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This Crockpot Beef Stew is hearty, tender, and full of comforting flavor. An easy slow cooker dinner loaded with beef, potatoes, carrots, and rich gravy-like broth.
There’s nothing better on a cold day than a warm bowl of Crockpot Beef Stew. This classic comfort meal is hearty, cozy, and incredibly flavorful. It is everything you want in a slow cooer meal. The beef gets fall-apart tender while the potatoes and carrots soak up all the delicious and rich broth.
This is one of those super easy recipes that the slow cooker works its magic on. By dinnertime, your kitchen smells amazing and you have a complete, satisfying meal ready to go. It’s great for busy weekdays, chilly weekends, or whenever you are craving comfort food.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Olive Oil
- Chuck Roast/Stew Meat – you can buy already cut up stew meat, but I find buying chuck roast to be much cheaper and then I can just cut it into cubes myself.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt & Pepper
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Yellow Potatoes – I like to use a thin skinned potato so you don’t have to peel them. Yellow potatoes, red potatoes or baby potatoes work great.
- Beef Broth
- Tomato Paste
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Bay Leaf
- Dried Thyme
- Fresh Rosemary
- Cornstarch
How To Make Crockpot Beef Stew
- Beef. Toss together your cubed beef with the flour and season well with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat, add the oil and let it get hot. Add in beef and brown for a couple minutes per side. You can do this in batches to make sure your beef gets browned well.
- Mix. Add the beef to the base of your crockpot. Add in the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and potatoes. Top with the Beef broth, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Mix to combine. Add in the bay leaf, sprinkle over the dried thyme and place a sprig of rosemary. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours until the beef is tender.
- Thicken. This step is optional, but if you want your stew thicker mix together the cornstarch with cold water and stir into the stew. Cover and let it cook for another 15 minutes until it has started to thicken.
- Serve. Ladle the stew into bowl and serve.
Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Prep. The prep is the longest and most work for this recipe. You can use already sliced vegetables from the store to make it easier. Or you can chop your onion, carrots and celery ahead of time and have in the fridge waiting for you.
- Beef. I like to buy chuck roast when it is on sale and have it in the freezer. Then you can trim and cut into cubes for recipes on your own. It is usually much cheaper than buying stew meat. But if stew meat is on sale or you have some, you can absolutely use it.
- Veggies. I find that the carrots and onions get soft enough while cooking in the crockpot all day. But if you want to sauté them after you brown the meat, it will add extra flavor to your stew.
- Mix-Ins. You can definitely add more vegetables if you would like. Frozen Peas or Green Beans are great to add in during the last 15-30 minutes of cooking just to thaw.
Storage
Store crockpot beef stew in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. You can reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
It also freezes really well. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
No, it adds flavor and texture and definitely enhances your beef stew. But if you are short on time or for whatever reason want to skip it, you can.
I like yellow potatoes, Yukon gold or red potatoes as they have less starch than russet potatoes. So they don’t break down and hold up better when cooked for along time.
More Easy Crockpot Recipes
- Slow Cooker Pork Roast
- Crockpot Lasagna Soup
- Crockpot Country Style Ribs
- Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
- Slow Cooer Red Beans & Rice
Crockpot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds stew meat or chuck roast cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound yellow potatoes, halved or quartered
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, optional
- 1/4 cup cold water, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl toss together beef cubes with flour, salt and pepper until well coated.2 1/2 pounds stew meat or chuck roast cut into cubes, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- In a large skillet heat the oil over high heat. Once hot add half of the beef cubes and cook for about a minute on each side. Remove and continue with the remaining beef.2 Tablespoon olive oil
- Add the brown beef, carrots, celery, onion, garlic and potatoes to the base of the slow cooker. Mix to combine.3 carrots, 2 ribs celery, 1 small onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 pound yellow potatoes
- Pour in the beef broth, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Mix until combined.3 cups beef broth, 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- Sprinkle over the dried thyme, add the bay leaf and the sprig of rosemary. Cover and cook on slow for 7-8 hours, until the beef is tender the potatoes are soft.1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- If you want to thicken the stew mix the cornstarch with the cold water and pour into the crockpot. Stir and let it cook for 10-15 more minutes until it has thickened.2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 1/4 cup cold water
- Remove the sprig of rosemary and the bay leaf and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
