Crockpot Beef Stew is a hearty dinner made with tender beef and vegetables simmered in a rich, savory broth. It’s an easy slow cooker meal with minimal prep and plenty of cozy, homemade flavor.
Serve it with no-knead bread, garlic cheddar biscuits, homemade garlic bread, or a simple green salad.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Crockpot Beef Stew
- Why Make It: Browning the beef and deglazing the skillet adds rich flavor without requiring a long ingredient list.
- Time-Saver: Use pre-cut stew meat and baby potatoes to reduce chopping and peeling.
- Tools: A 6-quart slow cooker and large skillet.
Total Time: 4 Hrs 30 Mins Servings: 8 Cooking Method: Crockpot
Ingredient Notes
- Beef Chuck Roast or Stewing Beef: Chuck roast is my favorite cut for crockpot and classic homemade beef stew because its marbling and connective tissue become perfectly tender when slow-cooked. Cut the beef into evenly sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
- Flour: A light coating helps the beef develop a rich, golden-brown crust.
- Beef Broth or Stock: Choose lower-sodium broth so you can easily adjust the seasoning to taste at the end.
- Potatoes: Yukon Gold, red, and baby potatoes hold their shape particularly well during slow cooking and can be left unpeeled. If using russets, peel them first, as their skins are thicker.
- Carrots and Celery: Cut them into fairly chunky pieces so they retain their texture and hold up well during the long cooking time.
- Vegetable Juice: Adds tomato flavor, subtle sweetness, and extra depth to the gravy. Tomato juice works well, or substitute additional beef broth with a little tomato paste for a similar effect.
- Frozen Peas: Add them at the very end so they stay bright, fresh, and tender rather than becoming mushy. Replace with frozen mixed veggies or a carrots and peas mixture.
How to Make Crockpot Beef Stew
- Toss the beef in flour, then brown in a skillet, and set aside.
- Sauté the onions in the skillet.
- Add the beef to the slow cooker, along with the veggies (full recipe below).
- Pour the beef broth and seasonings on top. Cook until tender, then thicken with a slurry.
Can’t wait? Cut the cook time in half with my Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe.
Save Some for Later
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
- The gravy will thicken as it chills, so add a splash of beef broth when reheating if needed.
Slow Cooker Soups for Chilly Nights
Did you enjoy this Crockpot Beef Stew Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Crockpot Beef Stew
Tender beef and chunky vegetables simmer low and slow in a rich, herby gravy. This classic Crockpot beef stew is an easy, comforting dinner made for chilly days.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast or stewing beef, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 4 cups beef broth divided, or beef stock *see note
- 3 cups diced potatoes peeled**
- 2 large carrots cut into 1-inch pieces, about 2 cups
- 3 ribs celery cut into 1-inch pieces, about 1 cup
- 1 cup vegetable juice such as V8
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup frozen peas
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss the beef in the flour mixture.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown in batches, about 2 minutes per side. Place the beef in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the onion and cook until tender. Add the onion to the slow cooker.
- Add 1 cup of beef broth (or red wine per the recipe notes below) to the skillet and scrape up any brown bits with a spatula.
- Add the broth to the slow cooker along with the remaining 3 cups of broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, vegetable juice, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, and thyme.
- Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours or until beef is fork tender.
- In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Add to the stew a little bit at a time to thicken (you may not need all of the cornstarch mixture). Stir in the peas.
- Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened and heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
- Browning: Brown the beef in small batches without overcrowding the pan. If the pan is too full, the beef will steam instead of browning. Browning the beef adds extra flavor to the stew.
- Broth: 1 cup of red wine can be substituted for 1 cup of beef broth. If using red wine, add it to the pan after searing the beef to deglaze. Let it simmer in the pan for about 1 minute before adding it to the slow cooker.
- Peas/Beans: If you add fresh green beans in place of peas, they will need about 45 minutes to cook. Frozen peas just need to be heated through, they can be added during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Potatoes: Any variety of potato can be used in this recipe. Red potatoes, Yukon golds, or baby potatoes do not require peeling and hold their shape better. Baking or russet potatoes should be peeled.
