Crock Pot Beef Stew
83 Comments
Updated: 09/23/22
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This Crock Pot Beef Stew is a hearty, comforting slow cooker meal made with tender stew meat, potatoes, and carrots in a rich, flavorful broth—perfect for an easy dinner on cold nights.
Crock Pot dinner recipes are the way to my heart. Especially when they are dump and go recipes that I can easily throw in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a dinner that is ready to serve. For this crockpot beef stew recipe, all of the work happens in the morning – once you’ve prepped the ingredients you just leave it and serve it after it’s simmered all day. You’ll love knowing you have this slower cooker beef stew in the crock pot for an easy dinner, especially on cold winter nights. Plus it will slow down those hectic weeknights! What’s not to love about a rich and savory stew with tender beef and chunky vegetables?
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a dump and go recipe you can have prepped in about 10 minutes.
- Pantry staples are the key to making this easy slow cooker beef stew.
- This crock pot stew is hearty and filling. Pair it with a crusty bread or cheddar biscuits for the ultimate meal.
This recipe was delicious. Like moms beef stew with a hearty gravy and so easy to make.
Ingredients For Crock Pot Beef Stew
- Stew meat – Cut the meat it into 1 inch pieces. You can use pre-cut stew meat from the grocery store or buy chuck steak or round roast and cut it yourself. In a pinch, you can even use brisket.
- Flour – Use all-purpose flour to help thicken the broth and make that classic, hearty stew broth we all know and love.
- Salt and black pepper – Adjust to taste. A little bit of these seasonings will bring out the flavors in this delicious crock pot beef stew.
- Minced garlic – Grab the pre-minced jar of garlic at the grocery store so you have it handy in your fridge.
- Paprika – I mix it up with smoked paprika sometimes.
- Worcestershire sauce – A little splash of this gives this crockpot beef stew that zip and depth of flavor.
- Beef broth – I always use low-sodium broths so that I can more easily control the salt content.
- Tomato sauce – A little tomato sauce adds just a hint of tomato flavor, but not too much.
- Yellow onion – Peel and chop yellow onion to add to the best beef stew. My secret is to buy pre-diced frozen yellow onion and keep it in the freezer so I never have to chop my onions.
- Potatoes – The best potatoes to use are Yukon Gold because they are waxy and hold their shape. You can also use a red potato, but do not use a russet potato as it will break down when cooking this long.
- Carrots – Peel and slice these into evenly sized pieces.
Variations
- Wine – To make the flavor more complex, consider adding a cup of hearty red wine for a cup of the beef broth. Great wines to choose from are Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot which are both a dry red wine.
- Peas – Add fresh or frozen peas to the stew during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
- Mushrooms – Love mushrooms? Add some sliced mushrooms to the stew for extra flavor.
How to Make Crock Pot Beef Stew
Dice the stewing meat into 1″ pieces. Combine the flour, salt and pepper together in a large ziplock bag.
Add the cubed stew meat, close the bag, and shake it to coat the beef evenly. Place the floured beef in the slow cooker.
Pour broth into the slow cooker and add chopped onion, potatoes and carrots. Add minced garlic, paprika, Worcestershire and tomato sauce.
Stir it all together, cover the crock pot with the lid and simmer on low for eight to ten hours. When it’s time for dinner, give the stew a stir and ladle into bowls. That’s it! Easiest beef stew ever.
Storage And Reheating
Fridge: Store leftover beef stew in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Place it in a freezer safe container with about 1” of head space for expansion. It will keep for up to four months in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheat beef stew on the stovetop until hot through or in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between.
Pro Tips
- Add more vegetables! Great options are celery, green beans, parsnips, sweet potatoes etc.
- Handle the stew meat the least amount possible. This gives you extra juicy, tender beef. If you handle it too much it will cause the juices to run out of it and make it tough.
Do I Have To Brown Stew Meat Before Putting It In The Crock Pot?
For this particular recipe, you do not have to brown the beef before you put it into the slow cooker.
Of course, you can if you want to but I have tried it both ways and I really can’t tell the difference so I skip that step. I’m all about easy in the kitchen!
Can I Cook Stew On High In The Crock Pot?
I prefer to cook this stew on low because the beef gets really nice and tender. I haven’t tested it using the higher setting, but if you try it I recommend cooking it high for four to five hours. You know when the beef is done when you can easily pull a piece apart with a fork. It’s shouldn’t be chewy – it should be nice and tender!
I love recipes that don’t require me to use the oven or the stove-top. This is the tastiest set and forget recipe ever, plus clean up is a breeze!
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!
Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe
Tender, juicy stew meat with potatoes and carrots make this crock pot beef stew rich, chunky and hearty. Perfect for curling up with on a cold winter night.
