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This Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew is a nostalgic and hearty meal that will warm you from the inside out with delicious chunks of beef, tender vegetables, and a thick and savory gravy.
When making this easy beef stew recipe, throw it in the crock pot for slow cooking to make perfectly tender beef filled with extra flavor.
The great thing about this slow cooker beef stew recipe is that it truly is a complete meal all in the slow cooker since it has the tender meat and the vegetables all in one.
After cooking and one extra step, you will have the best crock pot beef stew you’ve ever had and the whole family will love it.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Beef Stew:
- Oil: use olive oil or your favorite oil
- Meat: use chunks of beef stew meat
- Seasoning: you will need to have salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, dried rosemary, paprika, and bay leaves
- Vegetables: make sure to have medium russet potatoes that have been peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces, large carrots cut into bite-sized pieces, and diced yellow onion
- Broth: since this is beef stew I like to use beef broth, but you could also use vegetable broth as well
- Sauce: adding tomato sauce adds to the rich flavor of the stew
- Flour: the all-purpose flour with help aid in thickening the classic beef stew
How to make Slow Cooker Beef Stew:
Season stew meat with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add the oil to a skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the stew meat and sear on each side to form a golden brown crust. This will caramelize the natural sugars in the meat and create a delicious crust that locks in all the juices and flavor.
Remove the stew meat from the skillet and place it into the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients except for the flour.
Stir and let cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 5-6 hours.
20 minutes before cooking time has elapsed, remove 3/4 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker and pour into a small bowl with the flour. Whisk until smooth. Pour this flour mixture into the slow cooker and stir well. This will help thicken the stew. Let cook for an additional 20 minutes over low heat.
Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, or on its own. Enjoy!
How to store leftover hearty slow cooker beef stew:
Fridge: Once the stew has reached room temperature pour it into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer: You can also put the tender chunks of beef and veggies into a freezer bag to store in the freezer for up to 90 days.
Tips and tricks for making this crockpot beef stew recipe:
Veggies to add to savory stew:
- Red potatoes, gold potatoes, or sweet potatoes
- Celery
- Carrots
- Peas
- Pearl onions
- Green beans
What kind of meat to use for beef stew:
Usually, at your grocery store, you can find packages of beef labeled “stew meat.” It’s usually already chopped up and everything, so it is super convenient to use.
Sometimes, this meat can be a little lean, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your dietary needs.
If you want a richer and even more delicious beef stew, go for a beef chuck roast.
You’ll buy a big piece of marbled meat and have to cut it up yourself, but you will be able to cut it into even chunks that will cook evenly in the slow cooker so that you have a more uniform beef stew.
How do you thicken the stew:
Once the beef is fork tender, you will remove just enough liquid to mix in the flour to create a slurry. When you add the flour mixture back to the stew and let it heat up for a bit, the flour will help thicken the stew.
More soup and stew recipes:
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Noodle Soup
Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew
4-5
servings15
minutes6-8
hoursThis Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew is a nostalgic and hearty meal that will warm you from the inside out and fill your comfort food needs.
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Ingredients
3 tbsp 3 olive oil
1.5 lbs 1.5 beef stew meat
2 tsp 2 salt, divided
1 tsp 1 pepper, divided
3-4 3-4 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
5 large 5 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1 yellow onion, diced
3.5 cups 3.5 beef broth
8 oz 8 tomato sauce
2 tbsp 2 Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp 2 dried thyme
2 tsp 2 dried rosemary
1 tsp 1 paprika
2 2 bay leaves
1/4 cup 1/4 all-purpose flour
Directions
- Season stew meat with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add the oil to a skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the stew meat and sear on each side to form a golden brown crust. This will caramelize the natural sugars in the meat and create a delicious crust that locks in all the juices and flavor.
- Remove stew meat from the skillet and place into the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients except for the flour.
- Stir and let cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 5-6 hours.
- 20 minutes before cooking time has elapsed, remove 3/4 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker and pour into a small bowl with the flour. Whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker and stir well. This will help thicken the stew. Let cook for an additional 20 minutes.
- Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, or on its own. Enjoy!
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