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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Da Bomb. Did flour meat and deglaze with red wine based upon comments, otherwise to recipe and it is now the beef stew gold standard.
I don’t love beef stew but I do love my hubs and he loves beef stew so I made this for him and it was delicious! Even for someone like me who isn’t really a beef eater. Fabulous and easy. I used more rosemary than it called for because I love rosemary and when I browned the beef I added in Pinot Noir
*chef kiss!* Damn Delicious is definitely one of my go to websites for yummy meals. Thanks, Chungah!
Beef stew and pot roast are my favorite foods in the world.
This one really rocks.
This is the 2nd time I’ve made this stew and it was just as delicious as the first time. I substituted fresh celery leaves for dried parsley as we had none; worked fine. It is 39F here at supper-time this evening and this was perfect. Thank you Chunga!
This was really good, and very easy. I decided to deglaze the browning pan with a splash of red wine and book the tomato sauce in it for a minute. I used half smoked paprika and half sweet – next time will go fully with the smoked paprika – gave it a different, interesting flavor. As always, delicious and easy to follow recipes!
This IS damn delicious!
I decided to make this recipe as it had high reviews and was simple.
I normally like to read reviews before proceeding with making any recipe I find on the Internet. This time I did not, and read after. I would like to share my input. I did similar to the reviews I read adding my own spin. This is what I did differently than the recipe states. Browned meat at super high heat (cooking longer than recipe instructions) and deglazed with red wine vinegar which turned into a reduction sauce coating the meat well!!! Pinot noir would have been a nice touch. I added more broth as when I had put everything in the crockpot it didn’t seem like there was enough liquid to coat most of the vegetables and meat. Because I added more broth than the recipe called for I also had to adjust the flour ratio, which I wanted it to be thick, almost doubling the flour.
I only had one pound of stew meat and added canned mushrooms.
I do think I will make again and would like to try adding diced tomatoes to it.
Delicious
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.