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Yield: 6 people
Ready In: 8 hrs 30 mins
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!
Recommended Equipment:
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.
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.
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
Serving: 1serving (1/6) | Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 32g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 823mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g
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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:
P.P.S: For more stew recipes, check out our collection of homemade beef stew recipes!
Kelli
I love this recipe but I add a 1/4 cup of soy sauce and use 4 cups of beef broth since I don’t want to waste it. I serve this with mash potatoes or mash cauliflower. Also, if really need some comfort food, I serve with Reames egg noodles for my Mom’s style Beef and noodles. Thanks for sharing and improving my beef stew. Note: I have a Ninja cooker which In my opinion, seems to stay a little hotter than mY old crock pot. I love it as I can do everything including browning the meat in it.
Ljr
I made this according to the directions. It was done in 5 hours on low.
It was a bit spicy but I liked it. My husband had seconds. I would make this again.
Jaime
This was such a yummy recipe! Even my picky 8
Year old loves it! I got him to try it by telling him that maple syrup is the secret ingredient. Seriously we love this and I make it about every other week now!
Sylvie
this beef stew was very tasty,,, since I did not have tomato paste I replaced it with chili sauce. turned out perfect!
Keri
This stew is delicious! I did tweak the recipe slightly by adding more salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, plus I added some fresh tarragon and left the maple syrup out completely. But it was great and I will make it again!
Tammy C
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
Perfect amounts of gravy, great flavor, didn’t add peas or mushrooms and turned out wonderful!
Nora
So glad you enjoyed the stew, Brenda! Thanks for sharing your modifications, too.
Beth
Can I use chicken stock, as that’s all I have
Nora
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
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
Mmmmh family loves this one, already made three times this fall! It’s even better the next day. Thanks for a great recipe!
Anne
This recipe looks great, can I use dried thyme in place of the fresh?
Nora
Yes sure, Anne! You can also just add an extra teaspoon of Italian seasoning instead.
Emma
Can this be made on the stove?
Nora
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
Excellent stew, will be in my regular rotation from now on.
Emm Tremblay
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
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
Can you cook this on the stove?
Nora
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
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
Jamie, I’m glad you like the recipe! You can bake it for 1 – 1.5 hours at 360°F in your Dutch oven!