Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew
448 CommentsUpdated Apr 18, 2026
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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). You may also like my Camp Stew Recipe!
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.
- {The full Recipe is in the recipe card below the photos}
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.
Featured Comment
“Thank you so much for the recipe, really enjoyed it! We are on a budget and it’s so nice finding a tasty recipe thats something different to my usual.”
– EM
Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew Recipe
How to Video
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!
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
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Crockpot Stew Recipes
Slow Cooker Beef Stew and Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon are classic, slow-simmered dishes perfect for a cozy, filling dinner.
Witches Brew Stew and Slow Cooker Chicken Stew are fun, family-friendly options that come together easily in the crockpot.
Beefy Bacon Man Stew and Guinness Beef Stew both bring bold, savory flavors with their own unique twists.
Split Pea Stew rounds things out with a thick, hearty texture that’s comforting and packed with veggies. My Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Dumplings is great for a Sunday dinner.
I’m so excited to try this, I just put everything together & can’t wait to start it in the morning! This is my first crockpot meal ever!
How exciting!
This was the bees knees, so delicious, rich, tasty, so full of flavor…. hard to believe it was so inexpensive !
Would ground turkey work with this? TIA!
I don’t see why not!
id like to use 2 pounds of beef because we always need left overs. Do I need to change anything else for the extra beef?
Yes, I often use ground turkey, it’s very good.
Enjoy
I think it may work still, if it looks dry maybe add some beef broth to stretch it.
I made this on Friday and you talk about delicious! I added more garlic and instead of water used chicken broth/stock. This is a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing this one!
Sounds great
In the crockpot now but with ground turkey breast since we don’t eat beef! Looks great!
One of my absolute favorite movies!! I never get tired of watching it. Everyone in the cast was perfect! Thanks for telling us about the book. I’ll have to get it.
Forgot to put the onion powder in the recipe. 🙂
Thanks Patricia! I’ll fix that.
Is it okay to keep it on low for 11 hours or will it over cook? I have long workdays and would like to put it on before I leave in the morning and have it ready in the evening.
The longest I would cook this type of recipe is 8 hours. Next time you are in the market for a new crock pot, I highly recommend one with a timer. So many more recipes can be made with it!
You are so right Sarah about the new cockpots with timers! No 2 crockpots cook alike either so experiment a little and you’ll find how long you can cook different things. No more than 8 hours for this recipe because any longer would turn potatoes to mush. I used beef broth instead of water and didn’t find the need to thicken it. Our beef prices here in Arizona are higher in rural areas than in the city. I bought 80/20 ground beef and butter ball 93/7 ground turkey on sale and mixed it together when I cooked it. Wow great flavor. This dish is a keeper!
Do you cook the ground beef before putting it in the slow cooker or add it raw
I cook it.
I sear it first
You could set your crock pot on a timer. That is what I do. I bought a timer you plug into and set it to come on so it will be done when I get home.
if you use a timer, don’t you have to let your ingredients set in the crock pot? is that safe? I leave for work at 7:30 am so if I would set the timer for 9:30, the hamburger has set out for 2 hrs.
It will still be fine. The crock pot will keep it hot, even when it’s off.
Sounds so delicious I’m going to buy the ingredients when I do my shopping and I’m looking forward in making this dish.:)
I’m going to use stew meat, I know the simmer time should be fine, but should I add extra waters or beef broth??
There is quite a bit of liquid in this recipe, it should turn out great.
I noticed that there wasn’t a lot of liquid, could you replace the water with beef broth? Just wondering where the flavor for the liquid w ok ll come from? Does the liquid get thicker if not I was going to use cornstarch
I was thinking there wasn’t much liquid, also. I just made the recipe and put it in the crock-pot. I actually did add another cup of beef broth. I will check on it after the 6 hours and see how it looks. Thank you!
The starch from the potatoes in the recipe should be enough to thicken the broth.
Can I use ground turkey ?
I know others have with luck!