top view on crock pot filled with beef stew

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Name: Crock Pot Beef Stew
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 480 min
Total time: 510 min
Yield: 6 people
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons oil; 1.5 pounds beef stewing meat (in chunks); 1-2 teaspoons salt (or less, depending on what kind of stock you're using); Black pepper (to taste); 2 tablespoons flour; 2 large yellow onions (cut into wedges); 2 cloves garlic (sliced); 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; 4 tablespoons tomato paste; 1/4 cup red wine (OR use more stock); 2 cups beef stock; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 1 tablespoon maple syrup; 3 large waxy potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks); 4 large carrots (peeled, ends trimmed and cut into chunks); 4 large celery sticks (trimmed and thickly sliced); 1/2 pound brown mushrooms (cleaned and quartered); 1/2 cup frozen peas (no need to defrost)

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4.88 from 71 votes

8 hrs 30 mins

people

Recipe by Nora Rusev

Last Updated: Dec 10, 2019

You'll love serving up up a cozy meal without the fuss for your family tonight: This crock pot beef stew is the perfect easy comfort food dinner! I love that prepping dinner in the morning when the kids are generally in a good mood (or in school) is the best thing I can do to put a hot meal on the table come 6pm, relatively stress free. Hooray for slow cookers!

Stew is one of my favorite things to cook during fall and winter and this right here, or my Crockpot Tuscan White Bean Chicken Stew, Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew or Mediterranean Slow Cooker Chicken Stew are all regulars from October to February. Try them all – you'll love those cozy recipes!

REVIEW

Recommended Equipment:

5-6 Quart Slow Cooker

Ingredients

For the meat

2 tablespoons oil
1.5 pounds beef stewing meat (in chunks)
1-2 teaspoons salt (or less, depending on what kind of stock you’re using)
Black pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons flour

For the gravy

2 large yellow onions (cut into wedges)
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine (OR use more stock)
2 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup

For the vegetables

3 large waxy potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)
4 large carrots (peeled, ends trimmed and cut into chunks)
4 large celery sticks (trimmed and thickly sliced)
1/2 pound brown mushrooms (cleaned and quartered)
1/2 cup frozen peas (no need to defrost)

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 8 hrs

Ready In: 8 hrs 30 mins

Instructions

Brown the meat: Heat the oil in a large and deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef cubes, season with salt and pepper and stir. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and stir well. Cook until the beef is browned on all sides (do not stir too much, or the beef will not brown properly). Remove to a 5-6 quart slow cooker.
Start the gravy: Put the skillet back over medium high heat. If needed, add a little more oil. Cook the onions and garlic until starting to soften. Stir in the Italian seasoning and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the herbs are fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour the red wine into the pan, scratching the browned bits off the bottom. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the stock, Worcestershire sauce and maple syrup. Bring to a boil (this will help the stew start cooking faster once it is in the crock), then switch off the heat.
Transfer to the slow cooker: On top of the meat, place the potatoes, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Very carefully (!) pour the hot liquid from the skillet into the crockpot, making sure the liquid runs down all the way to the bottom and underneath the meat (stir a little if needed).
Cook: Cook the stew on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGh for 4 hours. 10 minutes before cooking time is over, stir in the peas. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed. Either finish cooking with the lid open (if you want a thicker stew) OR closed if you want it soupier.

I cooked this

Step by Step Recipe Video

Nora’s Tips

Cooking Tips:

If you want a thick gravy: There are a few different methods to yield a thicker gravy.

The flouring of the meat helps a lot with thickening the gravy later on.
If you love very thick beef stew, you can add a shredded FLOURY potato in addition to everything else.
OR you can stir a cornstarch slurry into the stew about 10-15 minutes before cooking time is up and then cook it with the lid off for the remaining time – it’s what I do with my crockpot mediterranean chicken stew.

Cutting the vegetables: It is important to cut the veggies roughly into the same size chunks, otherwise they won’t cook evenly.

Also, do not cut them too small and do not cut them too big (I know, great advice 😉 )

When cut too small, they will dissolve. So you can leave them quite chunky. Just pay attention that you cut them in a way so a regular adult can eat the veggies without having to cut them up.

The great thing about stew is that it’s a rustic dish – so you can definitely get away with rustic chopping, it doesn’t have to be perfect by any means.

Browning the meat: Flouring and browning the meat before you add it to the crockpot will give you a wealth of extra flavor. It is a step you can leave out if time is very sparse – but the flavor and consistency of the stew will vastly benefit from NOT skipping this step.

Alcohol: The alcohol will evaporate as it cooks in the skillet (it would NOT evaporate as easily if cooked entirely in the crock pot). But if you’re uncomfortable using it, just use more broth.