Video
servings
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 ½ cups beef broth
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 Yukon gold or red potatoes peeled and diced
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced
Instructions
- In a gallon size zip lock bag mix together flour, salt and pepper. Dump in the meat and shake until coated. Place in crock pot.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 340.5kcal (17%), Carbohydrates: 26.79g (9%), Protein: 39.25g (79%), Fat: 8.12g (12%), Saturated Fat: 2.76g (17%), Cholesterol: 93.74mg (31%), Sodium: 1137.91mg (49%), Potassium: 1350.39mg (39%), Fiber: 4.98g (21%), Sugar: 4.95g (6%), Vitamin A: 7121.63IU (142%), Vitamin C: 19.75mg (24%), Calcium: 98.01mg (10%), Iron: 7.89mg (44%)
How To Serve Beef Stew
One of the great things about beef stew is it is a one bowl meal. This hearty dish covers all of the bases – protein, veggies, starch – everything’s in there! I love to serve stew at home with a fresh loaf of bread from the local bakery to soak up any leftover sauce in our bowls at the end of the meal. Cooking this stew in the crock pot also frees up a little time to make Biscuits or Dinner Rolls.
More Great Beef Recipes
- With the addition of Guinness beer, Irish Beef Stew is a great twist on this traditional dish. The beer gives this stew a richer, deeper flavor that your whole family will warm up to.
- Make your family the ultimate comfort food in your crock pot tonight. With a rich and creamy gravy, onions, mushrooms and silky egg noodles, Beef Stroganoff never disappoints.
- Prep and throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning and you’ll come home to the mouthwatering smell of Beef and Noodle Soup wafting through your house. Carrots, celery, onion, beef and noodles are the perfect combination on a cool evening.
- Thick, creamy mushroom sauce is the star of the show in Hamburger Stroganoff, the close cousin to the popular beef dish. Served over noodles or our household favorite, mashed potatoes, you’ll be lucky if you have any leftovers.
Sandi says
As ALWAYS Julie, perfection! Anxious to give a try to the bottle of Guinness. Sounds like a good switch up. Girl, your recipes never disappoint. This is one of my winter Go-To’s! Yes, Im that girl. I have my winter foods & summer foods. And I’ve heard ALL the comments about how ridiculous it is. Just how I roll. Good Day & Good Cookin Ms Julie.
Julie Evink says
Thank you so much! This means much!
Meredith says
I am running short on time. Could I put the crockpot on high to cut the time in half?
Meredith says
I am running short on time. Could I put the crockpot on high to cut the time in half?
Julie Evink says
Yes you can!
Nicole N says
I made this beef stew in the crockpot tonight. I shook the stew meat in flour, seasoning salt and pepper based on another review, Then browned it in a pan. I added 3/4 C of red wine along with the broth. Also added dried thyme and parsley. Cooked for 9.5 hours on low. Beef you can shred apart. Celery and onion still has a bit of crunch but the red potatoes are cooked perfect and all in all it’s a good recipe!
Julie Evink says
Thanks for sharing your take—love the wine and herb additions! Browning the beef first adds so much flavor. Glad it turned out well for you!
Lisa says
This is very very good! Gonna put it on my menu to make sometimes.
Julie Evink says
Yay! I’m happy to hear that Lisa!
Erica says
This was the easiest and most delicious beef stew! and, I love that you don’t have to do the extra step of browning it. It still had tons of flavor! I added a little more garlic than the recipe calls for and I added some frozen peas toward the end because we love peas here. this is going right in my meal rotation. Thank you so much for sharing!
Julie Evink says
Thank you Erica! I’m so happy to hear that!
Marcia Prestegard says
I put 1/2 bag of small baby reds and 1/2 bag of small baby yellow potatoes so no cutting potatoes, and doubled the flour s/p and paprika then tossed the meat in the zip lock bag, added a extra cup of beef broth extra carrots or whatever veggie you like. Amazing filled a large crock pot!!
Brooke Kill says
Sounds so delicious, Marcia!
Beth E Mundt says
I’ve made this recipe several times. we enjoy it so much. I use russet potatoes, they work great. Thank you for this easy recipe.
Brooke Kill says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy the recipe!!
Carol says
Suggestion- provide more details on when to throw in potatoes and carrots. ie, would assume these to be tossed in hours after meat
Julie Evink says
When it says “add rest of the ingredients” you add these.
Patti says
This recipe was delicious. Like moms beef stew with a hearty gravy and so easy to make.
Michelle says
Made this last weekend, it was too hot to cook on the stove or in the oven, put everything in the crockpot on low for 8 hours and it was very yummy!! Even took leftovers to work for lunch the next 3 days, will definitely make this again!
Sarah Hill says
Yum! Glad this recipe was there for you on a hot day and you were able to enjoy it for a few days after! Thanks so much for commenting and rating!
Aubrey says
My family was not a fan of this stew recipe. The tomato sauce and beef broth did not taste good together.
Em says
Will it mess things up if I use frozen veg?
Courtney says
It shouldn’t!
Maxwell Manly says
Can the recipes come with a Metric/Gram ingredients.?