During the cold days of winter, a steaming bowl of comfort is on my meal plan multiple times a week. Slow cooked meat and vegetables make my heart sing. Today let’s discuss classic homemade beef stew. Growing up I loved my mother’s simmered beef stew cooked on top of the stove for hours. I personally prefer to use a crock pot for ease, but beef stew can be made in the oven, on the stove, or in a slow cooker.
It’s easy to make with a savory flavor. This one pot meal is also hearty and inexpensive. Cheaper cuts of beef are usually used and root vegetables are inexpensive and plentiful. The most popular cut of meat used for stew is chuck. You may also use a variety of roasts like bottom round, round tip, top round, and pot roast. Remove excess fat and cut into chunks. Don’t try to cook stew in a hurry as the meat will be tough. Slow cooking is what makes the meat tender and melt-in-your mouth beef.
Using a crock pot, there are 2 ways to make beef stew. The easier way is to place all ingredients in a crock pot at one time. Mix the ingredients and add the lid. Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours depending on your slow cooker. You can cook on high for 6 to 7 hours or until the meat is tender and falling apart.
For the more flavorful approach with a crockpot, you must first brown the meat and vegetables and deglaze the pan before adding to the cooker. Follow the directions below for a classic beef stew flavor.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Use organic when available. Serves 6
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lb beef chuck roast, fat removed and cut into 2 to 3 inch chunks
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour
- 1 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 large potatoes chopped into small chunks
- 2 medium carrots chopped or 1 large chopped
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup red wine or replace with beef broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 Bay leaf
- fresh herbs to garnish optional
Instructions
- Season beef with salt and pepper
- Heat olive oil in large pan over medium high heat
- Sprinkle flour over meat and toss to coat all sides
- Brown beef in oil on both sides for about 3 to 4 minutes; you do not need to cook meat thoroughly
- Remove beef to a plate
- Add onion, garlic, and carrots to pan
- Stir occasionally for 2 to 3 minutes
- Remove vegetables to bottom of slow cooker
- Add 1 cup beef broth and 1 cup red wine to pan and stir the bottom of the skillet for 1 minute to deglaze and collect all the flavors
- Add the potatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce to crock pot
- Add meat to cooker and stir
- Pour sauce from skillet over everything in crock pot
- Add lid and cook for 7 hours
- Check if meat is tender
- Add frozen green peas for last 20 minutes cooking
- If stew sauce is too thin, add 2 tsp corn starch to 1/2 cup of sauce
- Stir corn starch and sauce solution into slow cooker to thicken and cook for last 20 minutes
- Remove bay leaf and serve with brown rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes or cornbread
Enjoy!
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I’ve had a hankering for beef stew recently. Even though we have no snow, the days and nights are cold and it’s such a cozy dish. I found a wonderful one at Costco (once — haven’t found it since) but it was a little pricey (well, until you think of the cost of buying the ingredients to make it). But you don’t get that all-day fragrance! And home made is always better. I’m saving this one!
thanks for the save Jeanie – Happy Monday!
I don’t have a slow cooker but I make a similar recipe in the morning then cook it very low and slow throughout the day. It’s one of my favourite winter meals :o)
#MMBC
yum! sounds like my mother’s stew!
I think beef stew is one of our favourite winter comfort foods. I just chuck everything into the slow cooker and let it do it’s thing all day and then we have a delicious meal come dinner time.
This is such a smart and delicious way to serve up a hearty dinner while staying on budget. Using the slow cooker was genius… you’ve made this recipe so easy to prepare!
That looks so good. I love beef stew.
Beef stew is a favourite of mine and your recipe sounds delicious. I have to say, though, I like my stew served with fresh crusty bread and suet dumplings. Yummy!
crusty bread goes with everything!
Oh Yum. Now this is what I call comfort food. This looks so tasty. Thank you for sharing at #aclwcc. Pinned and tweeted.
One of those yummy recipes (pretty much the same as yours) that was a go-to dinner when we had a houseful of kids (I remember how excited I was to get my first “crock-pot” — sure made life easier). But also one that I haven’t made really since we’ve been traveling to warmer climates in the winter (at least they used to be warmer. This winter, we’ve had temperatures much like our house in Oregon. But sunnier.) Anyway, I guess I need to make beef stew again.
Maybe you can halve the recipe for a smaller amount or invite friends over for stew.
Hello Carol. Your recipe is so close to our own way of making beef stew that its uncanny. It’s a sure fire winner every time whereby we like to put lots of onions and three or four large garlic cloves.
I am a big lover of garlic myself but others want it moderation. I kind of share middle of the road and leave it to the cook to decrease or increase as needed.
This past Saturday, I bought some stew meat, to make this very dish (but I needed a recipe!) So, thank you so much! I am going to try to make it today! (I don’t have an onion, though. Maybe onion powder will do.)
that will work using 1 tablespoon of dried onion powder for 1 medium onion
That looks so very yummy.
I love beef stew! We had one just the other day. The weather here has been so cold the past week so a nice warming stew is just what we needed!
Have a lovely week Carol. 🙂
It’s been cold for Florida here for the last few weeks. I’m only dreaming of comfort food right now and warm throws.
Happy New Year! Thanks for a delicious recipe, Carol I do enjoy using my crockpot on busy days