- Leftovers: Leftover beef stew can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 372 | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 714mg | Potassium: 1181mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3453IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Main Course
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It was a Hit!
I’m about to attempt this recipe. Do I cook the meat and onions separately or together in the pan? Thanks in advance!
Cook the meat and onions together in the same pan Fred. Enjoy!
Not sure what all the fuss is about. The meat turned out near-flavorless, and it was very well coated with the seasoning. Everything cooked well, just a complete lack of flavor. Heck, the celery had more flavor than the meat. Maybe too much flour and not enough garlic powder? Would not recommend this the way it’s written.
Just made this today. It was SO GOOD my husband just kept saying “wow!”, then said I think you should can this and sell it! : ) The time to brown the meat was really worth it. I will definitely be making it again. Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad he loved it Linda!
Do you think a 4.5 quart crock pot would work for this recipe? If not do you think it would work if I cut the recipe into 3/4?
Hi Storm, we have only tried this recipe in a 6qt crockpot but if you reduce the ingredients it should fit into a 4.5 qt. Let us know how it turns out!
This recipe is tremendous. I made it at the end of June just to use up some potatoes, Oh my. Definitely will make this again.
You are missing Salt and Pepper in the Ingredients list, how much of both is used?
This can be made with salt & pepper to taste. I add about ½ teaspoon of each to the flour mixture.
Can you do all the prep the night before and have everything in crockpot over night?
That should work Leann, I would still brown the stewing meat before adding to the crockpot.
Looked everywhere for a good, old fashioned, slow cooker beef stew. Made this and it was a HIT. This is now my go-to recipe for beef stew. Thank you, Holly, for sharing this recipe!
Thanks for the help Holly
I LOVE TO COOK IN THE CROCK POT. I’M GOING TO TRY YOUR CROCK POT BEEF STEW TOMORROW.
WHAT WILL IT TASTE LIKE IF I ADD CILANTRO TO THE CROCK POT AND GREEN PEPPERS?
Personally I love cilantro, so I am sure that it would be delicious Philip!
This is a keeper easy recipe and delicious my family loved it. The only thing I did different was I choose to use pearl onions instead of chopped . It was savory with a perfect gravy consistency✅
I’ve made this recipe so many times and it always comes out perfect! One of my favorites for a cold day.
I’ve shared with my sister and she also makes it all the time!
Thanks for this
Ooh, wow, this was FABULOUS!! Don’t skip the browning step! It really adds a depth of flavor you can’t get otherwise. I used a little dry vermouth and some beef broth to deglaze the pan and added that to the crockpot. My house smelled wonderful all day long, and the dinner at the end of the day was well worth the wait.
Prep time for me (from pulling out the crockpot and ingredients to putting on the lid and turning on the heat) was more like an hour than 20 minutes.
Can I use chicken broth instead of beef?
You definitely can Pamela! It will reduce the beefy flavor slightly but will still turn out great.
Hi, I’m going to try your beef stew. Can you use frozen green beans or do they have to fresh?
Frozen will work perfectly.
Every thing looks great for suppers. I like simple thing to cook for supper.
I can’t wait to try you beef Stew!! Sounds great,similar to mine but a little different twist!!
I’m sorry but I followed every step and it’s not good. I dont know what I did but I followed every step that u said to do.
Sorry to hear that Jake, this recipe is always a hit with readers. If there is anything we can try and help you troubleshoot please let us know!
I also followed the directions and the meat was overcooked but the veggies were still raw after 4 hours. Weird.
want to add mushrooms to it. im cooking it on high. Should I wait to the last hour to put the mushrooms or can I put it in when i do the other vegetables
Hi Carrie, you can add them in at the beginning. But if you prefer your mushrooms to be less soft you could add them towards the end as they don’t take long to fully cook.
I made this recipe last night and it was delicious! My husband couldn’t stop raving about it. The only change I made was whisking about 2 cups of the broth with 2 tablespoons of bisto beef gravy granules – this gave the stew a rich beefy flavour and helped to thicken up the broth a bit more.
Thanks for the amazing recipe!