thing – I’m going to cook the onion and garlic before adding it to the crockpot- will also add garlic at the end with the parsley for added flavour. I’m making this tomorrow
I always sauté the onions (shallots) and mushrooms in the leftover fund from the browned meat at medium high for four minutes, and add garlic for the last minute so it doesn’t burn. Then a 1/4 cup dry red wine to deglaze. Never fails me.
The carrots I had were huge – so I cut them back and added stalks of celery. Also – a half hour before it was to be done – I added frozen peas. SUPERB!
Picky husband loved it.
I used a 10 oz can of beef consume and a 12 oz. can of beer instead of 3 cups of beef broth. Damn delicious!
Made it as is slightly less paprika and extra worchestersire sauce. Next time will add more veggies
Sorry my first comment submitted before I was finished…
I made this beef stew for Sunday dinner and it was everything! I just ate my last bowl and I might just need to make another batch because my whole family has been fighting over it! I had a frozen tri tip that I defrosted and cut into smaller pieces. So delicious! Thank you.
I made this beef stew for Sunday dinner and it was everything! I just ate my last bowl and I might just need to make another batch because my whole family has been fighting over it! I had a frozen tri tip that I defrosted and cut into smaller pieces. So delicious! Thank you.
Love this beef stew recipe! I made it a lot last winter in a slow cooker, but now I use the instant pot and it’s so easy! You can brown the meat in the instapot on the sauté setting then throw in all the ingredients set to meat/stew and it’s ready in 30 minutes. The meat was so tender from the pressure cooker as well and you can turn it back to sauté to thicken with the flour too.
Love this new twist on a family favorite! Tasty and the beef was so tender after slow cooking in my crockpot.
Perfect for fall and winter meals.
Lmao are you stupid, Steve? Remove it from the pot.
Don’t be a dick, “Randy”. Dude said he’s not an experienced cook.
To solve the “too much paprika” issue I’m seeing in the comments, I added the caraway seeds and smoked paprika to the beef as well as the salt and pepper before I browned the meat… you need to cook off the spices before adding to the crock pot to bring out their flavour. I also used fresh rosemary, bay leaves and thyme and threw them into the hot pan for just a minute. These little details could drastically improve the overall taste for those who o found the flavours a little too much. I hope this helps
I’ve made quite a few slow cooker stews and I must admit that this is my favourite! I’ve made it twice now and my 5 year old declared it was his favourite food! Even my 3 year old gobbles it up! So hearty and delish!
Delicious !!!!!!! This is a keeper !!!!!!!