Crockpot Beef Stew

This Crockpot Beef Stew is the ultimate winter comfort food. Prep this slow cooker beef stew in the morning and it is ready by dinner time.

make a cozy beef stew in the crockpot

One of my favorite things to do on a cold winter night is stay home and enjoy a cozy stew. I love a good beef stew and this one is extra special because you can make it in the slow cooker.

This crockpot beef stew is so easy to make. Its loaded with flavor and all you need to do is prep the ingredients and walk away. Then, in a few hours you will be ready to enjoy a comforting beef stew that tastes like you stirred it on the stovetop all day.

Serve it directly from the slow cooker with a big hunk of fresh bread, some fresh chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese. Your family and friends will love this cozy winter meal. There is nothing better then beef stew crock pot style!

Kitchen tools

• Sharp knife and cutting board
• Measuring spoons, measuring cups and liquid measuring cup
• Crockpot or slow cooker – you can also use an Instant Pot on slow cook function
• Wooden mixing spoon and soup ladle for serving

If you are looking to make a beef stew in a dutch oven, try this Irish Beef Stew recipe.

Serving Suggestions

This crockpot beef stew is ready to serve directly out of the crock pot. If you want to add some extra garnishes, top it with some fresh cracked black pepper, freshly chopped parsley and shredded parmesan cheese.

I also like to buy a loaf of crusty Italian bread at the market or my homemade overnight bread recipe. Rip off a big hunk and use it to soak up all the broth at the bottom of the soup bowl. There is nothing better than a winter stew with some good bread.

This slow cooker recipe is the perfect winter dinner and would be great for a dinner party because you can prepare it ahead of time and truly enjoy the time with your guests. I would serve this simple beef stew recipe with some homemade foccacia and a lemon kale caesar salad. All of these things can be prepared ahead of time which will really cut down on your hands on cooking time.

For a chicken variation, try this Chicken Stew recipe.

Ingredients

• Beef stew meat
• All purpose flour
• Olive oil
• Baby yellow potatoes or red potatoes – you could also use cubed yukon golds
• Carrots
• Celery
• Green peas – fresh or frozen peas
• Beef broth and red wine
• Tomato paste and worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, and bay leaves

What cut of beef is used for stew meat?

Stew meat refers to the cuts of beef that come from the tougher parts of the animal. Once the beef is cooked for an extended period of time, the tougher parts break down and leave a delicious and tender piece of meat.

The most common type of stew meat is chuck steak, but you can also use sirloin or round beef. I usually buy a whole chuck roast because it is more affordable than buying pre cubed stew meat.

Ingredient substitutions

To make this crock pot beef stew gluten free, use gluten free all purpose flour and swap the worcestershire sauce for some tamari or coconut aminos. Look for low sodium tamari to reduce sodium of this dish.

Feel free to add some minced garlic cloves to the stew for extra flavor. You can also use any extra veggies that you like to make it even chunkier and heartier.

If you cannot or do not want to use red wine, use 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar and an extra 1/2 cup of beef broth when combining the liquid ingredients.

Beef broth will give this stew a deep rich flavor, but if you only have vegetable broth or chicken broth it will still work well. You can also use a beef bouillon cube and make your own broth by mixing it with water.

I find baby yellow potatoes to be the best potatoes for beef stew, but any potatoes will work. Yukon gold potatoes and russet potatoes are two of the most common available at the grocery store.

When buying meat for a beef stew you can buy it whole like a whole beef chuck roast or you can buy pre cut chunks of beef. I prefer to cut my own cubes of beef to make the best beef stew in the crockpot.

How do you thicken beef stew?

There are two ways to thicken beef stew. You can let the liquid reduce by simmering on the stove top or you can mix in a cornstarch slurry.

This crockpot beef stew is naturally thick thanks to the long cook time in the crock pot. Therefore, I do not use a slurry to thicken the gravy. If you want an even thicker sauce feel free to mix 2 tbsp of water with 1 tbsp of starch, then pour it into the crockpot about 10 minutes before serving.

How to make crockpot beef stew

Step 1: Brown stew meat and prep other ingredients

To begin, cut stew beef into bite size pieces and toss in flour. Heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat.

Then, add beef to hot oil and cook for 8 minutes, tossing frequently, to brown the outside.

Next, cut potatoes into quarters, peel and slice carrots into rounds, and slice celery into half moons.

Step 2: Place all ingredients in the crockpot

Then, whisk beef broth, red wine, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper together.

Add browned beef and any drippings from the pan to your slow cooker along with the potatoes, carrots, celery, peas, liquid mixture and the bay leaves.

Step 3: slow cook and serve

Then, stir to mix the ingredients and close the lid of the slow cooker. You can make this beef stew on either low or high heat depending on how much time you have.

Cook on low for 10 hours. Or if you have less time, cook on high for 5 hours. Stir occasionally while cooking if possible.

Finally, remove bay leaves and serve with fresh cracked black pepper, freshly grated parmesan cheese and some fresh chopped parsley.

can I make this on the stove top?

Yes! If you do not have a crockpot or slow cooker, you can make this on the stove top in a dutch oven.

Brown the stew meat in the dutch oven and then remove. Saute the carrots and celery in oil for a few minutes.

Add all other ingredients to the dutch oven, bring to boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer covered on the stove top until the stew meat is tender.

Storage, reheating and freezing

Allow the stew to cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container in the. Place in the fridge and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Reheat in sauce pan on the stove top over medium-low heat until just warmed through. I like to refresh reheated soup with some fresh cracked black pepper, fresh herbs and a bit of grated parmesan cheese.

Slow cooker beef stew freezes wonderfully. Transfer to a freezer safe container after cooling and freeze for up to 3 months. I like to use souper cubes for freezing.

Check out these other winter soup recipes

• Irish Beef Stew
• Ravioli Soup
• Instant Pot Tomato Soup
• Sweet Potato Chili

If you want to a try a vegetarian stew recipe, try this Creamy Chickpea and Vegetable Stew.

You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!