Crock Pot Beef Stew

4.90 from 165 votes

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time8

Total Time8 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 340.5kcal

Author: Julie Evink

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1 in 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 cup 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.

Video

Notes

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!
Beef broth – I always use low-sodium broths!
Diced yellow onion – My secret is to buy pre-diced frozen yellow onion and keep it in the freezer so I never have to chop my onions!
Diced potatoes – My favorite type of potato to use is a Yukon Gold Potato. You can also use a red potato, but do not use a russet potato as it will break down when cooking this long.

DO I HAVE TO BROWN THE BEEF FIRST?

For this recipe, you don’t have to brown the beef before you put it in the slow cooker. Of course, you can if you want to but I’ve 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 THE 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!

Nutrition