Dinner at the Zoo

By 24 Comments

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Pin7K
Share295
Tweet
Yum9
7K Shares
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This slow cooker beef stew is loaded with chunks of tender beef, potatoes, carrots and peas. It’s a hearty and comforting one pot meal where the crock pot does all of the work!

Beef stew is a comfort food classic that is universally adored. My slow cooker version means you can start it in the morning and come home at the end of the day with dinner waiting for you!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe | Beef and Potato Stew | Crock Pot Beef Stew | Easy Beef Stew

A bowl of slow cooker beef stew with meat, carrots, potatoes and peas.

Beef stew is one of my favorite dishes to make in the cold weather months, but let’s face it, sometimes it can be time consuming. In order for the beef to get fork tender, it needs a long and slow trip through the oven, which means you’re home all day waiting for it to cook. With this slow cooker beef stew, there’s no oven time required. You can set it in the morning, go about your day, then come home to a hot and savory meal.

How to make slow cooker beef stew

To make this dish, you’ll need beef stew meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, beef broth and seasonings. I do take the extra step of browning the beef before it goes into the crock pot, I think it adds SO much extra flavor. If you don’t have time in the morning to brown your meat, you can throw it into the slow cooker as is, and your stew will still be delicious.

Browned beef, potatoes and carrots in a slow cooker, ready to be turned into beef stew.

You’ll want to cut your veggies on the larger side, that way they won’t get mushy from cooking all day long. I use small yellow potatoes which I cut in half, but if you can’t find this variety, it’s fine to dice up a regular sized yellow potato, or substitute small red potatoes.

I add the peas at the very end of the cooking process. You can simply add the frozen peas right before serving and they’ll thaw in the hot stew and be perfect!

A slow cooker full of beef stew that contains meat, potatoes, carrots and peas, all in a savory broth.

This slow cooker beef stew is a great candidate for a freezer meal. I often make a double batch, freeze half in a resealable bag, then thaw and heat on the stove.

I typically serve my stew with a side of bread, but between the meat, potatoes and veggies, it’s really filling enough to serve as-is for a complete meal. Your whole family will love this dinner, and you’ll love how easy it is to make!

More slow cooker recipes

A bowl of slow cooker beef stew with meat, carrots, potatoes and peas.
Print Pin
4.89 from 9 votes

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

This slow cooker beef stew is loaded with chunks of tender beef, potatoes, carrots and peas. It's a hearty and comforting one pot meal where the crock pot does all of the work!
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword beef stew, slow cooker beef stew
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 426kcal
Author Dinner at the Zoo

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 pound small yellow potatoes halved
  • 4 carrots halved and sliced into 1 inch chunks
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Season the stew meat generously with salt and pepper.
  • Cook the meat in a single layer for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. You may need to cook in batches.
  • Place the meat in a slow cooker along with the onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, beef broth, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
  • Remove 1/3 cup of stew liquid from the slow cooker. Add the flour and whisk until smooth.
  • Pour the flour mixture back into the stew; stir to combine. Cover and cook on HIGH for an additional 30 minutes or until stew is slightly thickened.
  • Uncover and stir in the frozen peas. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes

  1. Got leftover tomato paste? Place it in a plastic bag and freeze to use later in another recipe!
  2. Cubed beef chuck roast also works instead of stew meat.

Nutrition

Calories: 426kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 57g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 515mg | Potassium: 1093mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 142% | Vitamin C: 28.8% | Calcium: 7.1% | Iron: 46.2%
Pin7K
Share295
Tweet
Yum9
7K Shares

Still hungry? Follow Dinner at the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for more great recipe ideas!

Comments

  6. Oh yum! I haven’t made beef stew in a while, so thank you for the reminder! Now I have something to add to our next week’s menu plan! I will assign this for Monday. The closer it is to today, the better. 🙂

    Reply

  8. We always make beef stew in the slow cooker. It just turns out more delicious because the meat is cooked in its own juices in slow, steady heat. I make mine a little different but I will surely try your recipe too.

    Reply

  11. Wow, your beef stew looks amazing! It is like picture perfect and I almost swear I could smell it when I saw your picture. With the colder January we have had I am always looking for easy comfort meals for my family. Thank you Sara!

    Reply

  16. You had me at beef stew 🙂 What a great way to use our slow cooker for these busy days I am dealing with. A good, hearty beef stew can always warm us up on these cold winter days. I may have to try your slow cooker beef stew recipe next week!

    Reply

  18. We make beef stew about once a week here. I use my mom’s recipe and lucky for me, even my picky eater will eat it 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin7K
Share295
Tweet
Yum9
7K Shares