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. If you have leftover slow cooker ground beef, be sure to use that!
- 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
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:
Sarah’s 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.
Anonymous says
Could this be converted to an instant pot recipe? Just wondering if I need more liquid then?
Doug Huffman says
So if I have Stew Meat already in my freezer, can I use that instead of the Hamburger meat saving more money?
Sarah Olson says
Yes! Will work fine.
Linda says
Could I make this the night before, and just leave it in the pot over night to be cooked the next day?
Sarah Olson says
Yes, make sure all the potatoes are covered in sauce. And if your slow cooker insert is ceramic, let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before starting to prevent it from cracking.
Karlyn says
This was so easy, quick and delicious! Especially easy for someone like me that doesn’t know much about cooking. I really needed something for the work week, something to warm me up because it’s always so cold in the building, and something healthy to incorporate into my healthy meals rotation.
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe! I’ll definitely be making this regularly!
Amanda says
This is such an easy meal to prepare! Brown the hamburger, chop up the veggies and then throw it all in the crock pot. I love crock pot meals! I used beef broth instead of water, just to add a little more flavor. I also added corn and green beans just a couple hours before serving. To add even more flavor I mixed in a stew mix packet. So good my husband and son loved it.
Ryan says
Could I use ground turkey instead of beef?
Sarah Olson says
Yes! I think that is a great substitution.
Lacy says
My crockpot is a little funky as far as time and the high setting tends to be just a little TOO high sometimes and tends to burn so you think shortening the time a little would be ok for instance warm seems to be low so suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!!!
Lacy says
So I am planning in trying this tomorrow and I live to flavor everything up really well so just out of curiosity do you think it would hurt to put a chicken or beef flavored bullion cube in and if not which would you suggest? I know many roast recipes do chicken flavor or chicken stock would live your input!!! Thank you so excited to try it!!!!
Sarah Olson says
I think it would be awesome with that added. Wishing I would have written that in the recipe. You could do two and be fine.
Nicole says
The top says prep 15 min, cook time 6 hours, total time 6 hours 15 min, but then the directions in step 3 say to cook for 7 hours. Can you clarify 6 or 7 hours of cook time? Thank you! Excited to try this with my kids!
Sarah Olson says
It’s for 7 hours. Thank you, I will fix it.
Jess says
It says it serves 5. How much is a serving?
Sarah Olson says
I don’t measure out the recipes, it’s 1/5 of the recipe.
Jennifer says
Very hearty n good ! I made it in my instant pot! I browned the meat and then I cooked on high pressure for 12 minutes with a quick release! Also added one cup of boxed chicken broth to replace one cup of water for added flavor!
Danielle says
I just made this. I added 2 chicken broth cubes and Korean five spice. It gave it a kick
Auri says
Is there a faster way to do it? In the oven?