Maple syrup: I get asked all the time why I put maple syrup in the stew, and it’s just there to add more depth to the flavor. It doesn’t make the stew sweet! But you can leave it out if you don’t want to add it.

Liquid amount: Some readers remarked that 2 cups of liquid doesn’t seem enough for a stew. But before you add more broth, please remember that the added liquid about DOUBLES in a slow cooker dish as it cooks. The stew ends up with plenty of gravy as long as you stick to the amounts given for the vegetables and the beef.

Note: An earlier version of my recipe included fresh thyme and bay leaves, but I got a lot of feedback from people who don’t keep these on hand, so I re-tested the recipe to make sure it tastes nice without them – and it does. Feel free to add a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a few bay leaves to the stew with the vegetables.

Our Favorite Side Dishes:

While there is everything you need right in the stew, I still love adding a side or two to stretch the meal.

SOME OF OUR FAVORITES:

a crusty no knead bread
garlic parmesan monkey bread if you don’t have time for a yeast dough
mashed potatoes – uhm yes, there are potatoes in the stew, but it’s still an amazing combination

Nutrition

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close up photo of beef stew in a crock pot

three white bowls with beef stew on a wooden board

The crock pot is such a big help in this season, and we love this slow cooker stew just as much as we love our Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers, Crockpot Chicken and Noodle Soup and my Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos.

I hope you’ll enjoy this cozy meal just as much as we do – enjoy!

P.S: If you tried this recipe, why not leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it?

More Recipes You’ll Love:

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A flavorful Irish Beef Stew you can make in your slow cooker! The long cooking time really allows the flavors to melt together.

Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew Recipe

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P.P.S: For more stew recipes, check out our collection of homemade beef stew recipes!

Comments

Tammy C
November 11, 2019 at 3:15 am

I followed the recipe as is, and it was wonderful!! My husband said it was the best one I’ve made so far. This recipe is definitely ackeeper!
Brenda
November 04, 2019 at 5:38 pm

Perfect amounts of gravy, great flavor, didn’t add peas or mushrooms and turned out wonderful!
- Nora
  November 04, 2019 at 5:39 pm
  So glad you enjoyed the stew, Brenda! Thanks for sharing your modifications, too.
Beth
October 11, 2019 at 1:18 am
Can I use chicken stock, as that’s all I have
- Nora
  October 11, 2019 at 1:21 am
  Hi Beth, yes you can! Or you can use water, either works. When I make it with water, I add a little soy sauce and extra salt, Worcestershire and herbs, too. Hope that helps!
Lee
October 11, 2019 at 1:17 am

This is my husband’s favorite stew now! I use balsamic vinegar in place of the Worcestershire and add one extra carrot, only one onion. Tastes so so amazing!
L Fisher
October 11, 2019 at 1:15 am

Mmmmh family loves this one, already made three times this fall! It’s even better the next day. Thanks for a great recipe!
Anne
October 11, 2019 at 1:14 am
This recipe looks great, can I use dried thyme in place of the fresh?
- Nora
  October 11, 2019 at 1:21 am
  Yes sure, Anne! You can also just add an extra teaspoon of Italian seasoning instead.
Emma
October 11, 2019 at 1:13 am
Can this be made on the stove?
- Nora
  October 11, 2019 at 1:27 am
  Yes for sure, Emma! Simmer it covered on low on the stove for 1-2 hours or place it in an oven-safe pot with lid (I like to use a large Dutch oven) and cook it in the oven at 360F for 1 hour.
Pat
October 11, 2019 at 1:12 am

Excellent stew, will be in my regular rotation from now on.
Emm Tremblay
October 09, 2019 at 2:56 am

Brilliant flavours
My whole family loves it
Made it for dinner tonight for the fourth time and will make it again many more times
Serving it with dumplings
So So good!
- Nora
  October 09, 2019 at 12:48 pm
  I’m so happy to read this, Emm! Thank you for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it. Also, I want to make beef stew and dumplings now!!
Meyers
October 06, 2019 at 11:06 pm
Can you cook this on the stove?
- Nora
  October 06, 2019 at 11:48 pm
  Yes for sure. I’d take a heavy-bottomed pot, something like a cast iron. And then cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 1-2 hours. You can also put it in the oven at 360°F for 1 hour!
Jamie
September 30, 2019 at 10:29 pm

This is a delicious recipe! I was wondering if you have a temperature and cook time for the oven? I was wanting to make a double batch in my large Dutch oven. I have a gas stove, so I wanted to avoid cooking on a burner so I don’t end up with charred stew on the bottom of the pot.
Thank you!
- Nora
  October 07, 2019 at 12:08 am
  Jamie, I’m glad you like the recipe! You can bake it for 1 – 1.5 hours at 360°F in your Dutch oven!

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Crock Pot Beef Stew

Crock Pot Beef Stew

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