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 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
Did you make this recipe?
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For those of us who are cooking-challenged it would have been helpful if you had said to put 2-1/2 cups of the broth in the cooker, so that you would still have had had a half cup left to add at the end, per the instructions.
When I made it, I scooped out some of the liquid from the pot to mix with the flour, then added it back to the pot. Might have made it easier to blend since the liquid was hot.
Nancy is correct. You don’t reserve any of the broth the recipe calls for.. it says 1/2 of stew broth, so you just scoop out half a cup of the hot liquid from the crockpot at the end and make a slurry with that. It’s a method that you can do with a variety of things that may need to be thickened.. soups, stews, sauces, chili.. etc.
I’m allergic to wheat so no flour for me. I do reserve some of the liquid before putting it in the pot, and then mix the cold broth with cornstarch and add to the pot. Works just as well.
You can spoon the stew broth out and use it. But the bigger problem is that using it blazing hot out of the crock pot will basically cook that much flour if you’re not careful and make a gloppy mess. Either let it cool a bit first, or just use cold water. Pro-tip: Put the flour and liquid in a small container with a lid. Whisk with a fork, then put on the lid and shake it to finish. No lumps. Then pour it in the crock pot and stir.
I have been looking for a great tasting, easy, crock pot recipe for beef stew and found this one.
It is really, really damn delicious!
I saw a review on here about which crock pot is the best, I love mine it’s brand name is “Crock Pot” I got it on Amazon for $37 with free shipping. I followed the recipe but
I added frozen brussel sprouts, and corn, and used bite sized honey gold potatoes.
I did not brown the meat first.
This is the tastiest, hearty, but not heavy beef stew EVER!
It really is that good!
Thank you for sharing another fabulous recipe.
Delicious!!! I didn’t have any carraway seeds but added everything else with a few extras. I tossed the stew meat in flour then browned. When finished browning, I tossed in a cup of red wine to get the bits off the bottom. Also, added in some yams and yellow potatoes. Tossed everything else in and let cook on 4 1/2 on high and it is perfect. Nice thick stew but not too thick!!!
This is great. Have cooked it a couple of times, and we’re going to cook it again tomorrow. I make some small tweaks here and there (after cooking it by the letter first time around) based on which vegetables I’ve got hanging about the kitchen.
5/5 cannot fault this recipe. Super simple. The house smells great whilst it’s cooking, and the food tastes amazing whilst you’re masticating.
Just wondering if this one is ok or freezing?
Late reply but for others that read it. You don’t want to freeze the potatoes. They will get mealy. If you leave out the potatoes it will probably be fine to freeze.
I was desperate for a stew recipe that was not soup, but in a thicker gravy. Just made this one overnight and added the flour, it came out great, and would certainly be good with whatever vegetables you want
Living on the beautiful Gold Coast in “winter” I will try this recipe. I use chi kpea flour to thicken my stews and soups. I will also use smoked garlic. Have found potatoes do not cook well in a slow cooker.
This is a good recipe that you can use as a base. I didn’t brown the meat, and I used lots fresh herbs, lots of garlic, and added a bunch of mushrooms and it came out great. Very tasty, and even better the second day.
Damn delicious is right! I also added some silverbeet and zucchini because I had them to use up. Basically I think you could add any veggies you like.
Easy, delicious and good looking with the redness of the tomato paste. Really great with a small green salad and slice of sourdough garlic bread. Delicious!
Best Beef stew I ever cooked in my slow cooker. Husband thought it was absolutely delicious and kids took leftovers.
I did not have enough carrots so I added the little amount of sweet potato that I had in my fridge and towards the end I added some frozen peas and corn. Will definitely make it again!!
Cut down the stew meat to 1 1/2 pounds and also added 2 parsnips and 3 celery stalks. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you! I had been looking for a good slow-cooker recipe for beef stew that wasn’t too tomato-ey, This is perfect.
Sadly, although I followed this to the letter, I had my first experience with all the liquid evaporating from the crock pot & the food burning.
Maybe your lid wasn’t fasting down all the way or something like a pee or carrot left in a jar but the lid has to be down all the way and secured I hope you have a better result next time make sure the room is clean and your lid is clean and it’s on a level countertop
Not sure how that’s possible at all. No one else including myself had any issues, so your crock pot must be the issue.
ZOMG!!!!!! I decided to make this for the first time in 99 degreee weather in LA as well I made it exactly as read minus the carrots because I accidentally used it with another one of your recipes. Still amazing! It really pulled together when I thickened it with the flour as instructed. Thanks for the BEST stew recipe ever!!!
So far it smells “damn delicious” I added celery, mushrooms and corn…I know the corn adds even more starch and yes, I will serve over rice. I only had 1 can of beef broth so I added that plus a half a can with better than bouillon vegetable flavor.
Plus I have up on flour as a thickener years ago and will use corn starch. Overall a great recipe.
What brand of slow cooker do you use ?
Is there a link on this page for it ? Thx
Crock-Pot is the original brand of slow cookers so I would say the crock pot is the best whatever you do don’t buy Hamilton Beach because it unevenly Cooks in the knobs break
Great recipe!
Do you know how much a serving size actually is in weight or other measurement?
Used sirloin browned then cut in cubes. Thyme needs to be cut by 75%, rosemary could be reduced too. Tomato paste is unnecessary. A package of beef gravy mix might take place of flour deal at end. Overall as is too many tastes, so maybe just salt, ground pepper and bay leaves would do it.
Always a good place to start and expand your spice flavors.
In your opinion ……..
Agree with you mate. Too many tastes
Christ you sound obnoxious
LOL … you and I would be friends in real life.
Flavor was there, but the meat was tough. That was the disappointment for me. I cooked the stew for 8 hours.
Glad to see your comment. I call hubby “Mr. Picky” so I think will start first time with just salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Perhaps tomato paste as he likes that? Or is an overpowering taste of tomato?
Made this but didn’t enjoy it I’m sorry to say.
I kept the total veg amount the same but threw in some suede. The beef came out nice and tender and the veg were cooked perfectly, but it was all quite bland.
I might try it again throwing in a can of Guinness and another tbsp of Worcestershire sauce with some chopped smoked bacon and leave out the Caraway seeds and smoked paprika.
Old Fashioned Beef Stew is suppose to be somewhat bland.