Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew is made from scratch with ground beef to save money. A very hearty meal with minimal effort or money. This budget friendly ground beef stew can’t be beaten.
We love easy stew recipes like this one, Shipwreck Stew or A-1 Beef Stew, for an easy, hearty dinner.
When I first published this recipe in 2015, I made this entire Poor Man’s Stew for $6.24. Nowadays, the price of groceries is much higher than that. But you can still make an economical meal using fresh vegetables and ground beef.
I put ground beef, russet potatoes, carrots, onions, a garlic clove, tomato paste, water, and seasonings in my slow cooker and simmered it all day to make this Hearty Poor Man’s Stew. A great Sunday dinner recipe or for when you are even camping!
The inspiration for this hamburger stew came from my favorite old movie, The Princess Bride. I made a stew similar to the one seen in the movie where Fezzic (Andre the Giant) hand-fed Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) a hearty stew trying to get him sober, so they could find and save Westley (Carey Elwes).
What makes this meal budget friendly ?
- Fresh vegetables – I bought just what I needed for this recipe though you can buy bulk bags of gold potatoes (or russet potatoes), carrots, onion, and garlic, and your price will go down per serving.
- Look for ground beef in a roll (called a chub); it’s almost always cheaper than beef in trays.
- Dried spices are always cheaper than fresh and last for years; for other recipes, I use onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- I use water instead of beef broth in this recipe to cut the cost, though beef broth can be used if desired.
- For the tomato flavor, a cheap can of tomato paste is used.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Brown ground beef in a skillet on the stove-top; drain fat. Add the meat to the crock pot and the potatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic.
Step Two -Whisk together the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl.
Step Three – Pour this mixture over everything in the slow cooker. Stir.
Step Four – Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Serve in bowls and enjoy!
Variations
- More Vegetables – Add sweet potatoes, frozen peas, and canned green beans.
- Tomato Soup – Instead of adding tomato paste, use a condensed tomato soup for more flavor.
- Flavor enhancers – Add Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce for a kick of flavor. You can also add a pack of taco seasoning instead of the recipe seasonings.
- Toppings – To serve this crockpot poor mans stew, you may want to add some toppings such as shredded cheddar cheese, diced onion, or crushed saltine crackers.
- Bread – Don’t go out and buy special bread for this meal. It’s terrific with buttered sandwich bread as a side.
Recipe FAQs
You can use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground sausage (basically any ground meat). Or you can use what traditional beef stew call for, which is beef stew meat.
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge, which will last a few months in the freezer.
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Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew Recipe
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef browned and drained
- 1 ½ lbs russet or gold potatoes peeled and diced large
- 3 carrots sliced thick
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 garlic clove minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning (or oregano)
Instructions:
- Add the cooked ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.
- In a small bowl whisk together the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion powder and Italian seasoning. Pour this mixture over everything in the slow cooker. Stir.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- Serve with buttered sandwich bread or rolls and Enjoy!
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
- You can use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground sausage (basically any ground meat). Or you can use what traditional beef stew call for, which is beef stew meat.
- If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge, which will last a few months in the freezer.
- More Vegetables – Add sweet potatoes, frozen peas, and canned green beans.
- Tomato Soup – Instead of adding tomato paste, use a condensed tomato soup for more flavor.
- Flavor enhancers – Add Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce for a kick of flavor. You can also add a pack of taco seasoning instead of the recipe seasonings.
- Toppings – To serve this crockpot poor mans stew, you may want to add some toppings such as shredded cheddar cheese, diced onion, or crushed saltine crackers.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Vraiment délicieux et peux dispendieux
Hi there!
I wanted to update that I have since tried my flour idea from earlier. So after cooking the ground meat (I usually do a split of ground beef and ground pork doing a double batch) and cut up all vegetables, I put all into a very large bowl and add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour (2 tbsp at a time) stirring until well combined before transferring to the slow cooker. Then I add my liquid component and cook as directed. It produces a lovely unctuous sauce like none-other and there is no lumping.
Additionally I’ve experimented with using red wine and stout. As I do a double batch usually, I would supplement with water (or beef broth) to equal 4 cups.
Thought you’d like to know!
Cheers!
This did not live up to my expectations, as it sounded really delicious and easy. However, after 8 hours the potatoes and carrots were still rock hard. There is something wrong with this recipe. The instruction manual with my slow cooker has a recipe for a similar stew, but it says to cook for 10-12 hours. Maybe that would work. Today, the recipe name is a misnomer — with the cost of ground beef as it is, this dish cost over $15, so it is doubtful that it qualifies as poor man’s stew.
If your slow cooker is really old, you may have to cook longer for any recipe. This recipe was originally from 2015. If you buy your meat in bulk, the price would be much cheaper.
Delicious! I added 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. My whole family loved this! Perfect comfort food. 🙂
Can you make this in a crock pot, and how many times do I need to double it to feed 60 people.
Crock pot and slow cooker are the same thing. This serves 5 people as a main course. So if it’s all your serving, you would need to make the recipe 12 times. Though, personally I would make a variety of soups, not just this one kind. If you serve breads and some other sides, you will not need to make so much.
The terms slow cooker and crockpot are synonomous.
Too much tomato sauce, not enough beef. I used a potato masher at the end to minimize the sauce. As we have leftovers, will add hamburger and additional mashed potatoes tonight.
Excellent Recipe! For those who enjoy/want thicker stew, I learned a fantastic alternative to flour or corn starch. To make it thicker, I add a Tbl at a time of dried Idahoan Potato flakes until desired thickness. I do this right at the end of cooking time and it thickens up “immediately!” This truly is a “Go-To” recipe for simplicity and deliciousness!
Use a can of dark beer (like Guiness) instead of water or broth.
Yes, though I would only do 1 cup of beer and the other cup broth or water. Beer can taste very strong in the slow cooker.
I will try this
Hi there…I made this a few weeks back and it was very delicious and I can’t stop thinking about it. When I made it I doubled the meat and increased the rest by half as I wanted to ensure there was leftovers.
The next time I want to make this I was thinking instead of beef broth alone, I’d add a can of Guinness and top off with beef broth to equal the amount of liquid needed. Also, was thinking perhaps before cooking everything to coat the ingredients in flour before adding the liquid so as to thicken it a bit more too as the end result previously was somewhere between soup and between. Thoughts?
Cheers!
Sometimes flour can clump when used like that. You have to add it to a fat. Possibly put some flour on the meat at the end while browning it.
My mother made this when we were growing up she called it chop meat soup. Only difference is it’s in the crock pot now instead of on the stove
Can this recipe be cooked on high and if so how many hours
3.5-4 hours or until the potatoes are tender.
I’ve been eating what my mother called Chop Meat Stew for 70 years. In a small Dutch oven brown one pound of chop meat with 1/4 cup of water, one small, diced onion and salt and pepper to taste. When browned add two medium peeled and cut up potatoes, cover and reduce heat. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, remove the pot from the heat, add a can of drained peas and carrot, cover and let sit for 15 minutes before serving or, as we did, put in the refrigerator for tomorrow night.
That sounds even beter!