CrockPot Beef Stew is one of my all-time favorite slow cooker meals. It’s filling and delicious with tender chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes and peas (or green beans). When it comes to satisfying comfort food, slow cooker Beef Stew is the ultimate!
To complete the meal, all you really need to do is add in a side of easy buttermilk biscuits or corn bread muffins slathered with butter. Or, serve it with a substantial homemade bread for dipping in the gravy. Everyone will be in heaven!
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Stew
Ingredients for this beef stew CrockPot recipe are beef chuck or stew beef, root vegetables like potatoes, carrots and fresh and peas or beans.
The best meat to make beef stew is chuck steak! You’ll have to cut it into cubes yourself. Chuck is a tough, but full-flavored meat that comes from the shoulders and front end of the animal. It is perfect for Crock Pot Beef Stew or pot roast (a similar texture to pork shoulder which is used to make Crock Pot Pulled Pork). It retains its rich, beefy flavor and becomes succulent and fork-tender under the low and slow heat of a crock pot.
Flavorful Slow Cooker Beef Stew: What really makes a stew a stew is the savory herbs, thickened beef broth and seasonings. To give the dish even more complexity, consider making CrockPot beef stew with red wine. Substitute a cup of a hearty dry wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot for a cup of the beef broth and use it to deglaze the pan you used for browning the meat. You could add in some button mushrooms too.
How to Make Beef Stew in Crock Pot
While we love to make a classic stove top beef stew, this easy slow cooker recipe can be left cooking while you go about your day! Crock Pot beef stew comes together in just a few simple steps and the beef gets so tender.
- Toss the beef in the flour-garlic powder mixture to coat, 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 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.
How Long to Cook Beef Stew in Crock Pot: Crock Pot beef stew is 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.
We serve beef stew with some crusty bread or homemade dinner rolls for the perfect meal!
Leftover CrockPot Beef Stew
Leftovers will keep about 3-4 days in the fridge.
Can you Freeze Beef Stew: You’ll also be happy to know 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 your stew will keep for four months in the freezer.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Stew – my daughter’s favorite
- Instant Pot Beef Stew – so easy
- Beef Stew Recipe – classic
- Lamb Stew (Irish Stew) – hearty!
- Beef Barley Soup – healthy and delicious
Crock Pot Beef Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck or stewing beef
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 cup vegetable juice such as V8
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon thyme or 2 sprigs fresh
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh
- 3 cups potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 cups carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup celery stalks cut into 1 inch pieces
- ¾ cup peas
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Combine flour, garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste. Toss beef in flour mixture.
- Brown the beef and onions in olive oil small batches. Add some of the broth to the pan and scrape up any brown bits.
- Add all ingredients except peas and cornstarch to a 6QT slow cooker.
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 8-9 hours or until beef is tender.
- Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water. Stir into the stew a little bit at a time to thicken (you may not need all of the mixture). Add peas.
- Cover and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.
Video
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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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!
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!