CrockPot Beef Stew is one of my all-time favorite slow cooker meals.
This hearty slow cooker stew beef stew recipe is packed with flavor. Tender chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, and peas (or green beans) are cooked in rich brown gravy.
Serve with a side of buttermilk biscuits, crusty bread, or cornbread slathered with butter.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients for this beef stew CrockPot recipe are beef chuck or stew beef, root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and fresh peas or beans.
Beef for Stew: The best beef for beef stew is chuck steak or chuck roast. Chuck is a flavorful cut of beef from the shoulder and front end of the animal. You may have to cut it into cubes yourself. It is perfect for Crock Pot Beef Stew or pot roast because when cooked low and slow, it becomes fork-tender and buttery in texture with a rich, beefy flavor.
If you don’t have chuck, stewing beef works well in this recipe too.
Broth: Use regular beef broth (not low sodium) for the best results. The broth is flavored with vegetable juice, rosemary and thyme.
If you have red wine on hand, it’s a great addition to this stew (although it is optional). Substitute a cup of a hearty dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, for one cup of the beef broth and use it to deglaze the pan you used for browning the meat.
Vegetables: This crockpot stew recipe uses carrots, potatoes, and celery. You can add extra vegetables like turnips or mushrooms if you’d like.
How to Make Beef Stew in a Crock Pot
I love a classic beef stew recipe, but if I’m not going to be home or want to prepare dinner early, this easy slow cooker recipe is just as delicious. Crock Pot stew comes together in just a few simple steps.
- Toss the beef in the flour-garlic powder mixture to coat per the recipe below, and brown in olive oil in batches. Don’t crowd the pan. (You can skip this step, but the browning adds great flavor to the stew).
- Sauté the onion in the same pan (use a bit of broth or red wine to help deglaze and add any brown bits to your crock pot).
- Add everything to the slow cooker (I use a 6qt crock pot) and cook until the beef is tender. Stir in peas before serving.
Ladle this beef stew into bowls and serve with crusty bread or homemade dinner rolls.
How Long to Cook Beef Stew in a Crock Pot: This is the best slow cooker beef stew recipe since it’s a set-it-and-forget-it kind of meal. Cook it on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8-9 until the meat is tender. You can leave it on warm for an additional hour or so if needed.
To Thicken Beef Stew in the Crock Pot: I use a cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water) and add it in at the end. Allow it to cook about 10 minutes after adding the slurry to get rid of any starchy flavor.
Leftover CrockPot Beef Stew
Leftovers will keep for about 3-4 days in the fridge.
Freezing Beef Stew: CrockPot Beef Stew freezes really well, so make plenty for those quick-fix meal nights. Leave about an inch of headspace for expansion in plastic containers, and the stew will keep for 4 months in the freezer.
More Slow Cooker Beef Recipes
Did your family love this Crockpot Beef Stew recipe? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Crock Pot Beef Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck or stewing beef
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups beef broth *see note
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cups potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 cups carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup celery cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup vegetable juice such as V8
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh
- ½ teaspoon thyme or 2 sprigs fresh
- ¾ cup peas
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Combine flour, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt & ½ teaspoon of black pepper to taste. Toss the beef in the flour mixture.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat in a large frying pan or skillet. Add the beef and brown in batches, about 2 minutes per side. Place the beef in the bottom of a 6qt slow cooker.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add 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 pan 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, thyme, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 8-9 hours or until beef is tender.
- Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir into the stew a little bit at a time to thicken (you may not need all of the cornstarch mixture). Stir in peas.
- Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened and heated through. Season with salt & pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Main Course, Slow Cooker
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I want to use green beans. Do I use frozen, canned or raw and how much? Are the peas frozen? Thank you.
Any green beans should work just fine. Canned green beans can be added towards the end, fresh or frozen should be added earlier. And yes, I use frozen peas. Enjoy the recipe!
if i’m cutting the recipe in half, does that change the cook time at all? thanks!
Hi Sam, the cook time should remain similar, but it may cook slightly quicker so you can check it a little sooner checking for fork tender beef. I do recommend ensuring your Crock Pot is at least half full for optimal results though. I hope this helps!
Delicious. Everyone went for second and third helpings!
Delicious! I didn’t have V8 around, but it was still wonderful! Thanks!
This recipe was perfectionnnnn, I couldn’t help myself but make a few tweaks and honestly it turned out sooooo good I’m obsessed. Sooo rich, hearty and flavourful. Will be making again for sure.
– 1.5 containers beef broth
– two small cans of v8
– Shoulder cut of beef go over 2lbs
– Extra cup of celery and carrots
– 2 medium- large onions from the bag of onions Spanish style
– Add chopped fresh garlic
– Sauté onions and garlic separately from beef
– Use butter instead of olive oil when searing beef
– Cab sauv wine- use about a cup maybe a splash more to reduce pan drippings
– Add a tablespoon of paprika when start cooking
– Only one fresh sprig of rosemary (last time added two and took out with 3 hours remaining)
– Do the first hour on high then 8 on low
– 1 full cup of peas
– Use the mini golden potatoes and cut into quarters
– Add one bay leaf
– Little extra worsterchiere sauce a few shakes ish
I have no room left in my freezer to freeze my crock pot cooked beef stew. Can I can it in pint jars, and if so how long do I pressure cook it?
I haven’t tried canning this recipe so I can’t say for sure.
I have to agree with all the other 5 star reviews. This was the best beef stew and so easy to make!
great recipe- loved it
Best beef stew recipe ever! I cook on high for 5 hours but I have never been successful with the stew thickening when adding the cornstarch and water mixture. I transfer stew into a pot over stove top and add bistro, thickens beautifully. I want to be able to use the stew into a meat pie. I would be using the tender flake pie shells. Do I know how I should do this? I have read several ways; bake bottom shell and then add stew, add stew to a Corning ware dish and add the top only and bake until crust is golden brown. I would like to use top and bottom of pie shell but not sure how to bake it. Any suggestions?
I think it was ok. It was simple to follow but it was wayyyyy bland. Definitely needed a lot more seasoning.
Slow cooked it overnight and added a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of veg juice. Amazing ♥️
Probably the best beef stew I have ever made. Delicious! Will be making again.
As always “Spend with pennies” NEVER disappoints. I did leave a few things out just to make it winner for my family. I didn’t use Rosemary or Thyme or onion or celery. I didn’t have veggie juice, so I watered down tomato sauce. My husband is a beef stew lover and he looooooved this. I will be making it in our regular rotation.
I am so happy to hear your family loved this recipe Angela!
It sounds like you made a completely different recipe…
Thanks for your beef stew recipe
This is “the best” crockpot beef stew recipe. I took this to my job for a retirement luncheon for a coworker. Everybody was asking for this recipe. To tenderize the beef I season it with salt and pepper overnight and then browned it according to the instructions. The beef melted in your mouth!!
We love hearing stories like that, Monique! So happy it was such a hit.
I ‘ve tried this recipe and turned out great. Everyone was so impressed and enjoyed every single bit of the stew. I must say best beef stew recipe!
Excellent stew. Have made several times and it was a hit with my family.
Hi, sounds like a great recipe. I only have a 4 quart slow cooker. Will this recipe fit in it? Thank you.
Hi Georgia, this does fill the crockpot quite a bit so I am not sure if a 4QT would be large enough for all the ingredients to fit!
What kind of potatoes work best?
We often use a yellow potato for this recipe. Enjoy!
Love this recipe! Don’t like peas but next time I will try green beans. This is the best beef stew recipe! Thank you!